UFC 2022 Preview: Rising Stars, What to Watch, and More

The UFC will promote its very first function of the calendar year this Saturday, placing an conclusion to a four-week lull. Saturday’s occasion, an less than-the-radar Battle Evening headlined by featherweight contenders Calvin Kattar and Giga Chikadze, is not just a blockbuster. But it will kickstart UFC 2022, which has a packed schedule of fights that probable won’t sluggish down right until this time next calendar year.

 

 

As MMA fans the environment about wait for the UFC’s frantic calendar to get underway, we made a decision to put together a fast primer for the yr forward. Here’s anything you want to know about the UFC this yr.

UFC 2022 Preview: What to Enjoy This Year

Recapping 2021

The UFC promoted 43 situations in 2021, like 13 star-studded pay back-per-views. By the time the 12 months was performed, UFC president Dana White was proclaiming it the best in the company’s background.

“It was the ideal calendar year we at any time experienced,” White told the Las Vegas Assessment-Journal before this month. “We’re popping on every single metric you can visualize. Sponsorship is by the roof. Social media, our quantities on pay back-for every-perspective, our numbers on television, arena data. This small business is on fireplace.”

Now the stage is established for an enjoyable 2022. The UFC has twelve divisions: eight for gentlemen and four for gals. Those divisions are at the moment dominated by twelve undisputed champions and two interim champions. (You can view the full rankings on the UFC internet site.)

Soaring Stars to Watch

The UFC’s champions may possibly be the ones driving shell out-for every-check out product sales, but it’s the up-and-comers who preserve the promotion’s merchandise attention-grabbing yr soon after calendar year. The UFC 2022 roster is packed with intriguing prospective customers, and some are presently staying hailed as future champions. Right here are a several growing stars to maintain an eye on.

Ian Garry

Ireland’s Ian Garry (8–0) is currently drawing comparisons to another Irishman you may well have listened to of: former two-division UFC champ Conor McGregor. In reality, right after profitable his UFC debut with a initially-spherical knockout of Jordan Williams at UFC 268 in November, Garry truly borrowed a person of McGregor’s most famed soundbites.

“A smart Irishman as soon as mentioned before me—he stepped in this really cage and he mentioned, ‘We’re not below to take part, we’re in this article to consider above,’” Garry instructed Daniel Cormier in his publish-fight interview. “This is the takeover portion two.”

Alex Pereira

Brazilian middleweight Alex Pereira (4–1) generated a ton of buzz heading into his Octagon debut at UFC 268 in November. The 34-yr-previous is an expert kickboxer, and he even retains a knockout victory around reigning UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya in kickboxing level of competition.

To say Pereira lived up to the buzz would be an understatement. The Brazilian finished up offering us a person of the greatest knockouts of 2021 as he decimated his opponent, Andreas Michailidis, with a 2nd-spherical flying knee.

Pereira is likely even now some distance from a title shot, but it feels like only a matter of time before he’s in that discussion.

Erin Blanchfield

The women’s flyweight division is presently property to many promising youthful fighters, but none of them have a brighter upcoming than 22-year-aged Erin Blanchfield (8–1). Soon after a prosperous run via Invicta, an all-women’s MMA league, she manufactured a profitable UFC debut in September by defeating the additional professional Sarah Alpar in a unanimous selection. Blanchfield then picked up a different win in advance of the calendar year was out, dominating fellow prospect Miranda Maverick to an impressive unanimous choice triumph.

Blanchfield has but to debut in the flyweight top 15 but will likely do so if she wins her up coming fight. From there, she’ll be just a several wins absent from a showdown with dominating flyweight winner Valentina Shevchenko.

Paddy Pimblett

Paddy Pimblett (17–3) has been a favourite among the hardcore struggle fans for a years, but he didn’t make his UFC debut till September 2021. The 27-calendar year-outdated British light-weight couldn’t have manufactured a louder statement in his debut, as he weathered some early adversity to change the lights off on Luigi Vendramini with a swarm of initial-round hooks.

Pimblett beforehand won the Cage Warriors featherweight championship in Europe. It won’t be straightforward to repeat the feat in the UFC lightweight division—arguably the hardest division in the sport—but lots of think the Brit can pull it off.

Storylines to View

Conor McGregor’s Crossroads

Conor McGregor (22–6) remains the most important star in MMA, but his believability is hanging by a thread. The Irishman is driving back-to-again stoppage losses to Dustin Poirier, the second of which left him with a broken leg. He’s now down to 2–3 in his past 5 fights.

McGregor’s superstardom indicates he can acquire a lot more losses than most fighters. Even so, he’s not immune to the effects of a prolonged shedding streak. If the 33-year-outdated hopes to remain a reputable participant in the activity that made him well-known, he wants to get his next battle.

It stays to be seen when he’ll fight next, but he lately informed his Twitter followers that he hopes to be sparring by April and back again in the Octagon quickly thereafter.

Francis Ngannou’s Future

UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (16–3) is established to headline UFC 270 on Jan. 22. He’ll be taking on the division’s interim winner Ciryl Gane—who comes about to be his former coaching companion.

Each UFC title battle is important, but this 1 is specially major for Ngannou. The 35-calendar year-previous French-Cameroonian is in the midst of a heated contract dispute with the UFC, and he’s angling for far more income and the liberty to moonlight as a professional boxer.

If he defeats Gane, his negotiating power will skyrocket. If he loses, he can wave goodbye to the contract he’s hoping for. He’s gambling on himself, and time will inform if it pays off.

Redemption for Amanda Nunes

Amanda Nunes (21–5) seemed invincible until finally UFC 269 in December, when she ran into Julianna Peña. Regardless of entering the cage as a gargantuan betting favored, the 33-calendar year-old Brazilian was battered to a next-spherical submission loss, surrendering the UFC bantamweight title in the procedure. It was a surprising end to a person of the most dominant championship reigns in UFC record.

The excellent news for Nunes is that she’s expected to get a likelihood at redemption versus Peña quickly. Her previous dominance all but guarantees her that possibility. Considering that UFC 269, there has been rampant speculation that Nunes was not at her most effective that night—even UFC president Dana White contributed to the rumors. Peña, meanwhile, is adamant that she’s Nunes’s remarkable.

The rematch must solution people issues a single way or the other.

Khamzat Chimaev’s Rise

Chechen-born Swede Khamzat Chimaev (10–0) took the MMA planet by storm in 2020 and 2021 with four seemingly effortless victories throughout the middleweight and welterweight divisions. His final, a to start with-round submission defeat of Chinese welterweight contender Li Jingliang, was specifically remarkable, and it attained him the No. 11 spot in the welterweight rankings.

At this position, it feels unavoidable that Chimaev will end up complicated for the UFC welterweight title, which is currently the property of Kamaru Usman. It would not be stunning to see Chimaev contend for the middleweight title sometime thereafter. Of course, each of all those things count on his continued accomplishment in the Octagon.

Is Chimaev the genuine deal or a flash in the pan? 2022 need to convey to us a lot about the UFC’s most recent celebrity.

Fights We Hope to See This Calendar year

Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz III

Conor McGregor (22–6) and Nate Diaz (20–13) have been tied with a gain apiece because 2016. Lovers have been clamoring for a tie-breaking trilogy fight at any time due to the fact McGregor won their 2nd face by the vast majority decision, still the UFC has hence considerably retained it off the program.

At the get started of 2022, the trilogy can make as substantially sense as at any time. McGregor is using back-to-back again losses to Dustin Poirier. Diaz arrived up shorter against Leon Edwards and Jorge Masvidal in his very last two fights. Equally men are in determined need of a gain and reduced on alternatives. Why wait any lengthier?

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway III

UFC featherweight winner Alexander Volkanovski (23–1) is 2- in fights from Max Holloway (23–6), the division’s previous champ, but equally victories ended up very aggressive selections. The second was notably close—in point, it was downright controversial.

Today, it is abundantly apparent that Volkanovski and Holloway are the two ideal featherweights in the UFC. What is not distinct is which of them is greater. A third combat would solution that problem.

The UFC essentially experimented with to reserve that bout for UFC 272 on March 5, but the struggle fell as a result of right after Holloway was wounded. With any luck , the marketing can take a further stab at the matchup once the previous champ is recovered.

Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones

There was a time period in early 2021 when all symptoms pointed to a titanic showdown among Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones. Ngannou, arguably the toughest puncher in battle sports activities right now, experienced just captured the UFC heavyweight title with a star-creating knockout of Stipe Miocic. Jones, the most dominant fighter in light-weight heavyweight background, experienced a short while ago vacated the division’s throne with ambition to move up to heavyweight.

Sadly, the battle fizzled out just before it ever obtained off the floor. Thinking of Ngannou’s ongoing contract dispute with the UFC and Jones’ legal difficulties outside the house the cage, it is doubtful they’ll combat each other any time in the close to potential. But if we’re genuinely blessed, we may possibly just see it prior to the calendar year is out.

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