Result: Danylo Voievodkin def. Bailey Schoenfelder via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:13

Danylo Voievodkin showed that self-belief is a powerful tool when he earned a UFC contract in 73 seconds as a heavy underdog. The Ukrainian heavyweight swiftly clubbed and subbed previously-undefeated Bailey Schoenfelder, much to the approval of a cageside Dana White.

Result: Yuneisy Duben def. Shannon Clark via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:13

Yuneisy Duben registers at No. 9 on the 2024 betting upsets list, but perhaps even higher on the “holy sh*t” moment list. Not only did she defeat an LFA champion in Shannon Clark, she notched one of the most shocking and destructive knockouts in Dana White’s Contender Series history.

Result: Ovince Saint Preux def. Kennedy Nzechukwu via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Ovince Saint Preux vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu surprised a lot of people in a lot of ways. Not only did the heavy favorite Saint Preux win, the fight was an absolute banger – perhaps one of the most underrated of the year.

Since the moment he appeared on the international combat sports scene, Rueg Reug turned heads. But he showed he’s much more than just a physical specimen when he became ONE champion with a five-round decision win over Anatoly Malykhin, albeit a controversial one.

Result: Reug Reug def. Anatoly Malykhin via split decision

Result: Claudio Pacella def. Mark Ewen via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

It was a big year for Italy when it came to MMA upsets. Claudio Pacella proved the so-called experts wrong when he became the first man to defeat Scotland’s Mark Ewen by unanimous decision.

Result: Reece McLaren def. Jarred Brooks via split decision

The fifth-biggest MMA upset in 2024 came with just days left in the calendar year when ONE vet Reece McLaren defeated former UFC fighter Jarred Brooks by split decision. McLaren has now won four of his most recent five fights and enters 2025 with a head full of steam.

Result: Aiemann Zahabi def. Javid Basharat via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Call him a late bloomer, but it doesn’t matter. Aiemann Zahabi became a rising contender in 2024. The first leg of a two-win calendar year for the Canadian came at the UFC Apex. Zahabi extended his winning streak to four against Javid Basharat in March, then further extended it to five against Pedro Munhoz in November.

Result: Gabriella Fernandes def. Wang Cong via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:49

The UFC’s biggest upset of 2024 places at No. 3 overall. All of the hype was behind Wang Cong entering the promotion’s November return to Macau. Cong had the looks and the buzz, but she did not have the ability to beat Gabriella Fernandes that day. Fernandes refused to play the B-side role and instead became a spoiler and submitted Cong in Round 2.

Result: Daniele Miceli def. Ibrahima Mane via TKO (ground-and-pound) – Round 1, 1:26

Italy’s Daniel Miceli pulled off the second-biggest upset of 2024 in a matter of 86 seconds when he finished France’s Ibrahima Mane – in Paris. The win projected Miceli into the 2024 PFL Europe welterweight final, where he was submitted by Albania’s Florim Zendeli in Round 1.

Result: Dimitre Ivy def. Lucas Brennan via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

The biggest betting upset in major promotional MMA took place in the second PFL fight of the season. On the prelims at 2024 PFL 1, Dimitre Ivy shocked the books when he defeated highly-touted Bellator import Lucas Brennan by unanimous decision. The bout was Brennan’s last under the PFL/Bellator umbrella.