4 UFC Superfights We Need to See in 2024

UFC fans were treated to some epic superfights in 2023.

We got what may have been the final act in a legendary combat sports rivalry between middleweights Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. We witnessed former light heavyweight champ Jon Jones becoming a two-division champion with a quick submission win over heavyweight star Ciryl Gane. We twice watched lightweight champion Islam Makhachev defend his belt against featherweight champ and fellow pound-for-pound mainstay Alexander Volkanovski.

It's been a great year, and now that it's almost over, it's time to start thinking about some of the superfights we might be treated to in 2024.

Nothing is official just yet, but even from this early vantage point, there are some appetizing items on the menu.

Back in March, Jon Jones claimed the UFC's vacant heavyweight title with an effortless submission win over former interim champion Ciryl Gane.

He was slated to make the first defense of his reign against heavyweight legend Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 earlier this month, but that plan fell through when he suffered an injury in training.

When the Jones vs. Miocic fight fell apart, the UFC booked a short-notice interim title between top contenders Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich. Aspinall ended up winning their fight in emphatic fashion, claiming the interim belt with a first-round knockout.

The UFC still plans on rebooking a fight between Jones and Miocic, but after Aspinall's win, that fight seems like the wrong idea.

Jones vs. Aspinall is the fight to make. It's completely asinine to have two champions in a single division and not book them to fight each other at the earliest possible moment. More than that, though, this is an incredible matchup on paper.

Jones is widely considered the greatest MMA fighter of all time and is now a two-division champion. Aspinall, meanwhile, is much newer to the spotlight, but has proved himself as the best of a new and dynamic generation of heavyweights. This a fight that could go either way, and one that could excite the MMA world almost as much as the Jones vs. Francis Ngannou fight we unfortunately lost out on when the former left the UFC earlier this year.

Islam Makhachev defended his lightweight title twice in 2023, both times against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. He won the first fight by decision, and the second, which occurred under short-notice circumstances, by first-round knockout.

After settling his rivalry with Volkanovski, Makhachev is the UFC's No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter. From here, he will most likely turn his attention to one of several top lightweight contenders, including Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira and Mateusz Gamrot. However, the lightweight champion has repeatedly expressed interest in moving up to welterweight to chase a second title, and if he can rattle off another win or two at lightweight, we might see it happen toward the end of 2024.

It remains to be seen who will hold the welterweight title by that point. Champion Leon Edwards is set to defend his belt against Colby Covington at UFC 296 next month, and Belal Muhammad is champing at the bit for a crack at the winner. Any of those men could be the champion by the time Makhachev is ready to hike up a division, but it doesn't really matter. It'll be a huge fight no matter who is defending the strap.

Conor McGregor might not be as popular as he was in his heyday, but he remains the biggest star in all of MMA. In fact, he remains such a big star that any fight he's involved in is going to qualify as a superfight—even if there's no belt on the line. The Irishman's comeback will be all the buzzier given that he hasn't fought since he suffered a leg injury in a second straight loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2022.

At this stage, it's clear that McGregor aims to return in the first half of 2024, but it's not clear when exactly. It might be at the landmark UFC 300 card in the spring; it might be as late as July. What is clear is that he will most likely make his comeback against Top 10 contender Michael Chandler.

He and Chandler were opposing coaches on the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter and bring plenty of credentials to the Octagon. McGregor is a former lightweight and featherweight champ in the UFC, and Chandler a former lightweight champ in Bellator. Both also have a habit for highlight-reel knockout wins.

It might not be as big as a trilogy fight between McGregor and Nate Diaz, but it's a very big fight—one that could very well clear the coveted one million pay-per-views mark.

We're hoping this one catches a few people by surprise.

After losing a second fight against Islam Makhachev at lightweight in October, Alexander Volkanovski is once again focused on defending his featherweight belt, which he has already done five times against world-class opposition. His next title defense will see him take on No. 5 contender Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in February.

Topuria has won six straight fights in the UFC, all in impressive fashion, and looks like a great challenger for Volkanovski. The most likely outcome of the fight, however, is that the featherweight champ will do what he always does in his natural division: win.

If that's the case—and the oddsmakers think it will be—Volkanovski will have effectively cleared out his division, at least until a new contender emerges.

That means the UFC will have to get creative with his matchmaking for a little while, and given that another lightweight title shot is probably out of the question, they may look to give bantamweight champ Sean O'Malley a shot at a second belt.

O'Malley won the bantamweight belt with a knockout of Aljamain Sterling this summer and is set to defend his title against his former foil, Marlon "Chito" Vera, at UFC 299 in March. Even if he beats Vera, it would ordinarily be far too early to be talking about giving him a crack at a second belt, but given his huge popularity among fans, and Volkanovski's ever dwindling list of challengers, it might just happen in 2024.

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.