The year 2024 still has a few days left, but the UFC calendar officially ended after UFC Tampa on December 14th. The season, marked by historic events, fights, and outcomes, crowned new champions in more than half of the organization's weight classes.
Of the 11 weight divisions, including men and women, six saw new champions crowned, while five remained with their champions throughout the year.
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The first title changes occurred in the first month of the year. At UFC 297 , Dricus Du Plessis dethroned Sean Strickland in the middleweight division (up to 83,9 kg), while Raquel Pennington defeated Mayra Sheetara for the vacant bantamweight title (up to 61,2 kg). Later, in October, the American would pass the title on to former champion Julianna Peña.
In February, at UFC 298 , it was Ilia Topuria 's turn to end Alexander Volkanovski 's long reign in the featherweight division (up to 65,7 kg) with a brutal knockout. The Georgian-Spanish fighter would go on to defend the title by knocking out Max Holloway , another legend of the division, in October.
In July, at UFC 304, the crowned champion was Belal Muhammad , who surprised everyone by defeating then-champion Leon Edwards and winning the welterweight title (up to 77,1 kg).
Just like UFC 297 , UFC 307 in September, on the 'Sphere', marked two champion changes, the last of the season. In the bantamweight division (up to 61,2 kg), Merab Dvalishvili dethroned Sean O'Malley, while in the flyweight division (up to 56,7 kg), Valentina Shevchenko won the trilogy against Alexa Grasso and regained the title.
The five champions who retained their belts in 2024 were Weili Zhang , Alexandre Pantoja , Islam Makhachev , Alex Poatan , and Jon Jones , with Poatan standing out as he defended his title three times throughout the year.
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