Buying or Selling the Latest UFC Fight Rumors

We're still less than two weeks into 2023, and there are already rumors swirling about the fights we might see later in the year.

Many of these rumored bouts, as is so often the case, involve the sport's biggest stars—names like Conor McGregor, Israel Adesanya, Jon Jones, and Francis Ngannou. Unfortunately, none of them have been confirmed yet, making them little more than fantasy fights for the time being.

We'll just have to wait and see whether these rumored fights become reality. In the meantime, keep scrolling for our take on whether they end up as fact or fiction.

Leon Edwards scored the biggest upset of 2022 when he knocked out pound-for-pound king Kamaru Usman to claim the UFC welterweight title. He also laid the groundwork for a blockbuster championship trilogy fight, as he lost his first fight with Usman back in 2015 by decision.

It's a possibility that the new champion has welcomed and an opportunity that Usman, who tallied five impressive title defenses before losing the belt, undoubtedly deserves.

There has been plenty of chatter about making it happen, too, most likely at UFC 286 on March 18 in London, which makes plenty of sense given that the Jamaican-born Edwards has lived in nearby Birmingham for most of his life.

We're betting that's what happens.

Usman definitely gave everyone a reason to worry when he was spotted out in public with an arm brace late last year, but the card is still over two months away. His manager Ali Abdelaziz also assured skeptics that the trilogy is going ahead. Comments from MMA managers should almost always be taken with a grain of salt, but hey, it's something.

Verdict: Buy

Alex Pereira is now 3-0 against Israel Adesanya across two combat sport disciplines.

The Brazilian first beat the Nigerian-born New Zealander by decision in the kickboxing ring in 2016. He then improved to 2-0 in their rivalry with a vicious knockout win in 2017, also in kickboxing competition. Their third fight occurred last fall, in the UFC's Octagon, when Pereira scored a knockout in the fifth round of a fight he was losing, claiming the middleweight belt in the process.

While combat sport rivalries rarely last longer than three fights—unless we're talking about muay thai in Thailand—there's plenty of reason for a fourth fight between Pereira.

First and foremost, their kickboxing fights have little bearing on their MMA careers. Second, Adesanya was soundly in control of their latest clash until he was knocked out. And finally, he was one of the UFC's most dominant champs before the loss. It's a fight that should happen, and there's been plenty of talk to suggest it will. Pereira certainly has no objections.

While we haven't heard anything concrete about it yet, we're betting it's announced sometime in the next month or two. It's a fight that makes sense and one of the biggest that can be made in the division.

A scrap between Pereira and Khamzat Chimaev would be cool, but let's face it, Chimaev doesn't deserve a middleweight title shot yet. Another fight between Pereira and Adesanya is the way to go.

Verdict: Buy

It seems like we're always talking about Conor McGregor's next fight—even these days, years after his competitive heyday. That really only speaks to the former two-division champion's massive popularity.

We haven't seen McGregor in action since he suffered a broken leg in a second consecutive loss to Dustin Poirier in 2021. His leg is now healed up—he often boasts about his recovery on social media—which has supercharged chatter about his next fight.

We know, of course, that he exited the USADA testing pool sometime during his hiatus and that he will most likely need to reenroll for a period of six months before he can fight again. Still, people continue to talk about his next walk to the Octagon.

The latest rumor, which started with a comment from Dana White, suggested that the Irish superstar will make his comeback against former Bellator champ and UFC title challenger Michael Chandler.

It's a matchup that makes a ton of sense. McGregor and Chandler are two of the biggest names in the lightweight division, and both have struggled to get results in the Octagon of late, so they're in similar positions.

In fact, with Nate Diaz gone from the UFC, this might be the best choice available for McGregor, should he ever return to action.

Unfortunately, his situation with USADA is just too big a hurdle to ignore. If he enrolled in the program today, he wouldn't be able to fight until mid-July. That would line up nicely with the UFC's annual summer blockbuster, but it doesn't seem like McGregor is in a rush to put himself back in the testing pool, and there's not much point in talking about his next fight until he does.

Verdict: Sell

For the last few weeks, the big question at bantamweight has been whether the next crack at the division's champion Aljamain Sterling will go to former champ Henry Cejudo or red-hot contender Sean O'Malley.

It's a topic that has polarized fans. Some feel that Cejudo, despite having not fought since he retired and relinquished the title in 2020, deserves the chance to reclaim his belt. Others feel that O'Malley, who is fresh off a win over Petr Yan and is the division's No. 1 contender, should get the opportunity.

In the end, the UFC is clearly leaning toward giving the opportunity to Cejudo, which is a bit surprising considering O'Malley is probably the bigger star at this point.

Yet so far, no official announcements about the fight have been made, causing many to speculate if it will actually happen—and if the opportunity might ultimately go to O'Malley after all.

Until yesterday, there was still plenty of reason to believe it could still happen—and soon—but after Sterling revealed he's dealing with a torn bicep, it's suddenly looking pretty unlikely.

The big question is whether Cejudo waits for the champion to recover or finally gets his comeback on the road against another contender like O'Malley.

Verdict: Sell

Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones is the biggest fight the UFC can make right now—outside of matchups involving Conor McGregor, who remains the biggest star in MMA despite his long absence from competition.

Unfortunately, the parties involved in this fight have hit roadblock after roadblock trying to make it happen.

Jones, the former light heavyweight champion and arguably the greatest fighter of all time has been involved in a heated contract dispute with the UFC since he relinquished his title with plans to move up to heavyweight in 2020.

Ngannou, the reigning heavyweight champion, has also been at odds with the promotion and could become the center of some high-profile free-agent drama any day now.

Over the last few months, there have been sporadic flickers of hope that this matchup may still happen. We also know that both fighters still want it, provided they are compensated in a way that reflects the magnitude of the fight.

Unfortunately, our prediction is that this rumored showdown joins Anderson Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre, Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brock Lesnar, and Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson on the long list of fights that almost happened, but never did.

The fact is that Ngannou's bags are seemingly already packed, and the chances of the UFC striking a deal with both him and Jones before he takes off seem very low.

Verdict: Sell