Ranking the 10 best MMA fights still to come in 2024
Major MMA promotions are down to their last handful of events in 2024. However, big fights are still set to unfold before the calendar flips to a new year, including Jon Jones' UFC heavyweight title defense against former champion Stipe Miocic this weekend at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden.
Which matchups scheduled over the next seven weeks are must-watch material? Below, we rank the 10 best based on stakes, skill, potential for excitement, and competitiveness.
Note: This list is missing the to-be-announced main event of UFC 310, which lost its original headliner when Belal Muhammad withdrew from his welterweight title defense against Shavkat Rakhmonov.
10. Bo Nickal vs. Paul Craig
Event: UFC 309, main card
Date: Nov. 16
Division: Middleweight
A budding star in the division, Nickal gets his biggest step up in competition yet against Craig. The former standout wrestler ran through his first three opponents in the UFC, with two wins coming by submission and one by knockout. But Craig should be a tougher code to crack. He's far more experienced than Nickal and has a tricky grappling game. If Nickal gets past the Scot with ease, that would bode well for his future.
9. Volkan Oezdemir vs. Carlos Ulberg
Event: UFC Macau, main card
Date: Nov. 23
Division: Light heavyweight
The UFC put Ulberg, one of the quickest-rising contenders at 205 pounds, on a fast track to a title shot earlier this year, but his fight against former champion Jamahal Hill was ultimately canceled. Ulberg had to settle for a former title challenger in Oezdemir instead. A victory would still move him up the pecking order a bit. Ulberg has won by first-round knockout in four of his last five fights, while Oezdemir is coming off a finish of Johnny Walker. This fight has devastating knockout written all over it - and the stakes are pretty high.
8. Dakota Ditcheva vs. Taila Santos
Event: 2024 PFL Championship, co-main event
Date: Nov. 29
Division: Women's flyweight
Ditcheva is having a phenomenal debut year in the PFL global season after crossing over from the promotion's European league, scoring three straight knockouts to reach the women's flyweight final. The 26-year-old Englishwoman emerged as one of the biggest rising stars in the PFL - and all of women's MMA - in the process. Now, she's looking to end her 2024 campaign on a high note with a championship win over Santos, her toughest test to date. Santos, meanwhile, has the opportunity to win a title in her first year with the PFL after being cut by the UFC in late 2023.
7. Aljamain Sterling vs. Movsar Evloev
Event: UFC 310, main card
Date: Dec. 7
Division: Featherweight
Originally scheduled for UFC 307 in October, the fight between Sterling and Evloev will instead take place at the second-last UFC event of 2024. Sterling can insert himself into the featherweight title conversation with a win over Evloev, an undefeated Russian who's arguably the toughest stylistic matchup for champion Ilia Topuria. Sterling, a former bantamweight titleholder, moved up to 145 pounds earlier this year and beat Calvin Kattar, but this is a much stiffer test.
6. Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov 2
Event: UFC 310, main card
Date: Dec. 7
Division: Heavyweight
The winner of the rematch between Gane and Volkov will be in prime position for a heavyweight title shot - the timing will just depend on what happens with Jones, Miocic, and Aspinall after UFC 309. Gane beat Volkov decisively in their first fight in 2021, but Volkov has looked great in the three years since, winning four in a row and five of six overall. Gane-Volkov is a battle of two strikers, will likely be more competitive than the first time, and will have a big impact on the heavyweight landscape as we potentially enter a new era in 2025.
5. Ian Machado Garry vs. Joaquin Buckley
Event: UFC Tampa, main event
Date: Dec. 14
Division: Welterweight
The final UFC bout of the year is a banger between two surging welterweights who are closing in on a title shot. This isn't necessarily the step up in competition we wanted for Garry - he's ranked No. 7 in the division, and Buckley is No. 9 - but it's still a pretty solid test. It's also Garry's first five-round bout in the promotion, which throws a wrench in things. The winner might need one more victory to lock up a shot at Belal Muhammad's belt.
4. Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura
Event: UFC 310, co-main event
Date: Dec. 7
Division: Flyweight
Asakura will be challenging Pantoja for the flyweight title in his first UFC appearance. Yes, that's right. Asakura, a former two-time Rizin FF bantamweight champion, is getting a title shot in his debut with the promotion. This is extremely rare, but few fans have complained, which shows how well-regarded Asakura is among those in the know. He's a striking specialist with a lot of knockout power, and he stands to be a tough matchup for Pantoja as long as he successfully makes the 125-pound limit.
3. Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic
Event: UFC 309, main event
Date: Nov. 16
Division: Heavyweight
Though Jones-Miocic isn't the heavyweight title fight everyone wanted to see, it's still one of MMA's GOATs against the greatest heavyweight in UFC history. Every fan ought to tune in considering there's a chance Jones will retire after he defends his title for the first time against Miocic, who hasn't fought since March 2021 and already has one foot out the door. UFC CEO Dana White isn't wrong when he says this is a legacy fight - perhaps the end of an era in the heavyweight division - making it one of the must-see bouts for the rest of 2024.
2. Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
Event: UFC Macau, main event
Date: Nov. 23
Division: Bantamweight
Stylistically, Yan-Figueiredo is an absolutely wicked fight between two former champions. Yan snapped a skid with a win over Song Yadong in March, putting himself back in the conversation as a top bantamweight. And Figueiredo, a former flyweight champ, has looked great since moving up to 135 pounds, winning three straight over the likes of Marlon "Chito" Vera and Rob Font. Both strong punchers, Yan and Figueiredo are almost guaranteed to throw down for five rounds in a high-octane fight.
1. Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler 2
Event: UFC 309, co-main event
Date: Nov. 16
Division: Lightweight
The best fight left in 2024 is the rematch between Oliveira and Chandler, set to go down under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden ahead of Jones-Miocic. These two fought for the vacant lightweight title in 2021, with Oliveira scoring a second-round knockout victory in a back-and-forth fight. A lot has happened since - Oliveira lost the belt, while Chandler spent the last two years waiting for a fight with Conor McGregor that didn't materialize. Their rematch will likely be just as thrilling. Whoever comes out victorious will be set up for a massive 2025.