Heavyweights
After demolishing Junior dos Santos last weekend, Cain Velasquez has relinquished his top spot as the Heavyweight Champion. Alistair Overeem is coming off his suspension for performance enhancing drugs and is scheduled to fight "Big Foot" Silva in February, and after that he still has unfinished business with Dos Santos. Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner Daniel Cormier will be making his UFC debut after fighting on Strikeforce's final card on January 12th against Dion Starring. Fabricio Werdum is tied up taping Ultimate Fighter Brazil, and will fight Big Nog in the spring. Stefan Struve and Roy Nelson are two possible up and coming contenders to Cain's title. Frank Mir rounds out the top Heavyweight contenders, but I don't see him getting another title fight any time soon.
Light Heavyweight
Jon Jones had a dominant 2012, beating Rashad Evans and Vitor Belfort. He has a little bit of damage control to do after refusing to fight Chael Sonnen on late notice caused an event to be canceled in August. MMA's biggest trash talker will get his title fight in April after this season of the Ultimate Fighter. Their is a logjam at the top of this division. Due to injuries, Dan Henderson and Lyoto Machida never got their title shots. They fight in February to determine the #1 contender. Alexander Gustafsson made a name for himself beating the legendary Shogun Rua at UFC on Fox 5. The Swede is still another victory or two away from getting his title shot. Glover Teixeira is looking to make a name for himself during his UFC on Fox 6 fight against Rampage Jackson. Glover is on a 16 fight win streak, with all of them coming from knockout or submission. There are rumors that Rashad Evans is debating a move to middleweight after his fight with Little Nog.
Middleweight
Champion Anderson Silva has a lot on his plate for 2013. Aside from fighting his own weight class, he has Dana White and fans clamoring for inter-division superfights against Georges St. Pierre and Jon Jones. The 37-year old Spider is arguably the best pound for pound fighter in MMA history. Michel Bisping is a victory against Vitor Belfort away from becoming the first British born fighter to compete for a UFC title. Strikeforce champion Luke Rockhold and 9-0 Chris Weidman, as well as former Bellator fighter Hector Lomard are the future of this division.
Welterweight
This division was in lockdown for much of 2012. Georges St. Pierre's injury led to an interim title fight between Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz in February. Condit won the fight but wanted to wait for a unification bout against St. Pierre (which he lost in November) and Diaz has been suspended after testing positive for marijuana. In March at UFC 158 the entire welterweight division is going to be on display, headlined by GSP finally getting his hands on Diaz. Rory MacDonald is one of the best young fighters in the sport, but he already stated he won't fight his mentor and training partner GSP, so it puts the UFC in a tough spot of matching him up with top level guys, but not #1 contenders. The heavy-handed Jake Ellenberger and Johny Hendricks are two of the most exciting welterweights in the game. Veterans Josh Koscheck and the returning Nate Marquardt round out the top of the division.
Lightweight
After two close decisions against Frankie Edgar, Benson Henderson dominated Nate Diaz in a star-making performance at UFC on Fox 5. Rumor has it that Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez is next in line for a title shot, in a superfight. Anthony Pettis and Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone will finally get their hands on each-other at UFC on Fox 6, in a #1 contender fight. Jim Miller jumped up to the top of theU division after a grueling victory against Joe Lauzon last weekend. The UFC is reportedly in a tug-of-war with Bellator for their top star Eddie Alvarez. A knee injury has Gray Maynard on the shelf for the immediate future.
Featherweight
Pound-for-pound top five fighter Jose Aldo doesn't get the respect he deserves because of a perceived weakness in the division, but that's about to change. Former Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar is scheduled to fight Aldo at UFC 156 in a dream matchup years in the making. Edgar, a natural 155-er was getting overpowered by bigger guys in lightweight, so it will be interesting to see how he fairs against Aldo. It will be interesting to see where "The Answer" goes if he struggles in that fight. Clay Guida is following in Frankie's footsteps moving down to 145. An injury to Eric Koch forced him out of a title shot against Aldo, and is still awaiting his opportunity. Chan Sung Jung "The Korean Zombie" is a fan favorite because of his free-swinging style and should be considered a top contender. Chad Mendes has torn through the division, but after getting picked apart by Aldo last year I don't see him getting another shot for the time being.
Bantamweight
Champion Dominick Cruz is out until at least November following his second ACL tear. Interim champion Renan Barao hasn't lost since his MMA debut in 2005. Urijah Faber is the most recognizable name, but after losing his last two title fights he moves to the back of the line. 21-year old Michael McDonald is scheduled to fight Barao in February.
Flyweight
One of UFC's two newest divisions is still growing. Demetrious Johnson defeated Joe Benavidez in the finals of a tournament to crown the inaugural Flyweight Champion. Mighty Mouse will defend his belt against Ultimate Fighter 14 winner John Dodson at UFC on Fox 6 in the main event. "Uncle Creepy" Ian McCall is pretty much the only other top contender at this point. This is such a specialized division, and if it doesn't catch some momentum this year I don't see it sticking around for long.
Women
Ronda Rousey has become an overnight sensation, winning all six of her fights in the first round via armbar in a total of approximately seven and a half minutes. Despite being against it at first, Dana White's hands were tied when Showtime's contract with Strikeforce was up and now the women's division is being absorbed into the UFC. Rousey is scheduled to defend her belt against Liz Carmouche at UFC 157. After a lot of talk back and forth, the main attraction for this division though, is if and/or when Cris Cyborg signs with the UFC to have a grudge match with Rousey (Cyborg is going to have to cut down to 135 pounds in order to fight).
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