Best Bets To Be 2024 UFC Champions

We’re one month away from 2024. The start of the new year has us thinking about betting futures — particularly on who will be UFC champions this time next year. Let’s predict the 2024 UFC champions now and profit later!

What: UFC Championship Futures
When: By End Of 2024

Men’s Light Heavyweight 2024 Champion Prediction

Alex Pereira continues to shock the MMA world, most recently by becoming the new light heavyweight champion. He stopped Jiri Procházka in the second round, making him the ninth UFC fighter to hold gold in separate weight classes — all this despite only fighting in the UFC seven times (and MMA 11 times). As it stands, Pereira is favored to hold the belt through the end of 2024, as seen below:

Fighter
Alex Pereira	+200	+200	+200
Jamahal Hill	+300	+300	+300
Magomed Ankalaev	+450	+450	+450
Jiri Prochazka	+800	+800	+800
Israel Adesanya	+1600	+1600	+1600

Pereira called out long-time rival Israel Adesanya after his title win, but Dana White already said Hill is next in line for a title shot. In that potential 2024 showdown, we’d favor Pereira. Hill is a versatile boxer — probably more so than Procházka — but he’s still not as dangerous as Pereira. One well-timed elbow or left hook from Pereira and it’s night night for Hill in our book.

However, Pereira could very well fight twice in 2024. After Hill, barring Adesanya moving up, the fight to make would be Pereira vs. the one-loss Ankalaev. He’s up to No. 3 in the division rankings after a draw and no contest. The draw ironically came for the vacant title (against Jan Blachowicz), which out the wheels in motion for Pereira to win instead. Still, Ankalaev hasn’t tasted defeat since 2018 and has blitzed through most of his foes besides the last two results.

If Ankalaev vs. Pereira goes down in late 2024, our money says Ankalaev wins. His wrestling is on another level, and defending the takedown remains a problem for Pereira. Yes, he was able to outlast Blachowicz, but that was only for three rounds. In a five-round title fight, our feeling is that Ankalaev overwhelms Pereira. Take Ankalaev’s odds here, which are too good to pass up.

Magomed Ankalaev to be UFC light heavyweight champion at end of 2024

+450

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Men’s Heavyweight 2024 Champion Prediction

The men’s heavyweight division is in disarray due to injuries, age, and the need to make a “dream fight.” Let’s have a look-see at the 2024 UFC heavyweight championship odds. These are available at the best UFC betting sites right now:

Fighter
Tom Aspinall	+175	+175	+175
Jailton Almedia	+200	+200	+200
Jon Jones	+450	+450	+450
Sergei Pavlovich	+600	+600	+600
Ciryl Gane	+700	+700	+700
Stipe Miocic	+1000	+1000	+1000

So there are two current champions. Jones is the “real” champion. Of course, the UFC legend who’s never tasted defeat easily beat Gane in his heavyweight debut. He was scheduled to face Miocic last month at Madison Square Garden, but a pec injury forced Jones to back out. That night, Aspinall became the interim champion with a thunderous knockout of Pavlovich.

Obviously, the heavyweight belts need to be unified at a certain point. But White already said Jones-Miocic is still happening in 2024 despite the injury and despite Miocic noticeably limping when shown at MSG recently (he’s 41 years old now). The box-office potential of pitting two of the greatest UFC fighters is simply too good for White to pass up.

We’d fancy Jones to win that fight versus Miocic but here’s the thing Jones vs. Aspinall isn’t even a sure thing. Jones has teased retirement and if we’re being honest, Aspinall would probably rock him. Jones has yet to truly feel heavyweight power and Aspinall has an abundance of it. It would not be a bad legacy move for Jones to “retire on top.” All things considered, Aspinall has the best chance to end 2024 as the heavyweight titleholder no matter what Jones decides.

Tom Aspinall to be UFC heavyweight champion at end of 2024

+175

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Men’s Bantamweight 2024 Champion Prediction

Sean O’Malley was christened as UFC’s next big thing when he defeated Aljo Sterling for the bantamweight champion over the summer. Betting odds favor Suga Sean to hold the gold through 2024. Check out the current bantamweight 2024 odds:

Fighter
Sean O'Malley	+150	+150	+150
Merab Dvalishvili	+250	+250	+250
Umar Nurmagomedov	+275	+275	+275
Aljo Sterling	+350	+350	+350
Cory Sandhagen	+500	+500	+500
Henry Cejudo	+600	+600	+600

White has penciled in O’Malley’s first title defense against Chito Vera, who handed O’Malley his one and only career loss, albeit with a bum ankle injured mid-fight. In that rematch, assuming O’Malley isn’t hobbled like he was in the first go, the champion should retain. Vera is a good, but not great fighter.

We can’t say the same about two other contenders though — Nurmagomedov and Dvalishvili. Both these two are the most impressive fighters in the division, including O’Malley, who have ransacked every opponent they’ve faced as of late. Dvalishvili is up to No. 2 in the rankings (behind Sterling only) so he’s most likely to fight for the title. Nurmagomedov isn’t even top-10, mostly because fighters seem to be dodging him.

In a potential O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili showdown, we’re betting on a new champion to be crowned. We just sense Dvalishvili’s wrestling would be too much for a striker in O’Malley so that’s where our money is going.

Merab Dvalishvili to be UFC bantamweight champion at end of 2024

+250

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How To Bet On UFC Futures?

UFC futures betting is a fun way to mix up the action, especially with only one pay-per-view left in 2023. To get all the bet types for UFC futures, hit one of the bookies featured below. Per our latest sportsbook reviews, the sites listed lead the way for UFC betting — both in the diversity of bets, as well as the price of them. See for yourself by clicking one of the “play now” buttons below.