The UFC have preferences, just like any other company. They have certain men and women on their roster who they hope to be UFC champions. This is based on potential, those who make ‘business sense’ e.g ticket sellers, those who put on entertaining fights and ‘fit’ the UFC mould.
We take a look at who, in an ideal Dana White world, would hold the belt in each division (if they had the choice).
Who the UFC Hope to be Champion in Every Division in 2025
Women’s Divisions
Strawweight – Zhang Weili or Mackenzie Dern
The strawweight division is a strange one, the UFC is in a good position at the moment. They have Zhang Weili as their champion, their first and only Chinese champion to date, unlocking a whole new market. The upcoming challenger, Tatiana Suarez is also a good pick. Suarez has an amazing backstory, is undefeated and finishes fights. With that being said, she has withdrawn from two straight fights with injury, leading to her potentially being unreliable.
An outside shout would be Mackenzie Dern. She’s a good talker, has ‘the look’ and crosses over to both Brazilian and American fans alike.
Flyweight – Alexa Grasso or Rose Namajunas
The current champion, Valentina Shevchenko has transitioned into a far more risk-adverse fighter. She has become far more grappling-heavy and doesn’t always put on entertaining fights. There’s a reason that she’s only headlined one PPV.
The former champion, Alexa Grasso would likely be Dana White’s preferred choice as UFC flyweight queen. She unlocks the Mexican market and has a huge fan base.
With Rose Namajunas, she’d become a two-weight world champion having held the strawweight strap previously. There’s a reason that she got a title shot after just one win back in her strawweight days as well as headlining multiple fight night cards. White clearly likes her.
Bantamweight – Kayla Harrison
No ifs, no buts, no maybes. There’s a reason that Kayla Harrison was bought into the UFC and it was to be a dominant, American judoka, much like Ronda Rousey before her. White wants Harrison to hold the 135lbs belt, no questions.
Men’s Divisions
Flyweight – Alexandre Pantoja or Brandon Moreno
Alexandre Pantoja isn’t a bad champion at all. He’s dominant, puts on entertaining fights, has put together a string of wins and is extremely active, having made three UFC title defences since capturing the belt in July 2023. The issue is that he doesn’t transfer over to the mainstream.
Former champion, Brandon Moreno has all of Mexico behind him and is a big fan favourite. So if he were to hold the belt, White and co wouldn’t be too mad about it.
Bantamweight – Sean O’Malley or Umar Nurmagomedov
The former champion, Sean O’Malley is someone that White and his team really admire. They gave him a title shot after just one notable, controversial win over Petr Yan. O’Malley has headlined three PPVs, including the huge card at The Sphere last September.
As for Umar Nurmagomedov, it’s always desirable for the UFC to have a ‘Nurmagomedov’ holding a belt. Again, similar to O’Malley, there’s a reason that he’s getting a title shot after just one notable win. He’s undefeated at 18-0 and has finished nine wins. With a big performance at UFC 311, Nurmagomedov could shoot to stardom.
Featherweight – Ilia Topuria
The UFC will be fairly happy with Ilia Topuria as their featherweight king. It’s strange to describe an undefeated, finishing machine, who is the champion as having potential, however, that is just how El Matador is seen.
The Spaniard is a potential megastar, who mixes it with some of the biggest names in Spanish football history and is a legitimate superstar in his native Spain. At just 27, he’s notched 14 finishes across 16 wins. He’s wiped out the two former long-time UFC featherweight kings before him and is on track to make huge waves in 2025.
UFC Lightweight – Islam Makhachev or Paddy Pimblett
Lightweight is a tough one. Islam Makhachev is a good, solid, reliable champion and more often than not puts on entertaining fights. He’s dominant, almost cleared out the division and not only that but he also finishes fights, notching 17 wins inside the distance out of 27 victories overall. He also unlocks the Russian market and is a stalwart member of Team Khabib, always a good person to have in your corner.
Paddy Pimblett is a massive Dana White (and sometimes fan) favourite. The Liverpudlian has a huge fan base in the UK and unlocks that market like few others do. He’s a good talker, has a style that leaves him open to risk, making him a must-watch every time. Similar to the great Floyd Mayweather Jr, you either tune in to watch him knock someone out, or tune in to watch him get knocked out, but you tune in regardless!
Welterweight – ?
Welterweight is arguably the weakest division (as far as stars are concerned) in the whole of the UFC. There are no stand-out stars in the division and no one that is a huge PPV star. The champion, Belal Muhammad, doesn’t have a fan-friendly style and doesn’t cross over to the mainstream in any great way. The next challenger, Shavkat Rakhmonov is a phenom with regards to his record. He’s finished a huge 18 of his 19 wins, however, doesn’t have a great grasp of the English language and therefore, struggles to cross over into the mainstream.
The former champion, Kamaru Usman unlocked a huge African market, however, at 37 years of age and with dwindling health concerns, he isn’t a long-term option. In the future, Ian Garry is a potential option, however, he needs a good few wins and prove himself at the highest level. There’s also another Irishman who is likely to return at welterweight… Conor McGregor?
Middleweight – Israel Adesanya
There is a clear link between megastars and PPV main events. The former middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has headlined 12 PPVs during his tenure in the UFC (which has spanned just under seven years.
He’s a phenomenal talker, has a fan-friendly style and massively crosses over into the mainstream. Arguably, the perfect champion.
Light Heavyweight – Alex Pereira
Who doesn’t love an active, dominant, daunting champion? Alex Pereira is all of those things. He, like Adesanya, has headlined multiple PPVs (six) since joining the UFC and made an unprecedented rise to the title picture. In 2024 alone, he saved two cards, headlining three PPVs, including UFC 300.
He’s a multi-weight world champion a massive fan favourite and crosses over into the mainstream in a huge way.
Heavyweight – Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall
Heavyweight MMA in the UFC is in a great position. The likely (hopefully) next fight will be for the undisputed title clash between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall and Dana White will be thankful for this.
Jon Jones has always been a ticket seller, a decent talker on the mic and a fighter who looks for finishes. He’s headlined a huge 17 PPVs during his career and is largely seen as the GOAT. Long term, he isn’t your guy, however, he’s a great pick.
Your long-term guy is Tom Aspinall. The Brit unlocks the UK market, is a great talker, a good role model and a finishing machine. He’s exciting, well-rounded and a man who realistically could break Stipe Miocic’s record of consecutive title defences at heavyweight. He’s the future, without a doubt.
Do you agree or disagree with our picks? Let us know in the comments below!
