UFC President Dana White has announced three title fights that will be headlining UFC cards in 2024. Some of them were rumoured to be happening, but now there is confirmation on some really interesting fights.
Dana White Announces Three 2024 Title Fights
Two of the three scheduled main events will be happening in the first 30 days of the year. Firstly, Sean Strickland will be making his first defence of the middleweight title against Dricuss Du Plessis, at UFC 297, in January. Many thought that the South African may have let his chance pass him by, but he has been rewarded for his patience and will get his shot at claiming the 185lbs belt.
Also in that month, the heavily rumoured bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria, for the featherweight championship, is set to go down at UFC 298. The Australian champion pleaded with the UFC to keep him active after his loss against Islam Makhachev at UFC 294, citing mental health issues that came as a result of not being in camp and general inactivity.
Volkanovski’s loss to the Russian lightweight champion was a devastating first-round stoppage that all started when Makhachev landed a crisp head kick. The fight for the 145lbs belt in January means that he will be back in the cage just three months after the brutal stoppage.
Finally, Sean O’Malley gets his shot at UFC 299 to take revenge on Marlon Vera, in March. Chito handed the bantamweight champion his only loss of his career back in August 2020. O’Malley has been looking to get one back on the Ecuadorian since then.
How These Three Main Events Could All Have Been Different
If traditional MMA math was to be applied, Volkanovski wouldn’t be returning to action so soon after a TKO loss. But his wishes of activity have been granted as he looks to make his seventh defence of the bantamweight title.
Had Khamzat Chimaev put in a more dominating performance against former welterweight king Kamari Usman, at UFC 294, then he might have barged his way past Du Plessis to be the opponent that Strickland faces in his first defence.
A similar, yet different, situation could have played out with the 135lbs strap. When Suga Sean won the belt from Aljamain Sterling, the Funk Master’s training partner Merab Dvalishvili could have booked himself a title shot if he’d have demanded it. But he decided to put his friendship with Sterling first, saying that he’d want to get a title opportunity after the O’Malley and Sterling faced each other again.
How excited are you for these three title fights in 2024? Let us know in the comments below.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
