The UFC experienced unprecedented championship turnover during 2016.
All told, eight new champions were crowned inside the Octagon last year, including the emergence of young lions like men’s bantamweight champ Cody Garbrandt and ascendence of surprising veterans like middleweight titlist Michael Bisping.
The new year has already given us one additional champion, after Germaine de Randamie defeated Holly Holm to become the company’s inaugural women’s featherweight champion at UFC 208. But what does the future hold for the rest of 2017?
Will it be another year of wholesale change at the top? Or will some consistency emerge as a perhaps a few of these fledgling champions establish themselves as dominant, dependable draws?
Glad you asked. With a bevy of title matches already on the books and a gaggle of top contenders breathing down the necks of the champions, here’s a look at the challengers most likely to win UFC gold in 2017.