2022 has been a spectacular year for fights so far, and with several huge fights on the horizon over the next 3 months this list may need to be updated come December.
However, for the time being we at MMA Complete love to rank our favorite fights as often as we can and this year has given us quite a list to compile. From the very first fight night of the year all the way to last weekend's UFC 279 we have assembled 10 fights we feel were most excting, most competitive and most technically gifted of the last 9 months. Ironically, those two cards were homes of 3 different fights on this list.
A look at several different MMA outlet websites will show you lists of the same name but in different order, so we have poured through each fight of the year and made a list based solely on our opinions and not of those you'll see anywhere else.
Without further ado, lets get into Top 10 Monday's Top 10 UFC Fights of 2022 So Far
10. Rob Font vs Marlon Vera (FN 4/30)
This Fight Night Main Event cracks our list at the number ten spot and it's easy to see why. 5 full rounds of carnage between two of the Bantamweight division's toughest competitors. Vera has had a very successful year and it started with this fight in his unanimous decision win against Font, in which he knocked down the fighter 3 different times with punches and kicks alike.
9. David Onama vs Nate Landwehr (FN 8/13)
The only way to explain this fight is WILD. David Onama came into this fight the favorite and had won his previous two fights as Landweher had won his previous. The fight went all three rounds to a decision that saw Landweher win by a majority vote. Onama scored a knockdown early but Landwehr was able to comeback with takedowns and submissions on his way to scoring the biggest win of his career.
8. Chalres Oliveira vs Justin Gaethje (UFC 274)
Arguably the two most exciting men in the UFC's most exciting division, Oliveira vs Gaethje was always going to be an amazing fight. Both of these fighters are known for finishing their opponent and setting a pace rarely seen by other fighters. In the end, it would be the Brazillian picking up a 1st round submission win but not after both men scored knockdowns and sent the crowd home happy, even though this fight would see the division's title vacated because Oliveira missed weight.
7. Derrick Lewis vs Tai Tuivasa (UFC 271)
These two heavyweight big boys are some of the funniest men post-fight the UFC has ever seen. Besides those antics, these two can BANG. Which is exactly what happened, and right before the 1.5 round mark the exchange between the two got so heated and resulted in a left handed haymaker knocking out Lewis and sending Tuivasa's stock through the stratosphere.
6. Calvin Kattar vs Giga Chikadze (FN 1/15)
From the very first main event of the year, 2022 has had some bangers! These men had come from very different 2021's, as Kattar was 0-1 and set the record for most strikes absorbed while Chikadze was 3-0 and a top prospect. Kattar would set the record straight and outbox the Georgian on this night in a stellar way to start the year off.
5. Brandon Moreno vs Deiveson Figueiredo 3 (UFC 270)
The trilogy fight that was so close it is almost guaranteed to cause the first ever quadrilogy that will take place next year. In the thrid installment of this rivalry Figueiredo would take home the unanimous decision in a speculated decision. Nonethless, both fighters scored knockdowns and they both had serious ground control that displayed both men's well-roundedness and confirming their place as the Top-2 of their division.
4. Francis Ngannou vs Ciryl Gane (UFC 270)
From the co-main of the first 2022 PPV to the main event, the fight immediately after Figuieredo-Moreno 3 on the card is also the fight immediately after on this list. Gane vs Ngannou was Ngannou's first title defense and was also a fight he was an underdog for. It was the fight that turned the page for Ngannou as the hardest striker in UFC history won this fight by outwrestling the "more well-rounded fighter" and doing it so on two torn ligaments on his leg.
3. Irene Aldana vs Macy Chiasson (UFC 279)
From just last weekend, the main card fight between Irene Aldana and Macy Chiasson is the biggest hot take on this list but if you didn't watch this fight you missed the best women's fight since Jedrzejczyk vs Zhang in 2020. Chiasson almost got her arm broken in the first round but would end up getting a dominant second round win and was winning the third round until the UFC's first upkick liver-kick saw Irene Aldana win this roller coaster of a fight.
2. Glover Teixeira vs Jiri Prochazka (UFC 275)
The best title fight and biggest comeback win of 2020 saw Jiri Prochazka take the throne of Light Heavyweight king. Teixiera came into this fight as a huge underdog but would dominate most of the first 4 1/2 rounds with his brilliant jiu-jitsu, but also by out-striking Prochazka as well. However, with a minute left Prochazka would reverse a side mount and sink Teixeira in a deep bulldog choke, submitting Teixiera for the first time in his career
1. Gilbert Burns vs Khamzat Chimaev (UFC 273)
The decision of best fight of the year was very close between this and #2, but we decided to take Chimaev vs Burns due to the competitiveness throughout the fight. Chimaev entered this fight only absorbing 1 strike in his previous 3 fights and went to war for three rounds with one of the best welterweights of the world Gilbert Burns. Chimaev even got knocked down once, and was tested on the feet and on the ground and this fight was truly undecided until the judges scored the fight. It is unlikely this fight will leave the top spot unless the next couple months produce an absolute classic.
-Make sure to stay tuned as MMA Complete continues coverage for the UFC through 2022
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-Z.D.