UFC 2023

UFC

2023 is set to be an exciting year for UFC fans with big fights expected in all weight classes and plenty of questions to answer, including:

in 2023

Will Conor McGregor become the first champion of 3 weight classes?

Will the returning Jon Jones become the biggest MMA fighter of all time?

How will Amanda Nunes, Alexander Volkanovski and Israel Adesanya deal with new challengers?

Here we have broken down all the information you need on next year’s potential champions and superfights

Every division’s biggest potential fight

The current state of UFC

Will we witness the first quadrilogy in UFC history?

UFC

Conor McGregor has been out of the Octagon since breaking his tibia against Dustin Poirier in July 2021 and has been packing on the muscle during his recovery

The current state of

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Who are the current champions in each weight class?

Women

Defences

Carla Esparza Valentina Shevchenko Amanda Nunes Amanda Nunes

Strawweight Flyweight Bantamweight Featherweight

7 May 2022 8 Dec 2018 30 Jul 2022 29 Dec 2018

UFC

Could McGregor make history in 2023?

McGregor is one of a select group of UFC champions to have topped two divisions – having won titles at both Featherweight and Lightweight – but looks set stage his comeback at Welterweight

If he can secure a shot at reigning Welterweight champion Leon Edwards then he could become the first ever UFC fighter to hold a belt at three different weights

Here is the full list of MMA fighters who have won belts in more than one class, starting with the seven who have done so in UFC

Randy Couture BJ Penn Conor McGregor Georges St-Pierre Daniel Cormier Amanda Nunes Henry Cejudo

Heavyweight Welterweight Featherweight Welterweight Light heavyweight Bantamweight Flyweight

Light heavyweight Lightweight Lightweight Middleweight Heavyweight Featherweight Bantamweight

1997 2004 2015 2006, 2007, 2008 2015 2016, 2022 2018

2003, 2003, 2004 2008 2016 2017 2018 2018 2019

Joe Warren Patricio Freire Ryan Bader

Featherweight Featherweight Light heavyweight

2010 2014 2017

2014 2019 2019

Bantamweight Lightweight Heavyweight

Bellator

Martin Nguyen Aung La Nsang Reinier de Ridder

Lightweight Middleweight Middleweight

2017 2017 2020

2017 2018 2021

Featherweight Light heavyweight Light heavyweight

ONE

David Branch

Middleweight

2014

2015

Light heavyweight

WSOF

Dan Henderson

Middleweight

2005

2007

Welterweight

PRIDE

Men

Defences

Brandon Moreno (interim) Deiveson Figueiredo Aljamain Sterling Alexander Volkanovski Islam Makhachev Leon Edwards Israel Adesanya Jiří Procházka Francis Ngannou

Flyweight Flyweight Bantamweight Featherweight Lightweight Welterweight Middleweight Light Heavyweight Heavyweight

Since 30 Jul 2022 22 Jan 2022 6 Mar 2021 14 Dec 2019 22 Oct 2022 20 Aug 2022 6 Oct 2019 12 Jun 2022 27 Mar 2021

UFC

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Here we take a look at the biggest potential fights in each UFC division

Champion Challenger When Where

Next title fight

fights of 2023

The biggest

Rose Namajunas was predicted to hold the belt for years to come, but Carla Esparza took it from her at UFC 274 in what has been dubbed the “worst title fight of all time”. A third meeting between the pair would surely turn into a war, with neither wanting a repeat of their last bout. However as this was Carla’s second victory over Rose we may not see this happen in 2023 even if Esparza were to lose her upcoming title bout against Zhang Weili.

Carla Esparza Zhang Weili

Height Reach Age* MMA record**

5’1” (1.55m) 63in (160cm) 35 19-6

5’5” (1.65m) 65in (165cm) 30 11-5

Women’s Strawweight Division

Most anticipated fight

Carla Esparza

Rose Namajunas

UFC 281, 13 Nov 2022 Madison Square Garden, New York

Women’s Flyweight Division

Most anticipated fight

Valentina Shevchenko

Taila Santos

Height Reach Age* MMA record**

5’5” (1.65m) 66.5in (169cm) 34 23-3

5’6” (1.68m) 68in (173cm) 29 19-2

Valentina has been dominating the Strawweight division with 7 straight title defences and for a long time it seemed that UFC was finding it difficult to provide her with a real challenge. This all changed when she met Taila Santos at UFC 275, with many fans believing that the contender should have been awarded the victory by the judges. A rematch would therefore deliver both justice and one of the most compelling fights of 2023.

Most anticipated fight

Women’s Featherweight Division

Amanda Nunes

Kayla Harrison

Height Reach Age* MMA record**

5’8” (1.73m) 69in (175cm) 34 22-5

5’8” (1.73m) 66in (168cm) 32 15-0

Amanda Nunes has defended her Featherweight title since late 2018 and there has been talk of the UFC discontinuing this weight class due to the difficulty in finding opponents for her. Over in the rival PFL organisation, former Olympic and world judo champion Kayla Harrison is facing the same problem. Harrison has never lost in her MMA career and a switch to UFC would provide a new challenge, with a contest between these two undisputed champions guaranteed to be a huge draw.

Amanda Nunes

Julianna Peña

Height Reach Age* MMA record**

5’8” (1.73m) 69in (175cm) 34 22-5

5’7” (1.70m) 69in (175cm) 33 11-5

Nunes is the first-ever female fighter to hold belts in two weight classes and reclaimed her Bantamweight title from Peña in July. However the Venezuelan Vixen remains a serious contender, having previously stopped Nunes inside two rounds, and a third - potentially decisive - meeting between the two looks likely in 2023.

Women’s Bantamweight Division

Most anticipated fight

Men’s Flyweight Division

Deiveson Figueiredo

Brandon Moreno

Height Reach Age* MMA record**

5’5” (1.65m) 68in (173cm) 35 21-2-1

5’7” (1.70m) 70in (178cm) 29 20-6-2

Figueiredo’s last 3 fights have been against Moreno with a different outcome each time. Their first encounter was a draw and the second saw Moreno defeat him to take the Flyweight championship before he regained it at UFC 270. These two are not done with each other however and we are set for the first quadrilogy in UFC history when they meet in Brazil on January 21.

Next title fight

Men’s Bantamweight Division

Champion Challenger When Where

Aljamain Sterling T.J. Dillashaw

UFC 280, 22 Oct 2022 Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi

Aljamain Sterling successfully defended his Bantamweight title against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 280 on the same night that his fierce rival Petr Yan lost out to Sean O’Malley on a split decision. That result proved O’Malley’s doubters wrong and pushed him into the number one challenger spot, with a fight against Sterling looking a distinct possibility for next year.

Most anticipated fight

Aljamain Sterling

Sean O’Malley

Height Reach Age* MMA record**

5’7” (1.70m) 71in (180cm) 33 21-3

5’11” (1.80m) 72in (183cm) 28 16-1

Men’s Featherweight Division

Most anticipated fight

Josh Emmett

Yair Rodriguez

Height Reach Age* MMA record**

5’6” (1.68m) 70in (178cm) 37 18-2

5’11” (1.80m) 71in (180cm) 30 14-3-1

With Alexander Volkanovski - rated as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world - looking to make the step up to lightweight, we are likely to see an interim fight for the featherweight belt between Yair Rodriguez (ranked 2nd) and Josh Emmett (4th). Both would appear to be ahead of number one challenger Max Holloway and third-ranked Brian Ortega, who have suffered a combined total of four defeats to Volkanovski.

Islam Makhachev

Alexander Volkanovski

Height Reach Age* MMA record**

5’10” (1.78m) 70½in (179cm) 31 23-1

5’6” (168cm) 71in (180cm) 34 25-1

Most anticipated fight

Men’s Lightweight Division

Islam Makhachev produced the performance of the night at UFC 280, earning a two-round submission victory over the experienced Charles Oliveira. Makhachev’s win sets up the mouthwatering prospect of a bout with reigning Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who is stepping up a division having dominated in the lower weight class.

Leon Edwards

Kamaru Usman

Height Reach Age* MMA record**

6’0” (1.83m) 74in (188cm) 31 20-3-1

6’0” (1.83m) 76in (193cm) 35 20-2

Most anticipated fight

Usman defended the Welterweight title five times before losing the belt to Jamaican-born Brit Edwards in one of UFC’s most spectacular recent knockouts. Given Usman’s prior dominance of the division, a rematch is a realistic prospect for 2023. Another notable name in the queue to take on Usman is former featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor, who is aiming to become the first three-division champion. While McGregor is unlikely to be given an immediate shot at the title, the online grudge between the pair could fuel a lucrative pay-per view event.

Champion Challenger When Where

Israel Adesanya Alex Pereira

UFC 281, 12 Nov 2022 Madison Square Garden, New York

Next title fight

Adesanya is set to defend his middleweight title for a sixth time at UFC 281, with the outcome possibly creating an interesting future for the division. After victory in his catchweight bout against Kevin Holland, the unbeaten phenomenon Khamzat Chimaev declared that he will aim for gold in both welterweight and middleweight. Both he and Adesanya have expressed their interest in a matchup, which could take place even if the latter loses in November.

Men’s Middleweight Division

Most anticipated fight

Israel Adesanya

Khamzat Chimaev

Height Reach Age* MMA record**

6’4” (1.93m) 80in (203cm) 33 23-1

6’2” (1.88m) 75in (190cm) 28 12-0

Men’s Light Heavyweight Division

Most anticipated fight

Jiří Procházka

Aleksandar Rakić

Height Reach Age* MMA record**

6’4” (1.93m) 80in (203cm) 30 29-3-1

6’5” (1.96m) 78in (198cm) 30 14-3

Procházka shocked the MMA world when he took the light heavyweight title from legend Glover Teixeira in just his third UFC fight. Next year could see him defend his new belt against Rakić, who is on the comeback trail after tearing his ACL against Jan Błachowicz in May. These two have been on a collision course for a while, with Rakić labelling the new champion a “clown”, so there will be no love lost when they finally step into the octagon together.

Most anticipated fight

Men’s Heavyweight Division

Francis Ngannou

Jon Jones

Height Reach Age* MMA record**

6’4” (1.93m) 83in (211cm) 36 17-3

6’4” (1.93m) 84.5in (215cm) 35 26-1-1

Heavyweight champion Ngannou’s contract is running down and if he leaves UFC then previous belt holders Stipe Miocic and Ciryl Gane would probably fight for the interim title. The winner would then face a transformed Jon Jones later in the year as he looks set to return to the octagon after a two-year absence. However a match between Jones - who will be competing at heavyweight for the first time - and Ngannou would be the dream combination for UFC fans.

* All ages as at 1 Jan 2023 ** MMA records correct on 26 October 2022

Men’s Welterweight Division