The 2023 campaign started to feel like a “normal” type of year in the UFC, which is to say there were shocking and stunning upsets of historic proportions, legacies being created, defined and rewritten from moment-to-moment and eye-popping highlights throughout.
So, essentially, a year of MMA.
But it also gave a view into the UFC calendar and travel schedule post-2020. The Octagon landed in several cities across the globe for pay-per-views and fight nights alike, including returns to Australia, Brazil and Miami alongside the usual stops in New York City, Jacksonville, London and of course, the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. The action was good as ever, and undisputed titles changed hands nine times throughout the year.
As we look ahead to 2024, this is where each division stands at-present.
Women’s Strawweight
Champion: Zhang Weili
In The Mix: Yan Xiaonan, Tatiana Suarez

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The championship carousel in the strawweight division was relatively inactive for the first time in a handful of years as Zhang Weili dominated en route to a second title defense and first since recapturing the belt in 2022. Meanwhile, a pair of title challengers emerged. Yan Xiaonan fought once and finished Jéssica Andrade in impressive fashion. The 34-year-old from China bounced back well from two consecutive losses to cement her spot in the title conversation. On the other side of the coin was the long-awaited return of Tatiana Suarez, who fought twice after four years away from competition. The injury-riddled layoff halted the momentum of the undefeated Suarez, but she picked up right where she left off and submitted Montana De La Rosa and Andrade.
The champion’s next fight isn’t set just yet, although some hoped Zhang and Yan would partake in an all-China title fight, but Suarez’s dominant return makes for an intriguing matchup, as well. Both fights could happen in 2024, which could see the instability at strawweight continue or Zhang establish herself as one of the best champions in the division’s history.
Names to Watch For in 2024: Mackenzie Dern, Amanda Ribas, Loopy Godinez
Women’s Flyweight
Champion: Alexa Grasso
In The Mix: Valentina Shevchenko, Erin Blanchfield, Manon Fiorot

Home of the biggest surprise of 2024, the women’s flyweight division has never looked more intriguing thanks to a handful of contenders coming into their own but mostly because of Alexa Grasso. Mexico’s first female champion shocked the MMA world with her submission win over longtime champ Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285. She shocked again when she fought Shevchenko to a draw at Noche UFC in the headlining bout.
Although the rematch did not provide a definitive conclusion to the Grasso-Shevchenko saga, it did leave the door cracked for a fresh face to enter the title picture. That’s where Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot come into the conversation. Blanchfield aced both her tests in 2023, first submitting Andrade in February - a real breakout performance for the 24-year-old - before outhustling Taila Santos in Singapore in the latter half of the calendar. The results stretched her UFC run to 6-0. Fiorot matched “Cold Blooded,” returning from injury to spoil Rose Namajunas’ flyweight debut in front of a raucous Parisian crowd, which also stretched “The Beast” to a perfect 6-0 in the Octagon. The two are scheduled to face off in Atlantic City in late-March, which likely determines the next title challenger while Grasso and Shevchenko each recover from injuries sustained in their Noche battle.
Names to Watch For in 2024: Maycee Barber, Rose Namajunas, Natalia Silva, Ariane Lipski, Tracy Cortez
Women’s Bantamweight
Champion: N/A
In The Mix: Julianna Peña, Mayra Bueno Silva, Raquel Pennington, Ketlen Vieira, Irene Aldana

To say Amanda Nunes’ retirement in June left a power vacuum atop the bantamweight division would sell the situation short. “The Lioness” left more of a black hole that was left vacant for the remainder of the year. Former champion Julianna Peña, naturally upset with Nunes’ decision, clamored for a chance to regain her belt, but that chance goes to Brazilian upstart Mayra Bueno Silva, who will battle Raquel Pennington in Toronto at UFC 297. Pennington won her lone fight of 2023, defeating Ketlen Vieira to extend her winning streak to five. Peña did not compete in 2023 after losing to Nunes in their rematch at UFC 277. Bueno Silva, meanwhile, started 2023 off with a bang, submitting Lina Lansberg via kneebar in February. She passed her first main event test against former champion Holly Holm, but that victory was turned into a no contest after Bueno Silva failed a drug test. Even still, the performance was impressive, and she goes into her first title shot unbeaten in her last four fights. Ketlen Vieira and Irene Aldana each went 1-1 in 2023 and figure to be a win or two away from title shots themselves.
Names to Watch For in 2024: Karol Rosa, Pannie Kianzad
Flyweight
Champion: Alexandre Pantoja
In The Mix: Amir Albazi, Brandon Moreno, Manel Kape, Kai Kara-France

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“The Cannibal” cemented his spot as the flyweight champion with a steady decision win over Brandon Royval to close 2023. The Brazilian is eager to keep a busy schedule and welcomes all challengers familiar and fresh. His next challenger will likely distinguish themselves in February when two-time champion Brandon Moreno hosts Amir Albazi in Mexico City. A definitive win could give Moreno another shot at Pantoja while Albazi hopes to parlay a sixth UFC victory into his first crack at UFC gold.
Meanwhile, Manel Kape continues doing what he can to tout himself as the next champion. The 30-year-old from Portugal has had myriad unlucky situations during his time in the promotion, but Pantoja himself cited “StarBoy” as someone he would enjoy fighting again (Pantoja defeated Kape in Kape’s UFC debut). Kape was scheduled to fight Kara-France in September before a concussion kept “Don’t Blink” out of action. The Kiwi was only able to compete once in 2023, a controversial split decision loss to Albazi in June, and, despite back-to-back losses, Kara-France figures to play a major part in the 2024 title picture.
Names to Watch For in 2024: Brandon Royval, Matheus Nicolau, Muhammad Mokaev, Tagir Ulanbeknov, Tatsuro Taira
Bantamweight
Champion: Sean O’Malley
In The Mix: Marlon Vera, Merab Dvalishvili, Cory Sandhagen, Henry Cejudo

With a sweet right hand to Aljamain Sterling’s jaw, Sean O’Malley fulfilled his dreams of becoming the UFC bantamweight champion. The fan-favorite and Dana White’s Contender Series alumnus has the potential to go from star to superstar with a successful reign on the throne, and he gets to immediately right his lone loss in the Octagon at UFC 299. There, he will face Marlon “Chito” Vera in a rematch of 2020 bout which Vera won via TKO.
Although Vera picked up a solid win over Pedro Munhoz in 2023, it was his 2020 victory over “Suga” that did a lot of heavy lifting to get him the title shot. It’s a narrative everyone is intrigued with seeing play out, and the two are a couple of the most entertaining fighters on the roster, as well as mainstays in the stacked title picture. Meanwhile, Merab Dvalishvili and Cory Sandhagen will likely have to pick up another win as they make their slower treks to potential championship opportunities. “The Machine” dominated former champion Petr Yan in a main event while Sandhagen did the same against Vera and Rob Font, but a tricep injury against the latter sidelined Sandhagen for the early part of the calendar. Dvalishvili gets a chance to rack up another win over a former champion when he faces Henry Cejudo at UFC 298.
Names to Watch For in 2024: Petr Yan, Deiveson Figueiredo, Umar Nurmagomedov, Yadong Song
Featherweight
Champion: Alexander Volkanovski
In The Mix: Ilia Topuria, Arnold Allen, Aljamain Sterling, Max Holloway

It’s a testament to the talent in the featherweight division that it can have a dominant champion like Alexander Volkanovski on top and remain one of the most intriguing weight classes in the UFC. “The Great” defended his belt once in 2023, besting Yair Rodriguez after “El Pantera” earned the interim title against Josh Emmett in the early part of the year while Volkanovski made his bid for double-champ status. Volkanovski will make his next defense against the undefeated and surging Ilia Topuria – who heeded Volkanovski’s advice to not fight Max Holloway while waiting – at UFC 298 in Anaheim.
Should Volkanovski win, the next in line hasn’t yet distinguished themselves. Arnold Allen lost a competitive main event to Holloway, but he can bounce back in January when he faces the undefeated Movsar Evloev in Toronto. Aljamain Sterling is set to make his featherweight debut at UFC 300 against Calvin Kattar, who returns from a major knee injury sustained in October 2022. A dominant win could catapult Sterling into the title talk against Volkanovski. Holloway remains stuck behind his Australian foil despite a pair of good wins over Allen and “The Korean Zombie.” The former champion has said he’d love to fight Justin Gaethje for the BMF belt, but he’ll likely be rooting hard for Topuria to open up a chance for a second “Blessed” title reign.
Names to Watch For in 2024: Calvin Kattar, Brian Ortega, Yair Rodriguez, Movsar Evloev
Lightweight
Champion: Islam Makhachev
In The Mix: Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, Arman Tsarukyan, Dustin Poirier
Arguably UFC’s signature weight class, the lightweight division had a peculiar 2023. Its champion, Islam Makhachev, established himself as one of the best fighters in the world while defending his title twice, but those defenses came against the featherweight champion. Although one of his wins over Volkanovski was a Fight of the Year candidate and the other was one of the knockouts of the year, it did little to bring order to the title picture. Charles Oliveira set himself up for a rematch with Makhachev via a first-round TKO over Beneil Dariush, but a cut over his eye sustained 10 days before that scheduled bout scrapped that. Now, Makhachev has his choice between “Do Bronxs” and the newly-minted BMF titleholder Justin Gaethje, whose own head kick knockout of Dustin Poirier in their rematch at UFC 291 was also one of the year’s best. The general consensus is that Oliveira will get his second chance, but Gaethje has a great case in his own right.

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Once that sorts itself out – and it could very well take all of 2024 to do so – Arman Tsarukyan and Dustin Poirier are chief among those on the periphery hoping for an opportune moment. “The Diamond” fought twice in the last two years, but the 34-year-old remains a stalwart contender. He’ll need to pick up a win before he can get his chance at undisputed gold, though. Tsarukyan represents the next generation of the division, and after struggling to get an opponent worthy of a signature win, he did just that with his first-round KO of Dariush to end 2023. The 27-year-old is set up for a huge fight in 2024 that would establish himself as a true title contender.
Names to Watch For in 2024: Benoît Saint Denis, Jalin Turner, Mateusz Gamrot
Welterweight
Champion: Leon Edwards
In The Mix: Belal Muhammad, Shavkat Rakhmonov, Gilbert Burns
Leon Edwards couldn’t have stamped his claim on the welterweight title more definitively in 2023. All “Rocky” did was beat out the two men many considered the top two welterweights of the last few years over the course of two fights and 10 rounds. First, he proved his head kick win over Kamaru Usman wasn’t just some Hail Mary fluke, outdueling “The Nigerian Nightmare” in London. Then came the contentious battle that is a fight week against Colby Covington. Edwards handled all the noise with cool, cunning grace as he dismantled “Chaos” rather calmly. Free of those two, Edwards has a pair of clear challengers on his plate in 2024: Belal Muhammad and Shavkat Rakhmonov. The former is in a similar spot Edwards found himself in previous to his title opportunity – with a long unbeaten streak and not a lot of narrative juice to the casual fan — but the resume is rather stacked at this point.

Meanwhile, the 29-year-old Rakhmonov has an unbeaten ledger that is eye-popping to anyone: 18 wins, 18 finishes. His most recent submission win over Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson was shocking only because it looked like most of his other bouts, which is to say it was one-way traffic. Edwards’ coach, Dave Lovell also mentioned Gilbert Burns as an intriguing opponent, but Burns likely needs a win after dropping a decision to Muhammad in Miami. There’s a handful of up-and-comers climbing the ladder, as well, but they’ll likely need to spend 2024 racking up a couple of wins before seeing the title picture.
Names to Watch For in 2024: Sean Brady, Ian Machado Garry, Jack Della Maddalena
Middleweight
Champion: Sean Strickland
In The Mix: Dricus Du Plessis, Robert Whittaker, Jared Cannonier, Khamzat Chimaev
Sitting alongside Alexa Grasso as the co-leader of the biggest shock of 2023 is Sean Strickland. Few, if any, would’ve guessed they would see Strickland pick apart Israel Adesanya over the course of a five-round championship fight, but that’s what happened at UFC 293. The loss inspired a hiatus from “The Last Stylebender” and rendered the title picture wide-open. First comes the furiously bad blood matchup between Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis, which we got a preview of in the crowd at UFC 296. The two will have a proper, sanctioned scrap in the year’s opening pay-per-view at UFC 297 in Toronto. After that, a plethora of options await. Jared Cannonier has a tailor-made case to fight Strickland should he retain the title. “Tha Killa Gorilla” bested Strickland in a main event at the end of 2022, but the split decision was razor close. After Cannonier dismantled Marvin Vettori over 25 minutes, he could very well have his second chance at undisputed gold.

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Perhaps nobody was happier to see Adesanya take an extended break than former middleweight king Robert Whittaker. “The Reaper” fell to Du Plessis at UFC 290, but he remains one of the top 185ers on the planet. He is scheduled to face the enigmatic Paulo Costa at UFC 298 in an all-action bout that will cement the winner in the new-look title picture. Speaking of enigmatic, Khamzat Chimaev remains a sort of boogeyman in the division. The 29-year-old fought once in 2023, outworking Kamaru Usman in a short-notice assignment for the former welterweight champion to maintain his undefeated record. “Borz” has some high-profile wins at middleweight and welterweight, but he might need another big win at 185 pounds before firmly having his feet in the title conversation.
Names to Watch For in 2024: Paulo Costa, Brendan Allen
Light Heavyweight
Champion: Alex Pereira
In The Mix: Jamahal Hill, Jiri Procházka, Magomed Ankalaev, Aleksandar Rakic
Few, if any, mixed martial artists have done more in less time than Alex Pereira. From a good bulk of fans knowing “Poatan” only as “the guy who knocked out Israel Adesanya in kickboxing” to becoming the ninth fighter to win titles in two divisions, Pereira cultivated a lot of goodwill in his two years in the organization. After finishing Procházka, Pereira likely has a fight with former champion Jamahal Hill coming down the pike, but he has cryptically teased a move to heavyweight and a chase toward an unprecedented third belt. Whether that was genuine or just the usual internet banter, it is enticing, and Pereira has the frame to compete with the big boys. He has also tried to coax Adesanya out of his hiatus, saying they should complete their MMA trilogy (and fifth fight overall) at 205 pounds.

All that said, light heavyweight is in its most intriguing spot since Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones released it from their collective grasp. The division has had five undisputed champions since February 2020, and guys like Magomed Ankalaev and Aleskandar Rakic are hoping to make it six – or, honestly, maybe seven - by the end of 2024.
Names to Watch For in 2024: Johnny Walker, Khalil Rountree Jr.
Heavyweight
Champion: Jon Jones; Tom Aspinall (interim)
In The Mix: Stipe Miocic, Ciryl Gane, Sergei Pavlovich, Jailton Almeida
The heavyweight division had quite the chaotic 2023. Jon Jones made his long-awaited debut to capture the vacant title over Ciryl Gane in dominant fashion, and a legacy-defining fight was made with Stipe Miocic in November to celebrate UFC’s 30th anniversary. However, a torn pectoral muscle scrapped that bout, and Tom Aspinall prevailed over Sergei Pavlovich in just over a minute to win the interim title. UFC CEO Dana White said the Jones-Miocic bout is still on the docket once “Bones” is healthy, which might keep Aspinall sidelined for a good chunk of 2024. That said, interim titles have been defended (Renan Barao and Andrei Arlovski each defended interim titles on separate occasions), so there could be a bit of a two-title situation going.

As for who those interim defenses could come against, Jailton Almeida pops up as the shiniest name. The 32-year-old Brazilian has faced little, if any, adversity and is fresh off a dominant five-round decision over Derrick Lewis. He is scheduled to face Curtis Blaydes in the first quarter of 2024, and a win over “Razor” could prompt a title opportunity. On the other hand, Blaydes and Aspinall have unfinished business, and that is a stylistically fascinating fight, as is a matchup between Aspinall and Gane, who rebounded from his loss to Jones with a win over Serghei Spivac in Paris. All things told, heavyweight has as many young contenders and all-time greats competing simultaneously as it has in a long while, so the next couple years could provide some major and historic moments.
Checking In With Brendan Fitzgerald
Names to Watch For in 2024: Curtis Blaydes, Serghei Spivac, Derrick Lewis, Alex Pereira