With 2025 officially in the rearview mirror and 2026 already underway, DraftKings has revealed the odds of each division’s champion by the end of 2026 … and some of the odds are interesting.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) titles changed hands eleven times in 2025 (nine new champions across divisions). Who will be UFC champions by the end of 2025?
Tom Aspinall became the undisputed UFC Heavyweight champion when Jon Jones abruptly retired. He defended once when his fight with Ciryl Gane was ruled a no-contest due to an eye poke (watch it).
Khamzat Chimaev finally claimed UFC gold when he dominated Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 (watch highlights).
Ilia Topuria started the year as Featherweight champion, but vacated the title to move to Lightweight and challenge for the vacant 155 lb strap, which he ended up snatching when he slept Charles Oliveira (watch highlights).
Volkanovski rematches Lopes at UFC 325 on Feb. 1, 2026.
Petr Yan spoiled Merab Dvalishvili’s magical year by defeating him via unanimous decision to recapture the title he lost in 2021 (watch highlights).
Joshua Van started the year unranked but ended the year as the UFC Flyweight champion when Alexandre Pantoja suffered a gruesome injury, coughing up his title.
Kayla Harrison only fought once in 2025, but it was a big one as she submitted Julianna Pena to win the Bantamweight championship.
Up next, Harrison is set to defend her title against former training partner and former two-division champion Amanda Nunes later this month at UFC 324.
Valentina Shevchenko was the only UFC champion to hold on to her title in 2025. She defended against Manon Fiorot at UFC 315 and then did it again (dominantly) against Zhang Weili at UFC 322.
To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule for 2026 and beyond click here.
