There's no offseason in mixed martial arts. Fight fans are the luckiest folks in the world, as we get bracing brawls all year round.
But with the holiday season fast approaching, there's a noticeable twinkle in the air. What's that I hear? No, not silver bells. It's the whispers of the magic UFC matchmakers plotting the cheeriest gifts: fun, fresh fights.
Here are five UFC fights we're wishing for in 2024.
5. Robert Whittaker vs Paulo Costa
Oh, Paulo, where art thou? MMA's fan-favorite trollmaster keeps chirping on social media, but he's yet to compete in the cage in 2023. First, his fight vs Whittaker fell through in February. After that, Costa was rebooked in July, and then a nasty elbow infection forced him out of UFC 294.
There's no better timing for rebooking the Costa vs Whittaker fight. "The Eraser" has erased his middleweight title hopes through sheer inactivity, while Whittaker is coming off a proper daddying at the hands of Dricus Du Plessis. Let's wind these two up and watch 'em go.
4. Justin Gaethje vs Dustin Poirier 3
Screw it. Let's just make an annual tradition of watching these two gentleman beat the hell out of each other.
The first Gaethje-Poirier meeting back in 2018 (Poirier won by fourth-round KO) is considered one of the best UFC fights of all time. This summer, Gaethje evened the score with a nasty headkick that folded Poirier for his first KO loss in seven years.
With Islam Makhachev set to defend his lightweight belt vs Charles Oliveira, Poirier and Gaethje ought to do battle just one more time to settle the trilogy.
3. Alex Pereira vs Israel Adesanya 3
Technically, this bout would make the third UFC meeting between Periera and Adesanya, but if you count the kickboxing matchups, we're looking at the fifth time these two have squared off.
Adesanya and Pereira are true adversaries, destined for each other. Izzy avenged himself at UFC 287 after "Poatan" stole his title at UFC 281, but there's still unfinished business. Pereira called out Adesanya after winning the light heavyweight belt in November, all but confirming this story has at least one more chapter to go.
2. Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall
The heavyweight division is a circus right now. A full circus, complete with deranged clowns, fire swallowers, bearded ladies — the whole shebang.
It all began when Francis Ngannou vacated his heavyweight title in early 2022. Jones elevated himself to heavyweight, defeated Ciryl Gane, and became the new baddest man on the planet.
But Jones' torn pectoral muscle derailed a bout between him and Stipe Miocic. Tom Aspinall stepped in for the interim shot and demolished Sergei Pavlovich in 69 seconds. Nice.
Jones vs Aspinall is the real fight to make. The old guard vs the new guard. The interim champ vs the undisputed champ. Legacy be damned, Jones should tangle with Aspinall, who's easily the hungriest, most deserving contender in the division.
1. Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler
Surprise, surprise, the king is (almost) back. After injury delays, drug-testing dilemmas, an entire Ultimate Fighter season, and a whole year of back-and-forth, Chandler and McGregor should finally meet in 2024.
McGregor, of course, hasn't competed since a gruesome leg break in 2021, while Chandler, the block-headed motormouth he is, has been itching for his chance to crush the greatest superstar in MMA history.
There's no exact date for this bout, though there are rumblings of a UFC 300 headliner. Either way, kids, be nice to your parents, make your bed, and ask Santa for this fight to happen; otherwise, we might never hear "The Notorious" yell obscenities into the microphone ever again.
