UFC 2025: Analysis of the Most Anticipated Title Fights

UFC Closes 2025 with Explosive Card: Six Titles on the Line

The UFC has big plans to close out 2025 with a series of events that promise strong emotions. In the last two months of the year, six titles will be at stake, culminating in high-caliber fights that will keep fans on the edge of their seats. The main event of UFC 321, from Abu Dhabi, on Saturday (2 p.m. ET on ESPN PPV, prelims at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN+), will see Tom Aspinall defend his heavyweight title for the first time against Ciryl Gane, former interim champion. In addition, a new strawweight champion will be defined in the co-main event, where Virna Jandiroba will face Mackenzie Dern for the 115-pound title, which Zhang Weili vacated to move up to flyweight. New York’s Madison Square Garden will be the stage where Islam Makhachev will seek a second world title by challenging welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 on November 15 (ESPN PPV). The co-main event of that card also features Zhang attempting to become a champion in a second weight class, facing women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. The pay-per-view year will conclude in Las Vegas with the men’s bantamweight champion, Merab Dvalishvili, seeking a fourth successful title defense in a calendar year, a UFC record. He will face Petr Yan at UFC 323, in a rematch of their 2023 bout. In addition, Alexandre Pantoja will put his men’s flyweight championship on the line against the promising Joshua Van. Here’s an analysis of the six title fights, evaluating their quality and importance.

6. Women’s Strawweight: Virna Jandiroba vs. Mackenzie Dern

The constantly changing strawweight division, following Zhang’s departure, makes this Jandiroba vs. Dern matchup less appealing. Dern defeated Jandiroba almost five years ago, but has since had a 5-4 record, making her place in this title fight seem more like a gift than something earned. Jandiroba has had a recent streak of five consecutive victories, making her a true title contender. However, Dern hasn’t beaten a championship contender and has oscillated between a talented fighter with title aspirations and a one-dimensional fighter who hasn’t reached her potential.

Neither fighter should be leaning towards another kickboxing match, but stranger things have happened when two fighters face each other. Above all, this fight is an indictment of a division that is struggling to find an identity without Zhang. Whoever wins will feel more like a consolation prize than the true champion of the division.

5. Heavyweight: Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane

Although it’s not the heavyweight title fight that UFC or Aspinall fans desired, it’s positive to see Aspinall back in action as the legitimate undisputed heavyweight champion, after he and the fans had to endure the absurd “will he or won’t he” of Jones, which ended in retirement. However, considering that Aspinall has demolished every UFC opponent he’s faced in under seven combined minutes, one might not be very enthusiastic about this matchup. Gane benefits from the lack of other opponents for Aspinall, and although Gane is a skilled striker, his submission loss in two minutes to Jones in March 2023 doesn’t give us much hope against a stellar finishing machine like Aspinall. Heavyweight fights always have that “knockout chance” in their favor, but few believe that Gane can stop the Aspinall train.

4. Men’s Bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan 2

Yes, we’ve seen this before. In fact, it’s impossible to forget the first encounter between Dvalishvili and Yan, because Dvalishvili’s 49 takedown attempts have been cited as the moment people realized the Georgian was more machine than man. Since then, Dvalishvili has obtained the UFC bantamweight title and has swept away the opposition with three title defenses in 2025. As for Yan, he has quietly put the defeat to Dvalishvili behind him with three dominant victories that made us question whether the loss to Dvalishvili was more of an aberration than the norm. He will have the opportunity to prove the theory when they meet again at UFC 323. There’s a lot at stake this time, with a title on the line and Dvalishvili looking to become the first fighter to successfully defend a title four times in a calendar year. The reason this isn’t higher up the list is because we saw what happened last time and, despite what Yan has said, it’s hard to believe the outcome will be much different. However, if Yan looks like the version who was champion five years ago, this could be a great fight.

3. Men’s Flyweight: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van

Van’s momentum over the last year has been revealing, as he has gone from prospect to title contender in three fights that have been progressively more impressive with each performance. His encounter against Brandon Royval in June is a fight-of-the-year candidate that made people believe he is one of the few contenders with a real chance to dethrone Pantoja, whose dominant run for the flyweight championship has put him in the conversation with Demetrious Johnson for the title of greatest male flyweight champion in UFC history. That conversation will come to a standstill if the ascending Van is able to upset the established order. It’s an intriguing fight in terms of styles. Pantoja is unrivaled on the ground, but Van’s striking, his elite endurance, and his improved takedown defense are the exact recipe needed to pull off the upset. This could be a wildly entertaining fight or another outing in which Pantoja takes a promising fighter and chokes him to submission.

2. Welterweight Weight: Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev

Makhachev was ranked number 1 in the pound-for-pound rankings, but fell behind Ilia Topuria in June, when “El Matador” became a two-division champion by knocking out Charles Oliveira to acquire the lightweight title that Makhachev vacated. Makhachev has the opportunity to regain his position if he can snatch the welterweight title from the newly crowned champion Della Maddalena. While some may see it as an inevitable conclusion that Makhachev will obtain a second world championship, Della Maddalena’s sublime skills as a striker and wrestler could provide more than enough resistance. Della Maddalena has not lost a fight since he began his MMA career 0-2 in 2016, and his impressive performance in the Fight of the Night against Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 in May made him a champion. There is a lot at stake, as Della Maddalena aims not to be a transition champion and to exploit a possible mega fight between Makhachev and Topuria. But he probably couldn’t have a more difficult assignment for a first title defense than against one of the best lightweight champions in UFC history.

1. Women’s Flyweight: Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili

Although this is the co-main event of UFC 322, it is, by far, the most competitive and intriguing title fight of the group. Shevchenko is already widely considered one of the greatest in the history of women’s mixed martial arts, and she was brilliant in retaining the championship against Manon Fiorot at UFC 315 in her second stint as flyweight champion. But the powerful wrestler Zhang has carved out her own place as one of the greats with her dizzying run as strawweight champion. Zhang’s only kryptonite during her UFC tenure has been kickboxing, as Rose Namajunas dethroned her twice. And if there’s anyone more qualified in the kickboxing department, that’s Shevchenko. However, Shevchenko has had her challenges with powerful strikers who can wrestle, as both Amanda Nunes and Alexa Grasso used similar wrestling styles to beat her. This is an absolutely perfect matchup and a true 50-50 fight that will have strong implications in women’s MMA. It doesn’t get any better than this.