There are thousands of MMA fights a year, but only one can win the Fight of the Year award. Yet, despite the praise and honor, Daniel Zellhuber is not fully content with that achievement.

Zellhuber won MMA Junkie's 2024 Fight of the Year – and won it across many other publications, too – for his war against Argentina's Esteban Ribovics in the main card of last year's Noche UFC (UFC 306) at the Sphere in Las Vegas. It was 15 minutes of non-stop striking, with both fighters badly rocking each other multiple times throughout the fight. In the end, Ribovics ended up winning a split decision. The two lightweight prospects took a $50,000 bonus each for Fight of the Night.

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"It's a bag of mixed feelings," Zellhuber told Hablemos MMA in Spanish, reflecting on his award ahead of his return. "In a way, of course, I'm happy and proud – up to a certain point – to be able to say at just 25 years old, I already have a Fight of the Year and under the best promotion in MMA. It's crazy to think that Esteban and I, out of all 700 and something fights that were in 2024, we were the best.

Zellhuber (15-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) makes his first appearance since the war against Ribovics this Saturday at UFC 318 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) from Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. He takes on veteran Michael Johnson (23-19 MMA, 15-15 UFC) in the main card opener.

The other side of that "bag of mixed feelings" for his 2024 Fight of the Year is obviously the fact that he fell short and saw a three-fight winning streak come to an end. The 25-year-old doesn't think he fought to his full capabilities, and that eats at him to this day.

"However, then comes the competitive part," Zellhuber said. "I know I had a mediocre performance. I know I didn't do what I'm capable of doing due to a million excuses I could explain to you here, which I won't do because that's not who I am or the values that I have. I know I could've done it better. My intention now is to go out there this Saturday and knock out Michael Johnson like I know I can, and then look for that rematch at some point. Or, if not, I'd like to fight Nasrat Haqparast, who recently beat Esteban in another great fight. And yeah, just keep growing.

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"I've turned the page. I've learned from my mistakes. It's weird. I feel like any other fighter would be OK with what you just said. Yes, I have a Fight of the Year in UFC, and many people in the UFC have even told me that that fight could one day enter the UFC Hall of Fame because of what it represented, being in Noche UFC, the Sphere, and even with all that, I'm not happy. And that's because I lost. It's like a consolation prize. That's not how I work. All I can do now is get back in the win column with this fight and continue to grow."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Daniel Zellhuber on 2024 Fight of the Year vs. Esteban Ribovics