After the UFC's 2020 calendar year opened with the incredible return of Conor McGregor and ended with months upon months of empty arena events due to an unprecedented global pandemic -- including multiple trips to "Fight Island" -- it's hard to imagine the new year will be any more unpredictable than the previous 12 months.
Still, there are unknowns piled on unknowns as the final days on the calendar fall away and 2021 approaches. Many of those unknowns are much bigger than questions over what will take place in the Octagon, but that didn't stop the CBS Sports experts from sitting down and trying to make a few bold predictions for the coming year.
We are expecting some interesting things for the UFC's biggest superstar, the best female fighter of all time and the promotion's biggest recent signing.
Another Conor McGregor retirement
Everything seems to be set up for McGregor to make another run at a title. He has a solid fight lined up with Dustin Poirier and a win would seem to have him lined up for a title fight in his next outing -- though the UFC could slap a title on the fight before it happens depending on Khabib Nurmagomedov's situation. Still, the pattern of McGregor's career at this point involves fighting, rocky negotiations with the UFC and a brief retirement. I'm not saying McGregor won't fight again in 2021, but it's not hard to see a few months over the summer where he again declares that he is retired before either smoothing things over with the UFC for a fight later in the year, or simply using his retirement as an opportunity to fight Manny Pacquiao in the fight he previously claimed was already a done deal. There's nothing about McGregor's career that will ever be easy -- or even really make sense -- going forward. He's a unique superstar with a wildly unstable personality who will make statements and decisions on a whim. Look for McGregor retirement number four in 2021. -- Brent Brookhouse
Amanda Nunes will lose
I don't know to whom or when or how, but I fully expect the best women's fighter of all time -- and one of the best talents irrespective of gender we've ever seen -- to hit a roadblock in 2021. To this point, Nunes has turned into the safest bet in all of mixed martial arts. She is so far ahead of her peers that making this prediction looks silly and probably is. The thing about MMA, however, is its unpredictability. Nunes is better than her contemporaries, but it's difficult to maintain that level of distance if for no other reason than minor error. To beat Nunes you don't have to be better than her, generally; you just need to be better the night you face her. When Ronda Rousey or Georges St-Pierre or Anderson Silva lost, it was usually a shock to most. Who could've imagined Holly Holm or Matt Serra or Chris Weidman being the ones to not only win, but do so decisively? It comes when you least expect it and often to the person you never imagined being capable of doing it. Germaine de Randamie got close and Nunes has a lot going on in her life. If the goal is to catch her slipping, 2021 is the best window for that in a long time. Domination is hard in MMA. Doing it over time doubly so. Eventually there's a market crash. It's hard to argue a bubble is obviously forming, but it's equally difficult to remain unbeatable especially with success in her back pocket and age an increasingly relevant factor. -- Luke Thomas
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Michael Chandler will go winless in his first UFC year
This isn't a knock against the former three-time Bellator MMA lightweight champion or any insinuation that Chandler, at 34, isn't an instantaneously viable addition to the UFC title picture at 155 pounds. This is more an understanding that even with unbeaten champion Khabib Nurmagomedov's likely exit from the sport, UFC is in the midst of a historically deep and dangerous era at lightweight. Chandler is expected to make his Octagon debut in January against the always game Dan Hooker. Should he lose, any form of a bounce back around the top 10 is no gimme for a fighter whose vulnerabilities and willingness to brawl could combine for a rough start in terms of wins and losses in his new promotion. -- Brian Campbell
