In MMA, like other sports, a champion is continually facing pressure to succeed. External pressure from the organization, the media and especially fans. And self-imposed pressure to disprove doubters and succeed for themselves, their team and their family.
Perhaps no champion has faced more pressure in recent years than former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Volkanovski ruled the division from December 2019 to February 2024, running through each of the weight classes' top fighters (including beating Max Holloway three times) while also being ESPN's top pound-for-pound fighter for much of that span. He dropped his title to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298.
Now there are plenty of newish champions working to prove their staying power and separate themselves from the rest of the pack -- including middleweight champ Dricus du Plessis and strawweight champion Zhang Weili, who get that chance at UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday, as they put their belts on the line against Sean Strickland and Tatiana Suarez, respectively (10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV).
Here is a ranking of which title holders are under the most pressure to succeed in 2025.
11. Alexandre Pantoja, men's flyweight champion
Alexandre Pantoja retains the flyweight title after a rear-naked choke submission of Kai Asakura in the main event of UFC 310.
Pantoja is still in his prime at age 34, and he's lapping the field of his fellow flyweights. Any loss would likely result in an immediate rematch. He has taken on the pressure of representing a frequently overlooked division, but that comes naturally for him because of his fighting style. The best way Pantoja can represent that division is getting into active, entertaining bouts, and that's the only way he knows how to fight. He might still feel individual pressure to continue to make money and perform to his highest potential, but in terms of added pressure, Pantoja should feel very comfortable with his current position.
10. Dricus du Plessis, middleweight champion
Dricus Du Plessis submits Israel Adesanya with a rear-naked choke to remain UFC middleweight champion.
This one is all about matchups. Du Plessis is 31 years old, so he's not short on time, and he has history with each fighter in the top five of ESPN's middleweight rankings. His options? A rematch of a competitive fight against Sean Strickland, which will headline UFC 312; a rematch of a compelling fight against Israel Adesanya; an opportunity to hand Khamzat Chimaev his first loss in MMA; or potential matchups with newcomers Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho. These are all quality fights, quality headliners and marketable contests. And the UFC has shown a legitimate interest in hosting an event in Africa, of which Du Plessis, of South Africa, would be an integral part. The future is bright for Du Plessis any way you look at it, which means there's slightly less pressure each fight.
9. Zhang Weili, strawweight champion
Zhang Weili defeats Xan Yiaonan via unanimous decision to retain the UFC women's strawweight championship.
As the No. 1 pound-for-pound women's fighter, there is a level of expectation and pressure on Zhang, but it's lower than many of her champion counterparts. She has immense value to the UFC, representing a big market in China. She has already asserted herself as one of the best women's fighters ever.
There is some added pressure in her next title defense, as she'll put her title on the line at UFC 312 against Tatiana Suarez, who has been tagged as a future champ for years now. This will go down as one of Zhang's bigger title defenses because of the caliber of opponent -- and that's saying something, considering Weili has two victories over UFC Hall of Famer Joanna Jedrzejczyk. But in terms of pressure, she'd likely get an immediate rematch if she were to lose to Suarez.
8. Julianna Peña, women's bantamweight champion
Julianna Pena regains the women's bantamweight belt after a split-decision win vs. Raquel Pennington.
If Peña has a chip on her shoulder, it's easy to understand. The sport barely recognizes her as a UFC champion right now. Kayla Harrison has been all but anointed as the next bantamweight queen. Peña has tried to entice former champion Amanda Nunes out of retirement, but Nunes has made it clear she's more interested in a possible comeback against Harrison than a trilogy fight with Peña. In some ways, that means there is less pressure on Peña. If people already envision the title without her, then one could argue she has nothing to lose. But she wants to be at the helm of the biggest fights in women's MMA and she wants the respect of a legitimate UFC champion, and both will be within her grasp when she eventually fights Harrison.
7. Merab Dvalishvili, men's bantamweight champion
Merab Dvalishvili somehow comes out with a remarkable victory over Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event of UFC 311.
Before his title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 last month, I would have considered Dvalishvili to be No. 1 on this list. He had to endure such a long road to get to winning the title, and it's no secret UFC CEO Dana White isn't always thrilled with Dvalishvili's decision-making or fighting style.
Had Dvalishvili lost to Nurmagomedov, I believe he would have been buried into the middle of the division -- at least two wins, possibly three, away from another championship opportunity. But by accepting that fight against Nurmagomedov and beating him decisively, I think Dvalishvili locked himself into a far more stable situation. He now has potential rematches with two of the biggest names in the division: Nurmagomedov and Sean O'Malley. He has entered the conversation for "best bantamweight of all time" with additional victories over Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, José Aldo and John Dodson. By defeating Nurmagomedov, Dvalishvili won over some fans who were still on the fence about him. It's amazing what one performance can do in this sport.
6. Islam Makhachev, lightweight champion
Islam Makhachev becomes the first person in the UFC to defend the lightweight title four times in a victory over Renato Moicano.
If you're considered the best fighter in the world, there will be lots of pressure to perform at a high level every single fight. That's where Makhachev finds himself currently. There's also the pressure that comes from the camp he's in. That team of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Usman Nurmagomedov and Umar Nurmagomedov, where the expectation is perfection. There's not a ton of outside pressure on Makhachev in terms of money, opportunity and status. His place within the sport is secure. But he and his team have set the bar so high, it's impossible to escape the responsibility that comes with that.
5. Valentina Shevchenko, women's flyweight champion
Valentina Shevchenko defeats Alexa Grasso in the co-main event of UFC 306 to gain back her women's UFC flyweight title.
Shevchenko's air of invincibility has been tested. She had a close fight against Taila Santos in 2022, followed a competitive trilogy against Alexa Grasso (1-1-1). Shevchenko's sole victory came in their last meeting in September.
Shevchenko is under pressure to return to the level of dominance she once showed, and that type of pressure is unique to her among current champions. Expectations are so high for Shevchenko, not only to win but to steamroll opponents. The fact that she hasn't done it in several years only adds to that pressure. She's likely to find herself in a champion vs. champion fight if she holds on to the title for the foreseeable future. Whether she moves down to strawweight or jumps up one division to bantamweight, Shevchenko must keep her belt to make either of those fights happen.
4. Alex Pereira, light heavyweight champion
Alex Pereira finishes Khalil Rountree Jr. in the main event of UFC 307 and his fans celebrate in the stands.
Pereira is pretty safe, having become a universally beloved figure. When that happens in this sport, the actual results of your fights matter less. In other words, if Pereira were to lose to Magomed Ankalaev in March, it wouldn't really change his status. He'd still be a fan favorite. He'd still headline cards. He very well could get an immediate rematch, depending on what the loss looked like.
Pereira is under some pressure to win this next fight, though, because of his heavyweight ambitions. If he beats Ankalaev, he's a clear candidate to face either Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall for the heavyweight title. And if he were to move up and challenge one of those two as the reigning light heavyweight champion, it just makes the move so much bigger. So, while Pereira faces little pressure in some aspects, he does face pressure in that if he continues to win, he could be working toward one of the biggest UFC fights ever, with the chance to become the company's first three-division champion.
3. Ilia Topuria, featherweight champion
Ilia Topuria celebrates in disbelief after knocking out Alexander Volkanovski in the main event of UFC 298.
He talks a big game -- something I love. The confidence he carried ahead of fights against Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway bordered on arrogance, but he backed it up and showed respect to his opponents afterward. That's a tried and true strategy to win MMA fans over. Raise the stakes by making promises before the fight, deliver on those promises and then show humility in victory. But, Topuria is under a lot of pressure because he's not just trying to defend a championship at this point, he's working toward absolute superstardom. And superstardom is difficult to achieve. Everything has to go right for a fighter to break through that barrier, so the demand to be perfect, dominant and entertaining is all very high.
2. Belal Muhammad, welterweight champion
Belal Muhammad upsets Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in Manchester to become the new UFC welterweight champion.
It took Muhammad a long time to get to a UFC title fight, and if he were to lose, it would take him a long time to get another chance. Muhammad is a phenomenal pound-for-pound talent, but he doesn't finish many fights and, thus far, hasn't been one of the UFC's more marketable champions. His career opportunities moving forward will look very different, depending on whether there's a belt around his waist. If he loses to Shavkat Rakhmonov, he'll likely have to prove himself again against up-and-comers, with multiple wins required for him to get another title shot. So, every fight of this early title reign is crucial.
1. Jon Jones, heavyweight champion
Jon Jones dominates a one-sided fight vs. former two-time champ Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 309.
There are two ways to look at this. On one hand, there's no pressure on Jones. He's financially set, and his legacy as one of the best MMA fighters ever is secure. A loss in his next fight -- if there is a next fight -- wouldn't change that. But on the other hand, if he does take a title unification bout against interim champ Tom Aspinall, he's risking perfection, plus the entire narrative around his move to heavyweight.
If he were to lose, history would likely say that while he was a two-weight champion, he was also a placeholder for the more deserving heavyweight champ of the time. And as for the perfect record: It's absurd that Jones has fought as long as he has and never suffered a legitimate defeat (his only loss was by disqualification in 2009 to Matt Hamill for a rule that was removed last year). To that point, there is a difference between zero losses and one. A "perfect" career in combat sports is borderline impossible. As safe as Jones' bank account and legacy are if he were to lose and retire, the upside in retiring as the active, undefeated UFC heavyweight champion is undeniable.