5 best UFC fights to look forward to in June 2025 feat Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira
With less than a week left in May, it's time to look forward to June in the UFC. The promotion has four events on tap next month, including two major pay-per-views.
June 2025 is set to be a huge month for the UFC, as a number of titles will be on the line, and new contenders could also rise up in other divisions too.
With plenty to look forward to, then, this could be the best month of the year thus far.
Here are the five best UFC fights to look forward to in June 2025.
#5. Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France - UFC 317
With both Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev recently vacating their titles, it's arguable that the most dominant champion in the UFC is flyweight kingpin Alexandre Pantoja.
'The Cannibal' has held his title since July 2023, and has already made three successful defenses, beating Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg and Kai Asakura.
Pantoja has proven that he can go through absolute five-round wars, but is also a consummate finisher, needing just over a round to submit Asakura in December.
June will see him attempt to make his fourth successful defense, as he takes on the resurgent Kai Kara-France, one of the few top 125-pounders he hasn't faced before.
'Don't Blink' is an interesting choice for a top contender, as his only win in recent years came over Erceg last August.
He is, though, the only man in the UFC to beat Askar Askarov - the last fighter to beat Pantoja - and wields nasty power in his hands. He's also very quick, although it's fair to argue he doesn't have anything 'The Cannibal' hasn't seen before.
Overall, this ought to be a routine defense for Pantoja, but as with any title bout, there's plenty of jeopardy.
More to the point, the Brazilian has been one of the most exciting fighters in the entire promotion to watch recently, making this one a must-see scrap next month.
#4. Kamaru Usman vs. Joaquin Buckley - UFC on ESPN 69
June 14 will see the UFC head to Atlanta, Georgia for a Fight Night event, and the headliner is easily one of the best fights booked for the month.
It will see former welterweight champion and all-time great Kamaru Usman return to 170 pounds for the first time since early 2023 to take on surging contender Joaquin Buckley.
To say the stakes are high for this one would be an understatement. A win for Buckley would propel him right into the title picture at 170 pounds alongside the likes of Sean Brady and Shavkat Rakhmonov.
A win for Usman, meanwhile, would ensure that 'The Nigerian Nightmare' would remain relevant, and could even see him move back into title contention. A loss, on the other hand, could mark the end of his career at the top level.
Buckley is an interesting case as 'New Mansa' has already beaten two of Usman's contemporaries in his last two fights in Stephen Thompson and Colby Covington. However, we still don't really know how well he'll do against a powerful wrestler, as Covington looked too rusty to really get anything going in that fight.
Could Usman be just as rusty? It's definitely possible, as he hasn't fought in nearly two years, but at his best, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' was a force of nature.
Either way, one man will rise into true contention in the welterweight division when this fight is over, making it one of June's most intriguing.
#3. Julianna Pena vs. Kayla Harrison - UFC 316
It feels like a long time since the UFC produced a really big fight in any of their female divisions, but that will change next month.
In the co-headliner of UFC 316, Julianna Pena will defend her bantamweight title against former PFL champ Kayla Harrison in what should be a tremendous fight.
Fans had clamored to see Harrison - a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo - in the octagon for years following her dominant run in the PFL.
That finally came to fruition last year, as she wrecked Holly Holm and Ketlen Vieira to seemingly cement herself as a future titleholder.
In the form of Pena, though, she'll be up against a champion well used to upsetting the odds. 'The Venezuelan Vixen' famously signed off on 2021 by submitting the legendary Amanda Nunes, shocking the world to take her title.
Whether she can handle the insane physicality of Harrison remains to be seen, though, even if she'll enjoy a big advantage in terms of experience.
With both of these women willing to talk a good game, too, we can expect a lot of hype around this fight as it gets closer. It's absolutely one of the best to look forward to in June.
#2. Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley - UFC 316
UFC 316, which goes down in Newark, New Jersey on June 7, is set to be headlined by a bantamweight title bout between champ Merab Dvalishvili and former titleholder Sean O'Malley.
On one hand, this fight shouldn't be all that intriguing. Dvalishvili beat O'Malley relatively comfortably last year to claim the title, and since then, 'Sugar' has not fought. It's arguable that he hasn't earned this rematch.
On the other hand, though, O'Malley remains one of the promotion's most recognizable and bankable stars. He's also made a habit of proving his doubters wrong, most notably when he knocked out Aljamain Sterling to win the bantamweight title in 2023.
To add to this, Dvalishvili did appear to be tiring towards the end of their first fight, and O'Malley has had plenty of time to prepare a fresh gameplan for another crack at 'The Machine'.
Given that any O'Malley fight at this stage feels like a big deal, this one is absolutely no different. If Dvalishvili can beat him again, then he'll have shown himself to be a dominant champion.
If O'Malley can regain his crown, though, 'The Sugar Show' will roll on again - and arguably, the UFC will be better for it.
#1. Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira - UFC 317
The UFC took their time announcing a headliner for their International Fight Week event, but it's fair to say that in the end, they nailed it.
That's because there's no doubt that the biggest fight on tap for June is the clash for the now-vacant lightweight title, pitting Ilia Topuria against Charles Oliveira.
Sure, the bigger fight would've seen Islam Makhachev defending against Topuria, but with Makhachev now moving up to 170 pounds, this is probably the next best thing.
Thus far into his tenure with the promotion, Topuria has been perfect. Not only is 'El Matador' unbeaten at 16-0, but his last two fights have seen him destroy two of the consensus best featherweights of all time in Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski.
A win here would not only make Topuria the UFC's latest double champion. It'd also turn him into a living legend of sorts, and would almost certainly establish him as one of the promotion's top stars.
However, Oliveira will absolutely have something to say about that. 'Do Bronx' is a former lightweight champ in his own right, holding wins over the likes of Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler and Justin Gaethje.
With 20 stoppages to his name - including 16 via submission - he's the most lethal finisher in octagon history. Topuria has never faced a grappler on his level before.
Quite who will come out on top in this fight is hard to say, but it could absolutely prove to be a classic bout. Without a doubt, it's a worthy headliner for International Fight Week and is the best fight on tap for June.