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UFC women's bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes could be the next big thing!Reuters

The year 2016 has remained absolutely momentous for the United Fighting Championship (UFC). From the veteran Brock Lesnar returning for his one-off fight inside the octagon to Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) finally getting legalised in New York and Conor McGregor making history to Ronda Rousey losing out again - 2016 has seen it all.

Gives up hopes of how big 2017 can turn out to be. Let's move aside from the likes of Anderson Silva, Jon Jones and Ronda Rousey. Plenty of new talents have emerged. Here are some of them.

The calendar year sees the return of Conor McGregor in the octagon after he becomes a dad. Also, there is major speculation over the future of Ronda Rousey, especially after her devastating loss at UFC 207. Is she joining the WWE?

While the answers can only be revealed with the passing of time, we can predict that the year 2017 could see a lot of super-fights (fighters from different weight divisions going head to head and toe to toe). We all have to thank Conor McGregor for his confidence as well as ambition to take on fighters from different divisions when he faced Nate Diaz.

This can possibly bring about super-fights in 2017 featuring Michael Bisping and Tyron Woodley, Ronda Rousey.....and Cyborg or even Conor McGregor and Nick Diaz!

UFC 2017 schedule

Events Date Headline fight Location
UFC Fight Night January 15 Rodriguez vs Penn Phoenix, Arizona
UFC Fight Night January 28 Shevchenko vs Pena Denver, Colorado
UFC Fight Night February 4 Bermudez vs Korean Zombie Houston, Texas
UFC 208 February 11 Holly Holm vs Germaine de Randamie Brooklyn, New York
UFC Fight Night February 19 Dos Santos vs Struve Halifax, Canada
UFC Fight Night March 3 TBD Las Vegas
UFC 209 March 4 TBD Las Vegas
UFC Fight Night March 11 Belfort vs Gastelum Fortaleza, Brazil
UFC Fight Night March 18 TBD London, England

More events to follow...