5 Bold UFC Predictions for 2026
Every year is full of surprises in MMA, and 2025 was no exception.
It was a year full of upsets, shakeups, and plot twists—from Merab Dvalishvili losing his bantamweight title to Alexander Volkanovski kicking off a second title reign at featherweight—and 2026 is likely to be the same.
While there's no way to know what will happen between now and December, we can be pretty much certain that titles will change hands, dominant fighters will lose, and big stars will make headlines for better or for worse.
Without further ado, here are five bold predictions for the next 12 months of UFC action.
Jon Jones Makes a Comeback...Again
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Fight fans spent ages holding out hope for a heavyweight clash between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall, who held the UFC's undisputed and interim heavyweight titles respectively in 2024.
Unfortunately, it never happened, as Jones decided to retire after defending his belt with a TKO win over Stipe Miocic late that year.
By the time he had retired, Jones had accomplished more than most fighters in MMA history, having enjoyed a long reign as light heavyweight champion before moving up to heavyweight.
Given all his accolades, it seemed plausible he would stick to his retirement—a rarity in this sport. As much as we all wanted to see the Aspinall fight, he really had nothing more to prove.
At the start of 2026, however, it's clear Jones isn't quite satisfied with his legacy.
The former two-division champ has spent much of the last few months campaigning for a spot on the UFC's planned event at the White House this June.
And while Dana White has expressed some reluctance to put Jones on the card given his history of legal issues and last-minute fight cancellations, we're betting "Bones" gets his wish in the end. He is, after all, one of the biggest stars in MMA history, just the kind of guy the UFC is going to want fighting on the White House lawn.
The big question is who he will face. Aspinall is out of action with two badly compromised eyes, and Jones has made it clear he's not interested in that matchup anyway. That seemingly opens the door for a fight between Jones and light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira—perhaps with the interim heavyweight belt on the line, as Aspinall could be out for some time.
One way or the other, expect to see Jones back in action for this summer's White House bonanza, even if it's just a one-off.
Jiri Prochazka Evens the Score with Alex Pereira
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As discussed, UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira could well find himself in a superfight with Jon Jones at the White House this summer—perhaps even with interim heavyweight gold on the line.
However, Pereira is one of the most active fighters on the UFC roster, so that would not preclude him from defending his light heavyweight belt a couple of times, too.
At the moment, there are two men vying for the next crack at the light heavyweight title: Carlos Ulberg and Jiri Prochazka.
On paper, Ulberg arguably deserves it more, as he has yet to face Pereira, while Prochazka has lost to the champ twice in recent years. That being said, the Czech is significantly more popular, which may mean he pulls ahead of the New Zealander in the race.
If that's the case, we're predicting Prochazka finally even the score with Pereira. While he suffered knockout losses in his first two meetings with the champ, he remains one of the most violent finishers in the UFC today, and he is fully capable of prevailing in the matchup, particularly as Pereira closes in on 40. He proved this in his recent wins over Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree.
It's hard to say whether this might happen before or after Pereira's potential White House showdown with Jones—after seems like a safer bet—but look for Prochazka to get the win he's been so desperately seeking sometime this year.
Payton Talbott Fights for Bantamweight Gold
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Payton Talbott has long been one of the hottest prospects in the bantamweight division, but at the start of 2026, he's a legitimate contender in the weight class.
That's thanks to an impressive decision victory over former two-division champion Henry Cejudo in his final fight of 2025.
The win over Cejudo was not enough to earn Talbott a title shot, but it did send him rocketing into the top 15. Ordinarily, he'd still be two or three wins from a title shot, but we're guessing things move a little faster than that.
Talbott is, first and foremost, one of the more talked-about fighters in the division, which means he's likely to be fast-tracked on his rise. However, he's also likely to benefit from some recently shuffling atop the division.
At the end of 2025, we saw Petr Yan end the reign of longtime champ Merab Dvalishvili with a stunning decision win. While it's likely they will fight again in the coming months, the UFC will be desperate for new contenders thereafter, as both men have already beaten many in the top 10.
That should pave the way for a justifiable but somewhat premature Talbott title shot. If the rising contender can win one more fight in the top 15 in the meantime—perhaps beating somebody like Aiemann Zahabi or Marlon Vera—expect him to get a crack at Yan or Dvalishvili later in the year, mostly on the basis of being a new and fresh challenger.
We're not saying he'll win the belt, but our bet is he gets the opportunity before the year is over. It could even happen on short notice, when a more established contender is sidelined with an injury.
Arman Tsarukyan Finally Gets a Title Shot
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Things are a bit messy in the UFC lightweight division right now, which is unfortunate, given it's one of the best weight classes in MMA.
The champion, Ilia Topuria, is out of action indefinitely as he deals with personal issues outside the Octagon. That drove the UFC to book an interim lightweight title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett, which will headline UFC 324 on Jan. 24.
The Gaethje vs. Pimblett fight is an incredible matchup, but there's just one problem with it: Neither man deserves the opportunity to fight for lightweight gold as much as Arman Tsarukyan.
Tsarukyan made himself the top lightweight contender with a decision win over Charles Oliveira in 2024. After that win, he was booked for a title shot opposite Islam Makhachev in early 2025, but pulled out with an injury just hours ahead of time.
That evidently put him in the bad graces of the UFC, as he spent months on the shelf before finally returning to action against Dan Hooker late last year.
Tsarukyan was totally dominant against Hooker—something that shouldn't have surprised anyone who has seen them both fight before. After that lopsided win, all signs pointed to him finally getting a shot at the lightweight belt, which then belonged to Topuria.
However, for reasons that are not totally clear, he was then passed up again, with the opportunity to fight for interim gold going to Gaethje and Pimblett instead.
A lot presumably needs to happen before Tsarukyan will get his long-awaited title shot. First, Pimblett and Gaethje will need to fight. Then, the winner will need to recover before hopefully challenging a returning Topuria sometime in the second half of the year.
Still, we're predicting Tsarukyan finally gets his opportunity before the year is out—hopefully against the undefeated Topuria, as they're clearly the two best lightweights in the sport right now. Sorry, Gaethje and Pimblett.
Conor McGregor Returns to Boxing
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Like Jon Jones, Conor McGregor has been adamant that he will compete at the UFC's planned White House event this June. While the Irishman is an even bigger star than Jones, it's hard to see it happening.
McGregor, a former two-division UFC champ, hasn't fought since a disastrous TKO loss to Dustin Poirier left him with a broken leg in 2021.
He's been talking about a comeback ever since—and was even briefly matched up with Michael Chandler in 2024—but it still hasn't happened. That's not surprising, given everything he has going on outside the Octagon, but it's hard to imagine him in action again.
That doesn't mean he won't fight again. As the UFC enters another year, the promotion's parent company, TKO, continues to push into the world of boxing.
Our bet is that the UFC will realize there's no chance of getting McGregor back into the Octagon. From there, it's an easy jump to allow him to compete under the Zuffa boxing banner.
This isn't to suggest McGregor will have a real career in the boxing ring. As good as his hands are, he would get smoked by any credible challenge he faces.
However, the 37-year-old is just the kind of big name TKO will need to help get the new boxing venture rolling, and we're predicting it calls on him once it accepts his days as an MMA fighter are over.
The big mystery is who he would fight. A boxing star like Saul "Canelo" Alvarez isn't out of the question, but the more likely option is probably another UFC veteran, because then he'd actually have a shot at winning.
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