Two UFC events generated more Google searches than any others this year, and it’s not the pair most people would guess.
This weekend, the UFC wraps up its 2025 pay-per-view calendar with a return to Las Vegas. Merab Dvalishvili headlines once again, defending his bantamweight title for the fourth time this year.
For fans in the US, it might be the last pay-per-view card ever, as the UFC is set to move exclusively to Paramount+ in early 2026.
The year started with Islam Makhachev submitting Renato Moicano in January, and there have been plenty of memorable moments since then, from Miami to New York and beyond.
But according to Google’s ‘Year in Search’ report for 2025, two cards stood out as some of the most-searched sporting events of the year.
UFC event with second-most traffic on Google
According to Google Trends’ ‘Year in Search’, which compiles global search data between January 1 and November 27, UFC 308 came second only to UEFA Euro 2024 among all sporting events worldwide.
In fairness, that didn’t come as much of a surprise. Ciryl Gane was looking for a bit of revenge against Jon Jones after being submitted at UFC 285. That matchup made enough sense on its own after how things played out between them previously.
The highest-searched UFC event on Google
The one thing holding back that card was headliner Magomed Ankalaev’s lack of star power compared to previous headliners like Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor. While that may have held it back from making more headlines before fight night, fans know now that Ankalaev is very much worthy of being mentioned alongside those names in terms of skills inside the cage.
Dana White explains why ESPN aren’t unhappy about losing UFC TV rights
ESPN has always had an uneasy relationship with Dana White. Disney hasn’t tried too hard to hide its unhappiness about airing White’s Contender Series or reality shows like Fight Pass Invitational over recent years either.
The brand is believed by many within the industry – both inside MMA circles and out – to be moving towards an even more heavily family-friendly direction than where they are already pointed today.
The change will mark another step away from traditional cable TV distribution. Instead of tuning into fights on TNT, fans will need a streaming subscription just like they do for WWE under their current deal in place through April 2029.
Google’s most searched UFC events of 2025 were UFC 313 and UFC 311
When you look back over the UFC’s run of events in 2025, there are likely going to be a few PPV cards that particularly stand out.
Ilia Topuria knocking out Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 317 to win the vacant lightweight title instantly felt like an iconic moment.
Paddy Pimblett’s win over Michael Chandler at UFC 314 saw one of the promotion’s top stars pick up his biggest win, but neither of those events made it onto the list.
Instead, it was UFC 313 and UFC 311 that made the top ten, coming in at the ninth and tenth spots alongside events like the FIFA Club World Cup and the Ryder Cup.
Both events went through significant changes, with Arman Tsarukyan pulling out of the main event of UFC 311 and Dan Hooker withdrawing from the co-main event of UFC 313, which may have contributed to traffic.
Terence Crawford was Google’s most-searched athlete in 2025
While no UFC fighters broke into Google’s top ten most-searched athletes of 2025, two boxers did make the cut.
Terence Crawford’s victory over Canelo Alvarez in September propelled him to the top of the list, ahead of names like Rory McIlroy, Shedeur Sanders, and Jalen Hurts.
Manny Pacquiao, a long-time target for ‘Bud’, also appeared in the top ten, landing in sixth place.
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