THE 10 | A NEW ERA BEGINS IN STYLE

Prior to the featherweight title going up for grabs in Sydney (more on that shortly), Arnold Allen and Jean Silva face off in a battle for positioning in the 145-pound rankings.

Currently stationed at No. 6, Allen snapped out of a two-fight skid last time out, collecting a unanimous decision win over Giga Chikadze at UFC 304 in Manchester. Unfortunately for the ultra-talented Brit, injuries have been a frequent obstacle, with a longstanding AC joint issue being responsible for his latest extended hiatus.

Silva’s 2025 campaign began with a first-round stoppage win over Melsik Baghdasaryan in Seattle and continued with a second-round submission of Bryce Mitchell less than two months later at UFC 314 in Miami, setting up a main event clash with Diego Lopes at Noche UFC in September. It was a chaotic battle where Lopes dominated the opening round only for Silva to come roaring back in the second before getting caught with a spinning back elbow that split his dome and ended the fight.

While both men still have some work to do in order to claim a place in the title conversation, a big effort here could set the victor up for something significant later in the year. It feels like featherweight is in for a massive year, and this is a terrific way to kick things off in the Top 15.

Waldo Cortes Acosta vs Derrick Lewis

With a new champion at the helm, this compelling bantamweight clash between former champ “Suga” Sean O’Malley and Chinese standout Song Yadong has taken on even greater stakes as we kick off the 2026 campaign.

After dropping the title to Merab Dvalishvili at Noche UFC at Sphere in 2024, the now 31-year-old O’Malley made just a solitary appearance last year, suffering a third-round submission loss to “The Machine” in their championship rematch at UFC 316 at the start of June. This is completely unfamiliar territory for O’Malley, and seeing how he responds to the first losing streak of his career is one of the more fascinating questions that will be answered in the early part of the year.

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Song scored the biggest victory of his career last year, earning a stoppage win over former champ Henry Cejudo in February. While the bout was halted as a result of an eye injury caused by an accidental eye poke that rendered “Triple C” unable to continue, the 28-year-old Team Alpha MMA representative was in complete control through the opening 15 minutes, looking lightning quick and more confident in the Octagon.

Heading into UFC 323, O’Malley looked poised to be stuck in championship purgatory (a.k.a. The Franklin Zone), having dropped consecutive contests to Dvalishvili. But with Petr Yan closing out the year with a dominant title win, his window opened wide once more, as he and the new champ previously fought to a split decision, which O’Malley won. Song has history with the Russian titleholder as well, dropping a decision to Yan at UFC 299 in a bout where he started well, but couldn’t maintain his success as the savvy veteran warmed into the contest and claimed a victory on the scorecards.

Kayla Harrison vs Amanda Nunes

There is so much that goes into this one that we’re going to have to dedicate a full long-form piece to it in the build-up to this event, but suffice to say that this bantamweight championship bout between reigning champ Kayla Harrison and returning Hall of Famer Amanda Nunes is an absolutely epic affair.

Harrison completed her ascent to the top of the 135-pound weight class with a second-round submission win over Julianna Pena at UFC 316 in Newark. It was a dominant showing by the two-time Olympic gold medalist, who advanced to 3-0 in the Octagon and 19-1 overall with her 14th career stoppage win.

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Nunes, who was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame last summer, hung up her gloves following a dominant win over Irene Aldana at UFC 289 in June 2023, exiting as a two-division champion and the consensus greatest female fighter of all time. When she departed, “The Lioness” had beaten every woman to hold the bantamweight and featherweight titles, and now she returns looking to reclaim her throne and make that fact true once more by taking out Harrison.

In addition to being a colossal pairing that everyone was clamoring for prior to Nunes’ departure and Harrison’s arrival in the UFC — and since as well — there is some personal tension here, too. The co-main event combatants both trained at American Top Team, and ever-present talk of a potential fight between the two was a big part of the reason Nunes decided to pull up stakes, establish her own space, and take a more boxing-style approach to her preparations.

This is a fascinating pairing, and how it shakes out will not only dictate the course of things in the division but also impact the legacies of each woman going forward.

Justin Gaethje vs Paddy Pimblett

The opening event of the Paramount+ era wraps with an interim lightweight title clash between bonus machine and former interim champ Justin Gaethje and Liverpool’s favorite fighting son, Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett.

Gaethje has garnered 14 post-fight bonuses in as many trips into the Octagon, earning nine Fight of the Night awards and five Performance of the Night honors while amassing a 9-5 mark in the UFC. The former BMF titleholder previously claimed an interim title with his breathtaking performance against Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 and will look to secure a third opportunity to fight for the undisputed title by becoming the first person to ever be a two-time interim UFC champion.

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A perfect 7-0 since arriving in the UFC, Pimblett has continued to defy his critics each time out, saving his best performances to date for his last two outings. Two fights back, the popular Scouser made quick work of King Green, putting the veteran to sleep with a slick first-round triangle choke submission before absolutely mauling Michael Chandler at UFC 314 last year in Miami to force his way into the title conversation.

With champ Ilia Topuria taking a sabbatical to tend to some personal issues, these two have been ticketed to face off to see who will challenge “El Matador” upon his return to close out the first numbered event of the year. Will the veteran Gaethje score another interim title win and secure the opportunity he’s been stumping for, or will “Paddy the Baddy” pick up some UFC gold and set up a highly anticipated showdown with Topuria later this year?

UFC 325: Volkanovski vs Lopes 2 — Saturday, January 31 (Sydney, Australia)

Jonathan Micallef vs Oban Elliott

This one is going to be spicy, but I also think both of these men will be heard from in the welterweight division going forward, so I wanted to make sure to highlight it here.

Micallef is yet another member of the outstanding DWCS Class of ’24, having submitted Canadian prospect Mo Ado in the first round to earn his contract before registering a unanimous decision win over Kevin Jousset in his promotional debut at UFC 312. “The Captain” is 8-1 as a professional and one of those “better than you think and still improving” fighters that carries the potential to make a sizable leap in the next couple of years.

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Last year was a lost year for Elliott, who entered his sophomore campaign in the UFC on a high after closing out his rookie season with a third-round knockout win over Bassil Hafez at Madison Square Garden. He dropped a unanimous decision to SeokHyeon Ko in June that slowed his momentum and then was forced out of his next assignment with pneumonia, wiping out any hopes of getting back into the win column before the year was through.

That last bout was supposed to come against Micallef in Perth, and when it fell apart during Fight Week, there was some tension between the two because of heightened frustrations and some social media posts. Now they’re slated to try again in Sydney, and something tells me that it’s going to be a barnburner for as long as it lasts.

Rafael Fiziev vs Mauricio Ruffy

Less than a year after meeting for the vacant featherweight title, Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes run it back in the main event of UFC 325 in Sydney.

Volkanovski joined Jose Aldo as just the second man to hold the featherweight title twice,  with a unanimous decision win over Lopes at UFC 314 in Miami. After losing the title to Ilia Topuria in his lone appearance of 2024 and suffering consecutive first-round knockout losses in his previous two fights, this was a “Vintage Volk” showing as the 37-year-old Australian used all the tools in his kit and his expert Octagon generalship to get the better of his Brazilian foe.

Lopes seemed a little overwhelmed by the moment in the first meeting between the two, coming out hesitant rather than attacking and struggling to build any truly meaningful momentum over the course of the fight, resulting in a unanimous decision loss. He rebounded in impressive fashion in September, dominating the opening round of his Noche UFC main event clash with Jean Silva before surviving a second-round onslaught and ending the fight in dramatic fashion by landing the same spinning back elbow “Lord” had attempted multiple times throughout the frame.

While some have balked at the two being paired off again so quickly, there is no denying this is a fascinating matchup where the experience Lopes garnered the first time around hovers over this contest as a potential x-factor. Will Volkanovski successfully defend his title on home soil, or can Lopes make the most of his second chance and join Aldo as the second Brazilian to hold the UFC featherweight title?