5. Israel Adesanya (C) vs. Sean Strickland – UFC 293
The UFC returned to Sydney, Australia, for the first time since 2017 when Fabricio Werdum headlined a fight night card against fellow heavyweight Marcin Tybura. Although UFC 293 was far from a star-studded card, it made this list largely thanks to the main event. Sean Strickland went into the fight with the bookmakers as the huge underdog. He pulled off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history as he dominated Adesanya from start to finish, winning comfortably on the judge’s scorecards (49-46 x3) to defy the odds and become the UFC’s new middleweight champion.
Elsewhere on the main card, Alexander Volkov submitted Tai Tuivasa via an ezekiel choke in the co-main event. Justin Tafa and Tyson Pedro both secured first-round knockouts over Austen Lane and Anton Turkalj respectively, and Manel Kape defeated the Dana White Contender Series alum stepping in on short notice, Felipe dos Santos, comfortably via unanimous decision.
4. Jon Jones vs. Cyril Gane – UFC 285
The long-awaited return to the UFC for Jon Jones, this time in the heavyweight division for the vacant title following the departure of the previous champion, Francis Ngannou. Jones’ opponent, Cyril Gane, was as formidable a test as they come, at least on paper. Shortly after the fight started, Jones took the Frenchman down to the canvas with ease and, within two minutes, had submitted him via a guillotine choke. It was a seamless transition for Jones as he cemented his place in the GOAT debate by winning UFC titles in two divisions.
In the co-main event, a huge upset shocked the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas as Alexa Grasso submitted the long-reigning flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko, in the fourth round with a face-crank.
3. Islam Makhachev (C) vs. Alexander Volkanovski 2 – UFC 294
Fight cancellations and last-minute changes threatened to damage the 294 card, but in typical UFC fashion, adjustments saved the day and, in hindsight, became a blessing in disguise.
The lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, was originally slated to fight Charles Oliveira in Abu Dhabi. However, a nasty cut to the eye of the challenger during fight preparations left him requiring a last-minute replacement. Up stepped Alexander Volkanovski, and he dashed to the airport to fly across the world to fight for the belt in a weight class above his usual division.
The pair had fought earlier in the year at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia, in a very close fight in which Makhachev won a close decision. This time around, it was a lot more clear cut as the champion landed a head kick which wobbled Volkanovski, and much to the surprise of those in attendance, Makhachev followed it up with a flurry of strikes to end the fight in the very first round.
Khamzat Chimaev was scheduled to face Paulo Costa in the co-main event, but with the Brazilian requiring last-minute surgery on his elbow, the Nigerian Nightmare, Kamaru Usman, stepped up to middleweight to face Chimaev in a title eliminator. The three-round fight went the distance, with ‘Borz’ winning a majority decision. With the way the fight panned out, Usman would have benefitted from the match being a five-rounder in hindsight, but nevertheless, he earned many plaudits for stepping in to save the card on late notice, much like Volkanovski.
Other notable fights on the card included Ikram Aliskerov defeating Warlley Alves with a flying knee. Muhammed Mokaev earned a performance of the night bonus for his incredible comeback victory over Tim Elliott. At one point during the fight, Mokaev was in a compromised position on the ground and it looked as though his leg was about to snap. He managed to escape and eventually secured his own submission in a true display of pure grit and determination.
2. Leon Edwards (C) vs. Colby Covington – UFC 296
The last card of the year, and boy, did it deliver. Fight week saw a lot of controversy as Colby Covington made a derogatory comment about Leon Edwards’ deceased father during the pre-fight press conference. Tensions rose throughout the week and were at breaking point in the arena by the time both fighters made their way to the octagon. Considering the anticipation for this match-up, the fight itself didn’t deliver as Colby Covington remained pensive throughout the five rounds as Edwards eased to a points victory.
The rest of the card provided huge entertainment as Irene Aldana put her defeat to Amanda Nunes behind her and won an enthralling battle against Karol Rosa, for which both ladies earned ‘Fight of the Night’ bonuses. Cody Garbrandt was the other notable performer on the prelims, as he delivered a signature knockout over Brain Kelleher.
In the main card, Pantoja defended his UFC Flyweight Championship against Brandon Royval, Paddy Pimblett dominated the UFC veteran Tony Ferguson, and Shavkat Rakhmonov made it 18 wins from 18 as he submitted Stephe ‘Wonderboy’ Thomspon and put himself in a position to challenge Leon Edwards for the welterweight title in future.
1. Alexander Volkanovski (C) vs. Yair Rodriguez (IC) – UFC 290
Yair Rodriguez came into the unification bout at the T-Mobile Arena after defeating Josh Emmett and winning the UFC Interim Featherweight Championship five months prior. Rodriguez’s unorthodox style had many predicting a tough test for Volkanovski, but the champion yet again delivered. After blocking a head kick midway through the third round, Volkanovski wobbled the challenger with a right hand before securing a takedown and unleashing vicious ground and pound. Herb Dean gave Rodriguez ample opportunity to improve his position, but the strikes kept coming from Volkanovski, and Dean stepped in to end the fight.
In the co-main event, another title was on the line. Alexandre Pantoja came into this flyweight title fight with Brandon Moreno as the underdog despite having beaten ‘The Assassin Baby’ five years earlier. The fight was as entertaining as everybody expected, with the pair exchanging multiple blows throughout the five-round war. Pantoja took a split decision (48-47 x 2, 46-49) and became the UFC’s new flyweight champion.
Elsewhere on the main card, Dricus du Plessis caused an upset when he knocked out Robert Whittaker in a middleweight title eliminator, earning himself a shot at the current champion, Sean Strickland. Dan Hooker took a razor-thin split decision over Jalin Turner, and Bo Nickal made light work of Val Woodburn, winning the fight via TKO after just 38 seconds.
Robbie Lawler vs. Niko Price was the featured prelim bout as the MMA world said goodbye to ‘Ruthless’ in his farewell fight. Lawler signed off his career in style, defeating Price with a flurry of left hands in the opening thirty seconds. Price dropped to the canvas, and Marc Goddard stepped in to prevent further damage.
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