5 takeaways from the UFC's recently-announced title fights feat. Dricus du Plessis, Khamzat Chimaev and Islam Makhachev

The UFC recently announced a number of title fights for their upcoming pay-per-view events. For the most part, we now know what the title scenes in most divisions will look like for the rest of 2025.

There is plenty to unpick about the UFC's recent title fight announcements, most notably that in one major way, they mark the end of an era.

So with a number of talking points worth looking at, assuming these fights go ahead, the rest of 2025 will be interesting indeed.

Here are five talking points from the UFC's recently announced title fights.

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#5. The UFC's champ-champ era appears to have finally come to an end

Probably the biggest takeaway from the UFC's recently-announced title fights is the fact that the promotion's champ-champ era seems to have come to an end.

Prior to the rise of Conor McGregor a decade ago, only one fighter - BJ Penn - had attempted to become a simultaneous two-division champion.

However, after 'The Notorious' bucked the trend by winning lightweight gold at the same time as he held the featherweight crown in 2016, nearly every UFC champion has seemed intent on following his path.

At times, this became frustrating for fans and fighters alike, as entire weight classes became tied up for lengthy periods waiting for champion vs. champion bouts.

Now, though, it feels safe to say that this era is over.

This move was hinted at when Ilia Topuria vacated his featherweight title earlier this year to hunt for the lightweight crown. Equally, though, his biggest reason for moving was his struggle to hit 145 pounds - meaning he was always likely to vacate.

Topuria will now face Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title in June.

That fight, of course, has now been made possible because Islam Makhachev has vacated the 155 pound crown rather than attempt to become a double champion when he faces Jack Della Maddalena.

With this move, the message from Dana White and company couldn't be clearer: a major champion can still move weight if they wish, but no longer will they tie up their existing division.

It's a welcome move that's been a long time coming.

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#4. A number of fighters may have the right to feel aggrieved at being left out

It's all well and good for fans to feel excited about the radical moves being made in the UFC's lightweight, welterweight and middleweight title pictures, but could some fighters feel aggrieved?

The answer, unfortunately, is yes. With the announcement of Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira, Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev and Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev, a number of highly-ranked fighters have been left out.

At lightweight, Justin Gaethje had been rumored to be next in line for Makhachev before he vacated, while Arman Tsarukyan should consider himself even more unfortunate.

He is still ranked at No.1 in the division, and also holds a win over Oliveira from last year.

At welterweight, Makhachev - who has never fought at 170 pounds before - will be leapfrogging two deserving challengers in Sean Brady and Shavkat Rakhmonov.

Rakhmonov in particular might be frustrated, as he only missed out on a shot at the title last year when Belal Muhammad was injured, and couldn't make UFC 315 last week due to an injury of his own.

At middleweight, meanwhile, Nassourdine Imavov is ranked at No.1, although nobody really expected him to get a title shot before Chimaev.

Unfortunately for all of these fighters, of course, there's not a lot they can do about their predicaments. Brady, in particular, already seems accepting, and has called out Ian Machado Garry for a title eliminator in August.

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#3. Islam Makhachev can finally surpass Khabib Nurmagomedov if his gamble pays off

Ever since he rose to the top of the lightweight division a few years back, Islam Makhachev has been compared to his mentor, former 155 pound kingpin and UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Nurmagomedov retired from MMA in late 2020, vacating the 155-pound title and hanging up his gloves with a stellar 29-0 record in the process.

However, while Makhachev is not undefeated, it's arguable that he's already equalled his mentor's achievements at 155 pounds.

Khabib defended his title successfully three times, beating Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.

Makhachev, meanwhile, has now made four successful defenses, although two were over late-notice opponents in Alexander Volkanovski and Renato Moicano.

At the minute, then, whether Makhachev has equalled or surpassed 'The Eagle' is debatable, depending on how you weight the strength of competition for both men.

If Makhachev manages to win the welterweight title by dethroning Jack Della Maddalena, though - a feat Khabib didn't even attempt, let alone achieve - his position would probably become undeniable.

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#2. The UFC has definitely gone in the right direction at middleweight

While it won't be headlining UFC 317 as many people expected, the next middleweight title fight is now official at least.

UFC 319, which is due to take place in Chicago on August 16, will finally see Khamzat Chimaev attempt to claim gold in the octagon. He'll challenge reigning middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis in what sounds like a barnburner.

Chimaev in a title fight feels like it's been a long time coming. After debuting in wild fashion in 2020, winning three fights in a matter of weeks, 'Borz' looked destined to shoot for welterweight gold.

He instead moved up to 185 pounds in 2023, and answered any questions around him last year when he crushed the jaw of former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker to become de facto No.1 contender.

However, that fight took place back in October, and since then, Nassourdine Imavov has knocked out Israel Adesanya to take the No.1 ranking in the division.

To add to this, Sean Strickland is still lurking after narrowly failing to reclaim his title from du Plessis earlier this year.

Given the UFC's tendency to simply give a title shot to whichever fighter is ready at the time they see fit, then, Chimaev could easily have missed out on his long-awaited chance.

Thankfully, Dana White and company still clearly believe in his star potential, and so the promotion has absolutely gone in the right direction at 185 pounds.

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#1. The UFC has a Jon Jones problem that it needs to sort out ASAP

With this week's title fight announcements, the UFC now has its next title fights booked in six of its weight classes.

We know exactly who will be competing for the men's middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, bantamweight and flyweight titles, as well as the women's bantamweight title.

The remainder of the divisions have either recently seen a title fight, or the next top contender is widely recognised with a fight expected in the near future.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said in the heavyweight division. Everyone knows what the next title fight should be. It should see Jon Jones face Tom Aspinall in a unification bout.

Whether we'll ever see that fight, though, remains questionable, and that's a big problem for the UFC. Essentially, they have a major issue on their hands with Jones.

'Bones' has held the heavyweight title since early 2023, when he beat Ciryl Gane to claim the vacant crown. He's since made one defense, against the ageing Stipe Miocic, who hadn't fought in over three years and retired directly afterwards.

Jones styles himself as the 'GOAT' of MMA, but despite many fans accusing him of "ducking" Aspinall, he still seems non-commital when it comes to fighting the Brit.

Recently, he shrugged off any criticism, stating that he was "living his best life" instead.

Essentially, the fact that Aspinall is now the longest-reigning interim champion in UFC history, despite the "real" champion not being injured is outrageous.

If Dana White and company can make Islam Makhachev vacate his lightweight title, then, they cannot allow Jones to hold the heavyweight title hostage for much longer. It's time to force him to defend his crown - or strip him.