5 upcoming fights that could produce a new UFC title contender

#2. Roxanne Modafferi vs. Tatiana Suarez - UFC 266

After being forced to spend two years out of the sport due to injury, undefeated UFC prospect Tatiana Suarez is back. While she has spent the entirety of her career competing at strawweight, Suarez has now made a move up to flyweight.

Welcoming her to the 125lb division is experienced veteran Roxanne Modafferi, who currently sits at ninth in the rankings. Such is the dominance of the current women's flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko, that the UFC are desperate to find new talent to challenge her.

Should Suarez look as impressive against Modafferi as she did during her eight-fight winning streak at strawweight, we may well see her move right into the top five. A title opportunity or at least a number one contender shot would likely be the next step for her.

#1. Darren Till vs. Derek Brunson - UFC Fight Night September 4th

Darren Till's middleweight career so far has been somewhat less than stellar. He currently holds a win over Kelvin Gastelum and a loss to Robert Whittaker. He has also had three fights - against Marvin Vettori, Jack Hermansson and Derek Brunson - canceled or rescheduled.

However, these elements mean little to the UFC, who are desperate to put Till in the octagon with the current middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya. Both are masters at selling fights, and the two men have already had multiple interactions on social media, much to the delight of MMA fans.

The UFC have now scheduled Till to fight Derek Brunson, targeted to headline the main event of the UFC's first card to be held in London since the pandemic hit.

If Till is victorious in front of his home crowd, the UFC will almost undoubtedly match him up with Israel Adesanya next. There is also a chance he faces a fellow top-ranked middleweight in a number one contender fight. However, considering Adesanya has been calling for the fight, we could see 'The Gorrila' in the cage against Adesanya soon.