Can the UFC Find Its Next Megastar After Alex Pereira's Downfall?

Alex Pereira's uninspired UFC 313 loss to Magomed Ankalaev put quite a dent in his Hall of Fame MMA career, and it was also a major blow for the Las-Vegas based promotion.

Heading into UFC 313, the 37-year-old had reigned as light heavyweight champion since November 2023. He defended his title with stunning knockouts over Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree which, when combined with his enigmatic personality, had turned him into one of the sport's biggest stars and a hot commodity for the promotion.

His loss to Ankalaev was not particularly decisive—some might argue the Brazilian deserved the judges' nod—but there is no question it made him a less valuable asset for the UFC.

That, of course, begs the question: Who will be the next fighter to take up the mantle as the sport's biggest star?

Conor McGregor hasn't fought in years and seems increasingly unlikely to do so ever again. Khabib Nurmagomedov is long retired. Israel Adesanya and Sean O'Malley have both lost their titles and likely peaked in terms of popularity. Jon Jones is still active, but he has fought only a few times in the last few years and likely only has a few fights left before he hangs up the gloves.

So, who can the UFC rely on to sell pay-per-views over the next few years, if not Pereira? Here are a few fighters we believe could take up the mantle.

England's Paddy Pimblett, a former champion in his home country's Cage Warriors promotion, has been touted as a future PPV hit since he arrived in the UFC in 2021, largely on the basis of his entertaining personality.

In the early phases of the Liverpool-born fighter's UFC career, there were some questions as to whether he had the skills to be competitive in the lightweight division, which has long been one of the most stacked weight classes in the sport.

However, the 30-year-old is now 6-0 in the Octagon, with four finishes and notable victories over accomplished veterans in Tony Ferguson and Bobby Green. That streak has not only validated him as a world-class lightweight, but it has also set him up for a high-stakes showdown with former Bellator champ Michael Chandler, which goes down at UFC 314 in Miami on April 12.

That fight will be the biggest of his career, as Chandler is both a big name and a top lightweight. If the Brit wins it, his star will burn all the brighter and a PPV-headlining title fight is probably only a win or two away. It might even be next.

It's hard to imagine Pimblett dethroning pound-for-pound king and lightweight champ Islam Makhachev, but there's no question he'd be one of the biggest stars in MMA if he did.

Khamzat Chimaev has been a fan favorite since the early days of his Octagon career, when he rattled off three-straight victories in the span of a few months.

While the 30-year-old hit a few snags later on, namely some long stretches of inactivity and a brutal scale fail that caused the UFC to force him to move permanently from welterweight to middleweight, he remains undefeated.

In fact, Chimaev is now riding the best win of his career: A quick and brutal submission victory over former champ Robert Whittaker, who is one of the best fighters in middleweight history.

After the win over Whittaker, Chimaev is considered the top contender for a shot at UFC middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis, who has now defended his belt twice.

While Chimaev has looked more or less unbeatable in the Octagon—save for a pair of close decision wins over Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman—Du Plessis will be a tough test for him.

The 31-year-old is durable, versatile, immensely powerful and, perhaps most importantly, possesses seemingly limitless cardio, which is an area where Chimaev has been vulnerable in the past.

That being said, there is no question Chimaev has the chops to win. And if he scores a UFC title, he will evolve from a compelling contender into a bona fide mainstream attraction.

Diego Lopes had an unconventional start to his UFC career. He was called up to the promotion on short notice in May 2023 to take on undefeated grappler Movsar Evloev, whose original opponent had been sidelined with an injury.

Despite being a big underdog in the contest, he performed very well, coming up short in a narrow decision loss. And he has been just about unstoppable since, winning five straight fights, including a lopsided decision over former title challenger Brian Ortega.

Lopes' streak has been so impressive that he actually skipped ahead of former foil Evloev, who is still undefeated, and is now booked to face featherweight great Alexander Volkanovski for the division's vacant title.

Lopes, 30, has already become a hit for the promotion, mostly because he is unfailingly entertaining in the Octagon, with a vicious ground game and potent knockout power.

Much like Pimblett and Chimaev, a title win is only going to elevate his value, especially a title win over a living legend like Volkanovski.

Many of the UFC's stars in the making have yet to win titles with the promotion. That does not apply to Ilia Topuria.

The 28-year-old, who is undefeated, had an incredible 2024—arguably better than Alex Pereira's busy year.

First, he claimed the featherweight title with a knockout of Alexander Volkanovski. Then, he defended the belt with a knockout of Max Holloway, another featherweight legend, who had notably never been stopped by strikes before.

Those wins pushed Topuria to the upper reaches of the UFC's pound-for-pound rankings, and cemented him as a capable PPV headliner. However, the unbeaten knockout artist then followed those wins with a shock decision: to vacate the featherweight belt and move permanently up to the packed lightweight division.

Topuria's next fight has not yet been announced, but he is expected to be matched up with a top-five foe, and perhaps even walk right into a clash with champion and pound-for-pound star Islam Makhachev.

Topuria has often compared to Conor McGregor—on the basis of his skill and confidence—but the truth is that he may already be far better than the Irishman ever was.

If he beats Makhachev, that will be pretty much undeniable. He's unlikely to reach the popularity of McGregor—it's possible no fighter ever will—but he is getting close, and a second title win would make him an even bigger star.

Jean Silva has yet to crack the UFC featherweight rankings, but that could soon change. A product of the wildly successful Fighting Nerds team, he is now 4-0 in the Octagon, with all four victories coming by way of stoppage.

After his latest win, a knockout of former kickboxer Melsik Baghdasaryan, Silva called for a fight with long-time featherweight contender Bryce Mitchell, who became something of a public enemy after some shocking comments on a podcast earlier this year.

Soon after Silva made the call-out, the UFC announced the fight will happen at UFC 314 next month.

Silva has already boosted his popularity in the lead-up to the fight, trolling Mitchell by bringing a globe to the UFC 314 pre-fight press conference. If he wins the fight, which most expect him to do, it's going to turn him into a cult hero among fans.

If his success continues from there—and he continues to entertain fans outside the Octagon as well inside it—it's possible he could be headlining PPVs in the not-too-distant future.