Published On: Mon, Dec 1st, 2025

MMA Junkie's Fight of the Month for November: Ethyn Ewing's epic debut

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from November 2025: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for November.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.

Nominee: Timmy Cuamba def. ChangHo Lee at UFC Fight Night 263

Timmy Cuamba and ChangHo Lee delivered a complete MMA fight in their bantamweight matchup, combining for 38 significant strikes landed, five takedowns and more than 11 minutes of control time.

It might have not been the thrilling bloodbath of most bouts that end on this list, but the pace of the bantamweights delivered entertainment. Cuamba (10-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) ultimately came out with the unanimous decision over Lee (11-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who lost in the octagon for the first time.

Nominee: Raoni Barcelos def. Ricky Simon at UFC Fight Night 264

38-year-old Raoni Barcelos showed he’s still a threat at bantamweight when went tit-for-tat with longtime contender Ricky Simon and came out on the triumphant end.

Barcelos (21-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) put his game together against Simon (22-7 MMA, 10-6 UFC) both on the feet and ground. It was a competitive contest, but the Brazilian was slightly ahead of for two of three rounds and got the nod on the scorecards.

Nominee: Kyoji Horiguchi def. Tagir Ulanbekov at UFC Fight Night 265

After more than nine years between UFC stints, former Bellator and RIZIN champ Kyoji Horiguchi showed he’s elite in his return to the octagon when he ended Tagir Ulanbekov’s winning streak.

Horiguchi (35-5 MMA, 8-1 UFC) was given a hard against the streaking Team Khabib product Ulanbekov (18-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC, but rose to an incredible level of talent when he hurt his opponent with strikes then sealed the deal with a rear-naked choke in the third frame.

The winner: Ethyn Ewing def. Malcolm Wellmaker at UFC 322

Ethyn Ewing’s octagon debut was the stuff of dreams. He stepped in as a fight week replacement on roughly 60 hours of notice time, flew across the U.S. then showed up to upset Malcolm Wellmaker.

Wellmaker (10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) was a massive favorite and regarded as one of the top rising names in the bantamweight division. Ewing (9-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) failed to get the notice, however, and put on an inspiring performance over the course of three rounds to claim a unanimous decision.

Ewing showed no respect to Wellmaker and stayed consistent with his pressure and output over the course of 15 minutes. A bloodied Wellmaker stood his ground and tried to win, but Ewing was not to be denied his fairytale moment.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Fight of the Month for November 2025: Ethyn Ewing’s epic debut

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