Given the landscape of each division and the UFC 264 and UFC 265 lineups, the rest of this year has been left with a host of confirmed, rumored and anticipated blockbuster clashes. So much so that there likely wasn’t even enough events to fit every championship fight into 2021 at one point. But after the news that Robert Whittaker’s rematch with Israel Adesanya will likely take place next year, that might not be as much of an issue anymore.

For this particular piece, we’ll be looking solely at bouts either confirmed for a date or heavily spoken about by the fighters themselves. That means clashes like Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier for the lightweight title, which is expected to take place in December, and a unification bout between Francis Ngannou and newly-crowned interim champion Ciryl Gane won’t be included.

Honorable mentions have to go to a few confirmed bangers. Namely, Islam Makhachev’s biggest challenge yet against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 267 and Khamzat Chimaev’s return to action against ‘The Leech’ Li Jingliang at the same pay-per-view.

With that said, let’s take a look at five blockbuster UFC fights still to come in 2021.

#5. Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega - UFC 266

This fight was originally scheduled to go down back at UFC 260 in March. A positive COVID-19 test from Alexander Volkanovski led to its postponement, and in the end, was it such a bad thing?

Firstly, with Francis Ngannou’s championship crowning in the PPV main event, the featherweight title fight would likely have been slightly overshadowed. At UFC 266, Volkanovski will headline the card and the anticipation is certainly much higher because of it.

Couple that with the second positive to come from the withdrawal, an entertaining season of The Ultimate Fighter with the champ and Brian Ortega as coaches, and both men, as well as the fans, have actually benefitted quite significantly from the bout’s delay.

But come September, the pair will finally enter the octagon together. After battling it out on TUF, Volkanovski and Ortega will battle it out for gold at UFC 266 on September 25. Taking place inside the T-Mobile Arena, the event will see the Australian look to defend his 145-pound gold for the second time, having rematched Max Holloway immediately after taking the belt from the Hawaiian.

Ortega, meanwhile, will look to capture UFC gold at the second time of asking. ‘T-City’ previously fell short of the featherweight mountaintop when he challenged Holloway at UFC 231 in 2018. The TKO loss represented the first blemish on an otherwise perfect professional record.

But given Ortega’s incredible rebound performance against ‘The Korean Zombie’ last year, as well as Volkanovski’s battles on the feet with ‘Blessed’, this championship main event should have fireworks.

#4. Edson Barboza vs. Giga Chikadze - UFC Vegas 35

This UFC fight might not be one with star names or top contenders involved, but what a mouth-watering prospect it is. Two vicious strikers and powerful kickers going toe-to-toe. If there’s one fight to watch in August, it’s Edson Barboza vs. Giga Chikadze.

Barboza is one of the most recognizable names in MMA. When you think about the UFC, Barboza is one of the first names that comes to mind. Despite being closer to 40 years old than 30, the Brazilian remains a top athlete and over the past year, he’s shown he can still hang with the best.

Across 25 fights in the UFC, the 36-year-old has beaten the likes of Paul Felder, Anthony Pettis, Beneil Dariush, Dan Hooker and Gilbert Melendez. Back-to-back defeats to Justin Gaethje and Felder saw Barboza make the move down to featherweight in 2020. A razor-thin split decision loss to Dan Ige made it clear he could compete at 145-pounds.

Against Makwan Amirkhani last October, Barboza secured his first win in the division, but it was his most recent performance that established him as a real contender. Edson Barboza secured back-to-back wins at UFC 262 against Shane Burgos, and in doing so, provided us with one of the most bizarre knockouts in UFC history.

Giga Chikadze, meanwhile, is one of the leading men in the UFC’s Georgian invasion. Since debuting in 2019, ‘Ninja’ has built an unbeaten 6-0 record in the promotion. A brutal head kick against Jamey Simmons last November firmly established his name as one to watch at 145-pounds. At UFC Vegas 25, Chikadze secured a similarly brutal finish. With the return of the famed ‘Giga Kick’, the Georgian finished Cub Swanson inside the opening round with a hard body-shot and made his case for a big-name opponent next time out.

Imagine the battle of kicks this fight is going to bring us. For that reason alone, this matchup is one of the most exciting bouts still to come this year.

#3. Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan 2 - UFC 267

Ever since UFC 259, this fight has been needed. Not just to settle the rivalry between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan, but also to provide a stacked bantamweight division with the one key component it’s missing: an impressive and must-watch champion.

It almost doesn’t feel like there is a bantamweight champion. The title feels vacant, which is no disrespect to Aljamain Sterling. The 31-year-old was illegally struck by Petr Yan and clearly wouldn’t have wanted to win the title that way. But that doesn’t change the fact that the champion was crowned by Yan’s disqualification, in a fight where they seemed to be clearly on the way to losing.

At UFC 267, Sterling has the chance to show he’s on the bantamweight throne on merit. He has the opportunity to show that he is a dominant and imposing champion. Because whatever the trolls say, his talent and skill inside the cage is undeniable. His first-round victory over Cory Sandhagen showed that.

For Yan, this fight offers a chance for retribution. Having lost the title on a night where he looked minutes away from comfortably defending it, the Russian would love nothing more than to have the gold wrapped around his waist in Abu Dhabi, which was where he won it back in 2020.

Alongside Jan Blachowicz’s clash with Glover Teixeira, Sterling’s first defense will be one of two title fights on a card which will see the UFC’s return to Fight Island.

Despite the light heavyweight belt being on the line, this is arguably the premier fight on the card, especially given the ongoing feud between ‘Funk Master’ and Yan. With T.J. Dillashaw waiting in the wings for a shot at the victor, and top contenders like Sandhagen and Rob Font vying for a chance at the belt, the stakes and importance of this championship fight cannot be understated.

#2. Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler 2 - UFC 266

Even as talk of a Nick Diaz UFC return intensified, I’m not sure I ever believed we’d really see it. And yet, here we are, less than two months away from witnessing the Stockton native back inside the octagon. In a rematch 16 years in the making, Diaz will go head-to-head with former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler.

Having not competed since his headlining fight against Anderson Silva in 2015, which saw the Brazilian’s unanimous decision victory overturned to a no contest, Diaz will be attempting to secure his first win in just shy of a decade.

Lawler, meanwhile, has fought eight times since we last saw Diaz in action. But with the former 170-pound champion struggling to a 3-5 record in that period, Diaz will no doubt fancy his chances at having his arm raised when the pair collide inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

As fans gear up for Nick Diaz’s return to action on September 25, many will be heading to the archives to remind themselves of the memorable career of the Stockton native and of his first meeting with ‘Ruthless’ back at UFC 47 in 2004.

In what was a crazy fight for as long as it lasted, both men swung hard and left everything inside the octagon. But not long into the second round, it was Diaz who secured victory with a brutal right hand that sent Lawler face-first into the canvas. The former Strikeforce, WEC, and IFC 170-pound champ will hope to repeat that result when he enters the cage with Lawler for the second time later this year.

Given that this fight will represent the first time fans have seen Diaz in action since 2015, it’s certainly one of the most anticipated matchups still to come in 2021.

#1. Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington 2 - UFC 268

Of the fights currently booked or close to being set in stone for the rest of the year, I’m not sure many will come close to this one. Not many rivalries in the UFC are as heated as Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington’s. At UFC 268, their grudge match will main event a card targeted to be the UFC’s return to the famed Madison Square garden in New York City.

The pair first met back at UFC 245 in December 2019. After giving ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ the toughest test of his championship reign to date, ‘Chaos’ fell to a TKO loss late in the fifth round. Following many words and interviews slating the champion and some accusations of PED usage from Covington, who even described Usman as the “CEO of EPO,” the pair are set to run it back this year.

Since their first fight, the champ has developed exponentially. Two dominant title defenses against Jorge Masvidal and a striking masterclass against Gilbert Burns extended Usman’s UFC record to 14-0. A partnership with renowned coach Trevor Wittman has left the Nigerian with incredible power and all-round skills, something we saw in action against Masvidal at UFC 261 earlier this year.

Covington, meanwhile, has fought just once since falling short against Usman in 2019. A dominant victory over former champion Tyron Woodley was enough to book himself a title rematch, despite the form Leon Edwards has shown.

Given how their first fight went, and with their ongoing feud, Usman and Cobington’s second clash is the biggest fight set for the end of 2021.

0 votes