2025 is shaping up to be a massive year for the UFC! With the first PPV of the year just around the corner, featuring title fights in the lightweight and bantamweight divisions, it’s time to look ahead. Who will hold gold in the heavier weight classes at the end of the year? Let’s dive in and make some bold predictions.
Belal Muhammad currently holds the welterweight title, but Shavkat Rakhmonov is a force to be reckoned with. Their title fight is inevitable, originally scheduled for December but postponed due to Muhammad’s injury. Rakhmonov earned his title shot with a dominant victory over Ian Machado Garry.
While some fans cooled on Rakhmonov after his performance against Garry, we still believe he’s destined for greatness. That fight wasn’t the best version of Shavkat. We expect to see his true potential unleashed when he finally gets his chance against Muhammad later this year. That version of Rakhmonov will become the UFC welterweight champion, and we predict he’ll still be holding the belt come the end of 2025.
We predict a title change at 185 pounds. Dricus Du Plessis is the current champion and will face Sean Strickland next month. That promises to be a competitive matchup, but we believe the winner will simply pave the way for Khamzat Chimaev.
Chimaev passed his middleweight test with flying colors a few months ago, dominating Robert Whittaker and securing a first-round submission. Chimaev is an absolute monster, and we’ve been predicting his championship reign for years. 2025 is the year it finally happens. We believe he’ll defeat either Du Plessis or Strickland and finish the year as the king of the middleweight division.
Alex Pereira is likely to remain the light heavyweight champion. “Poatan” has become a key figure for the UFC, consistently delivering exciting performances. In the last 15 months, Pereira has had four title fights, winning all four by knockout. He’s a true force of nature.
The number one contender is Magomed Ankalaev, and although Pereira claims he is not the next in line, we expect Ankalaev to receive the title shot in the UFC. In our view, Pereira will triumph even in the fight against Ankalaev. After that, we could see Pereira entertain a move up to heavyweight for a big fight later in the year as he starts to think about retirement. We expect Pereira to still be the light heavyweight champion at the end of 2025.
2025 will be Tom Aspinall’s year to claim the undisputed UFC heavyweight championship. We believe a fight between Jon Jones and Aspinall is inevitable this year. It’s a matchup that fans are clamoring for, and we expect Dana White and Hunter Campbell to make it happen.
We predict this fight will headline International Fight Week. While Aspinall can win that fight outright, even if he loses to Jones, we still foresee him ending the year as champion. If Jones were to win, we speculate he might retire, especially if a fight with Alex Pereira doesn’t materialize.
In that scenario, Aspinall would likely fight for the vacant title in late 2025 or early 2026 and secure the championship. If Aspinall defeats Jones, a rematch is possible, or he could face another top contender in the fall. Outside of Jones, we don’t see anyone capable of defeating Aspinall. We’re about 50/50 on the Jones-Aspinall fight, but we believe Aspinall is the safer bet to end 2025 as the heavyweight champion.
Four divisions, four predictions: Rakhmonov, Chimaev, Pereira, and Aspinall. These are the names we expect to dominate the UFC landscape in 2025. Get ready for another year of thrilling fights and potential title changes!
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