The UFC is back in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, with a light heavyweight main event between Magomed Ankalaev and Bogdan Guskov at UFC Fight Night.
It's a big fight for Ankalaev (21-2-1), who hasn't fought since he lost his undisputed title in a rematch to Alex Pereira at UFC 320 last October. Ankalaev will be the third former champion to take part in the promotion's past two headliners, as last weekend's Oklahoma City card saw former middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis defeat former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in a five-round unanimous decision.
Of course, every former titleholder's goal is to return to a championship fight. With three former titleholders in action this month, ESPN has put together a list of eight former champions, along with our projected odds that each of them gets back to the top of their respective divisions.
Magomed Ankalaev, light heavyweight
Last title run: March 2025 - October 2025
Chance of getting another title shot: 88%
No fighter on this list has stronger factors working for and against their title chances. On one hand, Ankalaev figures to always face an uphill battle, because it's clear the UFC is low on his marketability. It took 10 UFC wins over four years for him to get his first title opportunity, and now he's coming off a demoralizing first-round knockout loss. At the same time, Ankalaev is in an incredibly weak division, led by an injured champion in Carlos Ulberg and, possibly, Pereira, who last fought at heavyweight. It's going to be nearly impossible to deny Ankalaev a return to a title fight, based on merit, with a win over Guskov. If his future performances look anything like the rest of his career, he is almost assured to book another title fight.
Dricus du Plessis, middleweight
Last title run: January 2024 - August 2025
Chance of getting another title shot: 85%
In addition to simply being a world-class middleweight, du Plessis has a favorable history against the current middleweight champion, Sean Strickland. Or, du Plessis could be in line to face Khamzat Chimaev, who took the belt in his last title fight. But I believe Chimaev would move up to light heavyweight before ever fighting du Plessis again. That's not a significant damper on du Plessis' overall title aspirations, though. He likely needs one more win to get a title shot, but even if he were to suffer a loss next, the 32-year-old has plenty of time to get back to the top of the division. The odds of returning to title contention at some point are very high.
Kamaru Usman, welterweight
Last title run: March 2019 - August 2022
Chance of getting another title shot: 25%
Usman is 39 years old. Unfortunately, when that's the case in MMA, age is the biggest plot point. Odds are not on Usman's side, and to suggest otherwise would be a disservice. Even following a loss to du Plessis in his middleweight debut, Usman is the UFC's No. 11-ranked middleweight. A future title shot is not out of the question, but he would need a win over someone in the top 10 who is in his prime, such as Caio Borralho, Joe Pyfer or Anthony Hernandez. After that, he'd probably need a little luck, too -- like a callout from Strickland.
Alex Pereira, heavyweight
Last title run: October 2025 - February 2026
Chance of getting another title shot: 75%
Pereira is also 39 years old, but the difference in his situation and Usman's is weight class. Heavyweight is known to favor older fighters. Power is the last skill to wane, and speed doesn't work against you quite as much when you're competing at more than 200 pounds. The light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions are also completely barren, compared with the minefield of contenders at middleweight. Pereira just signed a new deal with the UFC and has shown no interest in slowing down. Barring a sudden dramatic decline in performance, Pereira will fight for a UFC title again.
Charles Oliveira, lightweight
Last title run: May 2021 - May 2022
Chance of getting another title shot: 50%
This one is somewhat tough to project. Oliveira is basically a win away from securing a title shot, but he also seems to be a loss away from being written off as a championship threat. That may feel extreme, but again, weight class is a big factor. It seems reasonable that Oliveira would fight a top lightweight contender such as Arman Tsarukyan next, and if Oliveira wins, he's bound for his first undisputed title fight since 2022. If he loses, he's multiple wins away from another title shot and likely fighting down the rankings in arguably the UFC's most stacked division.
Sean O'Malley, men's bantamweight
Last title run: August 2023 - September 2024
Chance of getting another title shot: 89%
O'Malley has the highest odds of any former men's champion on this list. Still, they are not quite 90% because the fight he would have to win to reach championship contention could be exceptionally difficult. Now, there is a world in which his next fight is for the title, depending on whether the UFC is comfortable with waiting to see how things play out around him. But if he does take one more fight, it will be against the likes of Umar Nurmagomedov, Mario Bautista or Cory Sandhagen -- each of which is a winnable but competitive fight. Title chance odds are in O'Malley's favor based on his talent, popularity and age (31), but the danger at the top of the bantamweight division shouldn't be dismissed.
Jack Della Maddalena, welterweight
Last title run: May 2025 - November 2025
Chance of getting another title shot: 71%
Della Maddalena's high projected odds may surprise people, given back-to-back difficult losses to Islam Makhachev and Carlos Prates. It could be easy to write him off, but keep in mind that Della Maddalena is the youngest former champion on this list at 29 years old. He didn't suddenly forget how to fight. And although he has one finish in the past three years, the power that knocked out three consecutive opponents to start his UFC career likely isn't gone. Could Della Maddalena upset a hot contender such as Michael Morales or Gabriel Bonfim and put himself right back into title contention? Most definitely he could.
Zhang Weili, strawweight
Last title run: November 2022 - August 2025
Chance of getting another title shot: 93%
The biggest threat to Zhang's return to the top is retirement. Competitively, she would still be favored over any strawweight in the world, including current champion Mackenzie Dern. She also would be favored over just about every flyweight in the world. If Zhang wants another title shot, all she has to do is ask for one at 115 pounds. And that offer doesn't have an expiration date. She could fight again at 125 pounds -- as she did in her last fight, a loss to champion Valentina Shevchenko -- lose again and still get an immediate title shot at 115 pounds.
