Will The UFC Heavyweight Championship Belt Change Hands This Year? 

The UFC is one of the most competitive fighting competitions in the world and anyone who earns a championship title knows that they could lose it in their very next fight.  The UFC is the leading Mixed Martial Arts fighting company in the world. They host fights across the globe but are based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Many of the biggest names in the MMA scene are part of the UFC roster. 

At the start of each year, we like to speculate what championship belts are going to be changing hands and today we are going to focus on the Heavyweight Championship belt. 

Heavyweight fighters in the UFC must weigh between 206 and 265 lbs. The current Heavyweight Champion is Francis Ngannou. He won the title in 2021 and has defended it once since. 

Note – Ngannou had surgery in March 2022 and will not be fighting for at least 10 months. This means that the undisputed Heavyweight Title may not be up for grabs this year; however UFC may introduce another interim title as they often do.

Do you think that Ngannou will hold onto his title when he returns? You can find the best MMA odds on upcoming fights here. 

Here, we will be focusing on who is most likely to face Ngannou when he returns from injury. 

Francis Ngannou (17-3)

There are a few things you should know about Francis Ngannou. 

He has the hardest recorded punch in the world and is still only #4 on the UFC’s pound-for-pound ranking list. He is part of Randy Couture’s Xtreme Couture gym and team. 

When he was crowned the Heavyweight Champion he was the first man from Cameroon to win a UFC title. 

He has only lost three fights in his whole career. He has never lost by knockout or submission, only by decision. 

Ngannou gained his title by beating Stipe Miocic (more on him later). Since then he has only fought once. He beat Ciryl Gane (more on him in a bit as well) in 2022. 

Ngannou has previously lost to Miocic, but extracted his revenge, taking the title from Stipe in a rematch. 

Cyril Gane (10-1)

The Gane vs Ngannou fight that took place this February was as high stakes as they get. Either the Heavyweight title was going to change hands or Gane was going to lose his perfect record. In the end, Gane lost via a unanimous decision. 

As he was the last person to fight Ngannou it is not likely that he will be the next one to fight him – but stranger things have happened. 

Gane is one to watch. He only joined the UFC in 2018 and managed to rack up a 10-0 record in that time, with all the pandemic restrictions going on too. 

Stipe Miocic (20-4)

There is a big chance that Ngannou’s next match could be Ngannou vs Miocic III. 

Ngannou lost the pair’s first match via a decision. However, Stipe was knocked out by Ngannou in their rematch in the second round. 

Dana White (the CEO of the UFC) has suggested that Miocic’s next fight could be in the summer against Joe Jones. Jones is a two-time Light Heavyweight champion and is intending to move up to the Heavyweight division. 

With Miocic being the most experienced Heavyweight fighter currently on the roster, it does make sense that White would pit the pair against each other this summer. We would be watching the whole thing. 

Tai Tuivasa (14-3)

If Tuivasa continues his winning streak then he could be a contender for a Heavyweight title match by the time Ngannou returns to the ring. 

He has been fighting his way through the middle of the Heavyweight ranking list – knocking people out left, right, and center. Many are arguing that it is now time to let him face some of the top fighters, especially now that he is 3rd in the rankings himself. 

If Tuivasa was able to get a fight against Stipe or Gane in the next year, that would set him up nicely for a fight with Ngannou. Although, arguably he has earned the right to fight Ngannnou anyway having got to 3rd in the rankings. 

Tom Aspinall, the new UFC London champion has also announced his intention to fight Tuivasa this year. Tuivasa himself says he wants to fight Stipe. 

Curtis Blaydes (20-3-1NC)

Could we have a Ngannou vs Blaydes III on our hands at the start of 2023? 

Possibly… We think that Blaydes would have to put in some incredible fights between now and then to give Ngannou a reason to fight him again. Ngannou knocked out the American in both 2016 and 2018.  

Just like Tuivasa, Blaydes hasn’t fought anyone else in the top 5, so we may be more likely to see a Gane vs Blaydes match instead. Blaydes would need to take down some big opponents to prove that he is ready to fight Ngannou when he returns. 

That being said, Blaydes has defeated Junior Dos Santos in the last two years – which is something that Tuivasa has not done – but Gane, Miocic, and Ngannou have. 

Summary 

Francis Ngannou is the current Heavyweight Champion, however, he has been injured and won’t be fighting for the next 10 months. This means there will be no change in Heavyweight Championship this year. In this article, we have looked at who is most likely to fight Ngannou when he returns.