The UFC women’s division is going through a transitional phase now that double-champion and all-time best Amanda Nunes is retired. Who rises to the top is up in the air. However, we’ve done our best to predict the UFC women's champions when 2024 ends because there’s money to be made off it. Keep on reading for expert advice!
UFC Flyweight Champion By End Of 2024
We start with the women’s flyweight division, which is bursting with competition. Here’s a quick look at who oddsmakers think has the best chance at holding flyweight gold when 2024 ends:
| Fighter |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexa Grasso | +200 | +200 | +200 |
| Erin Blanchfield | +250 | +250 | +250 |
| Valentina Schevchenko | +300 | +300 | +300 |
| Manon Fiorot | +300 | +300 | +300 |
| Taila Santos | +1500 | +1500 | +1500 |
Grasso and Shevchenko went to war at UFC Noche a few weeks ago. It ended in a controversial draw, which means Grasso remains the champion. It was a super competitive fight, however, one judge scoring the fifth round 10-8 to Grasso is ultimately what swung the outcome. Few believed that round was one-sided enough to warrant a 10-8. If not for it, Shevchenko would’ve recaptured the belt.
With that type of finish, Shevchenko vs. Grasso III feels like a necessity. But here’s the issue: Shevchenko is injured now. She announced she needed surgery to heal a hand fracture from the Grasso rematch. That might put her out of title contention for the near future. Will Shevchenko get a shot once recovered? Yes, but it’ll likely be closer to her 36th birthday. We sense Shevchenko’s age will catch up to her even more by then.
To us, it looks like we’re destined for a Grasso vs. Blanchfield fight. Blanchfield is the quickest-rising star on the female side. She’s 12-1 with six finishes and is fresh off a close win versus Santos. Only 24 years old, Blanchfield has the chance to be the youngest female champion in UFC history.
Where Blanchfield differs from Grasso and Shevchenko is her style. Blanchfield is a grappler through and through, while the other two are strikers. That’s a style clash in any matchups involving the trio, which we expect through 2024. Still, we’re picking Blanchfield to win those fights. Our gut always picks fighters with elite takedown and control game, which is Blanchfield to a tee. This is going to be a fun division over the next year but Blanchfield is the one to back with a bet.
UFC Bantamweight Champion By End Of 2024
At the moment, this belt is completely vacant. “The Lioness” had held this strap almost since 2016 minus one short title run from Julianna Pena. Perhaps that’s why Pena is the odds-on favorite to be the divisional champ when 2024 ends. Per the top UFC betting sites, here’s who’s favored most:
| Fighter | | | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Julianna Pena | +250 | +250 | +250 |
| Raquel Pennington | +400 | +400 | +400 |
| Ketlen Vieira | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Mayra Bueno Silva | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Irene Aldana | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
Nothing has been decided about who’ll even compete for the title next. But Pena has to be alnost guanrteed a shot at the title. Her KO’ing Nunes was one of the biggest upsets of all time. She lost the rematch, but a trilogy fight was originally scheduled. Pena broke her ribs and was forced out of the match. Irene Aldana filled in for what would end up being Nunes’ swan song.
But we’ll be honest: Pena isn’t getting our money. She’s good, but we think there was a flukey-ness to her win over Nunes, who looked off (she was weeks removed from COVID so that might’ve played a factor). The two names we’d look out for are either Pennington or Vieira. These two fought in early January with Pennington eking out a split-decision win.
However, many believe Vieira did enough to win that matchup, including us. In any rematch, we’d confidently back Vieira. Pennington just turned 35 and her best days are behind her. Vieira is 32 and is likely to regress over the next 15 months. This division is noticeably weak, but we see Vieira as the biggest contender among the bunch.
UFC Strawweight Champion By End Of 2024
Zhang Weili is the only women's fighter who's plus-money to be champion in 2024. She's the current strawweight title-holder and is expected to carry the gold until then. Here's how the rest of the betting odds shake out though:
| Fighter | | | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zhang Weili | -125 | -125 | -125 |
| Tatiana Suarez | +150 | +150 | +150 |
| Yan Xiaonan | +700 | +700 | +700 |
| Amanda Lemos | +900 | +900 | +900 |
| Carla Esparza | +1100 | +1100 | +1100 |
To us, Weili is the best women's fighter around today. As of late, she's completely dominating the division — Joanna Jędrzejczyk and Esparza were stopped in two rounds, while Amanda Lemos was most recently beaten by a convincing decision. Weili has shown a knack for continually improving, which gives us more than enough confidence to throw money her way here,
How To Bet On UFC Futures?
UFC futures bets are worth it if you have some patience. Most outcomes are plus-money and that’s where the big bucks are anyway. For a complete list of related bets, hit one of the bookmakers below. When it comes to futures, there’s a wide array of bet types. Aside from title futures, there are also matchups that haven’t even been announced yet. Things like Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler (if it happens).
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