2022 was an iconic year in the UFC. Old grudges were settled, shocking upsets were witnessed, and new champions were crowned. But this year started off with a bang.
Israel Adesanya once again vanquished Robert Whittaker back in February, and it seemed that the middleweight king’s reign had no end in sight. The following month, Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal squared off in a highly anticipated grudge match, with Chaos eventually getting his hand raised via unanimous decision.
In April, Alexander Volkanowski proved that he was the greatest pound-for-pound fighter on the planet when he bludgeoned The Korean Zombie en route to retaining his UFC Featherweight Championship.
A month later, Charles Oliveira retained his lightweight championship in a barnstorming title defense against Justin Gaethje. Michael Chandler also provided the knockout of the year on the same card when he front-kicked Tony Ferguson into oblivion.
The Year of the Shock
At UFC 277 in July, Amanda Nunes reclaimed her throne at the top of the women’s featherweight division when she dominated Julianna Peña to a unanimous decision victory. Eight months prior, Peña had stunned the world en route when she submitted the Brazilian two-weight champion, however, her run came to an end in her first title defense.
But as the chapter of one shocking upset closes, another one begins. In August, sportsbook Bovada, which provides online mma betting, made Leon Edwards a huge underdog for his title bout against pound-for-pound king Kamaru Usman. And it looked as though the oddsmakers would be proved right heading into the fifth and final round of the contest, as the reigning champion led by three rounds to one on all three scorecards.
But then, the challenger provided one of the most shocking moments in UFC history when he head-kicked Usman into the shadow realm to claim the welterweight championship.
The following month, Nate Diaz bowed out from the UFC with a submission victory over fellow veteran Tony Ferguson, while Islam Makhachev proved that he was the finest lightweight on the planet when he dominated Charles Oliveira in October.
One more shock would follow when Adesanya’s reign as middleweight came to an end at the hands of Alex Pereira. The Brazilian has knocked out the Last Style Bender before, and he did the same thing at UFC 281 in November to take the title away from the Nigerian-born Kiwi.
While last year will go down as one of the greatest years in the company’s history, the UFC has confirmed that 2023 will get off to an incredible start.
January and February
The UFC’s year kicks off with the company attempting to crown a light heavyweight champion. Czech behemoth Jiří Procházka was the reigning champion however, he had to vacate the title due to a shoulder injury. Magomed Ankalaev faced off with former champion Jan Błachowicz for the vacant title in December. However, that pair fought to a controversial split draw, meaning that the title remained vacant.
Former champion Glover Texeira will face off against Jamahal Hill at UFC 283 on January 22nd, with the fight being seen as a genuine 50/50 by most analysts. But it is the fight the following month that truly has us salivating.
Following Islam Makhachev’s dominant lightweight coronation at UFC 280, his trainer – former lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov – proceeded to call out featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski to see which fighter is the greatest on the planet.
The talented Aussie duly accepted the challenge and that pair will face off at UFC 284 on February 12th. The fight will take place in Alexander The Great’s home country of Australia.
Heading into the fight, it appears that Makhachev is the one with everything to lose. He is the bigger man and is expected to win comfortably. Should he be upset in Perth, Volkanovski will seal his legacy as the greatest fighter on the planet.
Magical March
While the UFC has been enjoying when of its best-ever periods as a company, Dana White and co. were left reeling earlier this month when their current heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou announced that he would be leaving the company. The Cameroonian sensation stated that he was leaving for “freedom rather than money,” and he has left his company in the lurch. But in their hour of need, the UFC has turned to its greatest-ever champion.
Jon ‘Bones’ Jones was the undisputed king of the light heavyweight division for an entire decade. He vacated that championship back in August 2020 and hasn’t fought in over three years. But on March 5th, the 35-year-old will return and make his heavyweight debut.
He faces off with French contender Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight championship of the world at UFC 285 on March 5th. Can Jonny Bones roll back the years and claim the throne once again in a new division?
Two weeks later, Kamaru Usman will have a shot at redemption against Leon Edwards, while the new welterweight champion will have a chance to prove that his victory was no fluke. That pair square off at London’s O2 Arena on March 18th at UFC 286.
