Okay, so I got this wild idea to try and predict all the UFC champions by the end of 2024. Sounds crazy, right? But hey, I figured why not give it a shot. I’m a huge UFC fan, and I thought it would be a fun little project to dive into.
First things first, I started by listing out all the current UFC weight divisions. You know, like flyweight, bantamweight, all the way up to heavyweight for the men, and then strawweight to featherweight for the women. I wrote them all down on a piece of paper, just to get a clear picture of what I was dealing with.
Next, I spent hours going through recent fight results. I mean, I was glued to my screen, checking out who’s been winning, who’s been losing, and who’s on a hot streak. I looked up their records, their fighting styles, their strengths and weaknesses, everything I could get my hands on.
Then came the fun part – trying to figure out who could potentially dethrone the current champs. I started looking at the top contenders in each division. Who’s been making waves? Who’s got the momentum? I made notes, lots of notes, trying to connect the dots.
After that I reviewed some expert analysis, I compared my notes with what they were saying. I compared notes about who’s got the best striking, who’s a grappling wizard, and who’s just an all-around beast. This took a good chunk of time.
Then I considered possible upsets. This is the UFC, after all. Anything can happen. I tried to think outside the box a little. Maybe there’s a dark horse out there, someone flying under the radar who could shock the world.
Finally, after all that digging and thinking, I made my predictions. I filled in my list with the names I think will be holding the belts by the end of the year. It felt pretty good to have it all laid out, even if it’s just a guess.
My Prediction
- Flyweight: Current champ is Alexandre Pantoja, and I believe he’ll still hold his title.
- Bantamweight: I think Sean O’Malley will continue his reign.
- Featherweight: Tough division, but I’m going with Ilia Topuria.
- Lightweight: Islam Makhachev is a beast, no change there.
- Welterweight: Leon Edwards will likely be champ.
- Middleweight: This one’s tricky, but I have a feeling Dricus du Plessis will still be champ.
- Light Heavyweight: Alex Pereira, in my opinion, will still be the champion.
- Heavyweight: Jon Jones, but there’s an interim champ, and I think Tom Aspinall will unify the belt.
- Women’s Strawweight: Zhang Weili is a force, I think she’ll retain.
- Women’s Flyweight: Alexa Grasso will continue her reign.
- Women’s Bantamweight: It’s vacant now, so it could be anyone. I’m guessing Raquel Pennington will take it.
- Women’s Featherweight: This division is basically gone.
So, there you have it. That’s my process and my predictions for the UFC champions at the end of 2024. It was a lot of work, but it was also a blast. We’ll see how it all plays out, but I’m feeling pretty good about my picks. Let me know what you think, and if you have your own predictions, I’d love to hear them!
