A new year of UFC action is upon us, and some major fights have already been scheduled.
In the first pay-per-view of the year, January’s UFC 311, Islam Makhachev defends the lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan – in a rematch five years in the making.
On the same night, Merab Dvalishvili puts his bantamweight strap on the line against Umar Nurmagomedov, cousin of UFC great Khabib, who will also be in Makhachev’s corner that evening.
In February, there is another rematch, as Dricus Du Plessis defends the middleweight belt against Sean Strickland, whom he dethroned with a narrow decision in January.
That bout caps off another double-header, with Tatiana Suarez challenging women’s strawweight queen Zhang Weili earlier in the night.
But what else do we want to see in 2025? Here are five UFC fights we’re craving:
Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall
Let’s get the obvious one out of the way first: the consensus most-desired UFC fight in 2025. The heavyweight titles must be unified in 2025. If Jones does not want to face interim champion Aspinall, he must retire from MMA or vacate the regular belt. Either of those moves would only boost the volume of the ‘ducking’ accusations against Jones, but he can’t be allowed to keep his title while avoiding the Briton.
Aspinall has already defended and retained the interim gold once; he has more than earned his shot at Jones. Aspinall, 31, is six years younger than the American, faster, more powerful, and a more natural heavyweight. But to give Jones credit, the light-heavyweight GOAT showed with his recent stoppage of (an admittedly older, slower, rustier version of) Stipe Mioic that he does have a solid chance against Aspinall. Now he must prove it.
Khamzat Chimaev in a middleweight title fight
After Chimaev ran through former champion Robert Whittaker in October, fans decided they were willing to overlook the Russian’s relative lack of activity – and seeming inability to fight in the US – to see him in a title fight. Dricus Du Plessis holds the gold, and that would have been an enthralling pairing, but Sean Strickland has managed to largely sit-and-wait his way into a rematch with Du Plessis, who dethroned him with a close decision in January.
So, Chimaev should get the next title shot, whether that be against Du Plessis or Strickland. The former match-up appeals more at the time of writing, but Strickland – who apparently fared poorly in past sparring rounds with Chimaev – might change our perception when he faces Du Plessis in February.
Leon Edwards vs Ian Machado Garry
When The Independent reported in late 2023 that Machado Garry had been barred from training at Leon Edwards’s gym, appetite spiked for a clash between the pair. At the time, however, Edwards was welterweight champion and Garry was too far down in the rankings to justify that match-up. But Edwards is no longer champion, and Machado Garry recently lost a No 1 contender’s fight – on short notice, and by a relatively close decision.
Edwards vs Machado Garry now makes sense from a rankings perspective, and their past in the gym adds an edge, as does the English vs Irish element. Unfortunately, Machado Garry has refused to fight at UFC London in March, which would have been the perfect time and place for a clash with Edwards. Still, we’d take this chess match of a fight whenever and wherever in 2025.
Justin Gaethje vs Dan Hooker
There is a temptation to write nothing here, as this one sells itself. Hooker and Gaethje are always in wars, delivering stunning finishes or finding themselves on the receiving end of them. Somehow, though, the lightweights have not shared the cage. Let that change in 2025, please. This one could be for the ‘Baddest Motherf*****’ belt, which Gaethje previously held, or not. Who cares? It would certainly satiate the bloodthirstiest fans. Just LET, THEM, FIGHT!
Valentina Shevchenko vs Zhang Weili
Like our second pick on this list, this one depends on the outcome of an already-scheduled fight. In this case, that’s Zhang’s title defence against Tatiana Suarez in February. There is no guarantee that Zhang’s strawweight reign survives that bout, but if it does, a super-fight with flyweight legend Shevchenko appeals. Zhang has been one of the best things to happen to women’s MMA in recent years; Shevchenko is one of the best things to ever happen to it.
The Chinese star is well into her second run as champion, competed in arguably the best women’s fight ever, and has been on the right and wrong ends of classic knockouts. A pairing with Shevchenko would be fascinating. Let Shevchenko get her own second title reign – at flyweight – up and running, and if “Bullet” and Zhang win their respective next bouts, put them together for guaranteed fireworks.
