Discussing What the Rest of the Year Looks Like for the UFC
With Leon Edwards pulling off another massive upset over Kamaru Usman this past weekend, the Welterweight division now has a clear direction. Outside of the next contender in the Bantamweight division, the direction for big PPV fights is mostly set for the rest of the year. If the UFC sticks to its usual pace of roughly one PPV card per month, a roadmap for a schedule starts to appear. So let’s predict what the next PPV card in each month for the rest of 2023 will be.
April
Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya 2
No surprise here as this fight has long been anticipated, scheduled, and heavily promoted. Adesanya is set to square off against Pereira on April 8th in Miami, Florida. He will be attempting to reclaim his belt from Pereira, who has been a thorn in Adesanya’s side throughout his entire career. Pereira is currently 3–0 against Adesanya, including two professional kickboxing matches that took place in their pre-UFC days. There is no debate about if or when this fight is happening and thank god because these two put up a hell of a fight during their last bout and the world wants to see it again.
May
Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo
This is another fight that is not a prediction as it is already officially scheduled. Cejudo is coming out of retirement to try and reclaim his Bantamweight title. This fight will obviously have massive implications throughout the division and could affect the title shots for top contenders like Sean O’Malley, Marlon Vera, and Merab Dvalishvili. The Bantamweight division is already stacked and the return of Cejudo definitely makes things interesting. While Sterling is currently a slight betting favorite, either guy is extremely capable of winning this fight as it will be a fascinating clash of styles.
June
Jamahal Hill vs. Magomed Ankalaev
June is the first month where some guessing comes into play as it currently has no scheduled fights. Based on timing and scheduling, a title fight for the Light Heavyweight division would make sense around this time. Hill won the belt from Glover Teixeira in January and will certainly be involved in the next title fight in this division while Ankalaev is more of a guess. Before Hill became the undisputed champion, Ankalaev fought Jan Blachowicz to a draw in December of 2022 for the interim belt. While it’s certainly possible that Blachowicz gets the title shot against Hill, Ankalaev is ranked higher and the UFC will probably go in that direction to give a title shot to a new contender. However, if Jirí Procházka can somehow recover from his injury by this time, he will certainly be given first dibs on a title shot over everyone else in the division to reclaim his belt from Jamahal Hill.
July
Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic
It is no secret that the UFC is aiming for Jon “Bones” Jones to take on Stipe Miocic for his first Heavyweight title defense at UFC 290, scheduled for July 8th during international fight week. Given the antics from both sides after Jones’ fight with Ciryl Gane, it seems as though this fight is on the fast track to take place sooner rather than later. Jones is hands down the greatest Light Heavyweight fighter of all time and has now proven he can walk through Heavyweights with ease as well. Jones will look to cement his legacy against an all time great Heavyweight in Miocic in what will probably be the most anticipated fight of the entire year.
August
Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler
The UFC announced in February that McGregor and Chandler would be the coaches on season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter and would then face off against each other after the season finishes airing. Given that the show is set to air on May 30th and runs for 12 weeks, the fight between McGregor and Chandler will probably take place sometime in August. While this is the first fight on this list that will not be for a division title, bet your ass that it will be a massive PPV card as it marks the return of “Notorious” Conor McGregor. This fight will likely have massive buildup all throughout the summer as the country watches Chandler and McGregor but heads as coaches on TUF for two months leading up to it. Bringing on McGregor to be a TUF coach in the lead up to his return to the octogon is brilliant marketing by the UFC and August is the month that it’s likely to pay dividends.
September
Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez
Yair Rodriguez defeated Josh Emmett for the Featherweight interim belt while Volkanovski was competing for the Lightweight title in February. The title unification has not yet been scheduled. The last time either of these guys fought was in January, so sometime in the late summer or early fall makes sense for this fight. September seems to make some sense, however, due to the rumors that the UFC might be headed to Mexico for Mexican Independence Day on September 16th. There are currently three Mexican fighters due to fight for titles sometime this year in Rodriguez, Brandon Moreno, and Alexa Grasso. It seems as though the UFC might be aiming for a triple title fight card featuring all of the current Mexican champions as September would make sense as a return date for all of them.
October
Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira 2
Many seem to be penciling in Beneil Dariush for the next title fight in this division, but they all seem to be forgetting one thing: Dariush has to beat Oliveira in May first, no easy task. The reasoning behind why everyone expects Dariush to defeat Oliveira is confusing to say the least. Before losing to Makhachev, Oliveira was on an incredible winning streak, including recent victories over Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, and Tony Ferguson. The argument can certainly be made that the division is too stacked for Oliveira to get a rematch against Islam right now. However, with a win against Dariush, Oliveira will have recently mopped the floor with the entire top five of the Lightweight division and is certainly more deserving of another title shot than anyone else in the division. However, whoever ends up getting the next title fight against Islam, will likely be fighting in October because the UFC is headed to Abu Dhabi on October 21st and has made clear their plans of putting Islam Makhachev on that card.
November
Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington
Although Leon Edwards has made it clear that he wants to fight Jorge Masvidal next, Dana White has made it known that the next fight the UFC wants to see in this weight class is Edwards and Covington. Colby has made it abundantly clear that he wants this fight and believes he is deserving of another title shot. However, Leon Edwards has overcome a long and difficult road to becoming the Welterweight champ and he wants some say in his next fight. The impending standoff between Leon and the UFC, it will be interesting to see when this fight gets made. Edwards has announced that he intends to return in the late summer to early fall timeframe. However, with the UFC wanting to make a different fight than Edwards, some imminent delays are likely ahead. November would seem to be a good projection as the month Edwards will probably defend his title.
December
Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira 3
December is obviously the most difficult month to project as it is the farthest away, but some possibilities are definitely on the horizon. The winner of some upcoming bouts must be determined before a true prediction can be presented here. However, based on timing, the most likely scenarios would come down to another Bantamweight or Middleweight title fight. Another Middleweight clash between Pereira and Adesanya is extremely possible if Adesanya were to win at UFC 287 and set up a trilogy match. It is also possible that Pereira wins next month and faces a new opponent in December like Robert Whittaker, Jared Cannonier, or even Khamzat Chimaev given his upcoming move to Middleweight. However, it will also be time for another Bantamweight title as well and it wouldn’t be surprising to see both of these fights happen in December. The Bantamweight division comes with its own set of predictions, though. The winners of Vera vs. Sandhangen this weekend and Sterling vs. Cejudo at UFC 288 will be instrumental in figuring out what the next title fight in this division will look like. It could be any combination of Aljamain Sterling, Henry Cejudo, Marlon Vera, Merab Dvalishvili, or even Sean O’Malley.