UFC Events

UFC 294: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2 — October 21, 2023, Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi. Islam Makhachev retained the lightweight title by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski at 0:41 of round one. Khamzat Chimaev defeated Kamaru Usman via unanimous decision in a short-notice middleweight bout. Ikram Aliskerov upset Robert Whittaker by TKO in round two.

UFC 293: Strickland vs. Adesanya — September 9, 2023, Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney. Sean Strickland produced one of the biggest upsets in middleweight history, defeating Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision to win the UFC middleweight title as a +400 underdog. Alexander Volkov outpointed Tai Tuivasa in the co-main. The result shocked the MMA world.

UFC 292: O'Malley vs. Sterling — August 19, 2023, TD Garden, Boston. Sean O'Malley knocked out Aljamain Sterling at 2:58 of round two to win the UFC bantamweight title in one of the biggest upsets of 2023. Zhang Weili defended the strawweight title with a second-round armbar submission of Amanda Lemos. Bo Nickal extended his unbeaten UFC run with a first-round finish.

UFC 291: Poirier vs. Gaethje 2 — July 29, 2023, Delta Center, Salt Lake City. Justin Gaethje knocked out Dustin Poirier at 3:29 of round one to win the BMF belt in one of the fastest finishes of 2023. Tony Ferguson lost his seventh consecutive UFC fight. Jan Blachowicz stopped Aleksandar Rakic. The card produced a clean first-round KO as the headline moment.

UFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez — July 8, 2023, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas (International Fight Week). Alexander Volkanovski retained the featherweight title with a third-round TKO of Yair Rodriguez. Alexandre Pantoja upset Brandon Moreno to win the flyweight title by majority decision. Dricus du Plessis upset Robert Whittaker in a pivotal middleweight contender bout.

UFC 289: Nunes vs. Aldana — June 10, 2023, Rogers Arena, Vancouver. Amanda Nunes defended the bantamweight title with a unanimous-decision win over Irene Aldana, then retired from MMA in the cage — ending a 23-5 career with six UFC title reigns and the most decorated women's championship run in promotion history. Charles Oliveira submitted Beneil Dariush in the co-main.

UFC 288: Sterling vs. Cejudo — May 6, 2023, Prudential Center, Newark. Aljamain Sterling retained the bantamweight title with a split-decision win over Henry Cejudo in Cejudo's comeback fight after three years in retirement. The result was disputed; most observers had Cejudo winning rounds two and three. Cory Sandhagen defeated Marlon Vera in the co-main. Kevin Holland stopped Yohan Lainesse.

UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya 2 — April 8, 2023, Kaseya Center, Miami. Israel Adesanya reclaimed the middleweight title by knocking out Alex Pereira at 4:21 of round two, leveling their MMA series 1-1. Gilbert Burns stopped Jorge Masvidal in round two in Masvidal's retirement fight. Kevin Holland outpointed Santiago Ponzinibbio. Raul Rosas Jr. extended his UFC unbeaten run.

UFC 286: Edwards vs. Usman 3 — March 18, 2023, O2 Arena, London. Leon Edwards retained the welterweight title with a majority-decision win over Kamaru Usman in London, completing the trilogy 2-1 in his favour. Justin Gaethje outpointed Rafael Fiziev in the co-main. Belal Muhammad stopped Vicente Luque in round one in the most-watched welterweight contender bout of the night.

UFC 285: Jones vs. Gane — March 4, 2023, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. Jon Jones returned from a three-year layoff to win the vacant UFC heavyweight title by submitting Ciryl Gane at 2:04 of round one. Alexa Grasso submitted Valentina Shevchenko in round four in the biggest upset in women's flyweight division history. Bo Nickal debuted. The $15.2 million live gate was the highest non-McGregor UFC gate in promotion history.

UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski — February 11, 2023, RAC Arena, Perth. Islam Makhachev retained the lightweight title against Alexander Volkanovski in the most-anticipated champ-vs-champ fight of 2023. Makhachev won via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) in a razor-close fight that most observers had for Volkanovski. Yair Rodriguez stopped Josh Emmett in the co-main. The card produced one of the highest Australian UFC gates in promotion history.

UFC 283: Teixeira vs. Hill — January 21, 2023, Jeunesse Arena, Rio de Janeiro. Jamahal Hill defeated Glover Teixeira via dominant unanimous decision to win the vacant light-heavyweight title; Teixeira retired in the cage afterward. Brandon Moreno unified the flyweight title by stopping Deiveson Figueiredo in round three (corner stoppage, broken orbital bone). One of the most emotional UFC nights of 2023 in Brazil.

UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira — November 12, 2022, Madison Square Garden, New York. Alex Pereira completed the most personal grudge match in UFC history, finishing Israel Adesanya by fifth-round TKO after being down on every scorecard. Zhang Weili reclaimed the strawweight title from Carla Esparza via second-round submission. Dustin Poirier outpointed Michael Chandler in a Fight of the Night classic.

UFC 282: Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev — December 10, 2022, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. After Jiri Prochazka withdrew from the original Glover Teixeira rematch with a shoulder injury and vacated the light-heavyweight title, Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev fought to a controversial split draw for the vacant belt. Paddy Pimblett won a disputed decision over Jared Gordon. Ilia Topuria stopped Bryce Mitchell.

UFC 280: Oliveira vs. Makhachev — October 22, 2022, Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi. Islam Makhachev submitted Charles Oliveira with a second-round arm-triangle choke to win the vacant lightweight title. Aljamain Sterling defended bantamweight with a Round 2 submission of TJ Dillashaw. Sean O'Malley edged Petr Yan via split decision in one of the most controversial results of 2022.

UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira — November 12, 2022, Madison Square Garden, New York. Alex Pereira knocked out Israel Adesanya at 2:01 of round five to claim the middleweight title after losing nearly every minute of the fight to that point. Zhang Weili reclaimed the strawweight title by submitting Carla Esparza in round two. Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler produced a Fight of the Year contender. Frankie Edgar retired in the cage.

UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira — November 12, 2022, Madison Square Garden, NYC. Alex Pereira finished Israel Adesanya with a fifth-round TKO from behind on the scorecards, becoming the first man to beat Adesanya in MMA and starting the Pereira championship era. Zhang Weili reclaimed the strawweight title with a second-round rear-naked choke of Carla Esparza. Dustin Poirier vs Michael Chandler stole the night.

UFC 280: Oliveira vs. Makhachev — October 22, 2022, Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi. Islam Makhachev submitted Charles Oliveira with an arm-triangle choke in round two to win the vacant lightweight title, beginning the heir-to-Khabib championship reign. Aljamain Sterling stopped TJ Dillashaw in round two as Dillashaw's shoulder dislocated multiple times. Sean O'Malley edged Petr Yan in a controversial split decision.

UFC 280: Oliveira vs. Makhachev — October 22, 2022, Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi. Islam Makhachev won the vacant lightweight title by submitting Charles Oliveira with an arm-triangle choke in round two. Aljamain Sterling retained the bantamweight title with a TKO of TJ Dillashaw after Dillashaw's shoulder dislocated repeatedly. Sean O'Malley scored a controversial split-decision win over Petr Yan.

UFC 279: Diaz vs. Ferguson — September 10, 2022, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. The most chaotic 24 hours in UFC history: Khamzat Chimaev missed weight by 7.5 lbs on Friday, triggering a same-night card reshuffle that produced one of the most entertaining PPVs of 2022. Nate Diaz submitted Tony Ferguson in his final UFC fight; Chimaev stopped Kevin Holland in round one.