Will Amir Albazi be the UFC Flyweight Champion on December 31, 2026?

Amir "The Prince" Albazi is a top-10 UFC Flyweight contender with no UFC titles — and his path to holding the belt on December 31 runs through a crowded division where multiple elite fighters sit between him and a title shot. The Iraqi-born flyweight, with a professional record around 17-3-0 built on strong grappling, rear-naked choke submissions, and ground-and-pound, has demonstrated championship-caliber skill without yet putting together the unambiguous win streak that forces UFC matchmakers' hands. His controversial split-decision victory over former champion Brandon Moreno — a result many analysts disputed — and his subsequent unanimous-decision loss to Kyoji Horiguchi at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas in February 2026 have left his ranking around #7-8 and his title timeline uncertain. The flyweight division's depth is the structural constraint. Alexandre Pantoja, Brandon Moreno, Kyoji Horiguchi, and Kai Kara-France all occupy the top tier with more recent and clearer claims to title contention than Albazi's current record supports. Getting from #7-8 to championship by December 31 requires winning at least one high-profile fight convincingly enough to jump the queue of fighters ahead of him, then receiving and winning a title shot — a two-step sequence compressed into roughly five months. The Horiguchi loss is the most significant recent data point. A defeat doesn't eliminate championship prospects, but it does reset the timeline and require a bounce-back performance before title conversation resumes seriously. Bottom line: Albazi is a genuine flyweight talent whose championship probability is constrained by both his current ranking position and the compressed timeline between now and December 31. Watch his next scheduled fight and any UFC flyweight title shot announcements as the sequential signals that determine whether a year-end championship is achievable or remains a longer-term aspiration.