‘He’ll be victorious’ – Michael Bisping predicts four new UFC champions and Jon Jones to lose title in 2025
Michael Bisping has predicted there will be four new UFC champions crowned in 2025. As part of his selections, the UFC Hall of Famer foresees Jon Jones to be one of the champions losing their title in the New Year, meaning we will get a new heavyweight king in his opinion. Bisping is a pioneer of British MMAGetty The UFC witnessed a changing of the guard seven times in 2024, with the year before that crowning 11 new champions. The record for the most championship changes in a single year is 12, which occurred in 2016. “There is a man out there called Tom Aspinall that is the interim champion,” Bisping said on TNT Sports with co-hosts Adam Catterall and Nick Peet. “So it’d be foolhardy of me not to recognise that and to at least celebrate the great achievements of the great one from Atherton [in Greater Manchester]. “If there is an interim champion, it will be Tom Aspinall. However, I don’t think there will be one. “I believe that the reason Tom isn’t fighting at [UFC] London is because Jon Jones–Tom Aspinall will go down in the biggest heavyweight fight this sport has ever seen. “Maybe the biggest fight period that this sport has ever seen. “Jon Jones, Tom Aspinall, and when the dust settles: ‘Tommy Aspinall, Aspinall, Tommy Aspinall!’” Bisping got six of his 12 predictions spot on last year, correctly stating that Alexandre Pantoja, Islam Makhachev, Dricus Du Plessis, Alex Pereira, Aspinall, and Jones would all be champions in 2024. The UFC is scheduled to make its return to London on March 22 at the O2 Arena, and former welterweight champion Leon Edwards has confirmed he will headline the event. Aspinall vs Jones would be one of the biggest UFC fights everGETTY “I’ve got to go with Tatiana Suarez,” Bisping continued as he referenced the strawweight division before predicting a title change in another women’s division. “Of course, she’s fighting Zhang Weili, so we’ll see how that plays out. I just think the wrestling that Tatiana Suarez has is going to cause a lot of problems for a lot of people. “The women’s bantamweight champion, there’s only going to be one name in discussions: Kayla Harrison. “No offence to Julianna Pena, I think she’s great for the sport, she’a a fun person. She’s fun to sit and watch fights because she talks a lot of s*** the whole time. “But Kayla Harrison, I believe, will be too big, too strong, too good at jude, too mentally strong, too fit. “She’ll drag her down, she’ll get the submission, and she’ll also get the belt.” Bisping predicted Harrison to be the women’s bantamweight queen in 2025Getty He also believes Chimaev will reach the middleweight division’s summitGetty Bisping predicted another submission specialist to win their first UFC championship in the last passing of the guard in 2025. “It’s interesting isn’t it because I’m looking at the rankings here,” he said of the middleweight division. “I never thought we’d see a year where Robert Whittaker wasn’t in the conversation. “It just shows the sport is such a cruel mistress. Obviously, Khamzat Chimaev squeezed his teeth out last time, and yeah, I’m gonna have to say Khamzat. “Dricus [Du Plessis] is a tremendous champion. I think him and Sean [Strickland], they’ll have another close fight, but I think regardless, when Khamzat gets his chance, he’ll be victorious. “I mean, what he did to Robert Whittaker – I’ll never underestimate that man ever again.” Bisping’s full predictions alongside Catterall’s and Peet’s selectionsTNT Sports Khamzat Chimaev forced Robert Whittaker to tap out just three-and-a-half minutes into their UFC 308 co-main event bout in October. The latter subsequently suffered a gruesome jaw injury which caused three of his bottom teeth to push in towards his tongue. Chimaev is one of the deadliest fighters in the UFC’s middleweight division, so it would be no surprise to see him as one of Dana White’s new champions in 2025. Dricus Du Plessis is the current middleweight champion and he takes on Sean Strickland in a rematch on February 9 in Sydney, Australia. The UFC’s first pay-per-view event of 2025 takes place on January 19 as Islam Makhachev puts his lightweight title on the line against Arman Tsarukyan.
Michael Bisping has predicted there will be four new UFC champions crowned in 2025.
As part of his selections, the UFC Hall of Famer foresees Jon Jones to be one of the champions losing their title in the New Year, meaning we will get a new heavyweight king in his opinion.
The UFC witnessed a changing of the guard seven times in 2024, with the year before that crowning 11 new champions.
The record for the most championship changes in a single year is 12, which occurred in 2016.
“There is a man out there called Tom Aspinall that is the interim champion,” Bisping said on TNT Sports with co-hosts Adam Catterall and Nick Peet.
“So it’d be foolhardy of me not to recognise that and to at least celebrate the great achievements of the great one from Atherton [in Greater Manchester].
“If there is an interim champion, it will be Tom Aspinall. However, I don’t think there will be one.
“I believe that the reason Tom isn’t fighting at [UFC] London is because Jon Jones–Tom Aspinall will go down in the biggest heavyweight fight this sport has ever seen.
“Maybe the biggest fight period that this sport has ever seen.
“Jon Jones, Tom Aspinall, and when the dust settles: ‘Tommy Aspinall, Aspinall, Tommy Aspinall!’”
Bisping got six of his 12 predictions spot on last year, correctly stating that Alexandre Pantoja, Islam Makhachev, Dricus Du Plessis, Alex Pereira, Aspinall, and Jones would all be champions in 2024.
The UFC is scheduled to make its return to London on March 22 at the O2 Arena, and former welterweight champion Leon Edwards has confirmed he will headline the event.
“I’ve got to go with Tatiana Suarez,” Bisping continued as he referenced the strawweight division before predicting a title change in another women’s division.
“Of course, she’s fighting Zhang Weili, so we’ll see how that plays out. I just think the wrestling that Tatiana Suarez has is going to cause a lot of problems for a lot of people.
“The women’s bantamweight champion, there’s only going to be one name in discussions: Kayla Harrison.
“No offence to Julianna Pena, I think she’s great for the sport, she’a a fun person. She’s fun to sit and watch fights because she talks a lot of s*** the whole time.
“But Kayla Harrison, I believe, will be too big, too strong, too good at jude, too mentally strong, too fit.
“She’ll drag her down, she’ll get the submission, and she’ll also get the belt.”
Bisping predicted another submission specialist to win their first UFC championship in the last passing of the guard in 2025.
“It’s interesting isn’t it because I’m looking at the rankings here,” he said of the middleweight division.
“I never thought we’d see a year where Robert Whittaker wasn’t in the conversation.
“It just shows the sport is such a cruel mistress. Obviously, Khamzat Chimaev squeezed his teeth out last time, and yeah, I’m gonna have to say Khamzat.
“Dricus [Du Plessis] is a tremendous champion. I think him and Sean [Strickland], they’ll have another close fight, but I think regardless, when Khamzat gets his chance, he’ll be victorious.
“I mean, what he did to Robert Whittaker – I’ll never underestimate that man ever again.”
Khamzat Chimaev forced Robert Whittaker to tap out just three-and-a-half minutes into their UFC 308 co-main event bout in October.
The latter subsequently suffered a gruesome jaw injury which caused three of his bottom teeth to push in towards his tongue.
Chimaev is one of the deadliest fighters in the UFC’s middleweight division, so it would be no surprise to see him as one of Dana White’s new champions in 2025.
Dricus Du Plessis is the current middleweight champion and he takes on Sean Strickland in a rematch on February 9 in Sydney, Australia.
The UFC’s first pay-per-view event of 2025 takes place on January 19 as Islam Makhachev puts his lightweight title on the line against Arman Tsarukyan.
