UFC champions come and go, but some of them cement themselves in UFC history while others have shorter reigns than others. There’s been two title matches this year so far where we saw Islam Makhachev and Merab Dvalishvili defend their belts at UFC 311. This weekend at UFC 312 we will see if Dricus Du Plessis and Zhang Weili can do the same against Sean Strickland and Tatiana Suarez.
UFC Champions – end of year Predictions
Heavyweight – Tom Aspinall (Current Interim Champion)
For the heavyweight division this could easily be Jon Jones, but my bold statement is that Tom Aspinall will get the Jones fight this year and hand him his first real UFC loss and defy the odds. In less exciting fashion, Jones could also opt to retire or vacate the belt which would make Aspinall the undisputed champion. Either way I believe Aspinall will be one of the UFC champions when 2025 comes to an end.
Light Heavyweight – Alex Pereira (Current Champion)
Alex Pereira has been a superstar in the UFC constantly getting finishes and has been of the most exciting UFC champions. Despite being one of the most active champions it’s hard to envision him losing the belt in the 205 division as he prepares to make his first defense in 2025 against Magomed Ankalaev.
Middleweight – Khamzat Chimaev (Current Rank No. 3)
Despite Dricus Du Plessis middleweight takeover and rematch coming up with Sean Strickland, Khamzat Chimaev has looked like an unstoppable force and can very well be next up for a title shot.
Welterweight – Belal Muhammad (Current Champion)
I’m boldly predicting Belal Muhammad will defeat welterweight’s biggest threat in Shavkat Rakhmonov after he was exposed a bit in his victory over Ian Machado Garry. If Muhammad can get through that I believe he can finish this year as the champion.
Lightweight – Islam Makhachev (Current Champion)
After his victory at UFC 311, I strongly believe Makhachev is now the greatest lightweight of all time now holding the most title defenses in the division all time. I don’t think anyone is a huge threat to dethrone him this year cementing himself as one of the greatest UFC champions ever.
Featherweight – Ilia Topuria (Current Champion)
The only way I don’t see Ilia Topuria ending this year as the featherweight champion is if he decides to make the full transition up to lightweight as there were previous rumblings about it. If he decides to stay, I don’t think there’s anyone quite on his level in the division at the moment.
Bantamweight – Merab Dvalishvili (Current Champion)
Merab Dvalishvili silenced many doubters when he became the first person to defeat Umar Nurmagomedov which was no easy task. His cardio proves to be an X-factor and it’s difficult to envision any top contenders truly threatening his current reign. By the end of 2025, Dvalishvili should remain one of the UFC champions.
Flyweight – Brandon Moreno (Current Rank No. 2)
I know Brandon Moreno has already lost to the dominating Alexandre Pantoja twice, so this is a hot take. I believe if Moreno gets a third fight he can get it done and finally shake up the division a bit in which Pantoja has been dominating. He’d be the hottest take on here to end 2025 as one of the UFC champions.
