Athletes
The Featherweight Division | 2026 Preview
Alexander Volkanovski Returned To The Throne In 2025, But A New Crop Of Contenders Is Eager To Unseat The Australian
While the featherweight division had its fair share of major moments and shifting in 2025, it starts 2026 in a familiar spot. Alexander Volkanovski holds the belt, and he will start the year defending the title against the action-figure-incarnate Brazilian Diego Lopes.
Volkanovski thwarted Lopes’ rise when they met in Miami at UFC 314 although that bout was for the vacant title after Ilia Topuria vacated the throne to pursue lightweight gold. Since then, it’s been a sort of waiting game as the rest of the division jockeyed for position to challenge “The Great” in his second reign, and seven of the division’s top-8 contenders enter 2026 coming off a victory.
2025 UFC.COM AWARDS: The Newcomers | The Submissions | The Knockouts | The Fighters | The Fights
The 2-time champion can now settle into another fruitful stint as the champion as he faces a newer crop of contenders all hungry to unseat the Australian.
Title Picture
Champion: Alexander Volkanovski
Contenders: Diego Lopes, Movsar Evloev, Lerone Murphy, Yair Rodriguez
Ones to Watch: Youssef Zalal, Jean Silva, Steve Garcia
Outlook for 2026: Question marks swirled around Volkanovski heading into his title clash with Lopes. Then 36 and coming off consecutive knockout losses, people wondered whether the future Hall of Fame member’s best days were behind him, but he looked sharp as ever over five rounds in South Florida. The win was cathartic in various ways for him, but it wasn’t a capstone performance on his career. Rather, he made every indictation that he intends to defend his title and continue doing so well into 2026. He’ll make that first defense in Sydney on January 31 against Lopes, who bounced back from his loss to Volkanovski with a stunning spinning elbow knockout against Jean Silva at Noche UFC in San Antonio.
FOLLOW @UFCNEWS: On Facebook | On Instagram | On X | On Threads
The Brazilian has established himself as an all-action fan-favorite since joining the roster in May 2023, showing that an active schedule and entertaining style can grant some favor for a fighter. Whether he learned the necessary lessons from his first title bid is to be seen from the 30-year-old.
Song can play spoiler, however, and toss his hat in the title ring as a win over O’Malley would serve as his ticket into the elite ranks. Cory Sandhagen remains in the picture as well even after losing his first undisputed bid in October 2025. The Colorado-native holds a win over Song, but with previous losses to Nurmagomedov and Yan, he may have to fight a little further down the rankings before looking back toward the top of the division.
Among those who are looking for a pathway to the top-5 is the 38-year-old Aiemann Zahabi. The Canadian quietly put together a 5-fight winning streak heading into 2025 and tacked on decision wins over José Aldo and Marlno “Chito” Vera to cement himself as a top-10 bantamweight. Considering his age, he is looking to move up the ladder quickly, parlaying his run of form into an opportunity against someone in the top-5.
2026 DIVISION PREVIEWS: Flyweight | Lightweight | Welterweight
Three newer and younger faces in the top-15 are David Martinez, Payton Talbott and Vinicius Oliveira. The trio of Dana White’s Contender Series alumni each secured marquee wins in 2025 to break through the pack. Martinez’s was perhaps the most surprising as he stepped in on short-notice to defeat Rob Font on the scorecards and position himself in the top-10 just two fights into his UFC tenure. Oliveira and Talbott didn’t take much more time than that. The former bagged wins over Said Nurmagomedov and Kyler Phillips in 2025 to reach the rankings two years after securing his contract, and Talbott, after suffering a momentum-halting loss to Raoni Barcelos, returned with a solid win over Felipe Lima before beating up Henry Cejudo in Cejudo’s retirement fight. Each of them could serve as catalysts toward a shift in the bantamweight scheme in 2026.
Other Names to Track: Montel Jackson, Charles Jourdain, Aleksandre Topuria, Felipe Lima
Tags