The UFC plans on closing out 2025 with a bang. Six titles shall be on the road over the ultimate two months of the 12 months. In the principle occasion of UFC 321 from Abu Dhabi on Saturday (2 p.m. ET on ESPN PPV, prelims at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN+), Tom Aspinall will lastly transfer on from the Jon Jones saga and defend his undisputed heavyweight championship for the primary time towards former interim titleholder Ciryl Gane. A brand new strawweight champion additionally shall be decided within the co-main occasion, when Virna Jandiroba meets Mackenzie Dern for the 115-pound title that Zhang Weili vacated earlier this 12 months to maneuver as much as flyweight.
New York’s Madison Sq. Backyard will host former light-weight champion Islam Makhachev’s try at capturing a second world title when he challenges welterweight titleholder Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 on Nov. 15 (ESPN PPV). The co-main occasion of that card additionally finds Zhang making an attempt to turn into a champion in a second weight class towards ladies’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.
The pay-per-view 12 months closes in Las Vegas with males’s bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili pursuing a UFC-record fourth profitable title protection inside a calendar 12 months. He’ll tackle Petr Yan at UFC 323 in a rematch of their 2023 five-rounder. Alexandre Pantoja additionally will put his males’s flyweight championship on the road towards surging 24-year-old Joshua Van.
ESPN ranks all six title bouts in keeping with the standard and significance of every matchup.
6. Strawweight: Virna Jandiroba vs. Mackenzie Dern
The departure of Zhang to the flyweight division, coupled with the unsteadiness of the strawweight division, makes this second assembly between Jandiroba and Dern a less-than-intriguing title combat. Dern defeated Jandiroba just below 5 years in the past in a stunning slugfest however has gone 5-4 since, making her spot on this title combat really feel extra gifted than deserved. Jandiroba has been on a roll as of late, with 5 consecutive wins that a minimum of make her really feel like a real title contender. However Dern hasn’t crushed a championship contender and has oscillated between proficient grappler with title aspirations and one-dimensional fighter who hasn’t reached potential.
Neither fighter must be inclined to have one other kickboxing match, however stranger issues have occurred when two grapplers have engaged in a combat. Greater than anything, this combat is an indictment of a division that’s struggling to search out an identification with out Zhang. Whoever wins will really feel extra like a comfort prize than the true champion of the division.
5. Heavyweight: Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane
This isn’t the heavyweight title combat that UFC followers or Aspinall needed, however actually, it is good to see Aspinall again in motion because the rightful undisputed heavyweight champion after he and followers needed to sit by Jones’ nonsensical “will he or will not he” act that resulted in retirement. Nonetheless, contemplating that Aspinall has annihilated each UFC opponent he has confronted in beneath seven minutes mixed — exterior of his TKO loss by damage to Curtis Blaydes — forgive us for not being too enthralled by this matchup. Gane is the beneficiary of there being no different opponents for Aspinall to face, and though Gane is definitely a professional striker, his two-minute submission loss to Jones in March 2023 does not give us a lot hope for him towards a stellar ending machine corresponding to Aspinall. Heavyweight fights all the time have that “puncher’s probability” going for them, however few suppose that Gane can cease the Aspinall practice.
4. Males’s bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan 2
Sure, we have seen this earlier than. As a matter of reality, it is inconceivable to unsee the primary assembly between Dvalishvili and Yan, as a result of Dvalishvili’s absurd complete of 49 takedown makes an attempt has been cited because the second folks realized the Georgian was extra machine than man. Since then, Dvalishvili has acquired the UFC bantamweight title and ripped by the opposition with three title defenses in 2025. As for Yan, he has quietly put the loss to Dvalishvili behind him with three dominant wins that had us questioning whether or not the loss to Dvalishvili was extra of an aberration than the norm. He’ll have an opportunity to show the speculation after they meet once more at UFC 323.
The stakes are completely different this time round, with a title on the road and Dvalishvili seeking to turn into the primary fighter to efficiently defend a title 4 instances in a calendar 12 months. The rationale this is not increased on the listing is as a result of we noticed what occurred the final time and, regardless of what Yan has stated, it is exhausting to consider the result shall be a lot completely different. Nonetheless, if Yan appears just like the model who was champion 5 years in the past, this could possibly be a heck of a combat.
3. Males’s flyweight: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van
The momentum that Van has picked up over the previous 12 months has been eye-opening, as he has gone from prospect to title contender in three fights which have gotten progressively extra spectacular with every efficiency. His outing towards Brandon Royval in June is a combat of the 12 months candidate that made folks consider he’s one in every of few contenders with an actual probability to upend Pantoja, whose dominant flyweight championship run has put him into the dialog with Demetrious Johnson for the best males’s flyweight champion in UFC historical past. That dialog will come to a screeching halt if the surging Van is ready to upset the apple cart. It is an intriguing combat when it comes to types. Pantoja has no match on the bottom, however Van’s proficient putting, elite cardio and improved takedown protection are the precise recipe wanted to tug off the upset. This could possibly be a wildly entertaining scrap or one other outing by which Pantoja takes a promising fighter and strangles him into submission.
2. Welterweight: Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev
Makhachev had a stranglehold on the No. 1 spot in ESPN’s pound-for-pound rankings however fell behind Ilia Topuria in June, when “El Matador” grew to become a two-division champion by knocking out Charles Oliveira to accumulate the light-weight title Makhachev vacated. Makhachev has an opportunity to regain his high spot if he can peel the welterweight title off of freshly minted champion Della Maddalena. Whereas some may even see it as a foregone conclusion that Makhachev picks up a second world championship, Della Maddalena’s elegant abilities as a striker and wrestler might present greater than sufficient resistance. Della Maddalena hasn’t misplaced a combat since beginning his MMA profession 0-2 in 2016, and his spectacular Combat of the Night time efficiency towards Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 in Could made him a champion. There’s rather a lot on the road as Della Maddalena goals to not be a transitional champion and blow up a possible megafight between Makhachev and Topuria. However he most likely could not have a more durable project for a primary title protection than towards one of many best light-weight champions in UFC historical past.
1. Ladies’s flyweight: Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili
Though that is the co-main occasion of UFC 322, it’s — by far — essentially the most aggressive and intriguing title combat of the bunch. Shevchenko already is broadly thought to be one of many best ever in ladies’s blended martial arts, and he or she was sensible in retaining the championship towards Manon Fiorot at UFC 315 in her second run as flyweight champion. However powerhouse fighter Zhang has carved out her personal place as one of many greats along with her blistering run as strawweight champion. Zhang’s solely kryptonite throughout her UFC tenure has been kickboxing, as Rose Namajunas twice upended her. And if there’s anybody extra certified within the kickboxing division, it is Shevchenko. Nonetheless, Shevchenko has had her challenges with highly effective strikers who can wrestle, as each Amanda Nunes and Alexa Grasso used related preventing types to beat her. That is completely excellent matchmaking and a real 50-50 combat that can have heavy implications on ladies’s MMA. It does not get significantly better than this.