Forget the “I’m 100% sure so and so will win” threads that backfire on OP all the time without fail. Here in this thread you have to predict the next UFC champ in each division. Don’t matter if the champ don’t have a fight booked, make your predictions. They don’t have to be signed by the UFC at the moment, just state who the next champ is for each division. All predictions must be made before the start of the Edwards vs Usman 3 fight.
Current UFC Champs:
FLW: Moreno
BW: Sterling
FW: Volk
LW: Makhachev
WW: Edwards
MW: Peirera
LHW: Hill
HW: Jones
WSW: Zhang
WFLW: Grasso
WBW: Nunes
WFW: Nunes
My predictions for next champ…
FLW: Pantoja
BW: Umar Nurmagomedov
FW: Allen
LW: Fiziev
WW: Usman
MW: Chimaev
LHW: Ankalaev
HW: Blaydes
WSW: Namajunas
WFLW: Shevchenko
WBW: Aldana
WFW: N/A, Dana gets rid of division once Nunes retires.
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My predictions for next champ…
FLW: ??
BW: Umar Nurmagomedov or CCC.
FW: Allen or Evloev
LW: Armen
WW: Usman
MW: Izzy
LHW: Ankalaev (the true champ)
HW: Blaydes (I like this)
I don’t watch much WMMA, but hopefully Erin Blanchfield
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Can’t pick two picks for a single division, doubles your chances of being right.
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Fair. I like a lot of your picks but wanted to add another darkhorse I like. I guess keep Allen and CCC as they are closer to title shots
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I’d be interested in knowing how many fighters have been signed by and had at least a single fight in the UFC over the past decade and then know how many fighters have won the title in the last decade.
Its almost impossible to win enough fights in a row or win the right fights to get the title, statistically speaking.
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FLY: Mokaev
BW: Cejudo
FW: Topuria
LW: Volk (it’s hard to see anyone in the top 10 being able to compete with Islam so I pick him by default)
WW: Usman
MW: Izzy
LHW: Jiri (just to say a name but really I see Hill holding it for a few years)
HW: Almeida (figuring Jones retires within a couple fights and he wins the vacant)
Mokaev and Cejudo would have been my next picks. Too worried about Jiri’s shoulder issues to bet on him here.
See how Mokaev got his knee wrecked last night… who knows how bad it is and how he is gonna bounce back now. He is your pick for next UFC FLW champ, I’m not bashing that pick either, I’m just saying so many variables enter the equation when you try to pick the next champ in 11 divisions and put it on record.
Then Usman, he was my pick and your pick for next WW champ. Didn’t work out. Its hard predicting the next champ, especially trying to pick the next champ in 11 divisions all at once. Way different than saying Fighter A is gonna win right before a title fight and then being right and hanging your hat on that like a lot of UGers do right after a title fight.
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I would probably stick with Mokaev. The reason I picked him in the first place was because most of the immediate contenders have a lot of losses and seem really beatable. But Moreno himself is in the same boat so I also won’t be surprised if he loses to any of them.
Like I noted in your flyweight thread, there’s a ton of unsigned talent at 125 but UFC keeps its division pretty weak for some reason so there isn’t much to choose from.
Sticking with Mokaev is a good pick. He would have been my pick if I didn’t go with Pantoja who should get the next shot and like you said, Moreno is very beatable.
Yeah UFC is just not too crazy about that division, I think they spent a lot of money on it with that TUF series with the regional champs and having Mighty Mouse as a dominant champ and he never drew flies and I Cejudo has not either. Clearly they are happy Moreno is good for their interest in the Mexican market that I think thats a long term thing for them. They don’t see a world where they can load PPV main cards with flyweight fights that will sell PPV’s and they don’t see a world where they can headline a lot of Fight Nights with flyweight fights and get good ratings and a lot of fan interest. I do think they want the division to do as well as any other but I just don’t think they are willing to spend crazy money on it and sign 100 flyweights if none of them are gonna be a good ROI.
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Welp, Adesanya proved you guys right there and now I’m 0-2 at predicting the next champ here because Usman lost and Adesanya won and I’ll likely be 0-3 because Fiziev lost as well so its gone be a long time or never before he gets a title shot to even try.
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Leon surprised me. The Usman that fought him in their last fight was not the same.
Depending how Allen/Max and CCC play out I might be in good standing lol
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Thank god I was right about Pantoja because my WBW, HW, LHW, WW, LW and FW picks already went bust.
Guess I still got a chance with Umar at BW and hopefully Dana gets rid of WFW now that Nunes is gone. Being right about that would salvage this entire thread of failure.
Its hard picking the champs in each division because it can happen in one, two or ten of the next title fights in a given weigh and look at Namajunas…going up in weight and you never know when a Nunes is gonna retire and that makes the belt up for grabs too.
Hopefully Shevchenko wins the rematch.
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They said the winner of Umar/Cory is next in line for a title shot. Umar has got this
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