As another year of UFC action comes to an end, it is time to look ahead to the next.
One super-fight has already been booked, with featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski challenging his lightweight counterpart Islam Makhachev in Australia in February, but there are more seismic bouts that can be made.
It is not all about what happens at the top of each division, however; there are contenders climbing from the bottom of the rankings, and their next moves must be factored in, too.
With that in mind, The Independent looked at each weight class in the UFC and picked one fight per division, in hopes that each contest will come to fruition in 2023.
Here are our must-make UFC fights for the coming year:
Heavyweight
Jon Jones vs Francis Ngannou
Alex Pattle: This is an easy one. Jones, the greatest light-heavyweight of all time, first teased a move up to heavyweight a decade ago. He has spent three years adapting his frame for such a venture, which feels somewhat egregious, though contract negotiations have also been partly responsible for the delay. Anyway, seeing Jones move up to heavyweight would be fascinating enough, but if you make his divisional debut a title fight against the most fearsome puncher in UFC history, in Ngannou, then you’ve got one of the biggest fights the company has ever had on its hands. It has to happen, though Ngannou – like Jones – rightly wants an adequate amount of money for this fight, and he is still recovering from injury.
Light-heavyweight
Jan Blachowicz vs Jiri Prochazka
Ollie Cooper: This division is a mess right now; following a draw between Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 282, there is still no champion to rule over the division. That being said, there are some intriguing match-ups, with a really well-balanced top 15 made up of strikers, grapplers, wrestlers and all-rounders. For me, the fight to make is Blachowicz against Prochazka, who recently gave up the title at 205lbs, providing the latter recovers from injury in time. I think Blachowicz was unlucky to see his five-round back-and-forth with Ankalaev go down as a draw, as in some eyes he’d done enough to recover the belt he lost in 2021. It’s a fascinating tactical match-up and brings together two of the bigger characters in a division that’s desperately starved of them.
Middleweight
Alex Pereira vs Robert Whittaker
OC: The place to start here is whether Israel Adesanya gets an immediate title rematch against Pereira, or has to work his way back to the belt as Whittaker did. For me, the fight to make is Whittaker vs Pereira for the gold. I couldn’t imagine a fight more fun than this at 185lbs; champion Pereira, the most aggressive of kickboxers, taking on a grizzled former middleweight title holder. It has fight of the year potential written all over it. What a shame that Whittaker’s match with Paulo Costa has fallen apart, but the end of Adesanya’s reign is great news for Whittaker, who is so far ahead of the rest of the division yet failed to get past “The Last Stylebender” on two occasions. Regaining his title is now both achievable and extremely romantic. The narrative is there: beat Pereira, regain the belt, then defend it against his old rival Adesanya.
Welterweight
Khamzat Chimaev vs Colby Covington
AP: The obvious answer may be Kamaru Usman vs Leon Edwards 3, after the latter avenged a 2015 decision loss by knocking out Usman in stunning fashion to become welterweight champion in August. But that fight feels like a given in 2023, so let’s go with something slightly different at 170lbs. Chimaev has surged up the rankings and a title shot is inevitable, it’s just a question of whether that happens at welterweight or middleweight, after the Russian-born Swede missed weight ahead of his last fight. He seems set on welterweight but should not be rewarded with a title fight despite his impressive winning run, due to that failed weight cut. So, to set him up for a crack at the gold, put him in with Covington, a former interim champion with a stark personality, who would not only test Chimaev in the ring but create an enthralling build-up outside of it.
Lightweight
Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler
OC: We all know this, surely? Just uttering these two names in one sentence puts me on the edge of my seat. This would almost certainly be the biggest event of the year, pitching two of the most exciting fighters to bless the UFC roster, let alone the division, against each other for an absolute spectacle. McGregor requires a top contender for a comeback match, and Chandler would offer a tough yet winnable test and would undoubtedly bring the fireworks that McGregor fans have become accustomed to. It is a win-win-win; the UFC bring their star back with an explosive fight against a top contender, Chandler gets the opportunity to cash a huge, McGregor-sized cheque, and McGregor gets a chance to progress in the division. Across all divisions, this is surely the fight to make in 2023.
Men’s featherweight
Max Holloway vs Arnold Allen
AP: Allen was arguably unlucky not to get a shot at the division’s interim title, with Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett (also both deserving, in fairness) set to square off for the strap in February. Allen has still earned a big fight with a tremendous 12-fight win streak, and the clearest option at 145lbs is former champion Holloway. It would be a huge bout for Allen, one of the flagbearers of British MMA in the nation’s stellar 2022, and it would make for a fitting co-main event at UFC 286 in London in March. It would be a thrilling stand-up battle, pitting Hawaiian Holloway’s crisp striking against Allen’s intense output.
Men’s bantamweight
Cory Sandhagen vs Sean O’Malley
OC: There are a lot of great fights that make a lot of sense here. You could pair Sandhagen with virtually anyone and it instantly becomes ‘fun’. In fact, he has just been paired with Marlon Vera for February, but the fight the UFC really needs to make here is Sandhagen vs O’Malley. I don’t mind waiting until after “The Suga Show” gets the title shot he supposedly earned when edging past Petr Yan at UFC 280, and until after Sandhagen faces Vera. My money would be on O’Malley losing against champion Aljamain Sterling, so why not keep him in contention with a bout against “The Sandman”, if Sandhagen beats Vera? This would be perfect for both casual and hardcore fans. It promises a dazzling masterclass on the feet, with all manner of flying, spinning and switching attacks. Both fighters have the personality, the skills and the flair to build a strong pre-fight narrative and put together a fight of the year contender.
Men’s flyweight
Matt Schnell vs Muhammad Mokaev
AP: This may seem like British bias, but I feel that 22-year-old Mokaev should be rewarded for his willingness to fight anyone at anytime in his bid to become the youngest ever UFC champion. The unbeaten Dagestani-born Briton, ranked 14th at 125lbs, has called out nearly every name above him in the division, and eighth-ranked Schnell seems as good an option as any.
Women’s featherweight
N/A
AP: Unfortunately, this division barely exists. A champion without challengers, Amanda Nunes is like a queen without a queendom. She last defended the belt in early 2021, and although she has been active since with two bantamweight title fights, the lack of activity all round in this division makes it feel like it should arguably be dissolved. That is a real shame, and also the reason why there is no pick for this weight class.
Women’s bantamweight
Holly Holm vs Miesha Tate 2
OC: The most eye-catching fight to make the fans sit up. It’s fun, it’s nostalgic and it will undoubtedly be competitive. Both veterans need to find a win to justify the comebacks they’ve struggled to define. A second fight between the two former champions offers too much of a narrative to be ignored; a chance for revenge for UFC 196 for Holm, and the potential for Tate to solidify her place in the division against an old rival and, perhaps more importantly, the No 3-ranked contender in the division.
Women’s flyweight / strawweight
Zhang Weili vs Valentina Shevchenko
AP: I’m combining two divisions for this one: the prospect of a super-fight between flyweight champion Shevchenko and strawweight title holder Zhang. Shevchenko was arguably lucky to retain her belt against Taila Santos on points last time out, and – barring a rematch – she doesn’t have many exciting challenges ahead of her at 125lbs. Meanwhile, Zhang just recaptured the title that she lost in 2021. A trilogy fight between the Chinese fighter and Rose Namajunas, who dethroned her, would make sense if Namajunas were not coming off a loss, while Zhang’s compatriot Yan Xiaonan likely needs one more win to earn a title shot. In the meantime, Zhang and Shevchenko could square off. The only sticking point here would be the weight class; Shevchenko has fought at bantamweight before and would likely not move down to strawweight, yet she’s more deserving of a shot at double-champ status than Zhang is.
