The clock is ticking until the 2022 UFC season finally kicks off – Jan. 15 is the day. In preparation, yesterday I profiled five fighters who I think have the potential to break out from the pack in 2022. Now, here’s five more predictions, in a larger scale, for what I think might happen in the UFC over the coming year.
The UFC women’s featherweight division will cease to exist
There was one big fight remaining at 145 in the UFC: world champion Amanda Nunes, the consensus greatest female fighter to ever put on a pair of four-ounce gloves, and Olympic judo gold medalist Kayla Harrison, the undefeated two-time PFL champion.
This was the one fight that could seemingly resurrect interest in a division that hardly exists nowadays. Harrison was cageside for Nunes’ most recent bantamweight title defense against Julianna Pena, and very conspicuously given the “hottest free agent in sports entertainment” treatment by the UFC broadcast. The stage was seemingly set for a pro-wrestling style showdown: Nunes would win, Harrison would meet her in the cage and the two would face off to build hype for a genuine dream fight.
All that went up in smoke when Nunes lost to Pena in one of the most stunning upsets in UFC history. Now, Nunes’ future is in question. The next time she returns to the cage, if and when it happens, will likely be for a rematch with Pena. And Harrison – never actually signed to the UFC – is left in the lurch.
Reality has also set in now that the Nunes-Harrison matchup is off our plates. If Harrison, a fresh new star, were to win, who would she fight? Nunes’ two most recent featherweight title challengers are gone from the UFC – Megan Anderson was allowed to walk after her loss last year, and Felicia Spencer recently retired.
There are no fighters left at 145, and there are currently no UFC women’s featherweight fights scheduled for 2022. The division is already unofficially dead – I think it officially enters the grave this year.
The UFC will (at least try to) push Alex Pereira to the moon
Dana White is often pretty awful at the job of actually promoting his fights and fighters, but he can still smell a money angle when it comes around. And despite having just five professional fights, Alex Pereira smells like a money angle.
If you read this blog, you know the story by now: Pereira was one of the top middleweight kickboxers in the world and a notable ring rival of current UFC champion Israel Adesanya. It was Pereira who scored the only recorded knockout of Adesanya in combat sports competition, knocking him flat with his legendary left hook in March 2017.
When Pereira committed full-time to MMA competition in 2020, the UFC wasted no time, snapping him up after just one win in LFA. Now, he’s poised to get pushed way up the card in 2022, as the UFC clearly angles for an Adesanya-Pereira rematch in the cage – the champion, never defeated at middleweight, against the one man to ever snatch his soul.
It’s a compelling story, should the UFC get the chance to tell it. There are plenty of potential pitfalls – first, Pereira has to prove he’s worth it in the cage. He passed his first test, against Andreas Michailidis in November, knocking the Greek out with a spectacular flying knee after being clinched against the fence the entire first round. He’ll have a much more dangerous opponent next: streaking Brazilian knockout artist Bruno “Blindado” Silva in March.
Adesanya also has to hang onto his belt – he has a big money rematch with former champion Robert Whittaker, who’s looked as good as ever since losing the title, coming up soon. But if both can keep up winning ways, the UFC will almost undoubtedly put us on a collision course for that rematch. And as soon as the end of 2022, Alex Pereira will be receiving world title buzz.
Islam Makhachev will fight for a UFC title
Islam Makhachev has seemingly been “coming soon” to the UFC lightweight title picture forever – now, with Khabib Nurmagomedov retired and out of the picture, Khabib’s most talented protege is finally here. 2022 is the year Islam Makhachev makes it.
Makhachev has been on the periphery for a long time, and over that time his hype has built and built, to the point where many have said that it’s only a matter of time before he takes the belt. At long last, Makhachev truly arrived in 2021, winning three fights in impressive fashion – he was completely dominant in submission victories over Drew Dober, Thiago Moises and Dan Hooker.
He’s no longer on the periphery. He’s right in the mix now, and he’s likely one win away from a world title shot. He’s matched up with top-five contender Beneil Dariush in February, another elite grappler who will give him a very stern test. If he wins there – and I think he will – he’s in line for a title shot by the end of the year, hopefully after champion Charles Oliveira tangles with Justin Gaethje.
We’ve been waiting to see what Islam is made of at the highest level for a long time. Now, we’re finally going to get to see it.
The calls for UFC fighters to unionize will grow louder… from fans, at least
UFC fighters are among the most exploited athletes in the world. That much isn’t new. But the focus on just how screwed UFC fighters are has been tightened that much more in recent months – by Jake Paul, of all fucking people.
I’m loath to devote any space to this dickhead, but when you’re right, you’re right. Heartbreaking: The Worst Person You Know Just Made a Great Point. Maybe it’s just clout-chasing on his part, but I’m glad someone with a major platform is putting the exploitation of UFC fighters in the spotlight, and I think that spotlight will continue to shine in 2022.
The exploitation of UFC fighters is far from a new development, although it’s gotten worse in some ways over the last several years. But at no point in my time as an MMA fan have I seen it talked about quite this much – by fans, by commentators and by the fighters themselves. At the moment, UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and his management are embroiled in a public feud with Dana White, and how that gets resolved could be very important to the fighters’ labor future.
We’re still far off from the type of collective labor action that UFC fighters need for a better future. But it does feel like something is brewing, if only a roiling sense of collective dissatisfaction. I don’t think we’ve heard the last of this.
Leon Edwards still won’t get anywhere near a world title fight
Some things may change, but some things will always stay the same. Leon, I’m sorry, bud. It’s gonna be Khamzat‘s turn to fight for the belt before yours. Maybe next year!
The Big Fight 