Predicting UFC champions at end of 2022

As 2022 kicks off, many fighters are setting out to accomplish their New Year's resolution of winning a UFC championship. That dream will only come true for a select few.

Here's who we think will be reigning over each division at the end of the year.

Flyweight

Current champion: Brandon Moreno
Champion at end of 2022: Brandon Moreno

Moreno will need to get past several obstacles to make it to the end of 2022 without losing the flyweight belt. Former champ Deiveson Figueiredo cannot be overlooked in their Jan. 22 trilogy bout. And then rising contender Askar Askarov - if he beats Kai Kara-France in March - could be an even bigger challenge. But that nasty rear-naked choke Moreno used to tap out Figueiredo in June is a hard visual to forget. Moreno, now primarily training in Las Vegas instead of his native Mexico, made the necessary improvements to become a championship-caliber fighter over the past year. He'll get even better and keep the momentum going.

Bantamweight

Current champion: Aljamain Sterling
Champion at end of 2022: Petr Yan

Yan was en route to beating Sterling when they met last March - you know where this is going. Many people still consider him the real champion, especially after he claimed the interim belt with an exhilarating performance against Cory Sandhagen later in 2021. And while that seems a bit unfair to Sterling, it's hard not to think of Yan as the No. 1 fighter at 135 pounds right now - by a significant margin. As long as he doesn't land another illegal knee in the rematch with Sterling, the undisputed belt will be Yan's once again before the calendar flips to 2023.

Featherweight

Current champion: Alexander Volkanovski
Champion at end of 2022: Alexander Volkanovski

The biggest challenge awaiting Volkanovski is a test he's passed before - twice, actually. It's Max Holloway, the former featherweight champion who went 2-0 in 2021 after dropping the belt to Volkanovski in 2019 and losing a narrow rematch in 2020. And that's why Volkanovski is our pick to end 2022 as the champ. Some people thought Holloway should've won the rematch, but it was very competitive and not at all a robbery. Volkanovski showed a gritty side in his lone 2021 title defense against Brian Ortega, surviving multiple deep submission attempts. After making it out of that fight with the belt, he can handle whatever Holloway throws his way in their upcoming trilogy contest. Beyond the Hawaiian, no one else is currently poised to give Volkanovski a run for his money.

Lightweight

Current champion: Charles Oliveira
Champion at end of 2022: Islam Makhachev

This will be the year former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov finally passes the torch to his protege. There's a real argument to be made that Makhachev has been the best lightweight in the world for a while and just hasn't had the chance to prove it. The 30-year-old will earn a title shot by beating Beneil Dariush in February, and he'll capture the belt in his next fight, regardless of whether it's against Oliveira or Justin Gaethje. On paper, Oliveira is the biggest threat to Makhachev, but Makhachev would still be favored in the fight. The Russian cruises past everyone else and could be the next dominant champ at 155 pounds.

Welterweight

Current champion: Kamaru Usman
Champion at end of 2022: Khamzat Chimaev

This was the toughest pick of them all. Usman's remarkable 2021 campaign established him as the UFC pound-for-pound king, and he seems only to be getting better. However, Chimaev is a rare breed. The level of dominance he unleashed through four UFC appearances is unprecedented, outstriking his opponents 254-2. Chimaev has yet to fight a top-five welterweight, but he's passed each test with ease when he's gotten a step up in competition. As of now, there isn't any reason to doubt him. There's also no guarantee Chimaev will earn a title opportunity as early as 2022, as he's still ranked outside the top 10. But if he does, he'll be the one to dethrone Usman.

Middleweight

Current champion: Israel Adesanya
Champion at end of 2022: Israel Adesanya

Adesanya fell short in his bid for the light heavyweight title last year, but he redeemed himself with a convincing win over Marvin Vettori that proved he's still in complete control of the middleweight division. And that won't change in 2022. Former champ Robert Whittaker should give Adesanya a better fight in their rematch at UFC 271 in February than when Adesanya knocked him out in 2019, but Adesanya will still beat him. After that, "The Last Stylebender" shouldn't have an issue retaining the belt against either Jared Cannonier or Derek Brunson. Cannonier and Brunson are scheduled to face off in a likely No. 1 contender bout at UFC 271.

Light heavyweight

Current champion: Glover Teixeira
Champion at end of 2022: Glover Teixeira

The popular pick here is Jiri Prochazka, and for good reason. The former Rizin FF champion - who's expected to get the next title shot - has seemed somewhat unbeatable through two UFC bouts. Even if he isn't winning every minute of a fight, he's aggressive and tough enough that it seems he'll always find a way to win eventually. That said, Teixeira presents a difficult stylistic matchup, and not too many people are talking about that. We haven't seen much of Prochazka on the ground, and Teixeira should be able to sink in a submission like he has so many times before if he can get on top. With Teixeira capturing the belt at the end of October, he may be looking at only one title defense this year.

Heavyweight

Current champion: Francis Ngannou
Champion at end of 2022: Ciryl Gane

The Jan. 22 headliner between Ngannou and Gane is essentially a coin-flip fight, so those are the two front-runners to end 2022 as heavyweight champ. Anyone else - even Jon Jones, because who knows if he'll even fight this year - is a bold pick. Ngannou displayed significant improvements in his title win over Stipe Miocic last March, particularly in his takedown defense and composure on the feet. But Gane appears to be second-to-none in pure technique and skill for heavyweight standards. You can even argue we hadn't seen a heavyweight quite like Gane before his UFC arrival in 2019. "Bon Gamin" will use his fight IQ to edge out Ngannou, and he'll hold on to the belt throughout the rest of the year.

Strawweight

Current champion: Rose Namajunas
Champion at end of 2022: Rose Namajunas

Namajunas isn't unbeatable, but at the same time, it's tough to see anyone currently in title contention taking the throne from her. So the expectation should be that Namajunas will keep the belt for the entirety of 2022. She's targeted to defend it next in a rematch with Carla Esparza, and there's no obvious path to victory for the former strawweight champion. Esparza won't be able to hold Namajunas down like she has against other opponents, and Namajunas is much better on the feet. Namajunas could close the year with a fight against Marina Rodriguez or Yan Xiaonan, and she would be favored against both fighters.

Women's flyweight

Current champion: Valentina Shevchenko
Champion at end of 2022: Valentina Shevchenko

This is the easiest championship prediction to make by a country mile. Not only is Shevchenko the best women's fighter at 125 pounds, but she's also the best women's fighter in any division. No one is going to threaten her title reign in 2022. The only fighter who would make for a slightly intriguing contest is No. 5-ranked Taila Santos, who has surged through the rankings with four straight wins over the past two years and is 19-1 as a professional. Still, picking Santos to beat Shevchenko is way too bold for our liking. Shevchenko will ultimately cruise past everyone in another impressive year.

Women's bantamweight

Current champion: Julianna Pena
Champion at end of 2022: Amanda Nunes

For the past three or four years, women's bantamweight has been one of the easiest divisions to call. But not this year. Pena is at the top of the division now, and there are several ways 2022 could play out. Pena could beat Nunes again. Or Nunes could make some adjustments, enter the rematch with a better mindset, and take back the title. Or Pena could beat Nunes but then drop the title to someone else. Shevchenko, maybe? It feels inevitable that she'll challenge for a second title. Ultimately, the safe pick is Nunes, who didn't look herself in the first Pena fight. She'll defeat Pena in the rematch in the second or third quarter of 2022 and then sit out for the remainder of the year.

Women's featherweight

Current champion: Amanda Nunes
Champion at end of 2022: Amanda Nunes

This is another trickier one than usual, but the logical pick is Nunes will remain the women's featherweight champ through the end of 2022. A case can be made for PFL champion Kayla Harrison, but there are too many hurdles she'll need to get over - including signing with the UFC - to predict that to happen with any confidence. Another option is that Nunes focuses on getting back the bantamweight belt, and the UFC folds the virtually nonexistent 145-pound division, which consists of roughly three fighters. But people say this will happen each year, and it never does. Nunes no longer holding bantamweight gold may even be the motivation to keep women's featherweight alive. "The Lioness" won't defend the title in 2022, but she also won't lose it.