MMAMania’s 2026 mid-year awards: Upset of the year

Welcome to MMAmania’s 2026 Mid-Year Awards!

Can you believe 2026 is already half done?

With six months of jaw-dropping action behind us, it’s time to celebrate the fighters, fights, and moments that have lit up the MMA world. From stunning upsets and bone-crunching knockouts to rising stars and masterful submissions, 2026 has delivered some good highlights.

Let’s dive into the biggest upset of the year so far.

UFC Freedom 250 — June 14, 2026

This was not the biggest upset of the year strictly in terms of betting odds.

But in terms of optics, stakes, shock value and historical importance, Justin Gaethje defeating Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250 is the clear pick.

Gaethje entered the fight as a +480 underdog, and plenty of people — myself included — thought he was going to get knocked out on the White House lawn in the biggest fight of his life.

Instead, “The Highlight” proved everyone wrong.

Topuria entered the fight as the undefeated Lightweight champion, a two-division titleholder and, in the eyes of many, the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He had just knocked out Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira in consecutive fights. He looked untouchable.

Then Gaethje did what Gaethje does.

He weathered the early storm, survived a brutal second round and then slowly broke Topuria down until the champion’s corner stopped the fight before the fifth round (watch highlights).

It was violent. It was dramatic. It was historic.

And best of all, Gaethje finally became an undisputed UFC Lightweight champion after years of being one of the most beloved action fighters in the sport.

So, no, it was not the biggest betting upset money-wise, but it was absolutely the biggest upset moment of 2026 so far.

Here are a few honorable mentions:

Sean Strickland defied the odds and became a two-time UFC Middleweight champion by defeating Khamzat Chimaev and taking his undefeated record at UFC 328.

Strickland entered as a +330 underdog and was expected by many to get mauled like basically everyone else Chimaev had fought.

That did not happen.

Chimaev controlled Strickland in the first round, but after that, the fight turned into a four-round striking battle. And once it got there, Strickland did what he does best: pressure, jab, defend and make things ugly (watch highlights).

It was not the wildest fight, but it was a massive result.

Strickland shocked the world again as a big underdog.

The biggest betting upset of 2026 so far belongs to Kevin Borjas vs. Andre Lima.

Lima closed as a massive -770 favorite, while Borjas came back as a +600 underdog. That is absurd.

But Borjas did not fight like an underdog.

He ended up winning a clear unanimous decision over Lima, who was viewed as one of the best unranked Flyweights in the world and had looked dominant during his UFC run.

It was a pretty wild upset, to be honest.

Another massive upset took place at UFC Vegas 115 when Tresean Gore strangled Azamat Bekoev unconscious as a +550 underdog (watch highlights). On some sportsbooks, Bekoev was as high as a -800 favorite.

And on top of it being a massive upset, it was an awesome fight that got robbed of “Fight of the Night.”

Gore entered on a two-fight losing streak and desperately needed a win. Instead of just surviving, he looked better than he ever has inside the Octagon and delivered one of the best performances of his UFC career.

Because of the win, Gore is now booked to fight Vicente Luque at UFC 330.

At UFC Vegas 116, UFC Flyweight Cody Durden was riding a four-fight losing streak when he stepped in on short notice against Brazil’s Jafel Filho.

On paper, he was brought in to lose.

Durden was a +475 underdog, while Filho was a massive -700 favorite. Instead, Durden pulled off the upset and snapped his skid when he needed it most.

And because of that win, Durden now finds himself on the upcoming mega UFC 329 summer card.

As an underdog again, of course.

This time, he takes on Alessandro Costa.

Are any of these upsets the biggest of the year? Let us know below!

To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click MMAMania’s 2026 mid-year awards: Upset of.