The UFC championship ranks have undergone major turnover in 2015, with titles changing hands in nearly every division. It begs the question: which champion seems “the safest?” As in, who is poised to keep the strap around their waist in the foreseeable future?
Let’s break down every UFC champion. We’ve also got odds listed for their next fight, if available.
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1. Demetrious Johnson
Flyweight Champion
Next Fight: TBD
Here’s a guy that has lapped his division so thoroughly that he’s being reduced to a gimmick fight for the current season of The Ultimate Fighter. There isn’t a current or rising contender in sight that anyone feels would have a realistic shot at dethroning “Mighty Mouse” - who is peaking physically and on the verge of claiming the record for most UFC title defenses.
2. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Women’s Strawweight
Next Fight: UFC 205, November 12
UFC Odds: Karolina Kowalkiewicz +270 vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk -330
Beating Claudia Gadelha a second time has opened up a giant lane for Joanna Champion to cruise. With her biggest threat out of the way for the time being, Jedrzejczyk will be a massive favorite against every other contender at 115 pounds. Like she currently is against her next challenge, fellow Pole Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
3. Dominick Cruz
Bantamweight Champion
Next Fight: TBD
Cruz and Dillashaw are 1 and 1a in the division, and then there’s everyone else. T.J. is currently the only real threat to Cruz’s throne, but he is a big one. Everyone else would still be stuck trying to figure out the puzzle that is “The Dominator’s” awkward movement. But since Dillashaw is having so much trouble getting the rematch, Cruz looks safe for a little while.
4. Conor McGregor
Featherweight Champion
Next Fight: UFC 205, November 12
UFC Odds: Eddie Alvarez +125 vs. Conor McGregor -145
The UFC’s biggest star is starting to separate himself from the pack as his astonishing punching power becomes more and more evident. IF, and it’s a big if, he commits to defending his 145-pound strap, it’s not unimaginable that he cleans out the division. But with guys like Jose Aldo, Frankie Edgar and Max Holloway pining for a crack, it’ll be tough sledding for McGregor.
5. Daniel Cormier
Light Heavyweight
Next Fight: UFC 206, December 10
UFC Odds:
Outside of Jon Jones, who can’t seem to stay out of trouble long enough for a proper comeback, is there anyone you see beating Cormier right now? If he gets past Anthony Johnson (who he’s beaten before), the next guys up are...um...Glover Teixeira? Ryan Bader? Ovince St. Preux? Yeah, he might be keeping the belt until Bones gets right.
6. Stipe Miocic
Heavyweight Champion
Next Fight: TBD
Don’t look now, but the UFC might just have it’s first long-term heavyweight champion in Miocic. Looking down the roster, the only person that seems to be a realistic threat is a (healthy) Cain Velasquez. Of course, there’s a reason why no fighter has been able to defend the belt more than twice.
7. Tyron Woodley
Welterweight Champion
Next Fight: UFC 205, November 12
UFC Odds: Tyron Woodley +150 vs. Stephen Thompson -175
He might be the most difficult champion to rank. His explosive athleticism gives him an advantage over every fighter at 170 pounds. And he owns wins over top guys like Dong Hyun Kim, Kelvin Gastelum, Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit. If he can beat No. 1 contender Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at UFC 205, we might have to really start taking him seriously.
8. Amanda Nunes
Women’s Bantamweight
Next Fight: TBD
Like Tyron Woodley, we probably should’ve seen Nunes coming earlier. She is the division’s most explosive striker and a dangerous submission artist to boot. It looks like she can bring some stability to a division to a weight class that’s seen the title change hands in four consecutive fights.
9. Michael Bisping
Middleweight Champion
Next Fight: TBD
Kudos to Bisping for accomplishing a lifelong dream of earning (and defending) the middleweight belt. But he’d enter the cage as an underdog against every top four contender in the division. It’s a fact that Chris Weidman, Luke Rockhold, Jacare Souza and Yoel Romero are all bristling at the fact that Bisping is the champ.
10. Eddie Alvarez
Lightweight Champion
Next Fight: UFC 205, November 12
UFC Odds: Conor McGregor -145 vs. Eddie Alvarez +125
First off, Alvarez is the underdog for his fight against the featherweight champion, Conor McGregor. Even if he beats Mystic Mac, he’d still have to contend with a murderer’s row of elite 155-pounders, like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Tony Ferguson, Nate Diaz and Edson Barboza. Alvarez has a nice story, but he hasn’t been particularly dominant inside the octagon.
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