Published On: Sat, Nov 1st, 2025

MMA Junkie's Fight of the Month for October: DWCS hopefuls get UFC contracts, bonuses

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

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

Nominee: Usman Nurmagomedov def. Paul Hughes at PFL Dubai

Much like the first meeting, the second one resulted in much discussion, debate, and even perhaps some controversy. The judges scored it for Usman Nurmagomedov (20-0) with scorecards of 50-45, 49-46, and 48-47 over Paul Hughes (14-3), giving him the vacant PFL lightweight title.

The fight was razor-thin, with many viewers and reporters online scoring the fight 48-47 for one fighter or the other. Nurmagomedov had a strong first round, as he utilized his grappling and overcame a hard Hughes knee. Fouls marred the fight with multiple low blows by Nurmagomedov. No points were deducted by referee Keith Peterson, however. Many viewers expressed their displeasure with the scoring – particularly the 50-45 shutout – on social media after the bout. However, a win is a win for Nurmagomedov in the record books.

Nominee: Jiri Prochazka def. Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 320

Former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka (32-5-1 MMA, 6-2 UFC) withstood two rounds of pressure from ex-title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. (14-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC) – then everything changed.

After struggling to find his rhythm, Prochazka turned on the jets and was relentless until he knocked out Rountree with a brutal left hand in the third. The finish came with less than two minutes left in the final frame, and Prochazka put himself in position to ask for a title shot in the near future.

Nominee: Marwan Rahiki def. Ananias Mulumba at DWCS 86

Marwan Rahiki and Anaias Mulumba went to war from the opening bell, and it was clear someone was likely to be finished. But until Rahiki (7-0) landed a knee-to-double-elbow-to-uppercut combination, it wasn’t clear it’d be Mulumba (9-3). The stoppage came at 2:12 of Round 2 of their featherweight bout.

Rahiki was a moderate betting favorite, but Mulumba nearly finished him in the opening seconds. Rahiki survived and rocked Mulumba, who then returned the favor. The craziness continued in the second round as Mulumba fended off a ninja choke attempt. But eventually Rahiki hit him with a crazy four-strike combination to snatch consciousness – and likely a UFC contract with it.

Nominee: Drew Dober def. Kyle Prepolec at UFC Fight Night 262

Drew Dober (28-15 MMA, 14-11 UFC) knew it was likely one round apiece, so he saw nothing but red once a point was deducted late in his lightweight bout with Kyle Prepolec (18-10 MMA, 0-4 UFC)

Dober finished Prepolec in a mad flurry of strikes for the TKO stoppage at 1:16 of Round 3. The finishing sequence occurred, in part, due to a foul by Dober. After Prepolec recovered from a nasty groin kick, referee John Cooper deducted a point from Dober. Upon the reset, Dober went balls-to-the-wall, bombing punches and knees at the retreating Prepolec. With not much defense from Prepolec, Cooper stopped the fight.

Nominee: Ludovit Klein def. Mateusz Rebecki at UFC 321

Ludovit Klein (24-5-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) and Mateusz Rebecki (20-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) put on one of the bloodiest fights in recent memory.

Klein did great work for 10 minutes, but in the third round, he said after the fight from a stool-based interview, he broke his ankle. That kept him unable to get up while Rebecki mounted a comeback – including a 10-8 round that got him a draw from one judge. But the other two judges scored the third a 10-9, and Klein took a majority decision.

The winner: Adrian Luna Martinetti def. Mark Vologdin at DWCS 85

Many are calling it a sure-thing “Fight of the Year” candidate. Some, including UFC CEO Dana White are calling it one of the best fights they’ve ever witnessed.

By all accounts, Adrian Luna Martinetti vs. Mark Vologdin was special.

Tuesday, the two UFC hopefuls both earned contracts – and unprecedented $ 25,000 bonuses – on Dana White’s Contender Series for their three-round war that was full of twists, turns, and excessive amounts of violence.

Martinetti (17-1) defeated Vologdin (12-4-1) by unanimous decision, but it was almost as if the bout didn’t have a loser. White stopped the card mid-show, grabbed the microphone, and announced the double-signing and bonuses.

Post-fight interviews be damned, both fighters were immediately transported to a local hospital for evaluation.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Fight of the Month for October 2025: DWCS hopefuls deliver thriller

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