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The Summer of MMA: Awesome Fights In 2025

Originally posted on MMA Sucka | By Drew Zuhosky | Last updated May 26, 2025 6:43 PM ET

With MMA’s No. 1 promotion, the UFC, having taken this past weekend off due to Memorial Day, summer is unofficially here. While we technically still have about three and a half weeks left to go before the spring season gives way to the long, hot summer, there’s no time like the present to start looking ahead at what’s to come.

Before we kick off our preview here today, first, we’ve got some ground rules. One: This list isn’t just limited to UFC fights. Upcoming PFL semifinal fights in the ongoing World Tournament on ESPN+ (United States) and DAZN (internationally) can and will show up on the list.

Two, and this is the important ground rule that we’ll be mentioning here: The summer solstice will occur on June 20 at 10:41 pm ET in the Northern Hemisphere. Regarding the upcoming MMA fights, this means that contests like June 7’s championship doubleheader at UFC 316 from Newark, NJ won’t be discussed here, and we’ll only discuss fights from June 20 onward.

Must-See Summer Fights: Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.: June 21, 2025

The first must-see bout of the season takes place on the first full day after the solstice. June 21 sees the UFC head to Baku, Azerbaijan for the first time ever, and the fans who have bought tickets are going to be getting a real treat for the main event of the evening.

That night’s headliner will take place in the UFC’s light heavyweight division with Jamahal Hill (12-3, 1 NC MMA, 6-3, 1 NC UFC) battling it out against Khalil Rountree Jr. (13-6, 1 NC MMA, 9-6, 1 NC UFC). This contest was to have taken place already. Hill and Rountree were booked to fight one another on April 26 in Kansas City before the bout was rebooked to June 21 to headline the card after Hill was forced off of the Kansas City show by way of injury. An earlier booking from last summer was also scrubbed because of the latter being suspended from competition due to accidentally consuming a prohibited substance.

The June 21 main event is a crucial top-10 showdown at 205 lbs. Going into the bout, Hill currently sits at No. 4 in the weight class, while Rountree Jr. is ranked No. 7 at 205.

Jamahal Hill last fought in January at UFC 311 from Intuit Dome, suffering a third-round knockout at the hands of Jiri Prochazka (31-5-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) by way of ground and pound, with Rountree having lost to Alex Pereira (12-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) last October in a fight for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (fourth-round knockout: uppercuts.) Barring anything unforeseen, the third booking will take place in a few weeks and is a great way to kick off the summer.

Must-See Summer Fights: Dalton Rosta vs. Aaron Jeffery II- PFL World Tournament Middleweight Semifinal: June 27, 2025

We move onto the semifinal phase of the PFL World Tournament for the next in our list of must-see fights. Looking ahead to the night of June 27, the middleweights will be traveling to Chicago, specifically the Wintrust Arena, for the final card of the semifinals.

After the dust settled from the quarterfinal phase in Orlando earlier this spring, the semifinals of this tournament have some pretty intriguing matchups going on, including a contest between former Bellator MMA fighter Dalton Rosta (10-1 MMA) and Aaron Jeffery (16-5 MMA.) Both fighters emerged victorious from their opening-round fight April 18.

Rosta finished Sadibou Sy (17-9-2, 1 NC MMA) by way of second-round submission (D’arce choke) to advance to the semifinals, whereas Jeffery scored a split decision win over Murad Ramazanov (12-3, 1 NC MMA) after three rounds of action. This bout is a rematch of a contest that took place in Bellator MMA during 2023.

In the original fight from Sioux Falls, Aaron Jeffery dropped Dalton Rosta from the ranks of the unbeaten thanks to a unanimous decision on the main card that late summer Friday evening. Since then, Rosta has won two consecutive MMA fights. To a man, revenge will be on Dalton Rosta’s mind going into the second head-to-head meeting between the two in Chicago. Who advances to the final in August?

Must-See Summer Fights: Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier III- UFC 318 Main Event: BMF Championship: July 18, 2025

Saying good-bye is the toughest thing that people have to do in their lives. On July 18, Smoothie King Center in New Orleans will play host to the retirement fight for Dustin Poirier (30-9, 1 NC MMA, 22-8, 1 NC UFC) against Max Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) in the main attraction of UFC 318.

If the storyline of Poirier retiring after UFC 318 wasn’t intriguing enough, try these next two storylines on for size: That night’s main event is a trilogy bout and the symbolic BMF Championship will be at stake here, as well. The all-time series between Holloway and Poirier stands at 2-0 in favor of the latter.

Prior to this summer’s bout, Poirier stopped Holloway in the first meeting between them by way of triangle armbar during the UFC 143 featured prelim in the latter’s UFC promotional debut in February of 2012 from Mandalay Bay Events Center. Seven years later, “Diamond” went the distance with “Blessed”, scoring a unanimous decision on the scorecards (49-46, 49-46, 49-46.)

The final chapter of this trilogy will be a “home game” for Dustin Poirier, who will be fighting in New Orleans, a 135-mile drive from his hometown of Lafayette, LA. Will Poirier’s MMA story have a happy ending?