Setting the UFC’s Thanksgiving table: Which fighters best embody our favorite Thanksgiving foods?

For those of us in the United States, today is one of our most beloved holidays, Thanksgiving, a day where we come together with friends and family to celebrate all that we’re grateful for (also, football). And how do we do this? By eating a preposterous amount of food.

The centerpiece of any Thanksgiving celebration is the dinner. A Thanksgiving celebrant piles their plate high with all manner of food (primarily carbs): turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberries, and more. Each plate a teetering monument to all our blessings, and no plate is complete without a little bit of everything.

Which got me thinking, a Thanksgiving dinner table is not unlike the MMA world, writ large; there’s a big, showy centerpiece, beloved sides, important role players, and fabulous desserts. So, in 2025, who makes up all the constituent pieces of an MMA Thanksgiving plate? I have some ideas.

The Turkey – Ilia Topuria

The centerpiece of any Thanksgiving table is the turkey, so much so that the bird has become synonymous with the holiday. But the ironic thing about the noble turkey is that, despite being the show pony of the event, virtually no one believes it’s the best. Yes, it can be very good, and it’s certainly the thing people will talk about the most — “Deep-fried or roasted?” “Wow, it’s not dry at all!” “You know, my family often does a turducken,” — and without it, the table would look empty, but in the end, no one is choosing it as the highlight of the meal.

And that’s Ilia Topuria in 2025. From the very start of the year, the MMA world has talked endlessly about “El Matador,” from the possible fight with Islam Makhachev, to his ill-fated nickname change (and reversal) to “La Layenda,” to his move up to lightweight and title win over Charles Oliveira, back to a possible Makhachev fight and who he’s fighting next, no fighter has dominated 2025’s conversation more than Topuria. But for all the talk, Topuria is not even in the top 10 fighters of the year, because the only action he had was the one — admittedly sensational — win over Oliveira.

Topuria is a very good turkey: highly enjoyable, but more about his presence than what he actually brings to the table.

Mashed Potatoes – Alex Pereira

You know who is elevating the table? Alex Pereira.

I polled many people before writing this, and while everyone has a favorite dish, it’s clear that, overall, mashed potatoes are the most beloved. Who doesn’t love mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving? Anarchists, probably. Personally, mashed potatoes are my favorite side, and the true star of Thanksgiving. But also, sometimes they aren’t right. Sometimes, they have some lumps. But even when they aren’t their best, they’re still good, and everybody loves them.

That’s Alex Pereira. Sure, he took some lumps against Magomed Ankalaev in March, but then he got back in the Kitchen Aid mixer and whipped all those out, mowing down Ankalaev in their rematch at UFC 320, and setting up a fight with Jon Jones in the most respectable way possible, something everyone loved.

Like mashed potatoes, “Poatan” is the people’s champ.

Sweet Potatoes/Yams – Jiri Prochazka

The flashier, more volatile cousin of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes bring a dynamic, almost chaotic energy to the Thanksgiving table. With marshmallows or without? With nuts? Mashed or not? Wait, why are we eating something this sweet during the meal? Don’t we have pie for dessert? With sweet potatoes, you don’t ask how or why; you just enjoy them. Are they as good as mashed potatoes? Definitely not. But are they also more enjoyable? In some ways.

That’s Jiri Prochazka. We know he’s not better than Alex Pereira, and yet, his chaotic joie de vivre can also make him more fun. Sometimes he misses the mark, and wow, is it bad, but when he’s good, boy howdy is he great. Just ask Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr.

Dressing/Stuffing – Merab Dvalishvili and Alexandre Pantoja

Dressing/stuffing is the workhorse of the Thanksgiving table. Is the the flashiest? No (though sometimes you can get a little saucy with what you put in it), but it’s an integral part of any Thanksgiving dinner, and it’s generally well-liked.

That’s Merab Dvalishvili and Alexandre Pantoja for you. Between them, the two have five title fights since last Thanksgiving, primarily in supporting roles. Both men are universally respected, and, perhaps most importantly, both men recognize the value they bring as themselves. Both Dvalishvili and Pantoja have repeatedly said they’re not interested in champ-champ fights, but in building a legacy in their divisions. That’s rare and refreshing in today’s MMA.

And the difference between dressing and stuffing is much like the difference between these two: dressing is cooked outside the turkey, and stuffing is cooked inside the turkey. Both are good, but stuffing has a little more flavor than dressing, just like Pantoja does over Dvalishvili.

Brussels Sprouts/Green Bean Casserole/Vegetables — Valentina Shevchenko

The thing about Thanksgiving is that it’s a bunch of carbs. Potatoes on top of potatoes, with rolls, and pie, and everything else. You need something green to break it all up, and that’s where the Brussels sprouts/green bean casserole comes in. Is it anyone’s favorite dish? Actually, yes. There’s a small but vocal minority who live for this. But most people accept it as a very good and necessary component to the meal, that nonetheless underwhelms.

Is there a more fitting description of arguable WMMA GOAT Valentina Shevchenko? She is the leafy greens of MMA: very good and admirable, but someone only the most ardent of fans would argue is something you’re looking forward to.

Mac & Cheese — Ian Machado Garry

I’m not going to lie to you, I never had mac and cheese at Thanksgiving growing up. It simply wasn’t part of our table. I know many do, especially in the South, but for me, mac and cheese was a dinner on Tuesday, not something I wanted as part of the grand feast.

That being said, mac and cheese is really good. A tray of homemade mac and cheese from someone who knows what they’re doing is exceptional; however, it can be a problem when someone doesn’t know what they’re doing. Mac and cheese is a dish for the people, and if your second cousin rolls up to Thanksgiving with a tray of 12-cheese macaroni made with raw goat milk and gluten-free macaroni, it’s probably going to piss you off because it’s WAY too much.

That’s Ian Machado Garry. He’s really good, but people would like him a lot more if he didn’t try so hard.

Cranberry Sauce — Tom Aspinall

Of all the items on a Thanksgiving table, cranberry sauce is the most controversial. It feels like very few people are indifferent to the table’s only fruit, with people either loving or hating it.

Well, this year, that seems to apply best to heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. Even before 2025 started, fans were starting to draw lines in the sand when it came to Aspinall, as he continued to push for the fight with Jon Jones that never came. And that may all have blown over, but for UFC 321.

Because Aspinall did not beat Ciryl Gane quicker than Jon Jones did (a ludicrous standard that has no bearing on anything) fans were going to have unflattering thoughts about him regardless, but the fact that he struggled early against Gane, and then was unable to continue after being illegally poked in the eyes, well, that was it. A huge portion of the MMA fanbase, fellow fighters included, turned on Aspinall, calling him a coward, a liar, and everything in between.

But as with cranberry sauce, those with elevated tastes know the truth: Aspinall did nothing wrong, and the acidity of the cranberries is deeply necessary to add brightness to the heavy, salty, and sweet Thanksgiving meal.

Pumpkin, Pecan, and Apple Pie — Waldo Cortes-Acosta, Reinier de Ridder, Carlos Prates

Look, we all know that mashed potatoes are the best part of Thanksgiving dinner, but the best part of Thanksgiving is the dessert, which means pie. Pie is the beautiful coda to the whole Thanksgiving feast: something deliciously enjoyable that you can go back for seconds and thirds of; perhaps not the best, or best thing for you, but darn it, that’s wonderful.

Now, I understand that not everyone rocks the same pies for their Thanksgivings; people like sweet potato pie, and shoofly pie, and custard pie, cherry pie, but, to me, there are three staple pies that no Thanksgiving would be complete without: pumpkin, pecan, and apple pie.

Pumpkin pie is the classic Thanksgiving dessert, something you rarely eat outside of the holiday (unless you’re Mel Kiper Jr.), and something you probably underrate, until you have a slice and suddenly want to eat the whole thing. That’s Waldo Cortes-Acosta, who fought five times this year, won four of those, and scored three knockouts. WCA is not the best thing, and not even the best pie, but he’s better than you remember, and he’s ended the year in style.

Pecan pie is the maverick of the group — beloved by some, misunderstood by others, sweet and delicious, but something you absolutely can eat too much of and end up sick. That’s Reinier de Ridder. In the same way people thought, “Could we make a pie out of a few pecans and 10 pounds? Yes, yes, we can!” that’s how RDR became a fighter. “Can I beat people up with just a few knees to the body and a grappling game? Sure can!” And like pecan pie, RDR was delightful, and he had one piece too many and ended up sick.

Apple pie is the anchor, the foundation. Even when it’s bad, it’s good. No one dislikes apple pie. That’s Carlos Prates, the most violent of the Fighting Nerds, put on this Earth to rip cigarettes and earn Performance bonuses, and even when he loses, as he did against Mac and Cheese, it’s still fun.

There you have it, MMA in the year 2025 as told via Thanksgiving food analogies. Did I leave out some things? Of course. I couldn’t do every side dish, or this would’ve been a small novel. But I hit on the big ones and, if I left your favorite dish off, feel free to chastise me in the comments and tell me which fighter would be it.

Anyway, thank you for indulging me, and Happy Thanksgiving!