What to expect from the UFC in 2019

#3 Middleweight

Middleweight champ Robert Whittaker defends against Kelvin Gastelum in February

The first title fight of 2019 at 185lbs is already set, as Robert Whittaker will defend against top contender Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 234 on 02/10. Both men have been on a roll and appear to be in the prime of their careers, so we should expect a fantastic fight.

Interestingly enough, the next title contender could also be decided on the same night. Rising star Israel Adesanya faces off with former champion Anderson Silva, and according to UFC President Dana White, Silva will be granted a title shot with a win. At 43 years old and without a fight since February 2017, though, it feels like a stretch to imagine that he’d beat ‘The Last Stylebender’. To me, this feels like a classic piece of UFC booking – sacrificing a legend to make a new star. If Adesanya wins in style, then it’d be hard not to give him the next crack at the title.

That could well anger de facto top contender Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, who is waiting for his next assignment following his big win over Chris Weidman this November. Whether Jacare will ever get a UFC title shot is a massive question coming into 2019, but we should find out come February.

Outside of that, 185lbs doesn’t have many bookings in the pipeline just yet. It’s interesting to see as despite the title picture being extremely clear, everything else is up in the air – meaning the likes of Paulo Costa, Yoel Romero, Jared Cannonier and Elias Theodorou are all waiting for their next fights to be confirmed.