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Aljamain Sterling Predicts The Four Most Likely New UFC Champions In 2025

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 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.”

Former Opponent Reveals What Arman Tsarukyan Can Take From First Makhachev Fight

On January 18, Arman Tsarukyan will finally get an opportunity that he has been chasing for a long time. The #1-ranked contender will not only get the chance to challenge for the lightweight title in the main event of UFC 311 but he has the possibility of avenging one of his only losses in the […]

Tsarukyan debuted in the UFC back in April of 2019 where he stepped in on short notice to face Islam Makhachev in Russia. He didn’t get his hand raised on that occasion but in a fight of the night winning contest, he showed that he was a serious player in the 155-pound division.

Makhachev’s success after that fight only made Tsarukyan’s debut performance against him even more impressive but now he gets the chance to run it back with the man who handed him the second defeat of his career. In a recent interview with Inside Fighting, Beneil Dariush gave his thoughts on the matchup.

Dariush faced Tsarukyan in December of 2023 where he was caught early on by a huge right hand that ended the contest in just over a minute. He believes that if there’s anything that the challenger needs to take from his first meeting with the current champion, it’s that same hunger and aggression.

He thinks that Tsarukyan’s best chance of winning the fight is by being on the front foot early on which is where he had success against both Makhachev and Dariush in the past.

“It was so long ago. I think if you look at Arman’s mentality in that fight, that’s the right mentality. Take the fight to him, right. I think that’s what he should do. So I think that he could take that from that fight as like, ‘Hey, when I took the fight to him, I won’. I want to say people, was it the first round that he won according the judges? He went out there and he want hard, you know. He went after him in the first round so I think that’s something he could do.”

Arman Tsarukyan Disagrees with UFC Official Rankings, Places Jon Jones at Number One Pound-For-Pound

Arman Tsarukyan thinks Jon Jones belongs at the top of the UFC P4P rankings. As it stands, ‘Bones’ is…

Arman Tsarukyan thinks Jon Jones belongs at the top of the UFC P4P rankings.

As it stands, ‘Bones’ is sitting in the No. 2 spot on the promotion’s pound-for-pound list, one spot behind reigning UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. Of course, not everyone agrees with that, including UFC CEO Dana White who has gone on record multiple times arguing in favor of Jones being listed as the undisputed GOAT of MMA.

During a recent interview with ESPN MMA, Tsarukyan revealed that he subscribes to the same belief as White, suggesting that ‘Bones’ should be the top-ranked fighter on the coveted list with Makhachev dropping down one spot.

“In my opinion, he’s number two,” Tsarukyan said. Number one is Jon Jones, for me personally. But for sure, in the 155-pound division, he’s the pound-for-pound best.”

Emanating from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, the promotion will return to pay-per-view on Saturday, January 18 for UFC 311, headlined by a lightweight title tilt between Makhachev and Tsarukyan.

It will be Tsarukyan’s first time competing for UFC gold after amassing an impressive 9-2 record inside the Octagon, including noteworthy wins over Beneil Dariush and Charles Oliveira.

Arman Tsarukyan not concerned with potential p4P ranking

While a win over Makhachev will secure Tsarukyan his first UFC title, he doesn’t expect to become the promotion’s new No. 1 P4P fighter.

Nor does he care.

“No, I don’t care about that,” Tsarukyan said when asked about potentially occupying the top P4P ranking. “I just care about the title. Not the money, the hype, or the followers — just the title. That’s my goal. I wake up thinking about the title, and I go to sleep thinking about the title.”

Arman Tsarukyan Disagrees with UFC Official Rankings, Places Jon Jones at Number One Pound-For-Pound

Arman Tsarukyan thinks Jon Jones belongs at the top of the UFC P4P rankings. As it stands, ‘Bones’ is…

Arman Tsarukyan thinks Jon Jones belongs at the top of the UFC P4P rankings.

“In my opinion, he’s number two,” Tsarukyan said. Number one is Jon Jones, for me personally. But for sure, in the 155-pound division, he’s the pound-for-pound best.”

Emanating from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, the promotion will return to pay-per-view on Saturday, January 18 for UFC 311, headlined by a lightweight title tilt between Makhachev and Tsarukyan.

It will be Tsarukyan’s first time competing for UFC gold after amassing an impressive 9-2 record inside the Octagon, including noteworthy wins over Beneil Dariush and Charles Oliveira.

Arman Tsarukyan not concerned with potential p4P ranking

While a win over Makhachev will secure Tsarukyan his first UFC title, he doesn’t expect to become the promotion’s new No. 1 P4P fighter.

Nor does he care.

“No, I don’t care about that,” Tsarukyan said when asked about potentially occupying the top P4P ranking. “I just care about the title. Not the money, the hype, or the followers — just the title. That’s my goal. I wake up thinking about the title, and I go to sleep thinking about the title.”

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Gameplans Go Out the Window With a Punch, Explains Arman Tsarukyan

Arman Tsarukyan subscribes to the popular Mike Tyson quote, ‘Everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in the…

Arman Tsarukyan subscribes to the popular Mike Tyson quote, ‘Everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in the mouth.’ Especially when it comes to UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov.

On January 18, Tsarukyan will put that theory to a test, though it won’t come against Nurmagomedov. Instead, it’ll be against the Hall of Famer’s protege, Islam Makhachev, who just happens to be the promotion’s reigning lightweight world champion. Tsarukyan will challenge the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ for the 155-pound crown when the UFC heads to the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles for the first pay-per-view event of 2025, UFC 311.

Nurmagomedov is expected to be in Makhachev’s corner that night and will likely go into fight night with a well-thought-out game plan when Makhachev seeks his fourth successful defense of the lightweight strap.

Undoubtedly helping matters will be the fact that Makhachev already holds a victory over Tsarukyan under the UFC banner, besting the Armenian at UFC on ESPN+ 7 in April 2019.

Arman Tsarukyan knows how to disrupt makhachev’s game plan

Of course, Tsarukyan thinks that successfully throwing Makhachev off his game will come down to one not-so-simple task — hit the man really, really, hard.

“I think game plans can go out the window when you get hit with a hard punch,” Tsarukyan said in an interview with ESPN MMA. “If I hurt him really badly, he’ll forget about his game plan. It’s the same for me. In my last fight, Oliveira choked me, and after that moment, I forgot my game plan completely. That’s why I have to hurt him very badly in the first round. Then it won’t matter what game plan they have.”

Tsarukyan certainly has a knack for knocking his opponents out. In his nine career wins under the UFC banner, he’s scored highlight-reel KOs against Christos Giagos, Joel Alvarez, Joaquim Silva, and Beneil Dariush.