After a quiet start to the year, UFC fans have witnessed several title changes, yet a sense of unease persists regarding the current state of the weight classes.
While Alexander Volkanovski has reclaimed a championship, this only happened because Ilia Topuria vacated the featherweight title to compete in the lightweight division.
Similarly, Jack Della Maddalena dethroned Belal Muhammad, but his initial defense won`t be against a leading welterweight contender. Instead, he faces the pound-for-pound king, Islam Makhachev, who, much like Topuria, is vacating his current belt to move to another weight class.
To further complicate matters, Topuria is set to challenge for the lightweight title, but against former champion Charles Oliveira, not the reigning champion Makhachev.
This situation is just one example of the current instability. Zhang Weili may also vacate her strawweight title to challenge flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. Magaomed Ankalaev is yet to book his first title defense after defeating Alex Pereira. And the heavyweight title picture remains notably chaotic.
Given these dynamics, the true significance of being a UFC divisional champion feels uncertain these days. It`s difficult to definitively say what holding a belt means in terms of being the absolute best fighter in the sport, a sentiment likely shared by the average fan. While winning a UFC championship is undoubtedly a monumental career achievement, its role in clearly identifying the top competitor in a division appears less meaningful than ever before.
Many recent champions, including Jon Jones, Alexander Volkanovski, and Islam Makhachev, first won titles that were vacant. The upcoming UFC 317 will feature the sixth vacant title fight since the beginning of 2022. These historical championship lineages are currently broken, and with few fighters staying in one division for numerous title defenses, this issue is unlikely to be resolved soon, if ever.
So, who will genuinely be viewed as the undisputed number one fighters in their divisions by the end of 2025? Predicting the UFC champions is anyone`s guess.
