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Rapid Fire Best Bets on UFC Champions at the End of 2024

by Mike Allen - 8/31/2023

UFC Champions betting odds Valentina Shevchenko

Some may say it is far too early to be trying to predict who will be a UFC champion at the end of 2024. When you think about how often world champions defend their belts, we only have to predict the outcomes of the next 1-2 fights.

That is easier than you think. I remember betting on Islam Makhachev at 4-1 to be the champion by the end of 2022. He doesn't have the same payout this year, but valuable odds, nonetheless.

More on the UFC Lightweight king in a moment. Let's rapidly fire out our best bets for who will be a UFC Champion at the end of 2024.

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UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones: +450

Jon Bones Jones made his long-awaited return to action this year, and if you blinked, you missed it. In his heavyweight debut, Jones won the vacant world title when he submitted Cyril Gane with a guillotine in just over two minutes at UFC 285 in March.

Next up for Jones is Stipe Miocic in November at UFC 295.

Jones has teased retirement after this fight, but an easy win over Miocic will leave him unfulfilled. Hopefully, the talk we heard of hanging up his gloves is only to leverage his next contract negotiation.

Jones might be the only world champion who can get away with fighting just once in 2024. That means we are essentially getting him as a 4.5 to 1 favorite to win that fight. Whether it's against Sergei Pavlovich, Tom Aspinall, or anyone else, Jones will likely be the betting favorite.

UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya: +330

We are skipping Light Heavyweight because there are no odds. That's probably a good thing, however, because after Jones vacated his title in 2019, we have seen four different champions in four years.

Israel Adesanya is now back on top of the UFC Middleweight Division after winning his rematch with long-time multi-sport rival Alex Perreira.

Adesanya has been busy! That was his fourth UFC title fight in 14 months.

He is still not done for the year, though, as he fights the Donald Trump-style shock jock of MMA, Sean Strickland, at the upcoming UFC 293. He is heavily favored to get this win. Assuming he does, the guy has a solid argument to rest his body for much of 2024.

There is the possibility that the UFC will make the fight between him and Khamzat Chimaev before the end of next year, but "Borz" needs to fight a couple more times to build his name back up among casual fans.

I project a much less active year in 2024 for Adesanya.

UFC Welterweight Champion Colby Covington: +500

Welterweight is much like the UFC's Light Heavyweight Division of the past few years. After former champion Kamaru Usman lost twice in a row to Leon Edwards, the division is set up for a shakeup.

I say this because Edwards doesn't have the wrestling base of challengers like Colby Covington, Belal Muhhamad, Shavkat Rakhmanov, or the previously mentioned Chimaev.

For the payout, I like Covington here. His style is more relentless than Usman's, and he didn't fall in love with his boxing like the former champ did, either.

We have already seen Muhammad vs. Edwards, albeit in an abbreviated early eye-poke stoppage, and Rakhmanov is still building his name.

Covington is the cash cow of this division right now, and I expect the UFC to give him the fights he wants.

UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev: -110

This one isn't very complicated. Makhachev defeated Charles Oliveira for the UFC Lightweight Championship in impressive fashion. The rematch is in October of this year. Assuming the champion wins, he will likely only fight once or twice in 2024.

Justin Gaethje would probably be the next challenger, but he needs to win another fight before that happens. While Gaethje did a lot of damage to Khabib Nurmagomedov when they fought, the Colorado native offered white belt-level resistance once they hit the mat.

Makhachev's betting odds will be a minimum of (-200) against any current title challenger.

UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski: +125

This guy is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, regardless of rankings. He doesn't have his next title defense set, but it appears that Ilia Topuria will be the next challenger.

Volk does like to stay active, but outside of Topuria, he is at least a level above the rest of the UFC's Featherweight Division.

UFC Bantamweight Champion Cory Sandhagen: +500

The fight to make is Sean O'Malley vs. Cory Sandhagen! It just is.

Umar Nurmagomedov is gnarly, and despite his last name, he loves to strike. The UFC just needs more time to build up his name before he snatches the title belt from one of their stars.

Merab Dvalishvili recently said that he doesn't want a title shot, at the moment. He is trying to respect teammate Aljamain Sterling's chances at an immediate rematch. The Georgian fighter has a nearly unstoppable style, but the fight game isn't a "Nice guys finish first" business.

Sandhagen has the style to challenge the current champ on the feet. They could sell this fight as one of the highest-level striking matches ever.

UFC Flyweight Champion Muhammad Mokaev: +1400

Flyweight is wide open. The current champ, Brazil's Alexandre Pantoja, has wins over several top contenders. New blood could be the elixir for the UFC's Flyweight Division.

Enter England's Muhammad Mokaev. The Dagestani-born Mokaev is the best Flyweight in the world, with a dominant wrestling/submission style to keep his risks low and his hand raised.

Amir Albazi being the champ is possible, but even if he beats the Pantoja, Mokaev could knock on the door by then. The Brit will hold the belt sooner or later.

UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko: +1300

Moving on to the women's divisions, we have a surprise entry here at Bantamweight.

Amanda Nunes, the long-time title holder at 135 pounds, has recently retired.

The belt is up for grabs now, and the talk is that Juliana Pena will fight Raquel Pennington for the vacant belt. That fight makes sense, but neither woman is an overly dominant competitor.

Some people forget that Valentina Shevchenko used to fight at 135. She lost two very close decisions to Nunes and moved down ten pounds to rule at Flyweight. Shevchenko is 35 now, and whether she defeats Alexa Grasso in her attempt to regain her title or not, a move up to the UFC's Bantamweight Division makes perfect sense.

The weight cuts are more difficult as she ages, and the level of competition is far easier at Bantamweight than at 125. She would be the heavy favorite opposite Pennington or Pena in a potential title fight.

UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko: +150

I like the bet for Shevchenko to be the Bantamweight champ more than I do for her at 125 pounds. This division is top-heavy with younger talent!

The UFC brass will cooperate with her if she wants to be a two-division world champion.

UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Tatiana Suarez: +150

Tatiana Suarez has been the next female world champion in the UFC for nearly a decade. She dominated The Ultimate Fighter show. That was back in late 2015.

Suarez is an Olympic-level wrestler and huge for the division with a championship attitude. So, why isn't she the champ already? Injuries and complications from fighting cancer kept her sidelined longer than she wanted.

Her title run is officially on now, and a fight between her and Weili Zhang would be epic. I know the Chinese star's wrestling is improving at a high rate, but I like the size and youth of Suarez in this matchup.

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