5 Dana White announcements for 2025 that can be the best Christmas present for UFC fans
UFC CEO and president Dana White recently hinted that he's got big things in store for the fans in 2025. At the UFC Tampa post-fight press conference on Dec. 14, 2024, the veteran MMA promoter even teased that he's working on something that the fans would "never f**king see coming, for 2025."
Unsurprisingly, fans have been abuzz with speculation as to what that massive development could be. What pleasant surprise does he have in store for the combat sports community?
Today, we look at five big-time announcements that White could potentially make for 2025 that'd be akin to Christmas presents for UFC fans.
#5 Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall
The MMA community has long been calling for UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones to face interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall in a title unification matchup. Jones is fresh off a third-round TKO win over fellow legend Stipe Miocic in November 2024.
Before and after his fight against Miocic, 'Bones' maintained that he wasn't particularly intrigued by a possible clash against Aspinall.
Instead, Jones, who's a former UFC light heavyweight champion himself, has suggested that he'd like a super-fight next against current UFC light heavyweight champion and ex-UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira. The latter has also expressed interest in moving up to heavyweight to challenge Jones. It's believed that if Jones vs. Pereira happens, it'll likely be at heavyweight.
Regardless, Dana White recently reaffirmed that Jones' next fight would likely come against Aspinall. Jones has asserted that he'd have no qualms facing Aspinall, provided he's guaranteed a major multi-million-dollar payday for the same.
The caveat is that the fight hasn't been officially announced yet -- no details about its possible date and no information about which event it could headline. Well, perhaps the biggest Christmas present White could give UFC fans right now is officially announcing Jones vs. Aspinall, ideally booked for International Fight Week in mid-2025.
#4 Francis Ngannou's UFC comeback
Francis Ngannou's UFC exit in January 2023 was preceded and followed by lengthy periods of tension between him and the MMA organization. The Cameroonian-French combatant attributed his exit to reasons such as not being contractually permitted to compete in the sport of boxing, not having additional sponsors or a fighter advocate, and more.
'The Predator' has since made his professional boxing debut. He was outpointed by British boxing legendary Tyson Fury in a closely contested match in October 2023. Ngannou's next, and most recent, boxing match saw him get knocked out by another great English pugilist Anthony Joshua in March 2024.
In October 2024, Ngannou finally returned to MMA for the first time since his unanimous decision win over Ciryl Gane in January 2022. He made his PFL MMA promotional debut and knocked out Renan Ferreira to capture the inaugural PFL Super Fights heavyweight championship. Ngannou has since maintained that he's open to both boxing and MMA in 2025.
The bitter truth in this situation is that though not being under contract with the UFC offers Ngannou the liberty to box every now and then, there aren't many elite heavyweight matchups currently available for him outside the UFC. Ngannou has been embroiled in an intense war of words against UFC head honcho Dana White, but White has previously proven he can work with people he's clashed with.
Lest one forgets, grappling wizard Ben Askren traded several barbs with White over the years but ultimately signed with and competed in the UFC, courtesy of White facilitating a fighter trade between the UFC and One Championship wherein the latter organization received Demetrious Johnson in return for handing Askren to the UFC.
Ngannou is presumably approaching the twilight of his combat sports career. White bringing 'The Predator' back and announcing the latter's return to the UFC, possibly for the long-awaited Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou showdown, could be a tremendous surprise come 2025.
#3 Amanda Nunes vs. Kayla Harrison if...
Two-time UFC women's bantamweight champion Julianna Pena's current reign began with her dethroning Raquel Pennington via a razor-thin split decision in October 2024. Many believed Pennington was wronged by the judges' scorecards.
Earlier on the same card, two-time Olympic gold medalist Judoka Kayla Harrison outpointed Ketlen Vieira, which many believe earned the ex-PFL champion a UFC women's bantamweight title shot. Regardless, rather than acknowledge that she'll likely fight Harrison next, Pena called out ex-UFC women's bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes for their trilogy fight.
Nunes retired from MMA in June 2023. However, in 2024, 'The Lioness' has teased a potential return to the sport. After Pena's callout, Nunes hinted that Dana White should call her, thereby teasing a comeback.
Considering the variables at play, the potential Pena-Harrison fight's winner would be the perfect comeback match for Nunes. If Pena beats Harrison, Nunes' return seems less likely because fan interest in a possible Nunes-Pena trilogy has apparently been rather inadequate.
But if Harrison wins, Dana White should most definitely offer Nunes a massive deal she can't refuse -- finally setting up the long-awaited dream matchup between her and Harrison.
#2 Conor McGregor's UFC return
Conor McGregor has consistently maintained that he'll make a triumphant return to combat sports competition. The former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion hasn't competed since suffering a gruesome leg injury at UFC 264 (July 2021). Also, a toe injury forced him out of his scheduled welterweight bout against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 (June 2024).
McGregor has lately faced a few setbacks in regard to his long-running legal issues. He's notably promised to appeal the civil court verdict in Dublin hairdresser Nikita Hand's civil case against him. Also, 'The Notorious' recently set the fight world abuzz with excitement for his return.
The Irishman tweeted that he's in preliminary agreements with the Ambani Family for an exhibition boxing match against influencer and WWE superstar Logan Paul in India. Since both the UFC and WWE are owned by the same organization, many believe that McGregor vs. Paul could possibly materialize in 2025.
That said, Dana White previously suggested that McGregor could return to the UFC in late 2025. Regardless of whether or not McGregor fights Paul, White should ensure that he brings the UFC icon back to the octagon at least before 2025 ends. He's still considered the biggest draw in MMA, and White surely wouldn't want McGregor missing out on more years of his combat sports career.
#1 Alex Pereira's potential UFC heavyweight title shot
The middleweight and light heavyweight titles in the Glory kickboxing organization, and the middleweight title in the UFC in the sport of MMA -- Alex Pereira is no stranger to collecting coveted combat sports titles. The legendary Brazilian fighter is also the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion, who many believe is likely to be booked to defend his belt against longtime rival Magomed Ankalaev next.
Pereira recently teased that Ankalaev won't be next for him. UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been assertively campaigning for a fight against 'Poatan.'
For his part, Pereira has time and again emphasized that he'd like to fight Jones for the UFC heavyweight title and become the first-ever fighter to win UFC titles in three separate weight classes. Honestly, the 37-year-old Pereira, the oldest current UFC champion, has done more than enough to earn a heavyweight title shot.
If Dana White is adamant about having Jones face interim heavyweight kingpin Tom Aspinall in a title unifier, then they ought to go for that. If Jones wins, White should grant Pereira a title shot against him. If Aspinall wins, White should book the Brit against 'Poatan,' which would also be an amazing matchup, especially given the history of tense encounters between Pereira and Aspinall.