Gaethje represents MMA at 2026 ESPYs as ESPN merges Best Fighter category
The Highlight is the only mixed martial artist on a four-name Best Fighter ballot after ESPN folded its previously separate MMA and boxing awards into a single category for 2026.
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Justin Gaethje is the only mixed martial artist nominated for the 2026 ESPY for Best Fighter, an award ESPN has reshaped by merging its previously separate Best MMA Fighter and Best Boxer categories into a single ballot for the first time since 2019. The other three names on the shortlist all come from boxing: Terence Crawford, Gabriela Fundora, and Claressa Shields. The ceremony airs live on ABC on Wednesday, July 15 from the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City, hosted by SNL cast member Marcello Hernández.
For Gaethje (28-5), the nomination caps a 12-month run that would be hard to script. In January, he became the first fighter in UFC history to win the interim lightweight title twice, taking the belt by unanimous decision over Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324 on January 24. He had previously held interim lightweight gold in May 2020 after stopping Tony Ferguson at UFC 249. Five months after the Pimblett win, on June 14, Gaethje stopped Ilia Topuria by fourth-round TKO at UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House to unify the lightweight division. The Topuria stoppage came against a six-to-one favourite, ended a 17-fight unbeaten run for the Spaniard, and was tagged by ESPN inside the hour as a frontrunner for fight of the year. That is the resume ESPN’s voters were looking at when they trimmed the field to four. The award covers the eligibility period from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.
The category change itself is the quieter story. Starting in 2019, the ESPYs ran parallel awards for MMA and boxing, guaranteeing each sport at least one trophy and one televised mention. Daniel Cormier, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Jon Jones, Sean O’Malley, and Merab Dvalishvili (the 2025 winner, beating Dricus du Plessis, Islam Makhachev, and Kayla Harrison) all collected the MMA version of the award across that seven-year window. For 2026, the categories have been collapsed into one Best Fighter award. Combat sports now compete for a single televised slot, with the genres judged side by side on a unified ballot.
Gaethje being the lone MMA name on a four-person ballot is, depending on how you read it, either a strong showing or a warning shot about how the new format will treat the sport in years where the calendar produces fewer marquee moments. None of the other UFC, PFL, or independent MMA fighters cracked the Best Fighter shortlist this cycle. That includes the women’s divisions and the heavier weight classes, both of which saw title changes inside the eligibility window without producing a nominee.
The boxing trio Gaethje is up against is not a soft draw, but each name carries its own asterisk for voters. Terence Crawford defeated Canelo Alvarez last September to become the first male boxer in the four-belt era to hold undisputed championships in three weight divisions. He has not fought since and has publicly retired, which means the ESPY would close out an active resume rather than recognise a fighter currently in the mix. Gabriela Fundora holds world titles at flyweight and carries the kind of crossover footprint ESPY voters tend to reward. Claressa Shields, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and the most decorated active female boxer in the sport, has been an ESPY conversation fixture for years.
Gaethje’s case rests on volume and stakes: two interim title wins inside 12 months, a unification, a finish over a fighter walking in as one of the pound-for-pound favourites, and an active reign at 155 pounds heading into the ceremony. Crawford’s case rests on a single career-defining win that closed out his career. Shields and Fundora rest on body of work. Whether that translates with a voting body that historically leans toward boxing’s biggest names is the open question heading into July 15.
The wider ESPY ballot reflects a busy 2025-26 sports year. Jalen Brunson, fresh off leading the New York Knicks to their first NBA championship in 53 years, is nominated for Best Athlete in men’s sports alongside Lionel Messi and Shohei Ohtani. Caleb Williams’ game-tying touchdown against the Rams sits in Best Play. Camp Mystic rescuer Scott Ruskan will receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service, Jason Collins will be honoured posthumously with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, and Jim Abbott will receive the Jimmy V Award. The 2026 ceremony also introduces three new social categories (Best Tunnel Fit, Best Celebration, and Best Sports Card), with nominees in those categories to be announced in the coming weeks.
Gaethje has not publicly addressed the nomination at the time of writing. His next fight has not been announced. Topuria’s manager has indicated the former champion could return as soon as December after recovering from two broken orbital bones suffered at Freedom 250, which would set up a potential rematch window in the back half of 2026. Nothing on that is booked.
The broadcast is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on ABC, with ESPN platforms carrying the surrounding coverage. Fan voting is open through July 15 at ESPYS.com.
Whether MMA’s representation at the ESPYs holds at one nominee in 2027 will depend on what the rest of this calendar year produces. For now, Gaethje is carrying the flag on his own.