Former champs Alex Pereira and Sean O’Malley have been tipped to win UFC gold next year.
We’re more than halfway into 2025 and we’ve seen five new champions crowned.
Magomed Ankalaev did it first, dethroning light heavyweight king Alex Pereira by decision in the main event of UFC 313 back in March.
Pereira, the most active champion in recent memory, enters an immediate rematch with Ankalaev at UFC 320 on Oct. 4 in Las Vegas.
You might remember Sean O’Malley being in a similar position after losing to current bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 last September. O’Malley fought Dvalishvili again at UFC 316 where he lost by third-round submission.
Despite back-to-back defeats to Dvalishvili, one former UFC title challenger still believes in O’Malley, as well as Pereira’s championship potential in a different weight class.
Chael Sonnen thinks Sean O’Malley becomes two-time champion in 2026
This week, UFC pay-per-view star and analyst Chael Sonnen was asked who could go on to win a UFC title in 2026.
His first answer? ‘Suga’.
“I’m going to give one to you, and you’re going to wonder where it’s coming from,” Sonnen said on Good Guy / Bad Guy.
“But I believe Sean O’Malley gets his belt back…”
“Really?” co-host and former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier responded to Sonnen.
“I don’t know how long Merab can stay at 135 pounds, that definitely has an expiration date, just that weight class alone,” Sonnen suggested.
“I do believe that O’Malley is the star of that division, absent Merab,” Sonnen added.
O’Malley is 0-2 against Dvalishvili, with the former champ arguing he won their first fight at UFC 306.
Chael Sonnen thinks Alex Pereira wins third UFC title at heavyweight
Pereira has talked about a potential move to the heavyweight division in the last few years.
‘Poatan’ has already won titles at middleweight and light heavyweight, making him one of 10 UFC fighters to hold belts in two weight classes.
Ahead of his rematch against Ankalaev, Sonnen could see Pereira leaving 205 lbs for a third belt at heavyweight.
“I think it’s going to be at heavyweight now,” Sonnen said of which division Pereira becomes champion in.
“When I first started pushing the narrative of Pereira and a title [at] heavyweight, I was pushing towards that interim belt.
“Heavyweight used to have twice the opportunity of everybody else. But I’m still going to throw Alex’s name out there because whether I get it or not, I think I’m going to get real close…
“I think title opportunities are abundant for that young man,” Sonnen said of Pereira, age 38.
Tom Aspinall currently reigns over the heavyweight division as the undisputed champion after Jon Jones retired in June.