It’s the beginning of a model new yr, a time for reflections and predictions. For these predictions, it’s time for us to deliver out an outdated favourite: The well-known Zuhosky household crystal ball.
This crystal ball has solely been with me since 2022, however yearly proper earlier than Jan. 1 rolls round, my brother Jonathan and I place it by my workspace for the needs of this vacation custom.
As you wrap up this New Yr’s Day, take day out to hitch me for the primary a part of my look into the crystal ball for the world of MMA in 2025.
Let’s Look Into the Crystal Ball!
We’ll give six projections as a part of this sequence (three in the present day, three in a while within the week.) There’s no time like the current, so why don’t we get began proper now.
Crystal Ball Projection No. 1: Kayla Harrison Scores UFC Ladies’s Bantamweight Championship in 2025
For the primary prediction of the brand new yr, let’s go along with a slam dunk. On the outset of 2024, former PFL Ladies’s Light-weight Champion Kayla Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) made the transfer to Dana White’s group.
Breaking: Kayla Harrison has signed with the UFC, Dana White introduced. pic.twitter.com/5OpAk0mPor
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 24, 2024
The choice to depart the PFL behind has been a very good one for the previous Olympian in judo, with Harrison rising victorious in each of her UFC contests within the outdated yr, together with a unanimous resolution victory over Ketlen Viera (14-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) on Oct. 5 throughout UFC 307.
After the Viera contest, Harrison was interviewed by Megan Olivi backstage and mentioned that she wasn’t too pleased together with her work within the Octagon that evening.
“It simply wasn’t the efficiency I hoped for,” Harrison started. “I simply felt somewhat flat tonight, couldn’t string some stuff collectively. [I’m] somewhat bit pissed off with my efficiency, my workforce makes quite a lot of sacrifices. Everybody actually places in quite a lot of effort to ensure that me to be right here, so I simply, I really feel like I allow them to down somewhat bit.”
Kayla Harrison enters 2025 because the No. 2 contender at ladies’s bantamweight within the UFC, placing her proper in line for a title shot sooner or later this yr, supplied that every thing goes in response to plan.
Crystal Ball Projection No. 2: Contender Collection Sends 45 Fighters to UFC
Our second prediction within the crystal ball is a numeric one. 2024 was one other banner yr for Dana White’s Contender Collection, with the Tuesday evening summer time MMA promotion being accountable for the signing of 42 prospects to the game’s high group over 10 weeks of motion.
The 42 contracts signed as a direct results of showing on the present nonetheless fell somewhat bit in need of an all-time file for many in a single season, with the 2023 season accountable for signing 46 prospects to the UFC. As you’ve seen should you’ve watched the present over the summer time months prior to now years, there’s one certainty surrounding Dana White’s Contender Collection:
Fighters who seem on the present should make sure that they win with aptitude. Simply getting a hand raised after quarter-hour (or much less) will not be sufficient. Whereas we’ll have to attend till the second half of the yr to see if this prediction from the crystal ball involves fruition, with greater than 40 fighters getting inked to the UFC instantly from this present in every of the final two seasons, it stands to motive that the 2025 season may problem 2023’s file by sending 45 prospects to the UFC.
Crystal Ball Projection No. 3: Cage Warriors Light-weight Champion Hardwick Will get Picked Up By UFC
Lastly partially considered one of our crystal ball predictions for 2025, George Hardwick (13-2 MMA, 7-1 CWFC) is a seasoned veteran of the struggle sport, having hung out in each Bellator MMA and Cage Warriors in recent times.
He enters the brand new yr because the three-time defending Cage Warriors Light-weight Champion, most lately defending the strap by the use of unanimous resolution on Sept. 7 versus Cristian Iorga (7-2 MMA, 0-1 CWFC) in Cage Warriors 176 on UFC Battle Move. Hardwick has been in line to commerce in his light-weight strap for a UFC contract earlier than.
A 2023 journey to Enterprise, NV for a bout towards Abdul-Kareem Al-Sewady didn’t go Hardwick’s means, as Al-Sewady bought his hand raised with a unanimous resolution on the finish of quarter-hour’ time. George Hardwick has a formidable MMA resume.
A UFC call-up needs to be within the offing for him sooner or later throughout the subsequent 12 months.
Completely happy New Yr!
On behalf of all of us at MMA Sucka, have a cheerful new yr, all people.
