The UFC is entering a new era with Paramount starting in 2026 where fans will no longer have to pay for singular PPVs and instead will enjoy all fights including numbered cards for a monthly subscription.
It’s a massive year for the promotion and you can imagine there are going to be huge fights. Of course, all eyes will be on the UFC’s planned White House card which is tentatively penciled in for June.
We already know the headliners for the first three numbered cards of 2026. There are some massive fights for the promotion to make in 2026 and in this article, we will dive into four fights that need to happen this upcoming year.
UFC Fights to Make
Jon Jones – Alex Pereira
As 2024 concluded, Jon Jones (28-1, 1 NC) was the UFC heavyweight champion and he was calling for a fight with light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira (13-3). That said, the promotion didn’t have any interest in booking that fight and instead focused on trying to make Jones fight interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
Jones didn’t see any upside in taking the Aspinall fight and ultimately vacated the heavyweight title. Jones retired from the sport, but he didn’t close the door forever and when the UFC announced that they would be going to the White House, Jones immediately made himself available once again.
A year ago, the fight between Pereira and Jones didn’t make the most sense on paper, however, I think now is the perfect time for this fight to happen. Aspinall is dealing with an eye issue after his fight with Ciryl Gane and the UFC is going to run back that heavyweight title fight.
After Alex Pereira lost the light heavyweight title to Magomed Ankalaev earlier this year, Pereira ran through Ankalaev in the rematch to regain the title. There’s two clear top contenders at 205 that could fight for an interim title or fight in a title eliminator in Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg.
The UFC can make this superfight happen while not holding up the heavyweight division and they can also do it while not holding up the light heavyweight division. The opportunity is too good and I think they need to pull the trigger on this one in 2026, preferably at The White House.
Ilia Topuria – Arman Tsarukyan
The next fight on my list is one that the UFC likely won’t be able to make until the end of the year, but it’s a fight that really needs to happen. Lightweight champion Ilia Topuria (17-0) needs to face top contender Arman Tsarukyan (23-3).
Make no mistake about it, Arman Tsarukyan is the number one contender at 155 pounds and he’s the biggest threat to Topuria’s thrown. That said, decisions made by the UFC will delay this fight from happening.
Next month, Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett will headline the first Paramount card for the interim lightweight title. Ilia Topuria is stepping away for the first few months of 2026 to deal with a personal matter and he’ll likely return in the early summer months. When he returns, he’ll have to face the interim champion.
I don’t see Pimblett or Gaethje providing any serious threat to Topuria’s reign. I think Topuria will defeat whoever the interim champion is and then it’ll be on to Arman Tsarukyan. I expect Tsarukyan to take another fight in the meantime and I don’t think anyone at lightweight is going to defeat him outside of the champion.
Islam Makhachev – Shavkat Rakhmonov
Like Ilia Topuria, Islam Makhachev (28-1) moved up in weight this year and captured a second UFC world title. Makhachev moved up to welterweight and dominated Jack Della Maddalena to become the welterweight champion.
There’s already been a ton of talking around who should be Makhachev’s first challenger. Makhachev’s camp has been pushing for the drastically unpopular option of former champion Kamaru Usman. Nobody in the fanbase wants this fight to happen given the fact that Kamaru Usman has only one win in the last four years.
The UFC’s welterweight division is stacked with new and exciting top contenders and despite his incredible legacy at 170 pounds, Usman would be the least exciting option for Makhachev’s first title defense as things currently stand.
In my opinion, the most intriguing option is undefeated top contender Shavkat Rakhmonov (19-0). Rakhmonov didn’t fight in 2025 after suffering a knee injury, but he was in line to fight for the title entering the year.
Rakhmonov’s last fight came in December 2024 where he defeated Ian Machado Garry. Up until that point, Rakhmonov had a 100% finish rate, but Machado Garry took him the distance.
I don’t think the UFC has a more compelling matchup for Makhachev than the undefeated Rakhmonov and it’s a fight that I’m trying to will into existence for 2026.
Conor McGregor – Anyone
I won’t spend much time on this one but it’s finally time for Conor McGregor (22-6) to return. Honestly, I’m down to see him face anyone at this point. The former two-division champion hasn’t fought since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier back in 2021.
McGregor was supposed to face Michael Chandler in June 2024, but a toe injury forced McGregor out of the fight. Since then, nothing has been close in terms of his return. With the UFC trying to put the biggest card together for the White House in June, Conor McGregor should absolutely return on that card and honestly, it really doesn’t matter who he faces.
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