5 best UFC fights to look forward to in June 2024
For the UFC at least, the month of May is now over. There is no event for fans to look forward to next weekend.
Thankfully, there are just 12 days to wait for June's first UFC event, and the month looks like it could be an excellent one for the promotion.
With five events on tap - including two major pay-per-views and a debut in Saudi Arabia - June has a ton to look forward to.
With that considered, here are the five best UFC fights to look forward to in June 2024.
#5 Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov - UFC on ABC 6
June has so many good fights on tap in the UFC that it's hard to whittle a list down to just five. However, one bout that's almost guaranteed to produce action is the heavyweight tilt between Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov.
The fight is set to co-headline the promotion's debut in Saudi Arabia on June 22, and to be frank, it's unlikely that it'll last the distance.
The last time we saw Pavlovich in action, he suffered a stunning knockout loss at the hands of Tom Aspinall, missing out on the interim heavyweight title. The Russian remains a boogeyman of sorts for the division, though, with the kind of knockout power capable of changing a fight in an instant.
Volkov has been around for a little longer, and while 'Drago' has been criticized for a dull style in the past, that hasn't been the case recently.
Since turning up the aggression in his 2022 fight with Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Volkov has dispatched three foes in a row, all via finish.
The big question here is how Pavlovich will deal with the height and reach of the giant Volkov, who stands at 6-feet-7.
Realistically, though, the two Russians are likely to meet in the middle and exchange until one man falls. That means a knockout is likely, which in turn, makes this one of June's best fights.
#4 Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa - UFC 302
The co-headliner for UFC 302, which takes place on June 1, will hopefully see former middleweight titleholder Sean Strickland face former title challenger Paulo Costa.
Right now, there appears to be a slight hitch, as Strickland is claiming Costa has yet to actually sign the contract for the bout.
Assuming that it actually goes ahead, though, this is a tremendous fight between two of the best 185 pounders in the world. The winner should be propelled back into title contention, while the loser could well slip from relevance for good.
Of the two, it's fair to say that 'Tarzan' has had the better of things recently. While he lost his title to Dricus Du Plessis earlier this year, it was a tight fight to call, and prior to that, he'd obviously beaten Israel Adesanya for the gold.
Costa, on the other hand, lost his comeback fight to Robert Whittaker in February. While he looked good in the fight, it was his first since 2022, and to be fair, his record since his loss to Adesanya in 2020 has been flaky to say the least.
At his best, 'The Eraser' could well use his heavy hands to wreck Strickland. However, it's impossible to know which Costa is going to show up.
Overall, though, given the grudge between the two men, as well as the unpredictability of both, this is definitely one of June's best fights - assuming it happens of course!
#3. Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker - UFC on ABC 6
June 22 will see the UFC visit Saudi Arabia for the first time, and while the event is officially a Fight Night card, it could easily act as a pay-per-view, such is its strength.
The headliner will see a middleweight clash between former champion Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev, and to call this a long-awaited fight would be an understatement.
Everyone knows what Whittaker is about at this stage. A staple of the 185 pound rankings since 2014, 'The Reaper' has essentially beaten every fighter in the division outside of two - Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis. Were it not for 'The Last Stylebender', he may well have produced a legendary reign as champion.
However, the Aussie will come into this one with one thing on his mind - stopping a hype train which, so far, has shown no sign of slowing down.
Quite how good Chimaev is at 185 pounds remains a bit of a question mark. After all, his only win there came over another blown-up welterweight in Kamaru Usman.
However, seeing 'Borz' manhandle 'The Nigerian Nightmare' early in that fight was still an eye-opener, and nobody can question what the Chechen did at 170 pounds. Chimaev has dominated every fighter he's faced since his 2020 debut, including Gilbert Burns and Kevin Holland.
Should Chimaev win this fight, it'll be hard not to see him as the uncrowned middleweight champion. But with excellent takedown defense, awesome striking and tons of experience, if anyone can push 'Borz' past his limit, it's Whittaker.
Essentially, this fight should tell us everything we need to know about Chimaev at 185 pounds. It's a piece of fantastic matchmaking, and it's easily one of the best fights set for June.
#2 Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier - UFC 302
The first event of June is a major pay-per-view in the form of UFC 302, and in the headline bout, Islam Makhachev will look to defend his lightweight crown for the third successive time.
If he can pull it off, the Dagestani will have equaled the title record of his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov, and could well be on his way to surpassing the legacy of 'The Eagle'.
So can Makhachev do it? Interestingly, he'll be faced with one of Khabib's old foes in the form of Dustin Poirier.
Whether 'The Diamond' really warrants a title shot over the likes of Arman Tsarukyan and Max Holloway right now is debatable. After all, his only recent win came over prospect Benoit Saint-Denis earlier this year.
However, Poirier is a big star, and the timing has worked out nicely for him in this fight. At his best, he's got the striking, takedown defense and cardio to absolutely push Makhachev hard.
The likelihood is that Makhachev deals with 'The Diamond' just as impressively as he's dealt with the likes of Charles Oliveira and Alexander Volkanovski. However, in many ways, he's still slightly unproven - meaning that in this fight, anything can happen.
Given that it features two of the promotion's biggest stars right now, it's definitely safe to call this one of the best fights of June.
#1 Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler - UFC 303
There is absolutely no doubt which fight is the biggest one to look forward to in June. It's been two years in the making, and it features the return of the UFC's biggest star, Conor McGregor.
The Irishman will, of course, finally face off with Michael Chandler after seemingly endless delays dating back to their stint as coaches on TUF 31 last year.
Sure, 'The Notorious' is no longer relevant to any title picture, and the fact that this bout will take place at 170 pounds rather than 155 pounds tells its own story. That doesn't make it any less exciting, though.
Put simply, any fight involving McGregor is a huge deal. He transcended the sport of MMA years ago, and despite the efforts of fighters like Sean O'Malley and Israel Adesanya, nobody has managed to surpass his star power yet.
However, quite what he has left in the tank following three years of inactivity following major leg surgery is a huge question mark to say the least.
There are fewer questions around 'Iron Mike'. Chandler hasn't fought in the UFC at 170 pounds before and he also hasn't fought since his clash with Dustin Poirier in November 2022, but that shouldn't be an issue for him.
Put simply, if Chandler turns up at his best, and the McGregor who lost twice to Poirier in 2021 turns up, then 'Iron Mike' should win. But with 'The Notorious', as we've seen time after time, literally anything is possible.
Many fans will not believe this fight will actually take place until both men are facing off in the octagon, but that doesn't matter. It's still the biggest fight set for June, and it could well turn out to be the biggest of 2024, point blank.