Five UFC Dream Fights For 2026

Islam Makhachev v Ilia Topuria

It doesn’t get any bigger than the two top pound-for-pound fighters on the planet facing off for ultimate supremacy.

Both of these extraordinary athletes joined the pantheon of greats to win a title in two different weight classes in 2025, Topuria becoming the first undefeated fighter to do so when he knocked out Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title in June, while Makhachev manhandled Jack Della Maddalena over five rounds to seize the welterweight crown in November.

Topuria has announced he’ll be out of action for the start of the year due to personal issues, but plans to return with a vengeance. Having claimed the 145-pound and 155-pound titles, “El Matador” has his sights set on Makhachev and his 170-pound crown.

A legend killer and a revolutionary, a victory over the Dagestani mauler would make Topuria the first-ever three-division UFC champion.

Tom Aspinall/Ciryl Gane v Alex Pereira

While a Jon Jones-Pereira fight is the definition of a box office bout and a superfight for legacy between two combat sports titans, Jones played himself by overplaying his hand last year.

As heavyweight champion, “Bones” refused to face interim titleholder Aspinall, arguing the risk of facing the young phenom outweighed what he considered as little reward.   

As the consensus greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time, Jones wanted to face Pereira, a two-division Glory and UFC champion, instead, but when UFC president Dana White insisted that he takes on Aspinall, Jones shockingly announced his retirement in June, a move he now regrets.

While he has the legacy, Jones no longer has the ultimate bargaining chip, the heavyweight title, which is what makes a clash between Aspinall, now the undisputed heavyweight champion, and Pereira the true superfight as it would give “Poatan” the opportunity to become the first fighter in history to win a UFC title in three different weight classes. 

Aspinall’s first order of business this year is retaining the title against Ciryl Gane in a rematch, the date of which is yet to be confirmed, after their first fight in October ended in a no-contest due to a nasty accidental eye poke, which the champion is still recovering from.

Should Gane win, it would still be an epic showdown of superb strikers with the same historic stakes.

Kayla Harrison/Amanda Nunes v Valentina Shevchenko

Hopefully as a sign of things to come, the UFC will kick off the year with a superfight between bantamweight champion Harrison and the returning GOAT of women’s mixed martial arts, Nunes, at UFC 324 later this month.

Truly a seismic showdown, the co-main event clash at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas should lead to another dream fight, as the stars have aligned for the winner to face Shevchenko, who cemented her place as the pound-for-pound queen in 2025.

For two-time Olympic gold medal-winning judoka Harrison, it would be an opportunity to beat the two most decorated female fighters ever back-to-back. For Nunes, it would be a chance to sweep the trilogy against Shevchenko and prove to those who think she lost the second fight that “The Lioness” is the undeniable queen of the jungle. And finally, for Shevchenko, the reigning and greatest flyweight champion of all time, it would be one last opportunity to significantly bolster her already phenomenal legacy by adding the bantamweight belt to her collection.

Max Holloway/Charles Oliveira v Conor McGregor/Nate Diaz

Former featherweight champion Holloway still yearns for more undisputed gold, but in the BMF title he holds a golden ticket.

Only the baddest of the bad, the true dogs of war, have the right to fight for the special belt, with Holloway having won it in the most BMF way possible with his all-time great buzzer-beating knockout of Justin Gaethje in 2024.

“Blessed” has a tough title defence ahead of him against fellow legend Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 326 in March, but if he prevails, he could drop the biggest callout of the year and issue a challenge to either McGregor or Diaz (or both).

The biggest megastar in UFC history, McGregor is expected to make his much-anticipated return to the Octagon against Michael Chandler on the White House card in June, while Diaz – who spoke the BMF belt into existence – is waiting for a worthy opponent and big enough a fight to return to the UFC.

Holloway is that guy. Heck, ex-lightweight champion Oliveira, the most prolific finisher in UFC history, also fits the bill to welcome back either of the sport’s biggest superstars should he beat Holloway.

Dricus du Plessis v Anthony Hernandez

From a South African perspective, the country’s fighting pride, Du Plessis, will set out to get his middleweight belt back in 2026, and there’s not a more exciting fight at 185 pounds than “Stillknocks” versus “Fluffy.”

It’s everything the Du Plessis-Khamzat Chimaev fight promised to be, but so disappointingly failed to deliver. This fight is guaranteed fireworks as you’d have two non-stop kill-or-be-killed gladiators going at it.

Du Plessis is eyeing a March or April return to the Octagon, and could potentially face Brendan Allen, while the surging Hernandez, who’s on an eight-fight win streak, has a date with former champion Sean Strickland in February.

Win those bouts, and they could set up a No. 1 contender fight, with the victor facing the winner of the expected title fight between Chimaev and Nassourdine Imavov.