Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall recently shared his predictions for who will be holding UFC titles across all men’s weight classes by the end of 2025.
Given the depth of talent in the promotion’s divisions, his projections during a recent interview with TNT Sports provide interesting insights into how a UFC champ assesses the title picture in other divisions.
- 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.” - Bantamweight:
“I mean it’d be between Merab [Dvalishvili] and Umar [Nurmagomedov] next year. That’s an interesting fight, but I would back Merab.” - 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 [Makhachev] is going to be champion, again, by this time next year.” - 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 [du Plessis] 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.” - 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.” - 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.”
Aspinall remains optimistic about securing a bout with current heavyweight champion Jon Jones in 2025. Jones has also expressed interest in a potential light heavyweight showdown with Alex Pereira instead.
