“Worst Time of the Year”: UFC Fans Heartbroken Over One-Month Break After This Weekend’s Final Event

Smrutisnat Jena | 10/12/2024
Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler meet in the octagon for a 3-round bout for UFC309 - Jones vs Miocic at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City, NY

UFC 310 lived up to the billing of being the last Pay-Per-View of the year 2024. It was laced with some fantastic matchups and delivered some of the best action fans have seen in the last few months. It will be followed by the return of Colby Covington on December 15 for the UFC on ESPN event. And then that’s it for a month, which is leaving some of the fanbase in a lurch.

The next UFC event is a Fight Night on January 12, 2025, main evented by the ever-loved McKenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas. Until then, it’s going to be a very very sad few weeks.

This fan believes nothing good can come out of this gap in time and said, “Literally the worst time of year“. Some were just happy that it was ending with a Covington fight- “Ending it off with the GOAT“.

This fan, who doesn’t realize that even fighters need to spend the holidays with their families, said, “I will never understand why the UFC does this.. The UFC already moves at such a slow drawn out pace that we give awards to people who fight 3 times in a Year.. There are plenty of individuals on the UFC roster nowadays. IDK why this is how things have to be & we can’t change it“.

Others were less bothered.

This man made a joke at the expense of MMA fans and said, “Mma fans are gonna have to find a life for a month oh no!!” Another fan pointed out the obvious flaw in being sad about no fights on the weekends and added, “Yep those selfish fighters wanna spend time with their family smh”.

Well, it’s not all sad. A little wait hasn’t hurt anyone, especially when 2025 seems to be some mega fights on the cards.

UFC in 2025: A preview

Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev returns to action on January 19 at UFC 311 to defend his title in a rematch against Arman Tsarukyan. Tsarukyan is expected to be his toughest opponent yet, so he might just be the one to put a dent on the Dagestani dominance in the sport.
On the same night, Umar Nurmagomedov finally gets his shot at the bantamweight title against champion Merab Dvalishvili. If the presser before UFC 310 was any indication, Merab will want to tear him apart. How he will do that with his style of fighting is another matter altogether.
Next, you have featherweight champion Ilia Topuria making the lightweight division his home and challenging Charles Oliveira. Oliveira is next in line for the title, so there’s not a lot of certainty over how that situation works but if it does, wouldn’t that be a fight to be raving about?
Alexander Volkanovski has also announced that his next fight will be for the featherweight title. A week ago, it was certain to be against Topuria, but if the Spaniard drops the belt, it would open up the division and set Movsar Evloev and Diego Lopes to be next in line!

Kayla Harrison might finally get her bantamweight title shot against Julianna Pena, which if she wins, would set her up nicely for the return of one, Amanda Nunes!

And these are just some of the most likely highlight reels to be made from 2025. There is going to be a plethora to choose from when the time comes. So be patient, be nice, offer Santa some cookies, and maybe, Conor McGregor will even make his return next year.

Post Edited By: Smrutisnat Jena
Colby Covington Conor McGergor Islam Makahchev

About the author

Smrutisnat Jena

Smrutisnat Jena is a UFC Editor with The SportsRush. With 8 years of experience under his belt, Smrutisnat has had a career that has travelled through the multiverse of journalism, be it politics, entertainment or satire. But as a practitioner of amateur wrestling, his true love has always been combat sports. After being introduced to Chuck Liddell at the age of 8, working with MMA has always been THE goal for him. When he's away from work, Smrutisnat likes hanging out with dogs, and sparring with his teammates at the local gym, often simultaneously.

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