What to expect from the UFC in 2019

#10 Women’s Bantamweight

Amanda Nunes may not defend her Bantamweight title until mid-2019

With champion Amanda Nunes stepping up to 145lbs to face Cris Cyborg for the Featherweight title, the title picture at 135lbs has been largely placed on hold for the time being. That makes a lot of sense too given there’s no clear-cut top contender right now. Germaine de Randamie is currently ranked as #1, but the likelihood of her being granted another title shot after her disastrous run as Featherweight champion feels slim.

Thus far then, Women’s Bantamweight has just one fight officially booked for 2019 – a match between Yana Kunitskaya and Marion Reneau, but even that doesn’t take place until the ESPN+ card on 03/09. A fight between Holly Holm and Aspen Ladd – a fantastic striker vs. grappler match – has been mentioned for UFC 235, but Holm’s manager – renowned for being an awkward negotiator – has recently denied the reports of the match.

With all this considered it’s very hard to work out where the title picture at 135lbs will head in 2019. Having said that, given Nunes is unlikely to be available for a fight until the late Spring – perhaps even the early Summer – it doesn’t seem like it matters all that much. Hopefully, more bookings in early 2019 will shed more light on this division’s future.