Let’s Celebrate This Incredible Year Of UFC By Looking At A Breakdown Of 2022 Through Numbers
2022 marked another successful year inside the UFC Octagon. Records were broken, new champions were crowned, and unforgettable memories were made.
As the year comes to an end and we look forward to the exciting action awaiting us in 2023, let’s celebrate this incredible year by looking at a breakdown of 2022 through numbers:
Events
A general view of the Octagon during the UFC Fight Night event at The Accor Arena on September 03, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
42 Events
21 events at UFC APEX
13 PPVs
5 countries
3 continents
16 cities
Fights
Stephen Thompson punches Kevin Holland in a welterweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Amway Center on December 03, 2022 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
511 Total Fights (including catchweight bouts) – The lightweight division had the most fights in 2022 with 66.
Heavyweight: 39
Light Heavyweight: 35
Middleweight: 64
Welterweight: 62
Lightweight: 66
Featherweight: 55
Bantamweight: 61
Flyweight: 32
Women’s Featherweight: 5
Women’s Bantamweight: 15
Women’s Flyweight: 33
Women’s Strawweight: 34
Total Fight Time in 2022: 92 hours, 30 minutes, and 16 seconds
19 Title Fights
9 title changes (interim flyweight title included)
5 champions remained the same
Aljamain Sterling – bantamweight
Alexander Volkanovski – featherweight
Francis Ngannou – heavyweight
Valentina Shevchenko – women’s flyweight
Amanda Nunes – women’s featherweight (hasn’t defended this belt since 2021)
Finishes
Michael Chandler knocks out Tony Ferguson in a lightweight fight during the UFC 274 event at Footprint Center on May 07, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
269 Finishes
98 Submissions
UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs Lemos and UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs Aspinall had the most submissions in a single event during 2022 with five.
The fastest submission of the year came at UFC Fight Night: Dern vs Yan when featherweight Sodiq Yusuff submitted newcomer Dan Shainis in 30 seconds.
171 Knockouts
UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs Emmett and UFC on ESPN: Thompson vs Holland tied for the most knockouts in an event during 2022 with eight.
Decisions
Valentina Shevchenko of Kyrgyzstan reacts after her split-decision victory over Taila Santos of Brazil in the UFC flyweight championship fight during the UFC 275 event at Singapore Indoor Stadium on June 12, 2022 in Singapore. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
242 Decisions
176 unanimous decisions
53 split decisions
8 majority decisions
3 draws
1 no contest
1 DQ
Miscellaneous
Raul Rosas Jr. poses for a post fight portrait backstage during the UFC 282 event at T-Mobile Arena on December 10, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC)
99 Debutants
At 18, Raul Rosas Jr. became the youngest fighter in UFC history to earn a victory when he submitted Jay Perrin in his debut at UFC 282.
199 fight night bonuses awarded
UFC 282: Błachowicz vs Ankalaev had 11 fight night bonuses, the most for an event in 2022.
20,845 fans watched UFC 281: Adesanya vs Pereira live from Madison Square Garden. It was the highest attendance recorded in 2022.
UFC 282: Błachowicz vs Ankalaev marked the company’s 29th consecutive sellout in full capacity arenas.
There’s no doubt 2023 will be another unforgettable year. The action returns on January 14 inside the UFC APEX when middleweights Nassourdine Imavov faces Kelvin Gastelum. Just one week later, the Octagon returns to Brazil, where light heavyweight gold is on the line at UFC 283: Teixeira vs Hill.
