Grading the UFC's new title fights for 2024

The UFC's 2024 schedule began to take shape earlier this week, with UFC CEO Dana White announcing the first three pay-per-view main events.

Middleweight champion Sean Strickland will defend his title for the first time against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297, expected to take place Jan. 20 in Toronto.

Alexander Volkanovski returns to defend his featherweight belt against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 on Feb. 17. And bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley will make his first defense in a rematch with Marlon "Chito" Vera at UFC 299 sometime in March.

Some fight bookings are home runs, and others are not. Below, we assess all three new title fights and grade them.

Strickland vs. Du Plessis

Up for grabs: Strickland's middleweight title
Event: UFC 297, Jan. 20, Toronto

The UFC got this one right.

White initially planned to book Strickland's first defense against Khamzat Chimaev, but Du Plessis will get the next crack at 185-pound gold. And rightfully so. Du Plessis, a South Africa native who has quickly become one of the top middleweights since debuting in the UFC in October 2020, is coming off a knockout win over former champion Robert Whittaker in July. That performance was extremely surprising and impressive. On the other hand, Chimaev edged former welterweight king Kamaru Usman in a short-notice bout in October, and he doesn't have a win over a ranked middleweight.

Of course, Strickland-Du Plessis isn't the greatest title fight in the world, especially when you compare it to the two blockbuster Israel Adesanya versus Alex Pereira matchups we saw at middleweight in the last 12 months. Strickland dazzled in his title win over Adesanya in September, but he has also suffered two losses since July 2022. In many people's eyes, Strickland needs to do more to prove himself as the undisputed best 185-pounder.

Grade: B-

Volkanovski vs. Topuria

Up for grabs: Volkanovski's featherweight title
Event: UFC 298, Feb. 17, location TBA

Volkanovski-Topuria isn't just the best matchup on this list; it may be one of the most intriguing title fights we see all year.

Volkanovski is fresh off a devastating knockout loss in a lightweight title bout against Islam Makhachev at UFC 294, a fight he somewhat regrettably accepted on 11 days' notice. But we can't forget about his dominance at 145 pounds. Volkanovski owns the longest active title reign in the UFC, holding the featherweight belt since December 2019 and defending it five times.

This could very well be Volkanovski's toughest test in the division yet - and it's the featherweight title fight that needed to happen next. Topuria, a 26-year-old residing in Spain, has established himself as one of the featherweights to watch in recent years. Topuria boasts unbelievable power and recently demonstrated an ability to go five rounds in a demolition of Josh Emmett in his first UFC main event. Volkanovski-Topuria loses a few marks because Volkanovski should have taken more time off to recover from the Makhachev loss. Still, this is undeniably terrific matchmaking.

Grade: A-

O'Malley vs. Vera 2

Up for grabs: O'Malley's bantamweight title
Event: UFC 299, March, location TBA

Ironically, back in January, O'Malley-Vera 2 was one of the fights we wanted to see most in 2023. And now it's actually on the UFC's calendar. Exciting, right? Not necessarily.

There are two ways to look at this matchup: On paper, it's a fun fight. O'Malley and Vera are elite strikers and two of the best bantamweights in the world. There's also a built-in storyline: Vera handed O'Malley his only career loss in 2020 while both were up-and-comers. O'Malley bounced back and worked his way to the title. Now, he gets to try to avenge that loss - the one blemish on his record - as champion.

That said, Vera shouldn't be getting a title shot - at least not now. The Ecuador native is one fight removed from a lopsided loss to Cory Sandhagen in March. And Vera's one appearance since is a narrow win over Pedro Munhoz. Meanwhile, No. 2-ranked contender Merab Dvalishvili has beaten the likes of Petr Yan, Jose Aldo, and Marlon Moraes as part of a nine-fight winning streak dating back to 2018. This should've been his fight.

O'Malley is a budding superstar, and the UFC wants to keep him on the throne as long as possible. In that regard, it's intelligent matchmaking since Vera is a more beatable opponent than Dvalishvili. But it wasn't the right fight to make.

Grade: C+