MMA Champions 2022 🏆

[WeeAl]

2 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

Hold up, TJ is 35. A year younger than me. I’m NOT knocking on the door of 40.

4 hours ago, WeeAl said:

😅 And I'm a UKFF'er with a full head of hair and no beard.

2 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

Thinking more about this, we’ve both said Whittaker is the biggest threat but is he? It’s weird because I definitely think he’s the second best Middleweight as things stand right now. But thinking a bit more into it, style-wise, Derek Brunson might be the trickier challenge for Adesanya

You're right there. Brunson, if he plays it like he has been, has the capability of carrying out the game plan that we know can beat Adesanya. I guess part of my doubt is that Blachowicz had the grappling advantage and a very significant size advantage. Brunson doesn't have that. Plus to win that type of fight I think Brunson may have to shut Adesanya down for 25 minutes, and I'm not sure that Adesanya wouldn't have a really good spell on the feet at some point in there. If he has any significant time standing against Brunson I imagine he'll stop him. Kind of like Silva/Sonnen 1. Izzy doesn't have to be perfect, but I think Brunson would have to be. 

2 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

either way I don’t think Figgy’s staying at 125 much longer. I

Me neither. It's either one more, or two more fights for him by the look of it. Like you mention, there are an abundance of fights at 135 for him to get started with. I'd love to watch him (hopefully) batter Sean O'Malley and Cody Garbrandt. At the same time if he fancies. . .Calm down you dirty bastards. 

2 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

I’d say there is a very real possibility we see Khamzat Chimaev make the jump up to 185 as well this year.

Think you may have outlined the better plan for him there. It feels like there's less depth at 185 and, like we've all said, if he is what we think he could be (still a significant if there) then that fighter has an easier time with Adesanya than Kamaru Usman. 

Edited January 1, 2022 by WeeAl

[wandshogun09]

24 minutes ago, WeeAl said:

😅 And I'm a UKFF'er with a full head of hair and no beard.

Worst thing is I am actually bald with a beard. Me and my boy…

Luckily the kids both got their mum’s looks 😊

29 minutes ago, WeeAl said:

Me neither. It's either one more, or two more fights for him by the look of it. Like you mention, there are an abundance of fights at 135 for him to get started with. I'd love to watch him (hopefully) batter Sean O'Malley and Cody Garbrandt. At the same time if he fancies. . .Calm down you dirty bastards. 

We were actually supposed to get Figgy vs Garbrandt in 2020 but Garbrandt got saved by an injury and Fig ended up steamrolling Alex Perez instead. The title shot for Cody wouldn’t have been deserved but I kind of wish it happened now. 

Would’ve been a massacre.

Agreed on Brunson. I don’t necessarily think he’d beat Adesanya now but I think he’d have a better chance than he did when they first fought. He’d obviously lack the size which helped Blachowicz but I think he’d do better than Vettori. I think he’s more effective with that type of wrestling heavy attack. 

[WeeAl]

18 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

Worst thing is I am actually bald with a beard. Me and my boy…

I hear ya bro. . .

[wandshogun09]

[Carbomb]

Are we comparing this year's predictions, then? Because it's been one odd year. Never thought I'd see Usman lose. And whilst I wasn't entirely surprised to see Oliveira lose to Makhachev, I was more confident he wouldn't. 

@wandshogun09's prediction that Askar Askarov would be Flyweight champ has aged a bit.

Glad Nunes did bust up Pena to get her Flyweight belt back.

[wandshogun09]

4 minutes ago, Carbomb said:

 

@wandshogun09's prediction that Askar Askarov would be Flyweight champ has aged a bit.

Yeah, looking back at my picks, I’ve had a bit of a mare all round. Aside from what I’d consider the ‘safe picks’ like Volkanovski and Shevchenko retaining, Nunes righting the wrong against Pena etc, the only one I called was Makhachev becoming champ and beating Oliveira. But even then, that’s how I felt last December but by the time the fight actually got made and rolled around, I changed my mind and thought Charles would win. With just 2 months left of 2022, all my other picks are toast. Even Adesanya retaining is one I’m not sure about now with the Pereira fight just under 2 weeks away. Yan’s kind of shat the bed at 135. I still think Gane will hold the proper belt at some point but he’s out of time this year now. Marina Rodriguez should’ve had her title shot by now, and I think she could beat Esparza, but she’s been passed over so that prediction is out. I’ve kind of lost some confidence in Ankalaev’s chances of getting 205 gold as well, but they’re doing Jiri vs Glover 2 anyway now. The one I’ve been happiest to be wrong about has been Leon Edwards dethroning Usman, and not because of any dislike towards Usman but just being pleasantly surprised to see Leon do the unthinkable.

Been a funny old year when you look back at it. 

[wandshogun09]

So I did shocking with my picks for 2022. I got the ‘safe picks’ right of Volk staying on the Featherweight throne, Nunes regaining the 135 belt from Pena and ending the year with both her titles again, and Shevchenko holding onto her Flyweight gold. The only title change I got right was Makhachev at 155.

Probably gonna do simarly bad this year as well because a few of my picks are a bit all over the place. How do you see it looking by the end of ‘23? Here’s mine…

HEAVYWEIGHT: Tough one. It’s a division that’s pretty much always historically been up in the air but I’m going for a bit of a wildcard and predicting Sergei Pavlovich ends the year with the strap.

Might seem a bit of an odd choice and I know there’s still a bunch of questions for him to answer but I genuinely don’t think this is out of the realms of possibility. It’s not that I think he’s even the best or most skilled fighter in the division, but since when was that ever the main factor for success at Heavyweight anyway? I think timing could work out nicely for Sergei this year. Think about the top players in the big boy division. I’m not sure what Francis Ngannou is doing. You’d think he’ll fight this year but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he’s out another year. I don’t think his relationship with the UFC/Dana is in a particularly good place and he’s been making noise about fighter pay and wanting to get into Boxing for a while. If he can get that Jon Jones fight I think he’ll be back in the Octagon but who’s holding their breath on Jones returns at this point? I get the feeling Stipe might just quietly retire as well. He seems in no rush to come back. I expect we’ll see Tom Aspinall back at some stage but I’ve seen no timetable for his return yet. So where does that leave the title picture? Sergei’s already stopped Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa quick in his last two outings. He’s there or thereabouts for a title shot already. The biggest obstacles for him are gonna be Ciryl Gane and Curtis Blaydes. It’s weird because I think they should both beat Pavlovich, but I’ve just got this feeling Pavlovich comes out on top by years end. I think we’ll see Gane vs Blaydes next so one of them will temporarily eliminate the other anyway. And I reckon Sergei might bash up Rozenstruik in the meantime. It’s a mess of a division but it might actually be quite exciting to watch play out this year. Hopefully we see that Ngannou vs Jones fight but I’m not convinced we see either of them in the cage this year 😏

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT: Kind of like the above really. The 205 belt is a hot potato at the best of times but the title mix has never been more of a clusterfuck than right now. I’m sticking with the same pick I had last year here and saying Magomed Ankalaev finally gets it done.

And this is after reassessing my opinion of him. I don’t rate him quite as highly now as I did a year ago. But of who’s around at 205 right now, I just see him getting a couple of key wins and ending the year as champ. I don’t think he’ll have much of a reign after that, but I think he will get the belt towards the middle of the year. I think he’ll end up facing the winner of Teixeira vs Hill, and I think he beats either of them at this stage. After that, what is there? Maybe a Blachowicz rematch. What else is there? I doubt we see Jiri Prochazka this year if his shoulder is as fucked as we’ve been led to believe. And even if he returns he might be damaged goods now. Bit of a twist but I actually think we might see Alex Pereira move up to 205 at some point this year. I think Glover finally retires this year. The next time he loses, either this Hill fight or to Ankalaev or something, and calls it a day. That clears the path for Pereira at 205 and I think he’ll move up to try to avenge his pal Glover. Surely Pereira’s days at 185 are numbered. He looks massive, I think he’ll wanna sack that cut off sooner rather than later.

MIDDLEWEIGHT: This is a tricky one actually the more I think about it. But I’m gonna go a bit left field and say Robert Whittaker regains the gold.

Like I said above, I’ve got a feeling Pereira’s reign on top at 185 is gonna be short lived. I see him and Adesanya rematching next, and Pereira winning again. He just seems to have Izzy’s number. I’m gonna say Whittaker takes the belt off Pereira. I’d be about 50/50 on that fight but I think Whittaker can win that one with a smart gameplan. And he’s been fighting a lot smarter lately. This scenario probably leads to Pereira moving up to 205 and also Whittaker vs Adesanya 3 though. I wouldn’t be in a hurry to see that again but whatever. I do see Khamzat Chimaev moving up to 185 in the not too distant future as well. That could easily happen this year. I’d love to see Pereira vs Chimaev before one of them fizzles out or moves division but I don’t know if or how long they’ll ever be in the same weight class.

WELTERWEIGHT: I think this is the year. A lot has to happen and he needs to get his shit together regarding the weight cutting but I think 2023 sees Khamzat Chimaev finally get some UFC gold.

I don’t know what’s gonna happen with Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman. Those two having the rubber match on the London card in March would’ve been ideal. If they’d done Chimaev vs Covington on the same night the timing would’ve lined up perfectly for the winners to face off. But that’s all gone to shite now. Fuck knows who Leon defends against in London now. I hope it’s not Masvidal just because fuck that waste of space plastic Tony Montana cosplayer. It’ll probably happen though. Or even something like Edwards vs Belal Muhammad 2 wouldn’t surprise me. We’ll see. Either way, I think it’s gonna lead to Chimaev getting the shot later in the year and I’ve got a bad feeling he wins. I wouldn’t write off Usman regaining the belt at some point. It can’t be forgotten how great a fighter he is and he seems to have handled the loss to Edwards very well. I think he might be back strong. But he’s also got dodgy knees, he’s getting a bit long in the tooth now and he is coming off a bad knockout loss. I just think it’s Chimaev’s year. IF he makes 170. And that’s a big if. His biggest challenge might be himself this year. Prick can’t get out of his own way. Shavkat Rakhmonov could be the darkhorse this year though. If he gets by Geoff Neal in a couple of weeks, he should be rising up the rankings big time as the year goes on and should find himself at least in a contender fight by the end of the year. Interesting times ahead at 170. Jack Della Maddalena is another one to keep an eye on.

LIGHTWEIGHT: I’ve got Islam Makhachev to hold onto the belt this year.

No easy task to stay on top in a shark tank like 155 and I wouldn’t have been so confident he could do it this time last year. But based on his title winning performance against Charles Oliveira, he’s gonna be a handful for anyone in that division going forward. There’s so many great fighters at 155 but I think he matches up well against pretty much all of them. This ‘superfight’ with Volkanovski is fascinating and I’ll never write Volk off but, on paper, you’ve got to give a slight advantage to Makhachev just based on the size edge and his grappling skills. That’s an uphill battle and a half for Volk. If Makhachev gets past that hurdle, I actually think the toughest tests for him in the division are Beneil Dariush (who really should be next in line) and a rematch with Arman Tsarukyan. Just a styles thing with those two. The Dariush fight especially gets my juices flowing. I don’t see Makhachev having much trouble with Gaethje or Chandler. Not that either of them should be getting another title shot anytime soon. Makhachev vs Poirier could be good at some point but I don’t see Poirier getting much out of that one either. If Makhachev beats Volk and Dariush this year, following his dominant win and finish over Oliveira, it’s time for the critics to shut the fuck up.

Elsewhere in the division, I can’t fathom Paddy Pimblett going another year without getting chinned. Even with them trying hard to protect him. He couldn’t do shit against Jared Gordon and should’ve lost the decision. I can’t see how they keep him winning this year. I think we see McGregor return this year, fuck knows which weight class. He’s talked about 170 but I reckon they’ll chuck a bunch of money at getting McGregor vs Pimblett on. Time to cash out on Pimblett and make that fight while they can. Don’t know if McGregor can even make 155 anytime soon, he’s all gassed up, so I can see them doing it at 165 or something. Let McGregor keep his muscles, let Paddy eat his pies and let’s all hope for a double knockout.

MENS FEATHERWEIGHT: It seems like taking the easy option but I can’t see past Alexander Volkanovski having another year as King of 145.

Who beats him at Featherweight of the current crop? And it’s a hell of a crop of talent. Just speaks to the insane level Volk is operating on right now. I’d love to see him beat Makhachev in Feb. If he does that’s a proper legacy boosting accomplishment. But I don’t see it myself. Won’t harm his standing at 145 though. With the upcoming Yair Rodriguez vs Josh Emmett fight being for an interim belt, Volk has to face the winner, probably be around the big July card I’m guessing. Think he schools either of them. Could possibly get a third fight in late in the year as well but I can’t think who it’d be against. Maybe Ilia Topuria gets in the mix? He can’t be far off after mauling Bryce Mitchell the way he did. Volk vs Topuria sounds like a cracking fight for down the road but we’ll see.

WOMENS FEATHERWEIGHT: I’ll say it…Nobody. Yeah. I think this is the year they’ll finally be forced to admit defeat and just pull the plug on the womens 145 thing. It’s been a wasteland for years anyway. Even when you go on the UFC’s own website and look at the rankings, you can’t check womens 145 because there’s no fucker in the division! At any one time there’s only ever been about 3 or 4 women tops in there. And in the last year or so we saw Megan Anderson and Felicia Spencer retire. Cyborg’s in Bellator. Kayla Harrison is in PFL and just had her ‘undefeated’ bubble burst anyway. There’s nothing there. If they keep it around for some reason then Amanda Nunes stays champ just because there’s nobody to take it off her. But what’s the point anymore? Just sack it off.

MENS BANTAMWEIGHT: Gonna go with Aljamain Sterling to stay champ for another year.

Not sure about this one because Aljo’s recently dropped some hints about moving up to 145 soon. I can see that happening because his teammate Merab Dvalishvili is getting up there in the rankings now and I doubt they fight each other. Couple more defences for Sterling and I think he’s off to 145. He’s mentioned fighting Henry Cejudo recently but Cejudo comebacks are as big a myth as Jon Jones comebacks now. I just don’t believe in them. Fresh challengers for Aljo this year could be Chito Vera and Sean O’Malley. Chito’s fighting Sandhagen in February and that’s no gimme at all. I wouldn’t be shocked if we get Aljo vs O’Malley next to be honest. I would’ve laughed at that suggestion a few months ago but O’Malley beating Petr Yan changes all that. Winner of Vera vs Sandhagen should be next in line after that. Fun little mini tournament there. Maybe do Merab vs Yan in the meantime?

WOMENS BANTAMWEIGHT: Not much better than womens 145 really. Not exactly going out on a limb but I’m saying Amanda Nunes remains top dog.

We’re bound to see Nunes vs Pena 3, aren’t we? What else is there? They’re 1-1 and their rivalry is literally the only thing of note going on at 135. But the rematch was so one sided there’s very little intrigue to it now. What can you do though? That’ll probably be the next title fight, I’m guessing. After that, you’re probably gonna see a Ketlen Vieira, Irene Aldana or Bumcheeks Dumont get a shot at some point this year. Just because they’re fresh title challengers. Nothing particularly interesting and relying on Dumont to make 135 is always a bit optimistic. Aldana’s fun to watch though. I’d actually like to see her get the opportunity just because why not?

MENS FLYWEIGHT: It’s been the Figgy and Moreno show for the longest time so maybe I’m just looking for a change. I reckon we see Alexandre Pantoja claim the crown this year though.

You never know which Figgy is gonna show up or if he’s had a good weight cut or not. And as a 35 year old Flyweight, you have to wonder how much longer he can keep making that cut. I don’t know how this fourth Moreno fight is gonna go. Those two seem like they could trade wins until the end of time and end up dead even. Watching their series of fights, I do feel like Figgy is the slightly better of the two. But other factors come in and I just don’t see Figgy staying at 125 much longer. And Pantoja just has the kind of style that could give either man fits when he’s on his game. He’s already got two wins over Moreno, he lost on points against Figgy in a great fight in 2019. Pantoja has looked on top form recently though and I’ve just got a feeling he’s gonna swoop in and snatch the belt this year. Pantoja might end up being the true winner of Figgy and Moreno knocking seven shades out of each other for 2 years straight. They’re having wars and Pantoja is waiting in the wings for his moment. Regardless of what happens, I think we see Figgy up at 135 by the end of the year.

Expect a bunch of barnburners outside the title mix as well. Guys like Kara-France, Royval, Kape, Schnell, Mudaerji, Hadley, Flick etc mixing it up. And there’s an Albazi vs Mokaev feud brewing now as well which could be tremendous.

WOMENS FLYWEIGHT: Gotta stick with Valentina Shevchenko, although it’s finally starting to get a little bit more interesting.

2022 was the year we finally saw Shev get put to the test and extended to a close decision against Taila Santos. I thought they might just run that back myself because a lot of people had Santos winning that one. But Santos is booked against Erin Blanchfield now. By process of elimination, I’ve got a feeling we’ll be seeing Shevchenko defend against Alexa Grasso next. I don’t think Grasso is ready for that but whatever. Going forward I think Shev vs Santos 2 is an intriguing rematch. Blanchfield looks the real deal as well, her grappling would be something different for Shevchenko to have to deal with. Although I think it’s a bit early for Blanchfield as well, but if she beats Santos, I think they’ll chuck her in there. After that, you’ve got Manon Fiorot and the long talked about return of Tatiana Suarez that’s supposedly happening this year. At the very least, there’s some fresh blood there. And worth remembering, as much of an assassin as Shev is, she’s 35 soon and she’s had a long career between MMA and Kickboxing. She’ll lose eventually. Santos made her look human last year, maybe she can get it done in a rematch or a young up and comer like Blanchfield can cause some problems? Like I say though, until we see actual evidence of a decline, I can’t go against Shevchenko having another year as Flyweight Queen.

STRAWWEIGHT: Could see this going a couple of different ways but I’ll go with Zhang Weili holding onto the belt.

Got a feeling she defends against Amanda Lemos next and I think she wins that one. Lemos has power but that’s all she really has. As long as Zhang doesn’t just stand and trade, I think she’s got too much overall for Lemos. After that, I don’t have a clue. There’s always that possible third fight with Rose Namajunas and there’s a potential all Chinese clash with Yan Xiaonan. But Mackenzie Dern, Marina Rodriguez and Carla Esparza are all out of the running for the time being. Honestly, my main interest this year for Strawweight is seeing how Yazmin Jauregui progresses. She’s unbeaten, having bangers and will probably rise up the ranks fairly quick so although it seems early to be talking about her in that conversation, I wouldn’t be shocked if she’s up there in a title eliminator by this time a year from now. Zhang vs Jauregui down the line could be absolute fireworks. It’s hard to imagine a fight topping Zhang vs Jedrzejczyk 1 but I really think that could be a similar kind of thing. 

Let’s see how many I get wrong this year then. 

Edited December 28, 2022 by wandshogun09

[WeeAl]

I didn't do too well with last year's either. Jiri having to forfeit hurt my score a little, but I didn't land home with too many others. Nunes X2, Valentina and Makhachev were my winners. Hard to have gotten those wrong really. 

For 2023:

Heavyweight:  It's big Francis Ngannou. The Fury fight feels gone to me. Without it, I'm not sure there's a big pile of money for him outside of the UFC. I think he'll fight once, and he'll beat whoever that is. 

LHW: God knows. I could say Ankalaev, but he has impressede less lately than previously. However I don't see it being Jan, and I'm not sure we see Prochazka back in 2023. I'll say Glover Teixeira. 

MW: This is tough. Personally the fight I think they should make next is Whittaker Vs Pereira. That way you get the interesting wrinkle of Adesanya in a non-title fight, plus Izzy versus Whittaker/Pereira as the challenger is another interesting option following that. It's a weird Rock/Paper/Scissors triangle, that I think Whittaker could beat Pereira, Pereira beats Izzy and Adesanya beats Bobby Knuckles. Fuck it, I'm going to say Chimaev gets the gold somehow to end the year as champ. He's too fucking big to be trusted to make weight for a Welterweight title fight. Move him up. 

WW: Time may not be on Usman's side. Normally I'd say an automatic re-match favours the winner of the first fight by a large amount. The loser hasn't had time to fix the hopes, the loss is still fresh in their minds etc. However this case was different. It wasn't a fluke loss, but it's a loss that Usman will feel he could have easily avoided, as he was heading for a straightforward UD win. The longer the gap between the re-match, the quicker I think age catches up with him. Plus, that win will have given Leon Edwards such a huge confidence boost, no matter the opponent. I'd have said Usman, had he been getting the re-match early in the year. As he isn't, I'm going to say Leon Edwards probably holds onto the belt

LW: Islam Makhachev. Tsarukyan gives him a hell of a fight when it next happens, but that won't be in 2023. I don't see Makhachev having any problems with Gaethje, McGregor, Chandler or Poirier. All the most likely people to get the next fight. And we saw how easily he beat Oliveira. His big test will be Volkanovski. Two elite level fighters. Only one is much larger than the other. 

FW: Volkanovski. He'll fight twice, only once at Featherweight, and neither Yair or Emmett will have anything for him. 

BW: No faith in Cejudo actually coming back, like Wand. And should he do so, absent years are way more important at Bantamweight than they are for a Middleweight or above. Chito Vera is a real possible winner here. As is Figgy Smalls. That's an interesting fight actually.  Sterling is the most probable. Sterling.

Flyweight: Moreno or Pantoja. Figgy won't stay at 125. I'd like to see DJ come back to be honest. Pantoja might well have Moreno's number, but both are further developed since then. The championship experience might give Brandon Moreno the edge he'll need. 

Women's 145: Nunes. She won't be in a 145 pound fight, but she'll still have two belts. 

Women's 135: Nunes. Beating three people, Pena, Shevchenko and whoever else can be squeezed in by December. Then she'll call it quits if Kayla Harrison or a Cyborg rematch aren't possible. 

Women's 125: Shevchenko. She'll defend the belt successfully once, and lose to Nunes at 135. That'll be her year. 

115: Zhang.

 

There we go. Might get two of those right. 

[Zebra Kid Mark]

It's hard to disagree with a lot of what Wand said, I kind of agree with all of his picks but I am going to try my hardest not to copy too much.

Heavyweight: For me it depends on if Jon Jones fights, I thought he would at the start of 2021 but it's been 2 years now so I am going to assume he doesn't enter the heavyweight picture. I also don't know what's going on with Francis, will he fight? Will he walk? I'm not sure, but what I am sure on is Cyril Gane will keep getting better and keep on winning and learning from his loss. For that reason, I am going with Cyril Gane. I was also thinking Pavlovich but I didn't want to copy Wand.

Light heavyweight: Again, this is such a tricky one, does Jiri fight? If he does, he's the champ. I don't think he does fight though. For that reason, I am going to go with Magomed Ankalaev, I think he will win it at the end of 2023, the UFC will try their hardest not to book him in any more title fights because he's stunk out a few main event spots and they don't like that. They will overlook him all year until it's too late and it makes sense to give him the shot. He then beats the champ around October/November of 2023.

Middleweight: This all depends on who fights who and who fights when. Pereira beats Izzy, Whittaker beats Pereira and Izzy beats Whittaker. It's a round robin at the top of the division. It just depends on if those fights happen and in what order? I am going to predict Israel Adesanya ends the year with the belt.

Welterweight: Easy one, Khamzat gets a title shot and beats who ever is the champion.

Lightweight: Alexander Volkanovski. I think he beats Islam and holds onto the title all year.

Featherweight: I predict Volk vacates the belt and Arnold Allen wins the vacant belt.

Bantamweight: This one is also hard to call, Cejudo deserves a title shot, O'Malley deserves a title shot, one win and Yan deserves a title shot, Vera deserves a title shot. The division is full of killers who all can make a claim at having a title shot. It depends on who and when gets theirs. I am going to predict Marlon Vera gets the belt towards the end of the year.

Flyweight: Brandon Moreno. For me it's an easy one.

Woman's Featherweight: Amanda

Woman's Bantamweight: Amanda

Woman's Flyweight: Manon Fiorot. I think she wins it towards the end of the year after a few big wins in 2023.

Woman's Straw weight: Rose

[wandshogun09]

Some interesting picks there. I can’t remember another year where everything seemed so uncertain. In the past we always had those long term dominant champs like Anderson Silva, GSP, Jose Aldo and Mighty Mouse who were always safe bets. There’s less and less of that in recent years and this is the most difficult to predict in ages for me. We’ve got a few champs coming to the end of their prime, a few rising contenders emerging and a bunch of names in the mix who could switch weight classes at seemingly any time. It’s all up in the air. 

17 hours ago, WeeAl said:

Women's 125: Shevchenko. She'll defend the belt successfully once, and lose to Nunes at 135. That'll be her year. 

I never thought of Shev vs Nunes 3 but that’s not a bad shout actually. It’s always on the cards given the lack of depth when it comes to interesting and fresh challengers for both. I’m not sure we’ll see it this year though, just because Shev does actually finally have a couple more intriguing contenders than she’s had in recent years. There’s the Santos rematch, Grasso, maybe Blanchfield. There’s possibly an outside chance that even Tatiana Suarez gets in the mix, she’s apparently returning in February, but that’s a long shot given her layoff and track record with injuries. It’s Nunes who’s really struggling for fights now. They’re gonna have to do the third Pena fight because there’s nothing else to work with. 

3 hours ago, Zebra Kid Mark said:

Heavyweight: For me it depends on if Jon Jones fights, I thought he would at the start of 2021 but it's been 2 years now so I am going to assume he doesn't enter the heavyweight picture.

Jones is ageing like milk in his time away, ‘bulking up’ to Heavyweight. He looks like a bag of shite.

It feels like it’s getting to that ‘now or never’ point now. At 35, it’s not like he’s ancient for a Heavyweight. He could probably come back in 5 years and he still wouldn’t be the oldest in the division. But it’s all wasted time, wasted prime and squandered potential. By the time he finally makes his Heavyweight debut, if he ever fucking does, who knows how much he’ll have declined? Let’s face it, he wasn’t looking his best in his last few fights at 205. Everyone kind of chalked it up to him getting bored and needing new challenges but was it really? Maybe he was just on the slide. I don’t even know what the holdup is anymore on his return either. I know he was at odds with the UFC about fighter pay but he’s been quiet on that for ages now and still keeps dropping tweets about his supposedly imminent return, that’s been imminent for nigh on 3 years now! 

Edited December 30, 2022 by wandshogun09

[wandshogun09]

So it’s that time of year again. Looking back at my picks last year, it seems I’m doing worse every year 🤣 I got Makhachev, Volkanovski and Zhang retaining. And technically I was right about Amanda Nunes getting her belt back, although she’s obviously not the champ now she’s retired. The only title change I called was Pantoja winning the strap at 125.

Here’s your champs going into 2024.

Of course, women’s Bantamweight title is vacant until UFC 297 in a few weeks. And women’s Featherweight? Fuck knows. Hopefully they’ve decided to just bin that one. I'll have a think and do my predictions later but how you seeing things looking by next December? 

Edited December 29, 2023 by wandshogun09

[WeeAl]

The ones I got right were Edwards, Zhang, Volkanovski and Makhachev. Considering who some of the champions now are, I'm amazed to have gotten even as many as that 😅

[wandshogun09]

Here we go then. This’ll be a long ramble.

HEAVYWEIGHT:

As up in the air as the UFC’s big boy division usually is, I actually think this year it’s a bit easier to call. Obviously you can’t count on anything in MMA, especially at Heavyweight. But barring something really unexpected happening, I can’t really see past Tom Aspinall ending 2024 as the main man.

It makes sense, right? He’s already the interim champion and from everything we know, all signs are pointing towards Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic still being the plan. And regardless of the result of Jones vs Miocic, I can’t really see a scenario where either one of them hangs around after that to defend against Aspinall or any of the new Heavies. If Francis Ngannou was still around then maybe. But if Francis was still around I don’t think Jones would even be back now. So yeah. In all likelihood, whatever happens, at some point this year Aspinall’s ‘interim’ belt is gonna get upgraded to ‘undisputed’ status. Either Jones vs Miocic finally happens and they both retire after, or it just keeps falling apart and getting delayed and the UFC just sack it off and make Big Tom the official top dog. He’s already the proper champ in my eyes. He’s the one who’s active and fighting relevant contenders. This Jones vs Stipe thing is just a weird side thing.

The shite thing is, this Jones vs Stipe bollocks is gonna delay things. Aspinall is either gonna end up waiting for it to play out, hoping to somehow entice the winner to fight him and unify the belts. That’d be the ideal scenario. But they’ll almost certainly retire so Tom’s gonna end up defending against someone else. Hopefully Aspinall gets at least 2 fights in this year but I can see him only getting to fight once, probably in the second half of the year, because of the holdup with Jones/Stipe. As for who he ends up fighting, I don’t know. Jailton Almeida, Ciryl Gane, a rematch with Curtis Blaydes? Pick one. I think he ends the year with the gold still intact though. I still think Sergei Pavlovich was his most dangerous opponent and he’s already clobbered him to win the interim.

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT:

Now this one really is a shot in the dark. The belt’s been a hot potato at 205 ever since the Jon Jones reign of terror came to an end and nothing’s changed. I’ve picked Ankalaev the last 2 years but it seems like he’s never gonna get there and I hope he doesn’t. The dirty knee throwing dullard. Ah, I don’t know. I’m really not confident in it but I’m actually gonna say Alex Pereira keeps the strap.

I know he’s got his flaws, he’s shown vulnerability in the striking despite how lethal he is offensively and obviously the grappling is always gonna be iffy. But he’s shown just enough in the clinch and wrestling departments to get by so far, against some pretty solid opposition. And let’s face it, it’s not like 205 is choc-full of elite grapplers these days. It’s surely gonna be Jamahal Hill next and, while I don’t think that’s an easy fight, I think Pereira can definitely win that one. Maybe I’m underestimating Hill but I’ve never been fully sold on him. He only ended up with the belt in the first place because of weird circumstances and his best wins are over Thiago Santos in a bad slump and a retiring Glover Teixeira. There’s nothing in his game that makes me think Pereira would have too much trouble with him but, again, Pereira’s a funny one. I can’t be confident he wins these fights. 

Looking at the current rankings, if Pereira gets by Hill, he’s looking at the winner of Ankalaev/Walker, a Jiri Prochazka rematch or a Jan Blachowicz rematch. It’s not a stretch to imagine him getting to the end of the year with the gold still around his waist, is it? Of that lot, my ideal scenario would be Walker KOs Ankalaev, Pereira sparks Hill and we get Pereira vs Walker. Just for the LOLs. In the meantime, Jiri can beat Rakic at UFC 300, setting up Pereira vs Jiri 2 at the end of the year. Fully aware it won’t go like that though because it’s 205 and 205 more than any division is always just one injury or drug test failure or weird draw away from the title picture completely imploding.

Beyond that, you’ve got Khalil Rountree closing in on the top 5. I don’t think he goes any further really but I’d love it if he can prove me wrong because 205 badly needs fresh contenders and it’d be fun to throw Rountree into the mix. Wouldn’t be surprised to see the likes of Anthony Smith and Dominick Reyes UFC runs come to an end this year. Smith probably via retirement and naturally just sliding into a permanent analyst role or something. And Reyes probably gets chinned again and let go. Expect to see him pissing about in BKFC by the end of ‘24. Really not much of interest going on at LHW. The old guard are dying out and there hasn’t been that much in the way of new blood to replace them. As fun as Pereira is, he turns 37 in July. He’s not gonna be around forever.

MIDDLEWEIGHT:

Well fuck. I’m almost scared to make a prediction here. Who’d have ever called the way the last year has gone at 185? Started 2023 with Alex Pereira as champ, then Israel Adesanya finally got that win over him and reclaimed the title…then everything went mental. Fucking Strickland as champ? Like I’ve said elsewhere, full credit to him, as much as I begrudge saying it. His performance against Izzy was unbelievable. I can’t see him holding onto that belt though. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say Khamzat Chimaev finally gets his shit together and holds UFC gold by the end of 2024.

I know. Seems stupid picking him at this point. For all his obvious talent, he’s been so frustrating to follow. And the way his last fight with Usman went definitely made him look more human. Clearly, if there’s a weakness in Khamzat’s game, it seems to be his cardio, or more specifically his tendency to go 100% early and not pace himself at all. If you can weather the storm, he’s not as scary down the stretch. But that’s easier said than done because 1) it’s a storm I don’t see many weathering and 2) it’s only been the very top guys (Burns and Usman) who’ve been able to get past that initial onslaught so far. I’d like to see him be more active this year. He’s lost a fair old chunk of time the last few years.

I do think we see Khamzat get a title shot at some point this year though. He hasn’t earned it, he’s only ranked #9 currently and his only relevant win at 185 was Usman who was a Welterweight coming up, and on short notice. But you know Dana loves him. And before Khamzat vs Usman in October, Dana was saying that the winner was definitely getting a title shot. Obviously plans changed and we’ve now got Strickland vs DDP. But it shows the UFC want Khamzat in that title mix ASAP. He doesn’t deserve it and there’ll be backlash and moaning but I’m telling you, don’t be surprised if Khamzat is in attendance for this Strickland vs DDP fight in a few weeks and immediately gets announced as the next in line. I also won’t be shocked if it’s announced for UFC 300, so that the winner of Strickland/DDP has to go straight back into camp on a quick turnaround, in an attempt to stack the odds in Khamzat’s favour. But you know what, as much as 185 is a bit shit these days, I actually think Khamzat against either Strickland or Du Plessis are really intriguing matchups. But yeah, I reckon Khamzat ends the year as champ, one way or another.

As for the rest of the Middleweight landscape, fuck knows really? What’s even in store for former #1 and #2 Izzy Adesanya and Robert Whittaker? Obviously Whittaker’s supposed to fight Paulo Costa at UFC 298 in February but is anyone confident Costa actually shows up? And Izzy? I’m scratching my head what could even be next for him. If I had my way, I’d do Khamzat vs Izzy next. Make Khamzat earn his way. A win over Izzy would do that. And if Adesanya won, handing Chimaev his first loss and stopping the hype train, he’s right back in business. It’s perfect, in my opinion, but I can’t see Izzy going for it. What else is there though? He’s already beat most of the top ranked guys, twice in some cases. And the guys he hasn’t fought like Roman Dolidze and Brendan Allen, he probably doesn’t see as appealing fights at this stage. His options to me are either fight Khamzat in a title eliminator, or he’s gonna try and reheat the Pereira thing and try and get an unwarranted title shot up at 205 😒 one thing’s for sure, he definitely doesn’t deserve another title shot without getting at least one big win first. He got dominated by Strickland. But again, I wouldn’t be surprised. He’s one of the only stars the UFC have these days and if DDP wins the title at 297, DDP vs Izzy with the ugly buildup would be right up the UFC’s alley as well. Elsewhere, Brendan Allen’s on a nice run at the moment but I can’t see it lasting too much longer. And the wildcard at 185 for me is Kamaru Usman. What does he do? After his showing against Khamzat, I think we all agreed that a move up to 185 could be good for him. I’m not sure he feels the same but I’m hoping we see more of Middleweight Usman this year. Still want that Usman vs Whittaker fight.

WELTERWEIGHT:

Tricky one this. And it’s tricky to me because of one specific obstacle in his way but I’m saying Leon Edwards stays champ for another year.

The only thing really giving me doubt on this pick, the ‘obstacle’ I’m talking about, is Shavkat Rakhmonov. That’s the one to me. He’s already ranked #3. He’s close. And he’s the biggest threat on the horizon for Edwards to me. I think we see Leon defend against Belal Muhammad in a rematch first. Possibly on a UK card. And although Belal’s certainly earned a shot and he’s not an easy fight on paper, I see Leon winning that one. After that though, it’s Shavkat’s turn and I’m really unsure about that one. I’m guessing the majority will pick Shavkat if/when that fight happens because he’s scary, he’s got the nice shiny undefeated record and he’s a finisher. I totally get it. The man’s a beast. But I honestly wouldn’t be shocked if Leon outclassed him. He mightn’t be a finishing machine like Shavkat but he’s been operating on a higher level, he’s got the 5 round experience and he’s so technical in every facet of MMA. And it’s not like Shavkat isn’t there to be hit. He’s not exactly a defensive marvel. I could see Leon picking him apart. But it’d be edge of the seat stuff because you know what Leon’s like. As great as he is, he tends to have these lapses in fights and ends up rocked or in bad situations. Shavkat would pounce all over that. It’s a fascinating one though and I think it’s a fight everyone’s gonna be clamouring for in the second half of 2024. There’s an outside chance we get a Leon vs Islam Makhachev ‘Superfight’ somewhere in there though. I really hope they don’t go that route. It’d be an interesting fight but I’d much rather see them both stay in their own divisions for the time being and we could do without another 2 title pictures getting stalled for a ‘Superfight’ that doesn’t even feel ‘super’ because they haven’t let it cook and we haven’t been given time to develop an appetite for it.

As for the rest of 170, it’s gonna be an interesting year. Mostly to see how Ian Garry and Jack Della Maddalena come along. Both have been steadily progressing just behind Shavkat. Garry’s slightly ahead and he’s mixing with and being linked to your Geoff Neals and Vicente Luques now. He’s getting up there and making waves with his gob along the way. Maddalena has kind of cooled off a tad but he’s only one spectacular performance away from breaking through. And his upcoming fight with Gilbert Burns should be the ultimate litmus test for him. We’ll see what he’s about soon enough. We’ve got MVP’s debut coming up. Not his biggest fan, I genuinely don’t think he’s that good beyond the flash and showmanship smoke and mirrors. But he’s an attraction and an interesting addition to the division. Then there’s Colby 🥱 since utterly embarrassing himself against Leon, he’s been calling out Ian Garry and Wonderboy Thompson. No way he fights Garry. That’s hilarious. Garry’s under 40, in his prime, has a pulse, is dangerous and doesn’t have a title. Colby doesn’t want that. 40 year old Wonderboy coming off a loss though? Much more his thing. I’m not convinced Colby even fights this year though. If he never fights again I won’t miss him.

LIGHTWEIGHT:

There’s no such thing as an ‘easy prediction’ in MMA these days but I’m sort of half confident Islam Makhachev stays on top at 155 this year.

If he stays at Lightweight, and things don’t take a swerve with that aforementioned potential ‘Superfight’ with Leon Edwards, I think Makhachev’s 2024 is relatively straightforward to predict. He’s probably gonna fight twice and it’ll be some combination of a Charles Oliveira rematch, Justin Gaethje and Arman Tsarukyan. Of those 3, I hate to say it but I’m least into the Oliveira rematch. And Oliveira’s my favourite fighter in the division. I just don’t wanna see that yet though. Makhachev against Gaethje and Tsarukyan this year would do nicely. But I suspect they’ll probably go with Makhachev vs Oliveira 2 next just because they love rematches and it was the original plan for 294 in October. I’ve seen a lot of talk of Gaethje getting the shot lately though. And I’ve also seen rumours of Oliveira vs Tsarukyan so fuck knows. They can mix and match that 4 any way and you’re gonna get great fights out of it so I’m good with whatever way they decide to go really. Ultimately I think Makhachev beats all of these guys though. Oliveira and Gaethje are always dangerous. I’d never completely count them out. But I don’t see a different result in an Oliveira rematch. And I reckon Makhachev vs Gaethje would look like Khabib vs Gaethje did. But honestly, probably easier for Makhachev. People forget now but Khabib just ate Gaethje’s punches and walked through them to force the grappling. Makhachev’s standup is better overall than Khabib’s and I don’t think he’d have to rely on his chin the same way. I’d like to see that fight all the same though. I actually think Tsarukyan is the toughest fight for Makhachev of the 3 myself. And I absolutely loved their first fight so I’d be all in on seeing it again.

What else? Is this the year we finally see Conor McGregor come back? According to his latest tweet, his next fight date and opponent is gonna be announced on New Year’s Day. Conveniently the same day USADA is no longer testing for the UFC. To be honest, it’s starting to feel like if he doesn’t come back in 2024, with UFC 300 and all that shite, he really might never come back. He turns 36 in July. It’s shit or get off the pot time. Chandler’s still practically begging for the fight but I can see them going another route now. Maybe a 4th fight with Poirier or maybe they can entice Nate Diaz back to wrap up that trilogy? Nate never officially signed with PFL yet did he? I actually think McGregor vs Paddy Pimblett is the move I’d make now. Fuck it. It’s obviously a fight the UFC would want. And the window is closing on opportunities to get it made. Just book it. Sod it. Before McGregor unravels again, or commits some horrible crime, or dies. And before Paddy gets badly exposed. Just make it now while you can still squeeze some juice out of it. All that nonsense aside, as always, I’ll be looking forward to seeing the usual suspects. Frevola, Dober, Saint-Denis, Moicano, Turner, Hooker, Green etc. That bunch of names at 155 that you can pretty much always rely on for a cracking fight. Hopefully we see Fiziev return from his injury without too much taken out of him as well. It’s mad but the whole Jim Miller/UFC 300 story might just be the one I’m most invested in at Lightweight this year. 

MENS FEATHERWEIGHT:

I think this one’s gonna be decided early in the year. Volkanovski vs Topuria goes down in February and I think it’s a fairly safe bet to say whoever wins that fight most likely ends the year as champ. I’m gonna stick with Alexander Volkanovski to remain on top.

Fuck me though. That Topuria fight could be a tough one. I’ve gotta lean towards Volk just because he’s Volk. He’s been one of the very best fighters in the entire sport for a few years now and he’s obviously the more proven fighter. But Topuria is the first guy at 145 who’s come along and it actually feels like the title might be in jeopardy. I fancy Volk to get through it but, man, if any of the new breed of Featherweights can get to Volk, I think Topuria’s the one. And especially now, with Volk coming off that knockout loss to Makhachev up at 155.

Rest of the division feels like they’re all just scrapping over the silver medal. But I think that’s because Volk’s already beat them all. If Topuria can dethrone Volk, all of a sudden the division is wide open again and you’ll see the likes of Holloway, Yair, Ortega etc back in the picture. If Volk does beat Topuria though, and especially if he beats him convincingly like he beat the others, what’s even left for him at 145 at that point? Seriously, you look at the rankings and, with a win over Topuria, Volk will have come as close to cleaning out the division as it gets.

Outside the immediate title race, I’m really looking forward to the Yair Rodriguez vs Brian Ortega rematch on the Mexico City card in February. Hopefully we get the banger we should’ve got the first time. Arnold Allen vs Movsar Evloev at 297 in a few weeks is a very interesting one as well. I’d love to see Allen get the win there but it’s a rough one, especially coming off the loss to Holloway. And speaking of which, what the fuck do you do with Max Holloway now? I’m genuinely stumped. He’s beat almost all the top names at 145 already. Like I said, if Topuria wins the title, Topuria vs Holloway would be awesome. But aside from that? You probably have to do Holloway vs Josh Emmett. It’s the only option really as far as fresh fights go. I did see recently, Max was calling for a BMF title fight with Gaethje! I mean, inject that into my veins. But I get why Gaethje is solely focused on bagging the Makhachev fight right now. Looking forward to seeing Aljamain Sterling’s long talked about Featherweight debut as well. They’re chucking him straight in with Calvin Kattar so that should give us an idea where he stands. I guess that’s another option for Holloway actually. I wouldn’t hate a Max vs Aljo fight. Oh and I’m hoping Diego Lopes can keep the momentum going this year. Easily my favourite addition to the UFC roster in 2023.

WOMENS FEATHERWEIGHT:

Please. Please tell me they’ve finally seen sense and pulled the plug on this joke of a division. Looking at the UFC’s website now, on the rankings section, there’s no Womens 145 listed at all. That gives me hope so I’m saying NOBODY is champ by the end of ‘24.

Even looking at upcoming cards, from what I can see, there are ZERO scheduled womens Featherweight fights as I type this. And even Norma Dumont’s planned fight in January was supposed to be at 135. When Amanda Nunes retired it did seem like Dana was leaning towards retiring the 145 belt along with her. I think they’ve done it. Finally.

MENS BANTAMWEIGHT:

Right. My favourite division and there’s a bunch of ways this could play out. We’ve got O’Malley vs Chito 2 coming up and that should be fun but I don’t see either of them taking the belt into 2025. No. He’s almost become the forgotten man at 135 but I think Merab Dvalishvili is gonna spoil the fun and snatch the belt by the end of the year.

Deal with it. Now his friend and teammate Aljo Sterling is officially moving up to 145, the path is clear for Merab. Whether he actually gets the shot remains to be seen though. He’s got to get past Henry Cejudo in February and I love that matchup. Really interesting fight that. If Merab wins that one though, I don’t see how you deny him his crack at the belt. He should’ve been next anyway but they’ve given it to Chito Vera for some reason. I’m a fan of Chito, he’s an exciting fighter and I get he holds a win over current champ Sean O’Malley. But he’s also only one fight removed from a loss and a shit performance against Cory Sandhagen. While Merab’s ranked #2, on a win streak and coming off dominant wins over Aldo and Yan. Regardless, if Merab wins this fight with Legohead, I think he beats either one of O’Malley or Chito. I actually think Cejudo is a tougher fight for Merab than those guys just because of the styles. Hopefully he beats Cejudo impressively and then calls for his shot. Wonder if he’s still got O’Malley’s jacket? 🤣

Beyond that, you can’t go wrong mixing and matching at 135. We’ve got Song Yadong vs Petr Yan coming up, which could be a belter. Cody Garbrandt has called out Figgy. That could be hilarious. Then you’ve got Sandhagen right there around the title picture. You’ve got Font, Yanez, old man Cruz etc. I’m really hoping we see more of Umar Nurmagomedov this year. Seems to have all the potential in the world but never fights. My main thing I wanna see at 135 this year though, and I’ll keep banging the drum until it happens, is some combination of Chito vs Figgy vs Yan. I need to see those 3 all fight each other at least once before it’s all said and done.

WOMENS BANTAMWEIGHT:

Ugh. We get a champ in a few weeks but it’s between Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva. Says it all. Complete apathy. And looking at the rankings, it’s not even like there are other more appealing possibilities. Balls to it. I’ll just stick with Mayra Bueno Silva winning and holding onto the thing because who gives a fuck?

Honestly, looking down the rankings at 135 just now, it’s a sorry state of affairs. It’s a wasteland of a division and there’s nothing happening. We did get that unexpected war between Karol Rosa and Irene Aldana in December but that was an exception to the rule. Looking at the Top 15, Aldana’s the most watchable but she’s not actually that good. I like Miesha Tate but she’s on her last legs and, even as bad as the division is now, I can’t see her getting the belt back. What else? Oh Norma Dumont and her arse are still bouncing around. What else is there? More Holly Holm Apex headliners and Julianna Pena in the title mix? Just the worst. Actually, the only thing I can root for now is that, whatever happens from here on out, as long as Pena doesn’t get a look in with the belt again that’ll do me. The thought of her winning it back and people actually pretending she’s good again makes me wanna vomit.

MENS FLYWEIGHT:

Another division I’ve grown to love over the last few years. Everyone bums Lightweight but I honestly think Bantamweight and Flyweight are my favourites these days. I think we see Alexandre Pantoja remain champ throughout 2024 though.

We’ve got Brandon Moreno vs Amir Albazi coming up on the Mexico show in Feb, and that’s almost definitely gonna decide who gets the next shot. It sounds mad but I still wouldn’t write Moreno off. Despite him already being 0-3 down against Pantoja. Anyone who saw their classic at UFC 290 in July knows there’s really not much in it between them. It was close and I could see a situation like we saw with Adesanya vs Pereira at 185, where it takes a few goes but Moreno finally gets that elusive win. It does seem like Pantoja just has his number though and I would pick him if they meet again. Albazi might be a darkhorse though, I’m just not sure quite how good he is yet. Looking at the rest of the division, there’s a bunch of really good fighters but it feels like they’re all not quite ready yet. Which is why I see Pantoja holding onto the strap for the next year. I reckon by 2025, it might well be a different story though and we’ll see some of the younger guys breaking through. In the meantime, I think we see Pantoja successfully defend against the winner of Moreno/Albazi and then maybe against a Manel Kape or someone later in the year, and that’ll be his 2024.

I am really looking to seeing how Muhammad Mokaev and Tatsuro Taira get on this year. Mokaev seems like he’s well on the climb now, he’s already ranked #8 and scheduled to face Alex Perez in March. A win there could see him pitted against a Top 5 guy. I’ve still got major doubts on him but it’ll be interesting to see if he can raise his game as he goes up in levels, because he’s gonna need to. I was really hoping we’d get to see that Mokaev vs Jake Hadley domestic grudge match at some point on a UK card in 2023/24 but it seems Mokaev has gone past that now. Maybe it can still happen down the road. And Taira’s looking really promising and just broke into the rankings. Hopefully he gets off the prelims next time. Beyond that you’ve got Kai Kara-France, Brandon Royval, Matt Schnell, Tim Elliott etc. Can’t really go wrong matchmaking that lot.

WOMENS FLYWEIGHT:

This is one of the toughest to call for me this year. It’s quite refreshing actually, that after years of Valentina Shevchenko dominance, it genuinely feels like there’s a bunch of ways this can go now. It’s all up in the air. There’s legitimately 4 women I can very realistically see ending the year with Flyweight gold. I’m not massively confident in it but I’ve got a feeling Erin Blanchfield is gonna sneak in and nick it though.

Yeah, unfortunately I think Alexa Grasso’s not gonna be champion much longer. I’d rather see her stay champ but I just can’t see it. Blanchfield is fighting Manon Fiorot next and that’s surely a #1 contender match. I think she beats Fiorot just on account of being more well rounded. By process of elimination, them being matched up most likely means they’re going straight into Grasso vs Shevchenko 3 for the belt. More Groundhog Day shit but, fair enough, that last fight was razor close. I just think Shev’s time at the top level is winding down. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe Grasso just has her number. But I think a combination of Shev getting older and the aura of invincibility being shattered now, she might regain the belt at some point but I think her days of ruling over the division like she did are gone. 

So yeah, I think we see Grasso vs Shev 3, Grasso wins again and then loses it to Blanchfield later in the year. I think Grasso vs Blanchfield is one of those fights where Grasso is the better all around fighter but I think she’s gonna have real issues dealing with Blanchfield’s grappling. Shev was bossing a lot of the grappling against Grasso as I recall, but made sloppy mistakes that Grasso was able to capitalise on. I think Blanchfield would come in with much more of a solely grappling heavy approach, plus I don’t think she leaves nearly as many openings as Shev did. Obviously on the feet, Grasso wins but I think Blanchfield’s grappling dictates where the fight goes and I don’t see her straying from that. It’s interesting though. Finally we have a competitive title picture at 125! And to think we also had Taila Santos in the mix until they agreed on her release a few months back.

One wildcard here though - I mentioned I could easily see one of 4 women ending the year with the belt. The 4 I’m thinking about are Grasso, Shevchenko, Blanchfield or…Zhang Weili. Yeah, I said it. Zhang’s rapidly running out of challengers at Strawweight and her and Grasso respectfully called each other out for a ‘Superfight’ on social media recently. I’m gonna contradict myself because, although I’m all for champs staying in their own divisions, I’d love to see Grasso vs Zhang. What a fight. Probably won’t see it but you never know. Not sure what else we’ll get. Don’t know if Rose Namajunas is staying at Flyweight, or if she even plans to fight anytime soon. She’s seemed half checked out for a while now. After that you’ve got Maycee Barber who’s been fairly fun to watch lately. Amanda Ribas is still knocking about. Natalia Silva’s on the rise, big fan of her so far. Aside from Katlyn Chookagian shitting things up, it’s a nice little division at the moment.

STRAWWEIGHT:

Probably the easiest to predict out of all the divisions right now. Yeah, I can’t see past Zhang Weili staying on the throne as Strawweight Queen.

I hope she does as well. Strawweight is a pretty fun division and Zhang’s a massive part of the reason for that. She’s consistently exciting to watch, was one half of THE greatest women’s fight in MMA history with Joanna Jedrzejczyk and on top of that she’s likeable as fuck. Can’t root against her. I hope she holds onto the belt until she’s retired. She’s ace. As for 2024, what is there? Looking at the rankings, I think we see an all-Chinese battle next with Zhang vs Yan Xiaonan. That’s the fight to make next, Xiaonan deserves it. She arguably should’ve got the shot over Amanda Lemos last time. Either way, I think Zhang wins that one. After that I think it’s Tatiana Suarez and that’s a very interesting one. Suarez has to get past Lemos in February first but I can’t see her having much hassle there. Zhang vs Suarez though? Sign me up. Probably the toughest defence on the horizon for Zhang that. I think she comes out on top but Suarez has a wrestling game like Zhang hasn’t had to deal with yet. 

Beyond the title picture, I hope Jessica Andrade can string a few wins together now. Mackenzie Dern has her work cut out but I expect she’ll rebound with a couple of wins this year. I’m hoping Yazmin Jauregui can get back on track, one of the most exciting fighters in the division. And surely Michelle Waterson is done now? Or maybe they feed her to Dern actually in a bit of a passing the torch hottie fight.

See you all next year with another load of wrong predictions!