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UFC 273: Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie — April 9, 2022, VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville. Alexander Volkanovski retained the featherweight title with a fourth-round TKO of Chan Sung Jung. Aljamain Sterling unified the bantamweight titles with a split-decision win over Petr Yan. Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns produced an instant Fight of the Year classic in the most-discussed welterweight bout of the year.

UFC 272: Covington vs. Masvidal — March 5, 2022, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. Former best friends turned bitter rivals Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal finally settled their grudge match, with Covington winning a one-sided unanimous decision. Rafael dos Anjos outpointed Renato Moicano in the co-main, and Bryce Mitchell extended his unbeaten run with a submission of Edson Barboza.

UFC 271: Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2 — February 12, 2022, Toyota Center, Houston. Israel Adesanya defended the middleweight title against the man he had KO'd at UFC 243, winning a clean unanimous-decision rematch over Robert Whittaker. Tai Tuivasa knocked out Derrick Lewis in Lewis's Houston home crowd — the most shocking heavyweight upset of 2022.

UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane — January 22, 2022, Honda Center, Anaheim. Francis Ngannou unified the heavyweight titles with a unanimous-decision win over Ciryl Gane while reportedly competing on a torn ACL — one of the most courageous championship performances in UFC history. Deiveson Figueiredo reclaimed the flyweight title from Brandon Moreno in the trilogy bout.

UFC 269: Oliveira vs. Poirier — December 11, 2021, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. Charles Oliveira defended the lightweight title with a third-round rear-naked choke of Dustin Poirier. The co-main produced one of the biggest upsets in UFC history: Julianna Pena submitted Amanda Nunes via second-round rear-naked choke to end the GOAT's seven-year reign atop women's MMA.

UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2 — November 6, 2021, Madison Square Garden, New York. Kamaru Usman defended the welterweight title with a unanimous-decision win over Colby Covington in their rematch. Rose Namajunas retained the strawweight title against Zhang Weili via split decision. Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler produced an all-time Fight of the Night classic in a five-round non-title war.

UFC 267: Blachowicz vs. Teixeira — October 30, 2021, Etihad Arena, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. At 42 years old, Glover Teixeira completed one of the most remarkable late-career arcs in MMA history with a second-round rear-naked choke of Jan Blachowicz to claim the light-heavyweight title. Petr Yan won the interim bantamweight title over Cory Sandhagen. Khamzat Chimaev submitted Li Jingliang in his first main-card win.

UFC 266: Volkanovski vs. Ortega — September 25, 2021, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. Alexander Volkanovski survived two near-finish submissions in round three to retain the featherweight title via unanimous decision over Brian Ortega in one of the great championship five-rounders of 2021. Valentina Shevchenko stopped Lauren Murphy with a fourth-round TKO. Robbie Lawler defeated Nick Diaz in a long-awaited rematch.

Mental preparation is as crucial as physical training for MMA fighters. Key elements include confidence, focus, resilience, and stress management.

UFC 265: Lewis vs. Gane — August 7, 2021, Toyota Center, Houston. Ciryl Gane claimed the interim heavyweight title with a third-round TKO of Derrick Lewis in front of a Texas crowd that had come to see Lewis crowned. Jose Aldo continued his late-career bantamweight renaissance with a unanimous-decision win over Pedro Munhoz in the co-main.

UFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor 3 — July 10, 2021, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. The trilogy bout ended in dramatic fashion when Conor McGregor broke his tibia and fibula in the final second of round one. Dustin Poirier was awarded the TKO (doctor stoppage) and locked in his 2-1 series lead. Gilbert Burns outpointed Stephen Thompson in the welterweight co-main.

UFC 263: Adesanya vs. Vettori 2 — June 12, 2021, Gila River Arena, Glendale. Israel Adesanya returned to middleweight after his UFC 259 loss and defeated Marvin Vettori 50-45 across the board in their rematch. Brandon Moreno became the first Mexican-born UFC champion via third-round rear-naked choke of Deiveson Figueiredo. Leon Edwards outpointed Nate Diaz in the UFC's first five-round non-title fight.