"All told, the sport came through on five of the 12 matchups I asked for in 2025. Candidly, we missed a few of the bigger ones. My top two hopes were Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall and Jones or Aspinall vs. Alex Pereira. None of those options were booked. Instead of a Jones-Aspinall heavyweight title unification bout, we got a secondhand Jones retirement announcement from Dana White in Baku, Azerbaijan, which still feels strange to think back on."
"This is a controversial top pick, even in my own head. On the one hand, I don't like this fight for several reasons: Both fighters moved up in weight in 2025 (Makhachev from lightweight to welterweight and Topuria from featherweight to lightweight), and both have deserving challengers in their respective divisions. And if they were to fight at the 170-pound welterweight limit, Makhachev would have a distinct advantage."
"Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: "Chuck and Tito," which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz."
Five of the 12 predicted matchups occurred in 2025, leaving several high-profile hoped-for fights unbooked. The envisaged Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall and matchups involving Alex Pereira did not materialize. A secondhand Jones retirement announcement from Dana White in Baku, Azerbaijan replaced an anticipated heavyweight unification bout. Confidence remains for 2026, with optimism that more than half of the listed matchups could be produced. The top choice for excitement is Topuria vs. Makhachev, despite both fighters changing weight classes and having deserving challengers in their new divisions. Makhachev would hold a clear advantage at 170 pounds.
Read at ESPN.com
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