There were 20 UFC title fights in 2024, with divisional titles changing hands on six separate occasions – but what will that roster of champions look like by the end of 2025?
Well, UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is swapping his fight gloves for a crystal ball this week, with the ‘British Baba Vanga’ sharing his predictions as to who’ll possess championship gold by this time next year.
Tom Aspinall predicts every male UFC champion by the end of 2025
Miss Cleo, Mystic Mac, Nostradamus – and now, Tom Aspinall.
The interim heavyweight champion still firmly believes that he’ll round out 2025 as the undisputed king of the UFC’s blue-ribbon division, but what about the rest of the men’s weight classes?
In a short video clip with TNT Sports, as shared by Home of Fight, Aspinall was asked to predict every UFC champion by this time next year – with the British juggernaut expecting one (or two) titles to change hands.
Flyweight: “I mean, I would have chosen Muhammad Mokaev but he’s gone. So, [Alexandre] Pantoja, I would say – Pantoja will still be there this time next year.”
Mokaev was unceremoniously axed by the UFC earlier this year, although ‘The Punisher’ did make a triumphant return to the sport a few weeks ago with a slick submission win in Brace CF.
Bantamweight: “I mean it’d be between Merab [Dvalishvili] and Umar [Nurmagomedov] next year. That’s an interesting fight but I would back Merab.”
Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov are set to throwdown in the co-main event of UFC 311, scheduled for Saturday, January 18, in Los Angeles.
Featherweight: “I’ll say Lerone Murphy will be getting up there by this time next year, but I don’t think he’ll have won a title just yet – I think that’s probably the year after… I think Ilia Topuria will still be champion by this time next year. Easily.”
Lightweight: “Islam’s going to be champion, again, by this time next year.”
Islam Makhachev faces Arman Tsarukyan in the main event of that aforementioned UFC 311 card in LA – a rematch from a fight in 2019, which the Russian won via a unanimous decision, although Tsarukyan does have a ‘secret weapon’ at his disposal.
Welterweight: “I think Belal [Muhammad] is massively underrated and I think that he’s still going to be the champion next year.”
Middleweight: “Right, I’ve picked against Dricus so many times and I’m not going to do it again, but I think to say that Khamzat Chimaev is not going to be a champion by this time next year is just silly – so I’m going to say Khamzat.”
South African brawler Dricus Du Plessis is scheduled to face former champion Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 312, scheduled for February 8, 2025, in Sydney, Australia.
Light Heavyweight: “I think Alex Pereira – ah, I don’t know. He’s got a tough fight with Magomed Ankalaev, I think that’s a really tough fight, so I don’t know with that one. I’m going to sit on the fence, it’s going to be one of them two; either Ankalaev or Pereira.”
Alex Pereira might be expected to fight Ankalaev next; however, there has been a rumor in recent weeks that the UFC could be looking to make Pereira vs Chimaev in mid-2025.
Heavyweight: “Ah come on, come on. This time next year – as Ricky Gervais said [in The Office], I could be sitting in this hot seat yet – so I’m going to say me by this time next year, definitely.”
Popular YouTube channel ‘Boxing Fights Simulation’ recently released their mock-up as to how that Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall undisputed title fight goes down – and it ended in controversy.
BMF: “Max Holloway still, I think.”
And there we have it – how many of Tom Aspinall’s 2025 predictions do you agree with?
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