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2024 has been another excellent year for the UFC. A number of new champions have been crowned and, as always, some fighters have climbed the ladder into contention.
2024 has also seen some new breakout stars in the UFC, some of whom have gone from being relative unknowns to genuine contenders in their divisions. Whether these fighters continue to find success in 2025, only time will tell, but for now, they've been positioned nicely.
Here are the five best breakout UFC stars of 2024.
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#5. Kayla Harrison - UFC bantamweight contender
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It's arguable that the fighter on this list who is closest to a title shot going into 2025 is Kayla Harrison.
Realistically, the only reason that the Olympic gold medalist isn't higher on this list is the fact that she isn't a breakout star per say, as she already had a big profile coming into the UFC from the PFL.
However, few fans could've predicted how good Harrison would look in the octagon.
Dropping to 135 pounds for the first time in her career, many observers expected her to struggle. Instead, she absolutely destroyed former champion Holly Holm in her debut, finishing her off with a rear-naked choke in the second round.
Many expected that to be enough to net Harrison a title shot. Instead, the shot went to Julianna Pena, while the Olympian instead dominated Ketlen Vieira to take her octagon record to 2-0.
Coming into 2025, it very much feels like Harrison is the uncrowned champion of the 135-pound division. If nothing else, she's breathed new life into a tired weight class. We can expect her to fight for the crown early next year, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see her win, too.
#4. Payton Talbott - UFC bantamweight contender
He might have only fought twice in 2024, but it's fair to say that bantamweight prospect Payton Talbott has made his mark this year.
Talbott came into the promotion following a successful appearance on Dana White's Contender Series in 2023, and his lone octagon win in 2023 garnered him a reputation as a prospect to watch.
This year, though, he's turned the heat up even more, scoring two wins via knockout and claiming a $50k bonus for each.
His first win saw him dispatch fellow prospect Cameron Saaiman in the second round with a beautiful counterpunch. More recently, Talbott needed just 19 seconds to take out Yanis Ghemmouri with a flurry.
The 26-year old's style and rapid rise have garnered him comparisons to former bantamweight champ Sean O'Malley, and it appears that the UFC brass are equally impressed with him.
Given what he's done so far, it seems likely that Talbott will continue his rise into 2025, and probably crack the top 15 quickly.
#3. Sharabutdin Magomedov - UFC middleweight contender
Middleweight prospect Sharaputdin Magomedov arrived in the UFC in 2023 and already had a heavy reputation as a dangerous and flashy striker. However, while 'Bullet' won his octagon debut over Bruno Silva, he didn't look all that great overall.
The Dagestani took eight months off following that win, though, and since returning in June, he's lived up to all the hype and has broken through as a real star to watch going into 2025.
Firstly, he dispatched Antonio Trocoli in an impressive showing in Riyadh. Just two months later, he outpointed veteran Michal Oleksiejczuk, cracking the top 15 at 185 pounds in the process.
More recently, he stole the show in Abu Dhabi when he knocked out Armen Petrosyan with a double spinning backfist at UFC 308, claiming his third bonus award of the year.
Overall, Magomedov has quickly gone from a prospect with a big reputation to a genuine contender at 185 pounds, making him one of the year's best breakout stars.
#2. Carlos Prates - UFC welterweight contender
If the definition of breakout star is a fighter who goes from relative obscurity to near the top of their division in the UFC, then Carlos Prates definitely belongs high on this list.
'The Nightmare' earned a contract with the promotion in late 2023, knocking out his foe on Dana White's Contender Series. Since then, he's reeled off four wins in the octagon, remarkably earning four bonus awards in the process.
More importantly, Prates has not been fighting mugs. The Brazilian first dispatched Trevin Giles and Charles Radtke, and while neither is ranked, they are both talented and dangerous fighters.
Since then, though, he's used his brutal striking power to dispatch both Li Jingliang and Neil Magny, cracking into the top 15 at 170 pounds in the process.
There's so much we don't know about 'The Nightmare', as we have yet to see him on the ground or in a longer fight. However, the kind of striking power he brings to the table makes him a genuine threat to any fighter.
Therefore, it would not be a surprise to see him break out further in 2025, becoming a title contender in the process.
#1. Diego Lopes - UFC featherweight contender
While he only won three fights to Carlos Prates' four in 2024 and only finished one of his foes, there can be little doubt that the year's biggest breakout star has been Diego Lopes.
The Mexico-based Brazilian continued where he left off in 2023, when he won two bouts and pushed Movsar Evloev to the limit.
This year has seen him win three more fights, breaking into title contention at 145 pounds. Realistically, there's every chance that he makes sense as the next logical challenger for Ilia Topuria, a remarkable feat given nobody had heard of him less than two years ago.
Lopes' year began with a brutal knockout of dangerous contender Sodiq Yusuff. He followed that with an entertaining decision win over late replacement Dan Ige, but the best was yet to come.
September's UFC 306 saw him dispatch former title challenger Brian Ortega in a three-round thriller, as he dropped him and had him badly hurt on numerous occasions. Realistically, most fighters would've been finished.
Simply put, we don't yet know the ceiling for Lopes, and so it wouldn't be a true shock to see him end up with gold around his waist at the end of 2025. He is without a doubt the biggest breakout star of 2024.
