Best challenge for any UFC champion without a scheduled fight

Every UFC champion has his next fight scheduled or set, except for Belal Muhammad (welterweight), Islam Makhachev (lightweight), Alexandre Pantoja (men’s flyweight) and Weili Zhang (women’s strawweight).

Let’s look at the best potential challenger for these four.

Belal Muhammad vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov

One could certainly argue that Kamaru Usman gets a chance to reclaim the title he held from March 2019 to August 2022, but the Nigerian nightmare has lost his last three fights.

Admittedly, Usman’s last loss came at middleweight to Khamzat Chimaev when he stepped in for Paulo Costa on short notice at UFC 294 in October 2023. Still, the 37-year-old likely needs a win against another top-5 opponent before he gets another shot at the title.

A title eliminator between Usman and Ian Machado Garry would make a lot of sense. Enter Rakhmonov. The 29-year-old undefeated machine from Kazakhstan has risen to number 3 in the UFC welterweight rankings.

He is coming off an impressive win over Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in his last fight, and Rakhmonov would give Muhammad a tough test in his first title defense.

Islam Makhachev against Arman Zarukyan

There were talks of a possible interim title fight between Tsarukyan and Mateusz Gamrot before the latter lost to Dan Hooker at UFC 305 last Saturday.

Now at 155, it looks like Hooker will face Charles Oliveira in a title eliminator, leaving Tsarukyan without an opponent while he serves the remainder of a six-month suspension for punching a fan at UFC 300 in April.

Tsarukyan is eligible to return in October, but likely won’t be ready to fight until November or December. Makhachev is also recovering from a hand injury that forced him out of UFC 308, when he was scheduled to face Tsarukyan in Abu Dhabi.

We know that UFC 310 will take place on December 7th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

It’s not out of the question that Conor McGregor returns and fights Michael Chandler on this card. Imagine McGregor in the same building as Makhachev, who could defend his title against Tsarukyan.

Makhachev is trained by Khabib Nurmagomedov, and that could lead to fireworks before, during and after the event. Tsarukyan is the right challenger for Makhachev. He has faced the lightweight champion before. While Makhachev won their meeting in April 2019, Tsarukyan was competitive, with both men earning Fight of the Night bonuses for their performances.

Alexandre Pantoja vs Demetrious Johnson

I know Johnson was traded to ONE Championship for Ben Askren and is still under contract with the organization, but Johnson is still arguably the best flyweight or fighter in his weight class – maybe even up to bantamweight.

Pantoja has cycled through the flyweight division with the exception of Tatsuro Taira and the injured Amir Albazi. Kai Kara-France made his name with a KO victory over Steve Erceg at UFC 305, but Pantoja defeated him at The Ultimate Fighter 2016.

A return of Johnson to the UFC, even on loan, would likely give him a chance at a nice payday and perhaps give us the opportunity to see who the most dominant flyweight of all time is.

Weili Zhang vs Tatiana Suarez

Many of us may have forgotten how dominant Suarez was on her way to a 10-0 record in MMA. It’s been more than a year since she stepped inside the Octagon, but she’s the No. 1 contender for Weili’s title.

If Suarez can be declared fit after the knee injury that sidelined her in February, it would make sense for her to finally get her chance at the championship.

Weili has beaten every other serious contender in her division, but she can’t wait forever for Suarez.