UFC title fights throughout 2022 were filled with dramatic moments and exciting finishes.
Titles changed hands often over the past 12 months, creating a brand new landscape for the majority of the divisions heading into the new year.
Take a look at the names and numbers of the new champions (in order of lightest to heaviest weight class) who enter 2023 with UFC gold around their waist:
Inside the numbers
- For the second year in a row, UFC titles changed hands nine times (including one interim champion) during 2022, tying for third most in the history of the promotion. The record in a single calendar year is 12, which occurred in 2016. The following year was the second most with 11 in 2017.
- Seven out of 12 weight classes across men’s and women’s divisions crowned a new champion, tying with 2015, 2018 and 2021. The UFC record is eight, which occurred in 2016 and 2017.
- Four fighters became two-time champions in 2022, the most in a single year in UFC history. The next highest total in a calendar year was two, which occurred in 2004.
- Only one fighter attempted to defend their newly acquired title in 2021: Carla Esparza dropped the strawweight belt to Zhang Weili.
- For the second time in UFC history, a fighter lost an undisputed title fight and went on to become interim title in the same year. Brandon Moreno lost to Deiveson Figueiredo in January, and became interim champion in July by defeating Kai Kara-France. Petr Yan accomplished the same feat in 2021.
Zhang Weili, strawweight
Zhang Weili reclaimed the strawweight title by defeating Carla Esparza at UFC 281 with a slick rear-naked choke from a crucifix position in the second round. Weili first became champion by defeating Jessica Andrade at UFC Fight Night 157 in 2019. She defended her title once by defeating former champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248. After a rough 2021 that saw back-to-back losses to Rose Namajunas, Weili bounced back with another win over Jedrzejczyk to earn a shot at then-champ Carla Esparza, who defeated Namajunas in May at UFC 274. Esparza’s second title reign was ended by Weili, who enters 2023 on her own second reign.
Deiveson Figueiredo, flyweight
Deiveson Figueiredo became champion for the second time by defeating his flyweight rival Brandon Moreno in their trilogy bout at UFC 270. Figueiredo first became champion by submitting Joseph Benavidez for the vacant title in 2020. After a draw and a loss to Moreno in back-to-back title bouts, Figueiredo won a unanimous decision in their third meeting, causing the belt to change hands once again, and also setting up a historic fourth bout that is set to take place at UFC 283 in January 2023.
Amanda Nunes, women's bantamweight
Amanda Nunes started her second bantamweight title reign and reclaimed dual champion status by avenging a loss to Julianna Pena. At UFC 277, Nunes won a dominant unanimous decision, outpointing the now-former champ at every turn. Nunes’ first claimed the bantamweight title by defeating Miesha Tate at UFC 200 in 2016. She defended at 135 pounds three times before claiming featherweight gold by knocking out Cris Cyborg at UFC 232. She then returned to bantamweight to rack up two more title defenses against Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie, before going back to 145 pounds, where she defeated Felicia Spencer and Megan Anderson before the bantamweight bouts against Pena.
Islam Makhachev, lightweight
Islam Makhachev reached the pinnacle of the lightweight division with a win over Charles Oliviera at UFC 280. Makhachev submitted Oliveira in the second round with an arm triangle choke, marking his 12th UFC victory as his crowning moment. It took 11 straight wins for Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protege to earn a crack at the title, and he capitalized in emphatic fashion by tapping out a very high-level BJJ specialist. For his first title defense, Makhachev is set to face featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284 in February 2023.
Leon Edwards, welterweight
Leon Edwards finally got his crack at a UFC title, and created a moment that will live in the mind of fight fans for ages. 80 months after facing Kamaru Usman in 2015, Edwards found himself sharing the cage with him again, but this time, with the welterweight title on the line in the main event of UFC 278. It took Edwards nine wins to get there, and Usman was hunting for his sixth title defense. As the final round of the bout began, it appeared the title was once again going home with “The Nigerian Nightmare.” However, Edwards pulled off a true “Rocky” moment, and landed a head kick that put Usman out cold with just 56 seconds remaining. It was one of the most shocking comebacks in UFC history, and a career-defining moment for the 31-year-old Edwards.
Alex Pereira, middleweight
Alex Pereira entered 2022 as an unranked middleweight with only one UFC fight under his belt, and exits the year as the division’s champion. Pereira won a unanimous decision over Bruno Silva in March and then knocked out Sean Strickland at UFC 276 in July. Israel Adesanya was in process of lapping the division, but Pereira had something no other potential contenders had: two kickboxing wins over “The Last Stylebender,” including a knockout finish. The history was there and the fight came together as one of the most anticipated bouts of the year. In the main event of UFC 281, Adesanya was up on all three judges’ scorecards going into the final round. Pereira needed a knockout finish, and he made it happen to create one of the most incredible moments of the year to become champion, and solidify his status as MMA Junkie’s Male Fighter of the Year.
Vacant, light Heavyweight
Jiri Prochazka picked up the light heavyweight title by defeating Glover Teixeira at UFC 275. The all-out war that stretched into the final seconds of the fifth round was one of the best fights of the year. Prochazka tapped Teixeira with 28 seconds remaining to claim UFC gold.
The fight was so nice, the UFC wanted to see it twice, and booked the rematch for December at UFC 282. Unfortunately, Prochazka suffered a major shoulder injury and vacated the title in order to keep the division moving while in recovery.
As a result, former champ Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev, which was already scheduled for the same event, was elevated to the main event for the vacant title. The fight was a close back-and-forth battle that went to the judges’ scorecards, but the split draw result meant no new champion was crowned, and the title remains vacant as we enter 2023. The promotion moved quickly to book another vacant title fight as Teixeira is currently set to face Jamahal Hill at UFC 283 in Brazil.
And still
These fighters entered the year as champion, and maintained their position heading into 2023:
- Valentina Shevchenko – Women’s flyweight
- Shevchenko fought once in 2022, defeating Taila Santos by split decision to record her seventh title defense.
- Aljamain Sterling – Bantamweight
- Sterling recorded two title defenses in 2022: A split decision win over Petr Yan and a TKO stoppage of T.J. Dillashaw.
- Amanda Nunes – Women’s featherweight
- Nunes did not defend the featherweight title in 2022, as her lone fight of the year took place in the bantamweight division against Julianna Pena.
- Alexander Volkanovski – Featherweight
- Volkanovski picked up two title defenses in 2022: A TKO stoppage of Chan Sung Jung and a unanimous decision win over Max Holloway.
- Francis Ngannou – Heavyweight
- Ngannou appeared once in 2022, defeating Ciryl Gane in a heavyweight title unification bout at UFC 270.
