UFC is all but finished for 2023. It was a banner year, but 2024 could be even bigger. We’re already looking ahead to 2024 and who could be UFC women’s champions. There’s a futures bet available on this that pays quite nicely. You’re going to want to read this to get our expert betting advice on it all!
Women’s Bantamweight Champion At End Of 2024
Out of all three UFC women’s belts, who becomes the next bantamweight title-holder is the most wide open of all. Just take a look at the current betting odds, per UFC’s best betting sites:
| Fighter |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Julianna Pena | +250 | +250 | +250 |
| Raquel Pennington | +400 | +400 | +400 |
| Mayra Bueno Silva | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Ketlen Vieria | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Irene Aldana | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
| Valentina Shevchenko | +1300 | +1300 | +1300 |
This championship has been vacant for half the year. It was previously occupied by Amanda Nunes, who retired over the summer. There was talk about retiring the championship from Dana White, but that doesn’t appear to be the case because a title fight is scheduled for January’s UFC 297 between Pennington and Silva. This isn’t the deepest division, but both these healthy fighters are deserving of a shot.
Pennington is a 35-year-old veteran who’s fought some of the best in the world — Holly Holm, Ronda Rousey, Jessica Andrade, and Nunes too. The issue is that Pennington lost most of these encounters. She is on a four-fight win streak but against lesser competition.
Then there’s the 32-year-old Silva, who is the betting favorite to win. She’s 10-2-2 over her career but hasn’t fought nearly the caliber of competitor that Pennington has. In a way, this is a “prove it” fight for the Brazilian. We would pick Silva to win that UFC 297 matchup since she’s younger and far more dangerous (8 career finishes out of 10 wins).
Whoever wins at UFC 297 will surely face off Pena, who is currently injured. Pena made her career by upsetting Nunes in one of the most shocking UFC moments ever. She did lose the rematch convincingly though. Pena is the betting favorite out of this future wager despite her injury, but we’re actually fading that consensus. To us, the Nunes victory was more of a fluke than anything else. Silva is the bet to make here as she’s fully capable of winning and defending the bantamweight title.
Women’s Flyweight Champion At End Of 2024
This is the hardest bet of the three to make. Hard because the women’s flyweight odds are quite competitive. Check out the latest lines:
| Fighter | | | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexa Grasso | +200 | +200 | +200 |
| Erin Blanchfield | +250 | +250 | +250 |
| Valentina Shevchenko | +300 | +300 | +300 |
| Manon Fiorot | +300 | +300 | +300 |
| Taila Santos | +1500 | +1500 | +1500 |
We last saw current champion Grasso and Shevchenko go to war in September. The fight was scored a draw, but most believe Shevchenko did enough to regain the belt. A third fight between the two rivals is possible but both came away injured. Grasso fractured her hand, while Shevchenko fractured the thumb. Both injuries required surgery.
White has a decision to make. Settle the rivalry between the two biggest names in the division or give the limelight to new talent? This division has two rising stars in Blanchfield and Fiorot that could give Grasso a run for her money.
You have to assume whoever is the champion will likely defend the belt two times in 2024. One of those has to be against one of these young guns. Between Blanchfield and Fiorot, we're most optimistic about Blanchfield’s championship chances. She’s coming off two impressive wins against fellow title challengers, Andrade and Santos. Blanchfield’s grappling ability is truly elite and we’re betting that gives her an advantage against the rest of this weight class.
Women’s Strawweight Champion At End Of 2024
Out of all three bets, the women’s strawweight wager is the most lopsided odds-wise. This is the only bet where you’ll see a fighter with minus odds. Here’s how the odds shake out:
| 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 |
Weili is the current champion and is highly favored to hold the gold through 2024. With Nunes gone, Weili is probably the best women’s fighter going today. The last time we saw her at UFC 294, Weili completely outclassed challenger, Amanda Lemos. It was as one-sided of a fight as we’ve come to associate with Nunes.
Besides a pair of losses to Rose Namajunas, Weili’s career is nearly unblemished — 24-3 record, 19 finishes, two title reigns, and masterful striking as we’ve ever seen from a female in the UFC. She is 34 years old so there’s an outside chance she loses a step in 2024, but we’re not betting on it. We don’t see anyone at strawweight hanging with Weili next year so bet on the champion.
How To Bet On UFC Futures?
UFC futures betting isn’t just limited to the women’s champions. The same bets exist for all the men’s titles — heavyweight, lightweight, featherweight, etc. If you want all these bet types under one roof, we recommend visiting one of the bookmakers featured below. Per our latest sportsbook reviews, these sites are industry leaders.
Any one of these bookies can become your one-stop shop for UFC betting for the entirety of 2024 and beyond. Why fiddle around with multiple bookies when one can do the trick for you? Click one of the “play now” buttons in the table to get started right away.
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