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Forget the pound-for-pound debate. The UFC heavyweight champion is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best fighter on the planet. As such, the promotion's heavyweight division is home to the biggest of the best fighters in the world.
Francis Ngannou's UFC exit certainly left a pretty gaping hole atop the division, but Jon Jones' return has seemingly made up for it. With the emergence of promising contenders like Jailton Almeida, Tom Aspinall and Serghei Pavlovich, and divisional staples Ciryl Gane, Curtis Blaydes and Stipe Miocic still in the mix, the future looks bright for the division.
Numerous pivotal heavyweight matchups will be underway over the next two months and the landscape atop the division will look quite different going into the summer.
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On that note, here are our predictions for the marquee heavyweight fights on the horizon.
#4. Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Jailton Almeida
Brazil's Jailton Almeida is arguably the most promising heavyweight contender on the rise. Since his successful showing in Dana White's Contender Series back in 2021, Almeida has looked nothing short of spectacular, earning a shot at top-ranked contender Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Jailton Almeida boasts 100% finish rate. Out of his 18 career wins, 11 have come via submission and seven via knockout. Still only 31, which is young for heavyweights, the future looks promising for the towering Brazilian, who now holds the No.14 spot on the heavyweight ladder. However, it remains to be seen how he deals with a bonafide knockout artist.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik possesses genuine one-punch knockout power, with 12 of his 13 career wins coming via KO/TKO. 'Bigi Boy's extensive kickboxing career, comprising over 60 knockouts, is also a testament to his fight-ending ability. The hard-hitting Surinamese heavyweight occupies the No.9 spot in the rankings.
Both fighters' route to victory is pretty clear in this one, with Almeida looking to take Rozenstruik down and 'Bigi Boy' eager to keep it on the feet. Given their respective runs of form, expect Almeida to evade the heavy punches, impose his game on his counterpart, and come away with a quick win.
Our Pick: Jailton Almeida via first-round TKO
#3. Alexander Volkov vs. Alexandr Romanov
Like Jailton Almeida, Alexandr Romanov was also touted as a championship prospect early on in his UFC career. However, after suffering the first loss of his career last year, the hype surrounding the Moldovan has dampened.
Romanov will look to return to winning ways when he takes on perennial contender Alexander Volkov next.
Prior to his narrow decision loss to Marcin Tybura last year, Alexandr Romanov held an impressive 16-0 record, comprising 15 finishes. His wrestling-heavy approach, coupled with his diverse arsenal of submissions, makes him an intriguing contender in the UFC heavyweight division.
'King Kong' will face a stiff test in his next bout. With 45 fights under his belt already, Alexander Volkov is the most experienced heavyweight on the UFC roster and has the tools to give Romanov problems. The Russian's long-range striking could keep his Moldovan foe at bay, but if he gets taken down, this fight is all but over.
The chasm in grappling ability between the two heavyweights will prove to be a key factor in this fight. Volkov's loss to Tom Aspinall last year showed that his ground game is far from competent at the highest level, a glaring hole that could get exploited by Romanov, who we predict will emerge victorious.
Our Pick: Alexandr Romanov via second-round submission
#2. Serghei Pavlovich vs. Curtis Blaydes
Curtis Blaydes has been with the UFC for quite some time now, but timely losses have prevented the softspoken American from getting his shot at gold. Surging knockout artist Serghei Pavlovich now stands in Blaydes' way, with both fighters one big win away from a shot at the title.
They are set to headline a UFC Fight Night in April.
All of Curtis Blaydes' defeats have come at the hands of power-punchers. His two losses to Francis Ngannou and the devastating knockout against Derrick Lewis are the only blemishes on his record. As such, his next opponent, Sergei Pavlovich, will carry quite a bit of confidence into this pivotal bout, given his résumé of knockouts.
On the flipside, Pavlovich's weakness appears to be his wrestling. The lone loss on his record came against Alistair Overeem back in 2018, wherein he was thoroughly outgrappled by a kickboxer. A collegiate wrestling standout like Blaydes will likely ragdoll the Russian if he hasn't improved in that department over the last five years.
This is a tough one to pick, as it's difficult to guage whether Pavlovich's defensive wrestling has improved looking at his last five fights, which were all first-round knockouts. The momentum appears to be with the Russian, so we'll go with him to add another knockout to his record.
Our Pick: Serghei Pavlovich via second-round knockout.
#1. Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane – UFC heavyweight title fight
Jon Jones is back, and his return is long overdue. The former light heavyweight kingpin, arguably the greatest fighter of all time, will make his heavyweight debut in the main event of UFC 285 against Ciryl Gane, with the vacant title on the line.
Jon Jones' last fight was way back in 2020, when he defended his 205-pound strap against Dominick Reyes before vacating the belt just a few months later. 'Bones' dedicated the next three years to bulking up in preparation for his move up to heavyweight, which will finally be underway at the upcoming UFC pay-per-view.
Going into his upcoming title fight against Ciryl Gane, Jones' speed will play a major factor. Gane is the most elusive heavyweight we've seen, with all of his opponents so far struggling against his movement and agility. If 'Bon Gamin' avoids getting taken down, he could easily outpoint Jones and earn a decision win.
Jones needs to be clinical with his wrestling offense and cannot afford to gas out against a fighter like Gane, who will likely be one step ahead in the striking exchanges. If he can take his French counterpart down at least once per round, 'Bones' could come away with a decision win or a submission.
It's a tight one, but Jones' overall skillset and innate in-cage nastiness will likely see him eke out a win.
Our Pick: Jon Jones via unanimous decision
