UFC Championship Betting Specials

Whilst the UFC as a sport is rather subjective in its own regard, with relation to records, performances and form, there can be no denying the simple significance and goal of actually winning gold.

Every fighter that enters the Octagon has a vision of one day wearing a strap around their waist, to cement their status in being king or queen of their own division.

We have seen belts be passed around in the past, but also long reigning champions stand tall.

Not many manage to have their name written in the history books for reaching the pinnacle, but many try to climb the rope.

We've had a look into some names that could do exactly that, through Betfair's UFC Championship betting specials.

One man whose reputation is quickly growing in the heavyweight division is Tom Aspinall.

The Brit has been hyped up by fellow Liverpudlian Darren Till, and has lived up to expectations so far.

He is currently on a 5-fight winning streak, and is 2-0 in the UFC. Both of these victories have come in the first round, courtesy of TKO.

Aspinall is a fighter that likes to keep it on the feet, and has significant speed for a heavyweight. His boxing ability has quickly got heads turning in the division, and his next opponent will no doubt be of a higher pedigree.

Betfair are offering 6/1 on the 27-year-old to become UFC heavyweight champion before January 2022.

On the note of those making a name for themselves in the organisation, it's impossible to overlook Khamzat Chimaev.

The Middleweight rose to stardom over summer, winning two bouts in the space of just ten days - breaking the record for the quickest turnaround between UFC wins in history.

He has fought once since - the fight lasted 17 seconds. Chimaev brutally KO'd Gerald Meerschaert with virtually the first punch thrown. The victory has led onto calls for the Swede to next face a top ten fighter.

There are certainly tougher tasks to come, but Chimaev is the name on everybody's lips at the moment. Betfair are offering a short 11/10 for him to be the UFC welterweight champ before January 2022.

Although the UFC is pressing forward with plans and fights, one man is getting left behind.

Leon Edwards has somehow become an overlooked name in the welterweight division, despite being on a 8-fight win streak.

Rocky has not fought since July 2019, with complications surrounding coronavirus travels halting a bout over summer. Other top contenders are quickly getting booked up though, and momentum surrounding Edwards has started to fade - from a 'hype' point of view.

The Englishman simply needs a fight and a win over a big name to 'justify' his shot at Kamaru Usman, or whoever the champion is by then. Betfair are currently offering quite a generous 3/1 on Edwards winning the welterweight champion before January 2022.

From the above, a fight against Nate Diaz looks to make sense, who is also waiting in the wings. Can the latter get some momentum and create a title charge himself? Diaz is 16/1 in the same market.

Darren Till and Israel Adesanya seem destined to clash at one point, but the former has some work to do before earning that shot.

The Gorilla kickstarted his middleweight career with a convincing win over Kelvin Gastelum last November, but most recently came up short against the more experienced looking Robert Whittaker. The fan favourite has an opportunity to get back on track this December though, as he is scheduled to face Jack Hermansson at UFC Fight Night 185.

A victory does potentially set up a title fight, once Izzy fights the winner of Whittaker v Jarod Cannonier.

Given Till's popularity, the demand and appetite is there to see him fight for the belt. Many may fancy his relatively large odds of 5/1 to become the UFC middleweight champion before January 2022.

Who else to end with, other than The Notorious.

It remains to be seen whether Conor McGregor will actually fight in the UFC again, after his third retirement announcement. A rematch with Dustin Poirier does appear to be in the works, but so does a boxing super-fight against the legendary Manny Pacquiao. It really is hard to keep up Mystic Mac.

A bout with Dustin looks most likely to take place in January, where a victory would put him in line for a lightweight title shot. Dana White is evidently a huge fan of the rematch with Khabib, with the first fight smashing all the PPV numbers.

McGregor is 23/10 to get his hands on the lightweight title once again, but also 3/1 for the welterweight gold (odds relate to winning before January 2022).

The Notorious holds two wins in the latter division, and will no doubt want to be the first ever fighter to have his name on three different belts. Those at this weight class do look much bigger physically to McGregor though, hence his reluctance to fight Jorge Masvidal.

If you fancy the Irishman to win both sets of gold though, Betfair are offering 25/1 on this market.