The Blog

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, 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 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.

UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards 2 — August 20, 2022, Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City. Leon Edwards produced one of the most dramatic finishes in UFC history, knocking out Kamaru Usman with a head kick at 4:04 of round five with under a minute left on the clock, after losing nearly every minute of the fight to that point. Paulo Costa edged Luke Rockhold in the co-main; Rockhold retired in cage.

UFC 277: Pena vs. Nunes 2 — July 30, 2022, American Airlines Center, Dallas. Amanda Nunes reclaimed the bantamweight title with a dominant five-round unanimous-decision win over Julianna Pena, evening their series 1-1 and confirming her GOAT status. Brandon Moreno won the interim flyweight title by stopping Kai Kara-France in round three. Magomed Ankalaev positioned himself for a title shot with a TKO of Anthony Smith.

UFC 276: Adesanya vs. Cannonier — July 2, 2022, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. Israel Adesanya defended the middleweight title for the fifth time with a unanimous-decision win over Jared Cannonier. Alexander Volkanovski completed the Max Holloway trilogy with a clean five-round sweep. Alex Pereira stopped Sean Strickland in round one in the most-discussed middleweight contender bout of 2022.

UFC 275: Teixeira vs. Prochazka — June 11, 2022, Singapore Indoor Stadium. Jiri Prochazka completed one of the most stunning championship comebacks in UFC history, submitting Glover Teixeira with 28 seconds remaining in round five after spending most of the fight on the brink of defeat. Valentina Shevchenko narrowly retained the flyweight title, and Zhang Weili spinning back-fist KO'd Joanna Jedrzejczyk in their rematch.

UFC 274: Oliveira vs. Gaethje — May 7, 2022, Footprint Center, Phoenix. Charles Oliveira missed weight by 0.5 lbs and was stripped of the lightweight title on the scales, then submitted Justin Gaethje for the vacant belt in round one. Carla Esparza defeated Rose Namajunas via split decision in one of the most uneventful title fights in UFC history. Michael Chandler KO'd Tony Ferguson with a Knockout of the Year front kick.