Ryan Garcia stands over Javier Fortuna after knocking him down during their July 2022 bout. | Photo by Sye Williams/Getty Images
The 24-year-old lightweight boxer has been teasing the possibility of starting an MMA career for over a year now.
The last few years have seen a number of high profile MMA fighters make the jump over to boxing. Everyone from Conor McGregor to Anderson Silva and Tito Ortiz; hell even Ben Askren laced up a pair of gloves to test his mettle inside the ring. Given the potential for larger purses and higher profile bouts, it’s little wonder that so many combat sports athletes look to boxing as an opportunity they can’t pass up.
With that dynamic in play, it’s also no surprise that we rarely see fighters going the opposite direction. James Toney made a notable spectacle of himself back in 2010 against Randy Couture. He’s pretty much the start and end of the conversation when it comes to notable boxers who have set foot inside the UFC’s Octagon.
It just might be that former WBC interim lightweight champ and still-unbeaten 24-year-old title contender Ryan Garcia could look to change all that. Back in 2021, ‘The Flash’ announced that he planned to retire from boxing at age 26, and take his talents to MMA.
“You know what I’m willing to do?” Garcia teased. “I really haven’t said this out loud but what I plan to do is—say, at 26, I’m done retired and boxing is all good. You know what I’ll do? If they say, ‘Okay, you’ve beaten everybody in the ring, right?’ But somebody goes, ‘This ain’t real fighting. Real fighting is legs, choking, submission, all that.’ Guess what I’ll do? I’ll go prove to them that I’m the best fighter all around in the world. I’m talking about hands, I’m talking about wrestling. I will go to MMA to prove a point that God is greatest and I’ll beat whoever in MMA that they say I won’t beat. If it has to be Conor McGregor, I will. And I’m not saying this to get money. I don’t care about money. I’m saying this because that’s just how I feel.”
He’s still got a couple years to go before its time for the rubber to meet the road, but it at least appears that Garcia is still interested in making good on his proclamation. In a recent video uploaded to the Gracie Breakdown YouTube channel, Rener Gracie walked Garcia through his first BJJ class. Check out some highlights from the lesson below.
For the moment, Garcia’s focus is still firmly on his boxing career. Unbeaten at 23-0, ‘KingRy’ is expected to compete in a 136 lb. catchweight bout against WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis on April 15th. There won’t be any titles on the line for the bout, with Garcia otherwise competing in the 140 lb. light welterweight division in the future.
Even if fans can’t expect to see him in the Octagon anytime soon, it seems like Garcia is laying the groundwork for some exciting moves somewhere further down the line.
UFC 273: Gilbert Burns v Khamzat Chimaev | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Gilbert Burns is unsure whether Khamzat Chimaev can rely on his wrestling until ‘Borz’ attains UFC gold.
UFC welterweight Gilbert Burns has some negative opinions regarding rising star Khamzat Chimaev. Having shared the Octagon with ‘Borz’ and being the first men to really test the prospect in a 15-minute war that ‘Durinho’ ultimately lost via unanimous decision, the Brazilian does not see a very bright future for his former opponent.
In a conversation with Super Lutas, Burns explained that Chimaev should stop tauting knockout artists in the middleweight division before Khamzat finds himself in a tough situation. In Gilbert’s opinion, based on his own match against Borz, the Swede may not have what it takes to face the upper echelon of the 185-pound weight class.
“I took hiw down, imagine what Poatan can do. If I was able to knock him down (consider Poatan’s power), his hands must be so heavy. I took him down and he is still talk trash to those guys. Poatan’s hands are huge, Borrachinha’s hands are huge,”
Furthermore, Burns also believes that he way Khamzat carries himself has changed over the years. Ever since Khamzat became a star and one of the hottest prospects of the promotion, Durinho thinks the Swede did not know how to handle his rise properly, which has harmed his public persona.
“It’s not that he lost himself,” Burns said. “It’s that he couldn’t find himself. Things happened too fast for him. Three fights in and he was already a star. At first, I really liked him. He would call people out and keep fighting. Then he broke character. He’s unwilling to make weight, he causes trouble. I like the guy who would call anyone out. Who would take any fight.”
In his last outing, Burns (20-5) dropped a unanimous decision to Chimaev, back in April of this year. The victory camer right after a unanimous decision victory over Stephen Thompson, in July 2021.
Now, Burns is expected to take on Neil Magny at UFC 283, on January 21, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The card is scheduled to be headlined by a light heavyweight bout for the division’s vacant title between former champion Glover Teixeira and contender Jamahal Hill.
Manny Pacquiao has announced a fight with RIZIN in 2023.
Legendary eight-division boxing world champion Manny Pacquiao made a surprise appearance at RIZIN’s New Year’s Eve event, announcing that he will be fighting with the Japanese MMA promotion in 2023.
There weren’t enough specifics on the initial announcement in front of the packed crowd at the Saitama Super Arena, but Pacquiao revealed a few more details to the local media soon after.
“Yes, boxing (rules). One time, but it’s not the last,” Pacquiao said, confident he can have a continuous relationship with RIZIN after this one-fight deal that’s in place. “There’s great action and great fights in RIZIN. The atmosphere of the crowd is amazing.”
He then confirmed his RIZIN debut is targeted for around summertime in Japan, and that he has plans to keep active in the exhibition scene in 2023.
“I might have one more (fight before that also),” Pacquiao said in Filipino and translated by Bloody Elbow.
As for an opponent, Pacquiao says it definitely won’t be Floyd Mayweather, even with his former rival already having two exhibition bouts with RIZIN in the past. Pacquiao revealed that early discussions will likely have him facing one of the MMA fighters in RIZIN’s stable instead.
“My plan today is one at a time. So let’s finish first this commitment with RIZIN, and then we can talk about (a potential Floyd Mayweather rematch after),” Pacquiao said.
“(I’ll fight) anybody, as long as he has experience in boxing or knows how to throw punches,” he explained. “Right now I don’t have an idea, but that’s why I challenged RIZIN to get an opponent that can compete in the fight.
“It’s good to have an exhibition fight last December 11. I was so happy, but my opponent was a martial artist that doesn’t know about boxing at all, so that’s why he experienced a hard time in the ring,” he said. “But this next exhibition match here in Japan, this is different because I think probably my opponent is a professional MMA fighter who knows how to punch and of course (defend).
The 44-year-old boxing great officially retired after losing to Yordenis Ugas in 2021. He has now jumped into that exhibition boxing scene, soon after his failed — and expensive — nationwide campaign to become the President of the Phillipines.
Pacquiao’s first exhibition bout since retiring was against DK Yoo, who as he alluded to, is a more of a Korean celebrity martial artist rather than an actual professional fighter.
Shogun Rua enters the ring for his 2005 PRIDE bout against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. | Photo by Zuffa LLC
As his storied career comes to a close, former UFC & PRIDE Grand Prix champion Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua talked about his greatest career highlight.
In an MMA career that stretches back 41 fights and 20 years, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua has practically done it all. The former PRIDE Grand Prix champion and former UFC champion has created a combat sports legacy filled with thrilling wars and amazing highlights. An era that appears set to come to a close in 2023, with Rua taking what he claims will be his final MMA bout early next year.
Ahead of that fight, Rua sat down with Sherdog to talk a bit about his legacy, what he holds as his greatest accomplishment, and one of the few opportunities to come his way that he didn’t get a chance to take.
“Without a doubt it was Aug. 28, 2005, the day I won the Pride Grand Prix,” The 41-year-old Kings MMA talent enthused when asked about the best moment of his career. “I entered as underdog and finished as champion in a tournament with 16 fighters, which was considered by many as the toughest Grand Prix ever.”
Starting back in April of 2005, Rua defeated future UFC champ Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson via first round KO in the Grand Prix opener. He then went on to take a decision win over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira two months later, in the quarter final leg—a fight many rank among the best in MMA history. Those wins led to PRIDE Final Conflict on August 28th and back-to-back victories in one night, over future Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem and former RINGS middleweight champion Ricardo Arona to claim the tournament crown.
Off that success, PRIDE matchmakers had hoped to put Rua in a superfight against heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko. Unfortunately that bout never materialized. Instead Rua faced off against PRIDE’s 2000 Openweight Grand Prix winner Mark Coleman in February of 2006, losing that bout via a broken arm, just 0:49 into the first round.
“After I won the light heavyweight [grand prix] and he won the heavyweight grand prix, the promoters started to talk about a superfight, but it never happened,” Rua said. “Coincidentally I was probably closer to fighting my idol Wanderlei [Silva before he lost to Ricardo Arona in the seminfinals]. But It would have been an honor to fight Fedor when we both were in our primes. In my opinion, Fedor is among the three best pound-for-pound fighters ever.”
Rua is expected to enter the UFC Octagon for the last time on January 21st at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he’ll face off against Ukraine’s Ihor Potieria. The card is set to be headlined by a bout between Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill for the vacant light heavyweight title. The flyweight quadrilogy title bout between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno is planned for the night’s co-main event.
Paddy Pimblett at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year event on December 21, 2022. | Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage
Paddy Pimblett flew a troll over to Liverpool for a gym challenge.
Smartly, UFC lightweight Paddy Pimblett has realized that there’s not much money in fighting (for fighters at least). So, like Sean O’Malley and many others, the Liverpudlian has turned to content creation to supplement his income.
His latest stab at going viral involves a twist on a classic. “MMA fighter takes on troll” has been done many times before, in varying degrees of intensity.
Pimblett’s entry in this long line of videos involves him flying an internet troll over to Liverpool for two rounds of sparring. ‘The Baddy’ lured the troll over to him by offering 500 euros if he could ‘survive’ both rounds.
Check out the video below to see Pimblett give the troll more of a fantasy camp experience than a beatdown.
Pimblett, perhaps understanding that brutalized an untrained individual is never a good luck, clearly takes it easy on his opponent. However, he does display some respect for the troll being willing to tough it out with him. The whole thing ends with handshakes and high fives all round (and YouTube revenue to Pimblett, of course).
Gervonta Davis v Rolando Romero – Weigh-in | Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images
Davis’ accuser has said she feared for her life during a 911 call.
On Tuesday Gervonta Davis was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence in Broward County, Fl. After a night in jail he was charged with misdemeanour battery assault and released on a $ 1,000 bond.
His arrest came after a woman told police during a 911 call that she needed help and that Davis had attacked her while she was in a car with her child. “He’s going to kill me,” said the woman before the call was disconnected.
After 50 seconds the woman called police again and said, “I need to go. I’m in danger right now.”
A police report stated that the woman was observed to have a small laceration on the inside of her lip. The report also stated that Davis was accused of striking the woman with a “closed hand type slap.”
Davis’ accuser has now walked back these claims in a social media post (per Bad Left Hook). In her social media post, the woman reportedly wrote the following:
“I pride myself on being extremely private; this situation was the last thing I wanted to be made public. The state of our relationship has been in a fragile space, and Gervonta and I were both at fault for the argument.
“While emotions were high I made an unnecessary call to law enforcement in an intense moment while I was frantic. Gervonta did not harm me or our daughter. Today we have sought the help necessary to move forward with our lives. I am confident that we will succeed within our co-parenting dynamic with the counseling provided to us.”
This turn of events seems to clear the path for Davis is compete in his scheduled bout with Hector Garcia on January 7, in the headliner of a PBC card on Showtime PPV. Since this story initially broke, neither PBC or Showtime provided any clarification on whether they were considering postponing or cancelling the fight.
Davis will be defending his WBA (regular) lightweight title against Garcia. It is expected that he will cruise through this match-up to set up a superfight (and his biggest payday to date) with Ryan Garcia later in the year.
Despite the social media post, Davis remains charged with battery. If his accuser maintains this recent stance it is very unlikely that Davis will receive punishment over this incident.
Earlier this month Davis had a separate case of domestic violence discharged. That case related to a 2020 incident where Davis was caught on camera grabbing his ex-girlfriend by the throat.
Davis is due in a Baltimore court in February over 14 charges related to a suspected hit and run incident from last year. That incident saw Davis’ SUV collide with a car that held four passengers (including a pregnant woman). Davis is also facing a civil suit over that incident.
Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN FF is going down on New Years Eve 2022 | Bellator MMA
Check out the live results and highlights for Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN FF.
Stay up to date with what’s happening this morning with the Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN FF New Year’s Eve card, which is happening from the storied Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
In a perfect world, the very best fighters from each promotion across the globe would meet up to see who is actually the best of the best. In our current world, the closest we can get is Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN FF.
The card’s main event will be a lightweight match between Bellator’s former featherweight champion, AJ McKee Jr, and Rizin’s 155-pound champion, Roberto de Souza. In the co-main event, Bellator’s current 145-pound title holder, Patricio Pitbull will battle it out with Rizin’s featherweight king, Kleber Koike Erbst.
Also on this card, Bellator’s former bantamweight champion, Kyoji Horiguchi, will tangle with RIZIN Grand Prix 2021 bantamweight tournament winner, Hiromasa Ougikubo, at 125-pounds. Before that, Bellator’s Juan Archuleta meets Rizin’s Soo Chul Kim, and then team Rizin representer Koji Takeda clashes with Bellator rep Gadzhi Rabadanov.
The RIZIN 40 event begins at an extra-early time on the east coast, with the Fite TV broadcast starting at 12 a.m. ET. As for the Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN FF portion card, that can be seen on Showtime via tape delay at 8:00pm ET.
Koike pulled guard early in the opening round, but Pitbull was savvy enough to find some quick seperation. Pitbull backed Koike into a corner behind his firepower, forcing desperation takedown/guard pull attempts. This match quickly devolved into a Figh-Q test for Pitbull. Koike didn’t seem to be much of a threat on the feet, so as long as Pitbull could avoid the grappling exchanges he was able to be in complete control.
Pitbull went back to pressuring in the second round. Koike was getting backed up, and was biting on just about every feint that Pitbull threw. Pitbull was being super-reserved out there. He wasn’t throwing many strikes, but when he did go, he made them count. It felt like if Pitbull would have stepped on the gas then he could have taken Koike out.
Koike shot in for a takedown in the third round, but then opted to pull guard. Pitbull quickly adjusted and stepped out of the guard, and began kicking at the legs. After a prolonged exchange of Pitbull standing over Koike, the referee stood up Kleber. That’s when Koike finally snagged a takedown with top position. Pitbull did a great job of creating space and jumping back to his feet.
Koike started to let his strikes go, being aggressive and showing some urgency. He then jumped guard and was able to score some hammerfists from his back. Pitbull stood up, and returned to kicking the legs until the referee stood Koike up. Pitbull just had answers for everything that Koike threw his way.
Stand up, Kleber
Full Replay at 8pm ET/PT on @SHOSports#RIZINvsBellator#BellatorvsRIZIN#RIZIN40 pic.twitter.com/K4puEprCNn
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) December 31, 2022
Both men looking to draw first blood!
Full Replay at 8pm ET/PT on @SHOSports#RIZINvsBellator#BellatorvsRIZIN#RIZIN40 pic.twitter.com/OoPfUnfdsx
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) December 31, 2022
Using his reach advantage EVERYWHERE. @KoikeKleber
— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) December 31, 2022
, !@PatricioPitbull ready to represent
Full Replay at 8pm ET/PT on @SHOSports#RIZINvsBellator#BellatorvsRIZIN#RIZIN40 pic.twitter.com/iwL24yE3GA
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) December 31, 2022
Kyoji Horiguchi def. Hiromasa Ougikubo by unanimous decision: Flyweight
The fighters clinched up early here, taking turns pressing one another into the corner. Horiguchi did land some quality knees to the leg throughout that sequence. In open space, Horiguchi landed a thudding leg kick, and followed it up with a right hand that dropped Ougikubo. With Ougikubo on his back and laying under the ropes, Horiguchi got on top and started to land a ton of ground and pound THROUGH THE ROPES! The referee was taking a close look, but the round expired before a finish manifested.
The left leg of Ougikubo was all bruised up as he entered the second stanza. It wasn’t long into this round that Horiguchi closed the distance and went back to chipping away with knees to the legs. Kyoji then exploded with a lifting takedown, and moved right to the back. After controlling for a bit, Ougikubo forced a scramble that resulted in him being on top. Hiromasa hung out in the closed guard of Kyoji, with not much really going on.
Horiguchi dropped Ougikubo at the very beginning of the final round with a gorgeous left hook. Kyoji quickly got on top and briefly hunted for an arm triangle. He went to the back, but Ougikubo spun out and got on top again. Unfortunately for Ougikubo, he blew his dominant position by jumping on a guillotine that wasn’t even close to being there, gifting Horiguchi top position. It was another strong round for Horiguchi.
A strong finish to round 1 for team @BellatorMMA’s Kyoji Horiguchi…
— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) December 31, 2022
Juan Archuleta def. Soo Chul Kim by split decision: Bantamweight
Archuleta started fast, per usual, but in an early scramble, Kim locked up a guillotine while Juan was standing. Archuleta dropped down to the ground, and once he escaped he was free to rain down a couple of punches. Kim worked his way back to his feet, and after a brief exchange in open space, Archuleta earned himself a takedown. Just before the bell, Kim stood back up and delivered a crippling leg kick that caused Archuleta to hobble.
Archuleta went right to the takedown in the second stanza. After being controlled for a bit, Kim kicked away and got back to his feet, but Archuleta exploded in with another takedown. Archuleta was getting the positions, but wasn’t doing much with them. He wasn’t throwing many damaging ground strikes, and when he did posture up, it gave Kim enough pace to get back up. Credit to Archuleta for neutralizing Kim for most of the round.
The final round kicked off with some nice body work from Kim. As Archuleta was shooting in, Kim threatened with another guillotine attempt, which forced Juan to roll to his back. Not much was going on in the grappling realm, so the referee stood up the fighters. Kim was feeling himself in the striking department. He was attacking the leg and sneaking in counter punches that were landing clean. Kim locked up a pretty tight ninja choke down the stretch, but Archuleta was able to roll out to escape.
— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) December 31, 2022
Gadzhi Rabadanov def. Koji Takeda by unanimous decision: Lightweight
Takeda got off to a strong start, being active and launching some variety at Rabadanov. Then, Rabadanov blasted Takeda with a stiff right cross that floored him. A classic RIZIN knee to the head of a grounded opponent scored for Rabadanov, followed by a frenzied blitz, but somehow Takeda was able to weather the storm and escape the round.
Takeda ended up having a much better second round. He was able to keep up the tempo, making it difficult for Rabadanov to get into a rhythm. Rabadanov also suffered a cut around his eye from one of the boxing exchanges. Takeda appeared to have more gas in the proverbial tank.
The final round saw Rabadanov come out and go right to the takedown. He worked his way to the back, but Takeda managed to roll out and get on top. Rabadanov worked his way to his feet, but struggled to get the fight back own to the floor. Takeda was stuffing the shots, and even returned a few knees from the sprawl. Rabadanov would eventually find top position in the closing moments of the match after Takeda slipped on a kick. Rabadanov was a -460 betting favorite going into this one, and snuck by with the win, but Takeda did not fight like a +330 underdog.
What a fight from Gadzhi Rabadanov to earn the win!
Full Replay at 8pm ET/PT on Showtime Sports #RIZINvsBellator#BellatorvsRIZIN pic.twitter.com/50EjO67Dso
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) December 31, 2022
Gadzhi Rabadanov starting things off strong in the 1️⃣st fight of the night!
Full Replay at 8pm ET/PT on @SHOsports #RIZINvsBellator#BellatorvsRIZIN pic.twitter.com/90fhkMPzWe
RIZIN 40 is going down on New Years Eve 2022 | Photo by Masashi Hara/Getty Images
Check out the live results and highlights for RIZIN 40.
Stay up to date with what’s happening this morning with the Rizin 40 New Year’s Eve card, which is going down from the storied Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
The main event of Rizin 40 will crown an atomweight tournament champion when Seika Izawa will rematch Si Woo Park. The first time they met was in DEEP, with Izawa walking away with the unanimous nod. Also on the card will be the promotional debut of ex-UFC flyweight Rogerio Bontorin. He will be taking on top bantamweight Yuki Motoya at 135-pounds. After a successful bare knuckle one-off, another UFC veteran in John Dodson will be making his Rizin debut. Looking to spoil the party for Dodson will be the heavily seasoned Hideo Tokoro.
The RIZIN 40 event begins at an extra-early time on the east coast, with the Fite TV broadcast starting at 12 a.m. ET. As for the Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN FF portion card, that can be seen on Showtime via tape delay at 8:00pm ET. Luckily, We will be providing live results in another post.
Main card:
Seika Izawa vs. Si Woo Park: Atomweight Tournament Championship
Tsuyoshi Sudario vs. Junior Tafa: Heavyweight
Naoki Inoue vs. Kenta Takizawa: Bantamweight
Rogerio Bontorin vs. Yuki Motoya: Bantamweight
Johnny Case vs. Luiz Gustavo: Lightweight
John Dodson vs. Hideo Tokoro: Flyweight
Chihiro Suzuki def. Yoshiki Nakahara by KO (Punches), R1: Featherweight
Sho Patrick Usami def. Noah Bey by KO (Left hook), R1: Lightweight
Yushi def. Tatsuya Nakazawa by decision (Unanimous): Bantamweight
Muhammad Mokaev after UFC 280. | Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC
Mokaev is undergoing surgery, but hopes to be ready to return for the March event.
Muhammad Mokaev is headed for surgery after dislocating his shoulder recently.
Since his third-round submission win over Malcolm Gordon at UFC 280 this past October, Mokaev has pushed for a return in London, where the promotion is holding UFC 286, the upcoming pay-per-view scheduled for March 18 at the O2 Arena. The ‘Punisher’ fought in London for his first two UFC appearances, but he could miss out on a third one because of his dislocated shoulder.
The undefeated fighter revealed on Twitter that he requires surgery, which he hopes to recover from soon.
Alhadmulillah in any situation! Unfortunately I have dislocated my shoulder , now I will wait for the operation! Thanks to all my supporters I will be back as soon as possible, I promise you! Love you all! #M57 pic.twitter.com/UtSmLJkbHR
— Muhammad Mokaev (@muhammadmokaev) December 30, 2022
Exact same day last year I have broke my hand before my ufc debut in London, I will do everything to fight on ufc London card! I tried to keep the operation till after the fight but I can’t even lift my arm
— Muhammad Mokaev (@muhammadmokaev) December 30, 2022
“Alhadmulillah in any situation! Unfortunately I have dislocated my shoulder,” tweeted Mokaev. “Now I will wait for the operation! Thanks to all my supporters, I will be back as soon as possible, I promise you! Love you all!
“Exact same day last year, I have broke my hand before my UFC debut in London. I will do everything to fight on UFC London card! I tried to keep the operation till after the fight, but I can’t even lift my arm.”
Should he recover in time to get scheduled for UFC 286, Mokaev has set his sights on a fight with Amir Albazi. After going back and forth with the ‘Prince’ on Twitter, the Manchester native told Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie that he would welcome the challenge.
“I want to fight Amir Albazi in the U.K., but he doesn’t want to fight me,” said Mokaev. “He said I haven’t fought anyone from the top 15, but he didn’t fight anyone from the top 15, either. So we’re at the same level, I believe. I’m a bad matchup for him. That’s why he wants to fight injured guys like [Alex] Perez and all these half-broken men.”
Mokaev is 3-0 in the UFC, having defeated names such as Cody Durden, Charles Johnson and the aforementioned Gordon.
Alexander Volkanovski defended the UFC featherweight title twice in 2022, setting up a fight opposite lightweight champ Islam Makhachev in 2023. | Photo by Alejandro Salazar/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
A look at the stats, facts, figures and numbers from the UFC’s featherweight division in 2022
The UFC wrapped up its slate of 2022 events on December 17 in the same venue where it put on its first fight card of the year, the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Between January 15 and December 17, there were 511 fights on 42 UFC cards. The first fight of the year was the lightweight matchup between T.J. Brown and Charles Rosa. The final contest was a welterweight scrap between Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland.
In 2022, Alexander Volkanovski defended his UFC featherweight title twice. In April, he scored A TKO win over Chan Sung Jung (aka The Korean Zombie) at UFC 273. Volkanovski followed that with a July unanimous decision win over former champion Max Holloway in their trilogy bout at UFC 276. In total, Volkanovski has defended his crown four times. The UFC has booked him to face UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 in February.
With no UFC cards scheduled until UFC Vegas 67 takes place on January 14, 2023, at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Bloody Elbow looks back at the stats, facts and figures from each UFC weight division in 2022.
Today, we look at the UFC’s featherweight division.
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