A lot can change across 12 months in MMA which means that at the start of 2025, it’s time to speculate about what the year has in store for fight fans. Aljamain Sterling did just that via his podcast where he went division by division to pick out names that could become UFC champions by the end of the year.
The former UFC bantamweight champion picked out four names contenders who he believes have the potential to dethrone the current titleholders in their respective divisions. He started at flyweight where a recently reported clash for March 1 between the #1 and #6-ranked competitors will likely decide the next opponent for Alexandre Pantoja.
“I can see Manel Kape as 125. Dude, he’s just a super fun fighter to watch. He’s very well-rounded, his ground game might be as good as his standup but he’s very well-rounded. If he can keep the fight standing long enough, he’s clean enough where I think he actually gives Pantoja a run for his money.”
Sterling also named a challenger who has already had his title fight made official for the first PPV card of the year. Though he didn’t necessarily pick Arman Tsarukyan to beat Islam Makhachev in their lightweight title rematch, “Funkmaster” believes that he has a good chance of doing it.
“Arman Tsarukyan I think has a very great potential for an upset in January and that’s just based on how he looked when he fought Islam the first time, how he’s looked over the years, growing, and he was only 22.”
The final two picks on Sterling’s list came down to the two heavyweight weight classes in the sport. If there was a consensus list from the fans, you’d probably expect to see both Magomed Ankalaev and Tom Aspinall make the cut.
Ankalaev is believed to be the toughest test for Alex Pereira and in Aspinall’s case, he might not even get the chance to fight Jon Jones before being promoted to the world champion if there title unification never takes place.
“I could see Ankalaev becoming champ in 2025. I could see that.
“Heavyweight I think Tom Aspinall. I don’t see Jon Jones sticking around much longer. I think he does one more fight whether it’s against Pereira or Tommy Aspinall but I think at some point, Tommy Aspinall will become the undisputed champion.”