The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) dominates the pay-per-view fighting business, generating millions of dollars in revenue. This year has been a massive one for the UFC so far, and the company continues to grow as more endorsements arise. From submissions, wild knockouts, to judges’ decisions, this year has seen title fights that kept fans on the edge of their seats.
Islam Makhachev, Dricus Du Plessis, and Zhang Weili are a few champions who retained their belts in 2025. The record for most consecutive title defenses is no longer untouchable, as these champions look to keep their streaks alive. In the light heavyweight division, a new streak will begin with a new champion, Magomed Ankalaev.
There were two championship fights this year where the champion was the underdog, and bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili was the one to pull away. With every championship fight that’s happened, the following fight seems to gain more hype. Fans have a lot to look forward to for the rest of the year with the implications of the upcoming championship fights.
Came a Long Way
In 1993, the emergence of the Ultimate Fighting Championships whipped the world of mixed martial arts into a frenzy. Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG) was an initial investor in the event, helping to design the layout and format of the fights. UFC Co-Founder Rorion Gracie was instrumental in setting up his younger brother to fight in what was to be known as UFC 1: The Beginning. Royce Gracie submitted three straight fighters on his way to his first victory as a UFC Fighter.
Nearly a decade later, Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta acquired the UFC for $2 million. White and Fertitta did not receive what they were promised in the acquisition due to the UFC’s financial troubles under SEG. Fertitta and his brother ended up investing over $40 million before seeing success. White boosted UFC ratings significantly by developing a UFC reality series called The Ultimate Fighter. The success of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter changed the outlook on UFC and procured a massive fan base. Then, in a 2006 rematch between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, the UFC generated over 1,000,000 pay-per-view buys.
After reaching a $1.1 billion value on Forbes, the UFC continued to grow unimaginably. With the help of stars like Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor, the company reached a staggering $600 million in gross revenue for 2015. Dana White signed a seven-year contract in March 2019, about when the UFC inked a deal with ESPN for $1.5 billion. The next deal on the docket, coming soon, is a possible deal with Netflix to stream all UFC events. Things are great for the UFC, and 2025 has already been a year full of great things, and hopefully, more upcoming.
January 2025
At UFC 311 in Los Angeles, the Co-Main Event was between #1 contender Umar Nurmagomedov and champion Merab Dvalishvili. This fight in the 135-pound bantamweight division went the distance and ended in a unanimous decision in favor of the champ. Merab stuck to what he knew best all night, grappling, to pick up his first-ever title defense. Nurmagomedov is expected to fight an up-and-coming contender to have another shot at the belt. Merab is surely expecting a rematch against former champion Sean O’Malley
That same night, Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev defeated the 10th-ranked contender, Renato Moicano. Moicano took the fight on just a few days’ notice after #1 contender Arman Tsarukyan backed out due to injury. Makhachev made UFC history by claiming his fourth title defense, surpassing his coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov. Makhachev is receiving fight offers left and right, even from outside the lightweight division.
February 2025
UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia gave us two more title fights, one of them being in the women’s strawweight division. Zhang Weili vs Tatiana Suarez was a battle, with the champion Zhang Weili emerging victorious over the #1 contender. Suarez came into this fight as the initial favorite, but Weili showed the world why she continues her reign.
The main event, for the middleweight title, was between #1 contender Sean Strickland and champion Dricus Du Plessis. Dricus dominated this fight from start to finish, giving him a good reason to fight for another belt outside of middleweight. He hinted at a possible fight between Alex Pereira for the light-heavyweight belt (Pereira surrendered the belt to Magomed Ankalaev). Khamzat Chimaev, a rising star in the middleweight division, has his eyes set on Dricus after dominating every middleweight contender he has faced.
March 2025
At UFC 313 in Las Vegas, the main card fights before the main event made for the biggest highlights of the night. Starting with the first fight on the main card, Mauricio Ruffy landed a spinning-heel kick on King Green for a first-round KO. Then, #3 lightweight contender, Justin Gaethje, defeated Rafael Fiziev in an epic bloodbath. Justin Gaethje sits behind a long list of contenders waiting for their shot against Islam Makhachev.
The main event featured top light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev and champion Alex Pereira. Coming into the fight, Ankalaev was expected to test the grappling skills of Pereira, hence why the odds were so close. Pereira lost in a unanimous decision to Ankalaev, making Ankalaev the new light heavyweight champion. Dana White later alluded to an immediate rematch between these two, possibly sometime this summer or early fall.
What’s Next?
UFC 314 in Miami features two of the best featherweight contenders battling for the belt that was vacated by champion Ilia Topuria. Alexander Volkanovski lost the featherweight belt to Topuria at UFC 298 by KO in the second round. Volkonovski, a veteran in the featherweight division, badly needs to regain the belt after going 1-3 in his last four fights. Diego Lopes stormed his way through the featherweight rankings, dominating every opponent. He is on a five-fight win streak in the lightweight division, and it is time for him to prove that he can become a champion. These two can claim the featherweight title from Topuria on April 12.
UFC 315 will be a welterweight bout between champion Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena. Muhammad has not lost in the UFC since 2019 and holds one of the best records among current champions. Renowned for his wrestling ability, Muhammad seeks his first title defense in the UFC. The 5th-ranked contender, Della Maddalena, will have the opportunity to claim the belt in Montreal on May 10. With four knockout victories in his short UFC career, Della Maddalena is an interesting matchup for Muhammad, who has only two knockout victories. Della Maddalena is undefeated in the UFC, and he aspires to keep it that way on May 10.
Fights We Need – Jones vs Aspinall
Jon Jones, arguably the greatest MMA fighter ever, has the opportunity to take on the current interim heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall, this year. Jones is the most skilled fighter in every category when it comes to mixed martial arts, but he is much older. After dominating the light heavyweight division for over a decade, Jones decided to move up to heavyweight in 2023. He defeated Ciryl Gane for the undisputed heavyweight championship, then pulled out of a title defense shortly after.
With Jones out, Tom Aspinall had the opportunity to fight Sergei Pavlovich for the interim heavyweight title and won. UFC fans around the world were shown why Tom Aspinall is the next great talent in the heavyweight division. Aspinall is a very serious threat to Jones, as he is much faster and younger. Jon Jones is very hesitant to take this fight, as there is not much to gain from taking this fight, where he may not have the best chance. Not much is being relayed from Jones’ team, but this fight could’ve happened much earlier.
Makhachev vs Topuria
Islam Makhachev has a new contender in the lightweight division for him to potentially face down the road. Makhachev solidified himself as one of the greatest lightweight champions of all time this year. With the legend Khabib Nurmagomedov in his corner, it’s hard to imagine Makhachev going down.
Ilia Topuria cruised his way through the featherweight division before moving up to lightweight. Undefeated in his UFC career, the young Spaniard has beaten great fighters to get to where he stands. Topuria’s five knockout wins in the UFC prove that he has some of the most explosive power in the sport. Topuria presents an issue for Makhachev, as he is young and very agile, with great poise and control. Topuria will probably need to go through the #1 lightweight contender, Charles Olivera, to get to Makhachev.
2025 is already a great year for the UFC, but will the success continue, and what fighters will hold a belt?
