2024 started with Dricus Du Plessis taking the middleweight title from Sean Strickland. Then it was Ilia Topuria who ended Alexander Volkanovski‘s rule in the featherweight division. And then, a few months later, Merab Dvalishvili defeated Sean O’Malley and snatched away the title. Meanwhile, the other champions maintained their stance and continued to rule their respective divisions. So, what does 2025 hold for the fighting community? Join us as we traverse through the past and predict the future of the UFC champions.

1. Flyweight champion – Alexandre Pantoja

Pantoja has been dominating the Octagon ever since he lost the bout against Askar Askarov back in 2020. The Brazilian champion established his reign by going through 3 successful title defenses and a 7-fight win streak. Even fighters like Brandon Moreno, Brandon Rovyal, and Kai Asakura couldn’t defeat the flyweight champion. 

Come 2025, Alexandre Pantoja would face one of the top 5 fighters in the rankings. Following his victory over Tatsuro Taira, Royval has been itching for a fight against the champion, and fight a trilogy. Even Moreno is in the same boat. However, Pantoja has already proven himself against the two of them. On top of that, he has a habit of preparing for his fights with a fresh mindset. This allows ‘The Cannibal’ to expand his skillset and get even stronger. 

While the flyweight division lacks some strong competition for Pantoja, there are two ways by which he might lose his belt. One of them would be to fight in the bantamweight division and settle the score with Sean O’Malley. However, the Brazilian ruled out the possibility of vacating his flyweight title and moving to the upper weight class. Secondly, he called out Demetrious Johnson following his 2nd round submission win at UFC 310. This might be the only fight in which Pantoja would face defeat. But the ‘Mighty Mouse’, being 38 years old, has already retired and announced that he was most likely not coming back. But who knows for sure? So, we can expect ‘The Cannibal’ to remain on the throne in 2025.

But what about the bantamweight division? Noche UFC 306 witnessed a shift in power. Let’s see if that power would shift in the new year.

2. Bantamweight champion – Umar Nurmagomedov

After Merab Dvalishvili secured a unanimous decision win over ‘Suga’, he was destined to fight Umar Nurmagomedov for the title. He has yet to face defeat as a professional mixed martial artist. And the cherry on top is the 18-fight win streak. On the other hand, ‘The Machine’, although has a pretty strong grappling game, it’s nowhere near the strength that the Dagestani fighters carry.

Even Khabib Nurmagomedov weighed in on the matchup and said, “I think when he [Merab] was beginning his career, he was acting good. When he became champion, he could not deal with this. Umar is here not because he is my cousin. He’s here because he’s 18-0 and 6-0 in the UFC. On January 18, he will show why Merab is nervous.”

Now, let’s shift our focus to the featherweight division. Would it still be Ilia Topuria who would continue his reign in the featherweight realm?

3. Featherweight champion – Ilia Topuria

‘El Matador’ has established himself as the king of the featherweight realm with wins over opponents like Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski by KOs. His undefeated streak has indeed scared a lot of fighters. However, there is one fighter who has the power to defeat Topuria. He is none other than Movsar Evloev. The Russian fighter has all the weapons that could possibly defeat Topuria. But we think that the Spaniard would ultimately win. Why? Because of his strong grappling and striking skills, added to his tendency of finishing his fights.

On another note, ‘El Matador’ has also hinted at moving to the lightweight division and becoming a double champion. And for that, he’d have to give his belt up and start from scratch once again. Even though that’s an unlikely possibility to happen in 2025, a fight between Topuria and Islam Makhachev would certainly entertain.

Talking about the lightweight move, let’s shift the spotlight to Makhachev’s kingdom. He has remained the ruler for quite a while. But would his reign continue in 2025?

4. Lightweight champion – Islam Makhachev

To answer that question, yes, Makhachev has everything a fighter needs to stay put as a champion. Be it superior Dagestani grappling, or above-average striking, Makhachev stuffed himself well. Dropping strong opponents like Charles Oliveira certainly proves the power he packs in his strikes. But come 2025, he’d face Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 311. While the Armenian contender would present some tough competition for the lightweight champion, it would still be Makhachev who we can expect to claim the win. 

But he wouldn’t stop at just one fight. We’d actually get to see Makhachev dominate twice in 2025. Later on, we can expect him to make the move and jump to the welterweight division like he has been wanting to lately. But as far as the lightweight realm is concerned, Makhachev will likely remain the king.

The welterweight division has witnessed quite some changes in 2024. Belal Muhammad became the first-ever Palestinian fighter to win a UFC championship title. And now, he is set to fight a tough battle that would question his rule. 

5. Welterweight champion – Shavkat Rakhmonov

Of course, I’m talking about Shavkat Rakhmonov, who maintained his undefeated spree with yet another victory against Ian Garry at UFC 310. Despite fighting Garry on short notice, Rakhmonov didn’t back down and showcased his resilience which ultimately led him to victory. But what’s more stupefying is that he won the UFC 310 bout with an injury. 

Rakhmonov is now set to fight ‘Remember The Name’ after Ramadan. He’s a strong grappler and has the power to neutralize Muhammad’s grappling. This would indeed play a vital role in crowning the Kazakh fighter as the new welterweight champion in 2025. Putting together his resilience, skills, and his age, we can definitely side with the ‘Nomad’.

But the middleweight division can expect a major shift in power. Dricus Du Plessis has been dominating the Octagon in 2024. But with Khamzat Chimaev’s return, things might just be different.

6. Middleweight champion – Khamzat Chimaev

Du Plessis will defend his title against Sean Strickland at UFC 312. No matter who the winner is, he would fight the Chechen Wolf next. And I think it would be the UAE citizen who would finally get to sit on the throne. Chimaev has shown explosive energy and has yet to face defeat as a professional MMA athlete. 

Back at UFC 308, Chimaev wrestled his way to victory against Robert Whittaker. Long story short, he didn’t even give Whittaker a chance to recover and broke his jaw with a tight RNC in the first round. No doubt, he would repeat the same when he would face the next champion and rise victorious.

In the light heavyweight division, things might be a bit more stagnant. Let’s take a look at it still, and see if there is even a sliver of chance for a shift in power.

7. Light heavyweight champion – Alex Pereira

Just like he did in 2024, we can expect Alex Pereira to fight multiple times in 2025. While the biggest threat to his throne is Magomed Ankalaev, he has refused to fight him, provoking the Russian to call him a “Chicken.” Well, Ankalaev’s last fight against Aleksander Rakic wasn’t something that entertained many fans. Even DDP was of a similar opinion. But he does have a strong defense and grappling in his arsenal. Even if they fight, we can certainly expect the man with the hands of stone to do his magic and win one way or the other. 

Finally, it’s time for the heavyweight division. Jon Jones has stayed on top of the list ever since he came back and defeated Ciryl Gane. But it’s time for a new champ to wear the crown.

8. Heavyweight champion – Tom Aspinall

2025 would witness the union of the interim heavyweight belt and the championship belt, with a fight between Jones and Tom Aspinall. The ‘Honey Badger’ has been working hard enough to get a fight against Jones ever since he got the interim belt. But it’s not a good fight for Jones and he knows it. Nevertheless, with the fans’ request, UFC had to put them against each other. 

Jones has tremendous power and the way he outwrestled Gane was truly phenomenal. However, he is nearing his 40s while Aspinall is still in his early 30s. On top of that, Aspinall has been practicing wrestling from a pretty young age. Added to his agility and striking prowess, we can expect him to be the next undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. 

What do you think of the championship fights coming up in 2025? Do you think there’s someone better suited to get to the top? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.