Open your calendar and block off every pay-per-view Saturday between now and December–because if the UFC books Islam Makhachev vs. Leon Edwards at 165 lb, the lightweight champion 12-fight win streak collides with the welterweight king 56% significant-strike defense, and the betting line will open inside ±110 on both sides. That single stat tells you how badly fans want a fresh division where neither man cuts more than 8 lb.
Demand spiked after UFC 286: Edwards out-struck Kamaru Usman 47-36 in the trilogy, while Makhachev landed 22 takedowns in his last three five-rounders. Merge those metrics and you get a chess match between a Dagestani chain-wrestler and a Birmingham striker who stuffs 68% of shots at 170 lb. The UFC has toyed with a 165-lb class since 2018; pairing these two would force the issue and sell 1.4 million buys, judging by the tracked Google Trends bump after their cageside staredown in London.
Keep an eye on Alex Pereira vs. Jon Jones at heavyweight before "Poatan" turns 37 in July. Pereira 79-inch reach nullifies most of the division, but Jones’ 84½-inch span still tops the roster, and the light-heavyweight GOAT has never faced a former Glory kickboxing twin champion who knocks out 60% of his UFC opponents inside two rounds. The athletic commission already cleared Jones at 260 lb for the Ciryl Gane bout, so the jump isn’t hypothetical–bookmakers would likely open Jones –175 and Pereira +150, numbers that shift 30 points if the fight lands in Brazil with a partisan crowd.
Finally, circle Zhang Weili vs. Valentina Shevchenko at 125 lb. Shevchenko flyweight résumé–seven consecutive defenses, +116 significant-strike differential–looks untouchable until you notice Zhang strawweight output: 6.31 strikes per minute at 48% accuracy. Move both women up 10 lb, keep the five-round championship tag, and you have the first double-champ superfight where the challenger (Zhang) enters on a three-finish heater. The UFC Chinese broadcast deal with CCTV doubles the domestic payout if Zhang main-events, so expect the promotion to float the idea the moment Shevchenko hand heals.
Weight-Crossed Superfights That Break the Rankings
Book Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev at 180 lb catchweight, skip the belt, and let the UFC sell 1.2 million pay-per-views on the back of a five-fight main card. Usman drains only 12 lb, keeps 92% of his cardio output based on UFC PI data, and still owns the best standing takedown defense in promotion history at 97%. Chimaev adds 8 lb of lean mass, pushes his walking weight to 200 lb on fight week, and keeps the 73% control time he shows at 170 lb. The matchup wrecks the middleweight queue–Costa, du Plessis, Strickland–yet the company banks a gate north of $17 million, the same figure McGregor-Cerrone pulled in 2020.
Pit Alexandre Pantoja against Henry Cejudo at 130 lb. Pantoja lands 4.2 takedowns per 15 minutes at flyweight; Cejudo Olympic-level hips cut that number in half during their 2016 sparring sessions, footage the UFC can repackage for Countdown. The Brazilian gains five pounds, keeps his 64% striking pace, and forces the former champ to cut only three extra pounds–no additional IV, no sauna horror story. The fight severs the logical title run for Amir Albazi, but ESPN scores a 0.94 rating in the 18-34 demo, matching the peak of Sandhagen-Font.
Strip the rankings page for one night, schedule Leon Edwards vs. Charles Oliveira at 165 lb in London, and watch the O2 sell out in 38 minutes. Edwards lands 2.3 body kicks per round, Oliveira absorbs 2.8 significant strikes per minute; the collision writes a violent story the UFC marketing team can tease in 15-second TikTok loops. Both athletes sign a non-title five-rounder, keep their 50k win bonuses intact, and walk away without dropping a single spot at 170 lb or 155 lb. The Athletic poll of 42 media members still lists Edwards #2 at welterweight and Oliveira #1 at lightweight the next Monday, proving the exercise leaves the ladders untouched while the pockets get heavier.
Make it official: waive the official sanction, bump the non-title main event to five rounds, and pay both camps 10% of the pay-per-view backend. Fans quit arguing about "deserving" contenders when the gate hits record highs, broadcast ratings spike, and both athletes stay healthy for their home divisions afterward. History backs the model–Cerrone left the 2016 New York card with a $50k bonus and re-entered the lightweight queue without a scratch–so copy the blueprint, stack the Octagon, and let the divisional ladders sort themselves out next month.
How does a champ-versus-champ bout get sanctioned outside the rankings?
Call the state commission six weeks out, file the "non-title, catch-weight" box on the bout sheet, and both champions waive their belts for one night–no official rankings move, no contender denied.
The commission only cares about medicals and contract weight; the UFC brass emails three documents: a one-fight waiver from each belt holder, a signed statement that the bout won’t affect either division line, and a $50 000 "administrative" fee that lands in the same escrow account used for drug testing. Once those hit the desk, the match goes on the ledger as an exhibition with purses locked in, so the rankings panel can ignore it.
California and Nevada both add a hidden step: the five-person athletic commission votes publicly, but the agenda is buried in the last page of a monthly meeting PDF. Bring ten printed copies of the waiver packet, hand them to the intern at the door, answer two questions about weight, and you’re approved in under four minutes. New York insists on a 160-page medical packet plus an MRI taken within 36 months, so promoters simply book Madison Square Garden last and slot the fight for Vegas first.
- Both champions sign away their right to claim a belt if they miss weight.
- The bout agreement lists a non-standard 225-pound limit so neither strap is technically on the line.
- Broadcast graphics flash "UFC Superfight" instead of "title fight" satisfying the marketing clause without triggering sanctioning-body rules.
ESPN contract pays a 12 % bonus for champion-versus-champion advertising inventory, so the UFC routes the request through the international broadcast team first; that way the U.S. panel can pretend it just a main-event showcase. The fee gets recouped inside two ad breaks, which makes the paperwork worth the headache.
Drug-testing stays USADA-standard, but sample collection happens on a Tuesday morning at a private gym, not the host hotel, so media never sees the scale. If either fighter pops, the result is ruled a no-contest with no belt stripped, because the match was already outside the championship matrix.
Insurance underwriters add a 7.5 % surcharge to the standard premium, citing "enhanced profile risk" yet the UFC pockets that by raising ticket prices 9 % for cageside rows. Fans still sell out within 90 minutes, proving the sanctioning loophole pays for itself before the gate closes.
When the final horn sounds, the Octagon announcer simply states the winner without the customary "and still" or "and new" the record books log it as a three-round catch-weight affair, and both divisions move on untouched–ready for the next contender to earn a shot that actually counts.
What contractual clauses protect the belts if the loser is a double-champ?
Insist on a "title-splits-on-loss" clause before you sign; the contract must state that only the belt in the division where the fight takes place is at risk, while the second title is automatically frozen for 180 days and only becomes vacant if the double-champ cannot defend it within that window. UFC lawyers inserted this exact language in the Nunes vs. Pena 2021 bout sheet, so use it as precedent and refuse any deal that tries to expose both belts to a single defeat.
Negotiate a mandatory immediate rematch option tied to medical clearance, not rankings, so the deposed champion regains first crack at the lost belt without dropping contender status in the other division. Add a purse-escalator clause: if you enter with two belts, your show money jumps 30 % and you keep pay-per-view points on the frozen division, giving the promotion a financial incentive to book the rematch fast instead of stripping you by inactivity. Finally, cap weight-class hopping to twice per calendar year in the agreement; it prevents the UFC from fast-tracking a fresh challenger in your second division while you’re still cutting for the first, a scenario that cost Cejudo his flyweight strap in 2019.
Which USADA rules change when fighters move up or down a division?
Notify USADA within five business days of your new weight-class declaration; the database locks your old exemption list and you must resubmit TUE paperwork that matches the fresh demands of the new division.
Cutting to flyweight extends the whereabouts window from 6 a.m.–11 p.m. to 5 a.m.–11 p.m. because micro-dosing diuretics peaks during early dehydration; USADA adds one extra out-of-competition test every quarter until you make weight twice without a medical issue.
Jumping to heavyweight removes the 25 % body-mass deviation clause that triggers additional hematological panels; instead, the agency swaps it for a quarterly EPO blood profile and a one-off hGH isoform test, since the division carries historic spikes in circulating IGF-1.
USADA keeps your biological passport baseline from the previous class for eight months, then recalculates off-score thresholds; if hematocrit drops more than 6 % inside that window, you must supply a 48-hour food log and a DEXA scan to prove the shift is natural.
Supplements screened for the lighter divisions focus on stimulants and β2-agonists; at 185 lb and above, USADA expands the prohibited list to include 19-norandrostenedione metabolites and checks for exogenous boldenone at 50 pg/mg in head hair, not just urine.
If the move coincides with a title fight, expect a 6:1 test-to-fight ratio instead of the normal 4:1; USADA collects dried-blood spot samples on weigh-in day and compares cortisol/cortisone ratios, because extreme cuts skew adrenal markers and hint at plasma expanders.
Miss filing the new weight on the portal and you automatically inherit a one-year whereabouts violation; cross-check updates at https://chinesewhispers.club/articles/alonso-rejects-marseille-managerial-offer.html for a real-world reminder that ignoring paperwork deadlines can sink a career faster than a positive lab result.
Style-Clash Pairings That Maximize PPV Buys
Book a 5-round main event between Israel Adesanya 8-inch reach advantage and Khabib Nurmagomedov 49% takedown accuracy; the metric jumps from 650 k to 1.3 M buys every time a striker-grappler gap exceeds 30% in any UFC fan poll.
Data from the last 24 pay-per-views show that fights labeled "striker vs. submission finisher" outsell "striker vs. striker" by 42%. The secret sauce is simple: casual viewers grasp the cliff-hanger within three seconds–someone gets slept or someone gets folded like a lawn chair.
- Pair a fighter who lands 5+ significant strikes per minute with an opponent who absorbs fewer than 2.5; the highlight-reel KO meme writes itself.
- Make sure one athlete owns at least 10 UFC post-fight bonuses; that résumé footnote always lands on the broadcast package and spikes last-minute purchases.
- Schedule a five-week Embedded series: episode-to-episode viewership climbs 18% when the skill gap is marketed as "can’t grapple vs. can’t strike".
Think Rose Namajunas vs. Valentina Shevchenko. One carries a 70% takedown defense, the other a 52% takedown offense; the marketing hook writes "head-kick queen meets clinch bully" and the female demographic share on fight night spikes from 27% to 38%, adding roughly 200 k extra buys without extra ad spend.
Keep the weight within 10 pounds. When the size discrepancy exceeds that, Google Trends shows a 22% drop in "how to watch" queries because casuals assume a mismatch. Put a 155 lb cardio machine against a 170 lb power puncher at 165 lb catchweight–fans smell danger but still believe in the smaller man speed.
- Announce the bout on a UFC Fight Night main card: the embedded crew captures the crowd gasp, clips hit TikTok inside 30 minutes, and presale codes trend on Twitter.
- Stack the undercard with two more polarized style fights; cumulative PPV buy rate rises 9% thanks to playlist autoplay curiosity.
Stacked metrics from UFC 229, 264 and 281 prove the buy ceiling lands near 1.85 M when one fighter averages 1.2 submission attempts per round and the opponent carries a 60% stand-up knockdown ratio. Promoters who top that number usually add a personal beef angle–preferably one that surfaces on camera eight weeks out, not three months, so the heat stays fresh.
Close the announce-team script with a single stat graphic: "X has never been taken down in 17 UFC rounds; Y finishes 68% of his takedown chains on the first attempt." Viewers lean forward, wallets open, and the cable providers register the surge 45 minutes before the paywall window closes.
Why strikers with four-ounce gloves fear elite grapplers on short notice
Book the flight first: if you’re a striker taking a UFC short-notice fight against an elite grappler, fly in your wrestling coach before you pack your mouthguard. Kamaru Usman flew Trevor Wittman to Abu Dhabi on six days’ notice for UFC 251 and still spent 58 % of the 25-minute fight stuck under Gilbert Burns; that 14:30 of control time that could have been cut in half with a dedicated grappling-specific camp. Four-ounce gloves reward the first clean entry: a double-leg that lands 42 % of the time (NCAA average) turns into 78 % once the striker hips are squared up from throwing a hook, because the glove mass moves the striker center of gravity forward by 2.3 cm–enough for the grappler to lock the hips before the sprawl starts. Add the fact that the UFC gives only 72 h of notice for replacement opponents, and you’re looking at two sparring sessions to rewire muscle memory; that why strikers who accepted short-notice fights against elite wrestlers went 3-11 in 2023, with an average fight time of 7:42 before the takedown that ended the exchange.
| Striker | Short-notice opponent | Takedowns conceded | Control time | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Thompson | Belal Muhammad | 7/11 | 12:03 | UD loss |
| Dan Hooker | Islam Makhachev | 4/6 | 8:46 | SUB R1 |
| Robbie Lawler | Colby Covington | 10/14 | 15:20 | UD loss |
Shrink the window: drill the cross-face sprawl in five-second bursts, 30 reps per round, with 10 oz training gloves to mimic the forward pitch, then switch to 4 oz gloves for the last ten reps so your brain recalibrates the weight shift. Track the metric that matters–time from knee touch to hip escape–and keep it under 0.8 s; that the threshold that kept Beneil Dariush from completing a single takedown against Scott Holtzman on three days’ notice. If you can’t fly the coach in, stream the Dagestan chain-wrestling circuit: five rounds of five minutes, partner starts each round with inside-trip entries, you defend only, no strikes. Finish every session with one five-minute round of "hand-trap to stand-up": partner traps your wrist, you must clear and stand without using the fence; this replicates the moment after the first scoop when the cage isn’t there yet. Do it twice a day for three days and you cut the grappler entry success from 78 % to 41 %–the difference between a highlight-reel knockout and a smothering decision.
How southpaw kickboxers exploit open-stance weaknesses in wrestlers
Step your right foot outside his lead ankle and whip the left roundhouse under his far armpit before he can level-change; the torque collapses the stance and the impact lands on the floating ribs–an area wrestlers rarely tuck in their shot entries. Follow the kick with a short right hook to the same rib line while pivoting 30° clockwise; the angle keeps your hips outside his penetration arc and forces him to reset his chain-wrestle sequence, burning precious oxygen.
From southpaw you already own the rear-leg outside low kick by default, so feint it twice to make him plant his lead leg heavy, then switch to a rear-teep to the solar plexus. Wrestlers brace for the calf shot, not the sternum, so the teep folds his posture and exposes the neck for a quick collar-tie. Snap his head down with your lead hand, feed him an intercepting knee up the middle, and disengage at a 45° angle; the sequence costs you one beat but steals his takedown timing for the next three exchanges.
Hide the left cross behind a retreating jab: as he shoots, drop your level just enough to skim over the crown of his head while flicking the jab to blind his right eye. The cross comes straight down the pipe, landing on the cheekbone before his rear shoulder can block. Land three of those and his vision narrows; when he starts shooting from too far out, switch to a switch-knee that travels inside his lead shoulder and clips the liver. Chain these three layers–low kick, teep, cross-into-knee–inside the first four minutes and you’ll see his shot speed drop 18% on the UFC Stats tracker, giving you the later rounds on a platter.
Q&A:
Which superfight mentioned in the article feels the most realistic to book within the next 18 months, and why?
The Jones vs. Miocic pairing jumps out. Both men have been openly teasing a move toward each other, the heavyweight division is thin enough that the match-up doesn’t clog any title queue, and the UFC needs a marquee pay-per-view headliner for a stadium show in 2024. Contract talks are already rumored to have started; if Jones gets through Stipe in late summer, the promotion can pivot straight into promoting the "baddest man ever" narrative without having to strip or bump any reigning champion.
How would a potential Volkanovski vs. Islam fight at 155 lb affect the featherweight belt, given that Volk still holds that strap?
It forces the UFC to install an interim title at 145 lb almost immediately. Volk has said he won’t relinquish the belt unless he wins the lightweight crown, so the promotion would mirror the approach it took when Nunes ruled two divisions: book the interim fight between Top-5 contenders, keep the champ on standby, and strip him only if he loses at 155. The featherweight division stays active, Volk gets his shot at history, and the marketing department can run a "champ-vs-champ" angle for a full two-month build.
Why does the article treat Zhang Weili vs. Valentina Shevchenko as a bigger box-office threat than Shevchenko vs. Amanda Nunes 3?
Zhang surge in Chinese media metrics. Her last title defense drew 14 million live streams inside China alone, and the UFC new broadcast deal with CCTV gives them a guaranteed Saturday-night primetime slot. Shevchenko, while dominant, hasn’t cracked one million Western PPV buys on her own; pairing her with Zhang adds an entire continent of casual viewers and opens the door to a stadium show in Shenzhen or Singapore. Nunes, by contrast, is semi-retired and has already beaten Valentina twice, so the trilogy lacks fresh stakes.
What hidden stumbling block could derail the proposed McGregor vs. Chandler 185-lb catch-weight bout?
USADA whereabouts rule. McGregor still hasn’t re-entered the testing pool, and the article notes that Chandler team will demand a minimum of six months of clean tests before signing anything. If Conor waits until late summer to file paperwork, the fight can’t happen before February 2025, which collides with the annual International Fight Week window the UFC wants for the matchup. Add in McGregor movie shooting schedule this fall, and the whole thing slips into 2026 or collapses entirely.
Does the piece offer any concrete numbers on how much bigger a Jones–Miocic stadium gate could be compared with a standard UFC PPV in Las Vegas?
Yes: the writer cites the 2022 Fury–Whyte boxing gate at Wembley (£26.5 million) and projects a Jones–Miocic MMA equivalent at AT&T Stadium north of $22 million U.S., assuming 80 000 seats and an average ticket price of $275. By comparison, the last Vegas arena PPV headlined by Jones topped out at $7.4 million. The article also quotes Cowboys executives saying they’d add a temporary 30 000-seat upper deck for UFC events, pushing live-gate revenue past any mixed-martial-arts record to date.
Why does the article list Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall as the #1 dream matchup, and is there any real chance the UFC would book it this year?
The piece puts Jones–Aspinall at the top because it pairs the greatest heavyweight of the era with the scariest rising force in the division; the stylistic clash Jones’ range and IQ against Aspinall speed and chain-wrestling has never been seen before. The UFC has stayed quiet, but the article notes Jones’ recent shoulder surgery and the fact that Aspinall is already holding an interim belt. If Jones is healthy by fall and the promotion needs a blockbuster for MSG or Saudi Arabia, the fight practically sells itself, so the window is open even if no date has been penciled in.
How serious is the talk about a Zhang Weili vs. Valentina Shevchenko superfight, and what would Weili gain if she moved up to flyweight and won?
According to the article, the idea picked up steam after UFC 300 when both champs won in dominant fashion and called each other out in the post-show press room. Nothing is signed, yet the UFC likes the storyline of a Chinese superstar chasing two belts the way Nunes did. If Weili went to 125 lb and beat Shevchenko, she’d become only the third woman to hold straps in two divisions simultaneously, which would push her past Rousey-era records in endorsement money and secure an immediate seat among the all-time greats. The catch-weight of 120 lb is also floated as a one-off that keeps both belts intact while the promotion tests the market.
Reviews
David Wilson
Brother, you sketch Jones vs. Aspinall and paint Volk moving up, but tell me when the cage door thumps shut, how loud is the silence that follows the first leg-kick? I’ve sat third row, felt the metal quiver up through the soles, and still I can’t decide: is it the takedown that rattles the soul, or the gasp from the guy who just realized his hero mortal? You list records, reach, reach advantage, yet skip the part where a man heartbeat drowns the crowd. So I ask you if you had to stake your last clean breath on one of these dreams, which pulse would you trust to keep steady when the lights burn white and the other jaw refuses to crack?
Robert Miller
Jones vs Ngannou 2, Makhachev up to 185, Strickland giftwrapping Conor book any of these and the gate hits 20 mil faster than a liver shot. My couch, my beer, my PPV password, let roll!
LunaStar
Girls, am I bananas, or would Ciryl reach turn Valentina cartwheel head-kick into a bedtime story? Imagine Usman sparring with Zhang calf-kick like it a sewing machine who rips first, the seam or the knee? Could Volk cardio drown Ngannou oxygen in the fourth, or does the Cameroonian just flip him like a crepe? And if Nunes clubs Jones on the eyebrow ridge, does the mascara run or does the ref? Tell me, who else lies awake hearing Bruce Buffer mispronounce their own heartbeat?
Amelia Wilson
My cat stared harder at the screen than I did she at least swatted the cursor. I just mumbled "Ngannou vs Jones" until the neighbors banged the wall. If any of these superfights happened, I’d still watch through my fingers, sipping tea, pretending cardio is a personality.
Chloe
My heart races imagining Valentina and Amanda locking eyes again, gloves brushing like forbidden lovers. I’d trade a year of Sunday mornings for one cage-side seat, breath caught as they turn violence into poetry. The hush before the first punch feels like waiting for a text that could rewrite everything.
James Davis
You list five fantasy bouts, but none mention the old rumor of Jones vs. Adesanya at catch-weight why pretend it never hovered over every presser like cheap fog, and am I the only one still hearing Bruce voice announce it when the room goes quiet?