The UFC is still on hiatus for a few more weeks, making now the perfect time to unveil picks for who will be champion at the end of the year. While we came up short in last year's selections, three of our four runners fought for a title (with one actually winning it before losing a rematch). This includes two fighters who were (+600) at the time the article was published. Let's see if we can't finish the job in 2026.
UFC Futures: Best Bets to Hold the Belt at Year's End
Below are four fighters who I feel have a solid chance of wearing gold when we ring in 2027. Included are two plays at moderate odds, followed by a couple of long shots for those who like a bit more potential bang for their long-term investment.
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Strawweight Champion: Zhang Weili (+150)
It was clear within the first few minutes of Weili's fight with flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko in December that she doesn't have the strength to compete with heavier athletes. That said, it's curious to me that she should be an underdog to reclaim her belt and reign over a division in which she won six consecutive fights before willingly vacating.
With all due respect to Mackenzie Dern, the once-touted BJJ ace was 3-2 in her last five fights before winning the strawweight title by striking off her back against Virna Jandiroba. In other words, Weili appears to be levels above the division's current champion, and should be able to use her power, speed, and top pressure to win her belt back.
The only potential hiccups here come if Weili either retires or shows a desire to stay at flyweight. I don't see either of these scenarios as particularly likely, given that her coach, John Wood, told mmafighting.com on Monday that the strawweight title was "Weili's Belt" when questioned about what the Chinese fighter might do next. If she does indeed go back to strawweight, it's hard to imagine the UFC does anything else but put her in a title fight.
MMA is up there with the most volatile sports in terms of outcomes, so no play should be viewed as anything close to a sure thing. As futures bets go, however, getting a fighter who was a historically dominant champion in her division at plus money seems like a good spot.
UFC Betting Futures Pick: Zhang Weili (+150)
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Bantamweight Champion: Petr Yan (+100)
While I couldn't bring myself to pick Yan to beat Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title to close out the year, I did note in my prediction for the fight that the Russian fighter handled "individual phases" of their first fight well. My only concern was with Yan's cardio, which actually held up much better than Merab's as the final seconds ticked away in Round 5.
There is still a bit of concern that Yan can be held down by physically strong fighters, but he defended takedowns almost effortlessly against Merab, so I don't expect him to be bullied around by contenders like Umar Nurmagomedov, a fighter who we have also seen get tired late in bouts.
I believe a Yan who is fully healthy is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, with no one in his weight class matching him for grappling and striking in equal measure. It is a tall order to expect anyone to reign in a division as competitive as bantamweight for a full year, but the man we saw completely shut down the game of Merab looks ready to go on a generational run.
UFC Betting Futures Pick: Petr Yan (+100)
Flyweight Champion: Kyoji Horiguchi (+800)
After two picks that feel relatively safe, we are spreading our wings a bit with Horiguchi, who became the first man to finish Tagir Ulanbekov in a dominant debut in November. The Japanese fighter spent much of his time outside the UFC fighting up a weight class, and showed increased strength in that fight with Ulanbekov, notching 5:34 seconds of control time.
The success of the Japanese fighter has been a bit overlooked, as he went 8-1 in his initial UFC run and got his losses to Kai Asakura and Sergio Pettis back via rematches. This leaves a defeat at the hands of Patchy Mix as the only true blemish on his record in the last decade, and there are no flyweights close to the size and ability of Mix when it comes to wrestling.
A possible stumbling block here may be that Horiguchi just got back to the organization, but I find it hard to believe they brought him back to fade into irrelevance, particularly when he has shown he can still put on command performances.
Flyweight has opened up considerably due to the injury Alexandre Pantoja suffered in his title loss to Joshua Van, and Horiguchi is scheduled to fight the No. 6-ranked Amir Albazi in February. Given the losses taken by Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval of late, Kyoji may be only two fights away from a title shot.
UFC Betting Futures Pick: Kyoji Horiguchi (+800)
Welterweight Champion: Ian Garry (+500)
I'm sure this prediction coming true would make many fans unhappy, but it's hard to deny Garry as the most well-rounded fighter in the division, as his combination of grappling, clever out-fighting, and defense has seen him hand Carlos Prates his only UFC loss, as well as give Shavkat Rakhmonov the only real scare he's had in his career.
While he is not as exciting as some of the top names of Welterweight, Garry always seems to have a gameplan when he steps in the cage, as opposed to fighters like Michael Morales, who are more reliant on size and explosivity. He will likely still need to get by the aforementioned Rakhmonov before getting a title shot, but the Kazakh fighter will have been out for more than a year if he hits his mark of return in March, so it's worth wondering how much he has fallen behind what has been an active division.
If Garry can get in the cage with Islam Makhachev, I expect his size, grappling ability, and striking style to give the champion major problems. I would argue "Machado" has had the toughest schedule of any of the top contenders to date, and his style and ability to formulate strategy make it unlikely that he will be out of his depth in any matchup. It's a bit difficult to predict in what order the queue of contenders meets the champion, but it will likely be impossible to deny Garry following one or two wins to open the year.
UFC Betting Futures Pick: Ian Garry (+500)
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2026 UFC Futures Betting Picks Summary
- Strawweight Champion Pick: Zhang Weili (+150)
- Bantamweight: Petr Yan (+100)
- Flyweight Champion Pick: Kyoji Horiguchi (+800)
- Welterweight Champion Pick: Ian Garry (+500)
