UFC Heavyweight Championship: 5 Fighters who could end 2019 as Heavyweight Champion

The UFC Heavyweight Championship has been in existence ever since February 7, 1997 when Mark Coleman was crowned the inaugural champion when he defeated the reigning "Superfight" Champion, Dan Severn to unify the belts.

Coleman, a massively muscular wrestler was deemed almost unbeatable following his win over the "Beast" but his reign shockingly ended just a few months later when he was bested by Decision by fellow wrestler, Maurice Smith in a colossal upset.

Smith successfully defended the belt against perennial contender, Tank Abbott at UFC 15 before he lost the title in an unbelievably dull mat based encounter against future Hall of Famer, Randy Couture in December of 1997 at the UFC Japan event.

Couture left the company while still recognised as Heavyweight Champion which led to a tournament for the vacant title which was won by Bas Rutten who soon retired due to injury.

Kevin Randleman won the vacant strap but soon dropped it to the returning Couture who embarked on the longest title run ever at that point at 490 days before he dropped the title to the massive Josh Barnett.

Ever since then, legends of the sport such as Frank Mir, Tim Sylvia, Brock Lesnar, Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos have held the title to varying success.

In 2018, the UFC has a dearth of credible Heavyweight title contenders with most of the company's biggest stars competing in other weight divisions such as Jon Jones at Light-Heavyweight, Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov at Lightweight and Georges St-Pierre at Welterweight.

With a lack of marquee names available, UFC were forced to turn to reigning Light-Heavyweight Champion, Daniel Cormier to challenge Heavyweight Champion, Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 but while Cormier has proved a good draw for the Heavyweight division, he is likely to retire the next time he loses a fight and is unlikely to end 2019 as champion. But who will?

In the following slideshow, SK looks at five men who could well end 2019 as UFC Heavyweight Champion.

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#5 Cain Velasquez

Cain Velasquez: Wants that belt back in 2019

This may seem a long shot in November 2018 but it is not an entirely unlikely proposition in 2019. Former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion, Cain Velasquez has not fought for the promotion in over two years since his victory over Travis Browne at UFC 200 on July 16, 2016.

However, he is still under contract and at 36 years of age, is still young enough to become a player in the UFC Heavyweight division once again. Velasquez has been dealing with a troublesome back injury caused by bone spurs which has seen him being denied a medical licence to fight.

However, one would think if his medical issues have not yet been resolved they soon will be. Once he is fit and ready, Velasquez will return to the Octagon and given the Heavyweight division is desperately short of marquee names, his comeback match would likely be a title fight.

An aggressive fighter who constantly walks into his opponents, giving them little room to launch a strike before exploding with his own dynamic combinations, Velasquez is a match for virtually anybody and given the shot, is more than capable of becoming only the second man to with the UFC Heavyweight Championship three times.

#4 Jon Jones

Jon Jones will be looking at adding to his collection of titles in 2019

There is a precedent for a Light-Heavyweight moving up in weight to fight at Heavyweight. The current, reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion, Daniel Cormier has done exactly that.

In fact, at time of writing, Cormier was still recognised as UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion as well. It is expected that Cormier will soon vacate that title making the clash between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232 on December 29, 2018, a title bout.

Should Jones win that one and it is expected he will, then a move up to Heavyweight division to fight Daniel Cormier is a possibility, given Jones remains the only man to ever defeat him.

If Cormier should not be champion at that point, there is a high probability that Brock Lesnar will be. Lesnar and Jones have been talking about a potential UFC fight for years and given the opportunity, there is little doubt that UFC would not attempt to book this money making dream fight.

Jones will fight in the Heavyweight division in 2019 and could well end the year as it's figurehead.

#3 Derrick Lewis

Derrick Lewis: Still a contender

Derrick Lewis may have come up short versus Daniel Cormier in his UFC Heavyweight title challenge at UFC 230 but the "Black Beast" is not done yet. Lewis, at just 33 years of age has plenty of opportunities to finally land the big one. It could well occur before the end of 2019.

Despite his defeat, Lewis still sits virtually atop the Heavyweight rankings given he has defeated nearly the entire division, barring the current champion. It is not inconceivable that should Lewis win his next bout inside the Octagon that he will be named number one contender once again.

Should he get another shot at Cormier, then no doubt he will have longer than one month to prepare that he had between UFC 229 and UFC 230, and will have learned from his defeat. Should he face someone else, then his heavy hitting man is a match for virtually anybody.

Mark it down. There is every chance, Lewis is reigning as UFC Heavyweight Champion before 2019 concludes.

#2 Fedor Emelianenko

Will the "Last Emperor" finally compete in UFC in 2019?

Fedor Emelianenko inside a UFC octagon may seem like a long shot in 2019 given he and UFC have been unable to agree on terms ever since Pride FC closed its doors in early 2007. UFC President, Dana White has made no secret of his desire to land "The Last Emperor", unquestionably the highest profile fighter to never fight for the company.

There is every chance that Emelianenko will become Bellator Heavyweight Champion in January 2019 when he takes on Ryan Bader in a tournament final for the vacant strap.

Should he win that belt, then he will be one of the most, if not the most sought after MMA fighter in the world. With fights remaining on his lucrative contract with Bellator, UFC will not be able to prise him away from their rivals but as they did with Pride in the past, UFC have demonstrated a willingness to work with their competition when it benefits both sides.

A superfight pitting the Bellator Heavyweight Champion versus the UFC Heavyweight Champion on a co-promoted card would be a massive money maker for everyone and is the reason that Emelianenko as UFC Heavyweight Champion is not as inconceivable as it may first appear.

#1 Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar: Can he regain the title he held between 2008-10?

The "Beast" is returning to the UFC. That much seems certain. What also seems assured is that Brock Lesnar will compete for the Heavyweight Championship in his return to the company.

Lesnar has been there of course, however. Lesnar reigned as Heavyweight Champion between 2008 and 2010 when he defeated the legendary, Randy Couture to win the belt before he dropped the title in a one-sided loss to Cain Velasquez.

Lesnar is one of the greatest draws in UFC history. His main event bouts at UFC 91, 100 and 116 and 121 all drew over one million pay per view orders. His UFC return will likely break the two million mark.

Lesnar vs anyone in the Heavyweight division would be a mouth watering proposition and with years away from the sport, but in excellent physical shape, he should be fresh and able to defeat many of the more seasoned athletes put in his path.

Do not bet against Lesnar ending 2019 as the figurehead of UFC.