what to expect in martial arts in 2025 –

Will the Russians set a record for the number of simultaneous champions in UFC?

The period from July 2020 to March 2021 can be considered one of the most successful for Russians in the UFC. After all, it was at this time that for the first and only time in history they owned belts in two divisions. Since 2018, Khabib Nurmagomedov has reigned in the lightweight division, and a little later Petr Yan climbed to the top of the lightweight division. Now a unique event can happen in the championship, because three domestic fighters can have trophies at the same time. Moreover, they are capable of repeating the record in January.

To do this, Islam Makhachev needs to get the better of Arman Tsarukyan and defend the 70.3 kg belt four times in a row for the first time in history, and Umar Nurmagomedov needs to take the title from Merab Dvalishvili, who is on a streak of 11 wins in a row. And according to the bookmakers, this is more than possible. They consider the favorite not only the current leader of the lightweight category, but also his teammate, although in terms of experience he is noticeably inferior to the Georgian. And according to some, he does not deserve the right to fight for the trophy.

It is likely that Magomed Ankalaev would have approached the battle for the belt in the same status, but the matchmakers are in no hurry to put him up against Alex Pereira. It seemed that a victory over Alexander Rakic ​​guaranteed him the status of a contender, but so far everything is going to the point that this will not happen again. At least, the Brazilian himself is sure of this, having openly stated that his next opponent will not be the number one in the weight class. According to media reports, the UFC wants to match the current champion with Khamzat Chimaev, although he previously competed in the welterweight and middleweight divisions.

If the rumors are confirmed, then Ankalaev will again be left out and will be forced to fight with one of the trio Jiri Prochazka – Jamal Hill – Jan Blachowicz. And this promises to be a very difficult test for him, because he experienced huge problems with the same Pole, and managed to seize the initiative only with the help of wrestling skills. I would like to say that if he wins over one of the above-mentioned athletes, the Russian will certainly get a chance to fight for the trophy, but it is no longer possible to talk about this with confidence. The UFC clearly doesn’t like Magomed and is not shy about showing it.

Will Wolves reach the title?

During his career, the Russian was twice one or two steps away from fighting for the UFC heavyweight belt. This first happened in 2018, when Alexander Volkov, who had recently made his debut in the championship, had four victories in a row, including over former champion Fabricio Werdum. The second time – in 2021. At the height of the pandemic, he lost to Curtis Blaydes in a tense confrontation, but came back stronger and literally ran over first Walt Harris and then Alistair Overeem. But in both cases it was not possible to overcome one of the final barriers. First, Derrick Lewis stood in Drago’s way, then Cyril Gun, and the defeat by Tom Aspinall seemed to finally knock him out of the number of potential gold seekers.

However, Volkov perked up and produced another impressive series, during which he crushed Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alexander Romanov and Tai Tuivasa, and then outplayed the formidable Sergei Pavlovich. Thanks to this, he earned the right to once again measure his strength with the former holder of the temporary belt in the person of Gan and did not lose face. Over the course of three rounds, he not only fought on equal terms with the Frenchman, but dominated at times and deserved to win by decision. However, Junichiro Kamijo, together with the scandalous Adelaide Bird, sided with Cyril and created one of the most controversial verdicts of the past year.

Of course, Volkov was upset and did not hide his feelings, but the light at the end of the tunnel was the support from Dana White and other UFC executives who considered the judges’ decision unfair. As the heavyweight’s manager Ivan Bannikov later said, it was Alexander, and not Cyril, who nominally took over, who remained among the contenders for the trophy. And the chance to compete for it may present itself as early as 2025. True, for this we need to wait for the outcome of the duel between Aspinall and Jon Jones, and it may not happen soon. Consequently, the applicant’s status will most likely have to be confirmed. And this means either a trilogy with Gan, or a rematch with the conditional Pavlovich or Blaydes. By this point, the first can deal with Rozenstruik, and the second with Rizvan Kuniev. And if Drago passes this test, nothing should stop him from finally realizing his dream.

Will Nemkov and Magomedkerimov move to UFC?

It’s difficult to say whether Vadim Nemkov ever dreamed of a career in the Absolute Fighting Championship, but now he has practically no other choice. Playing in the PFL Grand Prix doesn’t particularly appeal to him, and after the change of government, getting fights in Bellator has become much more problematic. As a result, one of the strongest Russian fighters spends a whole year waiting for a contract for a fight, and then is content with battles with opponents Ante Delia and Corey Anderson, which are later cancelled.

Obviously, the transition to the largest MMA promotion is finally overdue. The only question is how interested the UFC itself is in Nemkov and what kind of fee they will be willing to offer him. The former Bellator champion is unlikely to want to fight for pennies and will probably demand decent payment, but White and company may not agree. Firstly, Vadim does not have superstar status and will not bring millions of dollars in profit to the league, and secondly, we should not forget about the history of the relationship between Dana and Fedor Emelianenko. At one time, the functionary tried to sign the Last Emperor and bring him together with Brock Lesnar, but failed, after which he often spoke sarcastically about the legendary fighter.

Obviously, it will be much easier to come to an agreement with Magomed Magomedkerimov. As the two-time PFL Grand Prix winner admitted to RT, he wants to try his hand at the UFC and intends to begin negotiations immediately after the end of the current agreement. And it is designed for one more fight. According to him, current Bellator champion in the middle category Johnny Ablin, who previously defeated Anatoly Tokov, is being considered as possible opponents. But whether the league will want to just let the Russian go if he succeeds in the title battle is a big question.

The same can be said about last season’s PFL winner Shamil Musayev. He created a real sensation and literally swept away his opponents, winning three out of four fights ahead of schedule. And he demonstrated his readiness to perform at the highest level. But, as he admitted to Sport Express, he has not yet received any specific offers from the UFC.

Will the Beterbiev-Bivol trilogy take place?

The fight for the title of absolute world light heavyweight champion became one of the main events of 2024 in boxing. Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol delighted the audience with a tense confrontation, and the controversial decision of the judges only increased the excitement around the rematch. But if their meeting in February is practically inevitable (let’s not forget about injuries), then the third battle is still in question.

Some time ago, many experts believed that two colorful trilogies would take place in boxing in the near future. In one of them, Alexander Usik and Tyson Fury will fight for heavyweight titles, in the other, Beterbiev and Bivol. However, at the end of December, everything did not go according to plan, when the Ukrainian defeated the Briton by unanimous decision and put an end to their confrontation. Although the victory of the Gypsy King was much more profitable from a financial point of view, because there is simply no star of this caliber in the division.

Surely this made many reconsider their opinion regarding the possible outcome of the return battle between Beterbiev and Bivol. A few weeks ago, the same Konstantin Tszyu expected that the judges would be a little more favorable to the challenger and would try to create a springboard for another, decisive meeting between the Russians, but now it seems a little reckless to rely on this. After all, if the promoters did not have a hand in organizing the third fight between Usik and Fury, then this is hardly worth expecting here either.

Bookmakers also think the same, giving preference to Beterbiev in a rematch, although a few months ago they bet on Bivol. Perhaps everyone was impressed by Arthur’s stamina, who worked as number one throughout all 12 rounds, but in January he will turn 40 years old. And you can’t be sure that this won’t affect his performance. And Bivol’s team will obviously work on their mistakes, although there were few of them.