2022 had a little bit of everything.
There were back-and-forth battles, incredible upsets, wild knockouts, and stunning submissions. 13 PPV events from around the globe provided fight fans with some of the biggest moments of the year.
Recap some of the most important things to happen at each PPV this year:
UFC 270: Ngannou vs Gane
January 22, 2022 – Anaheim, CA

Francis Ngannou of Cameroon punches Ciryl Gane of France in their UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 270 event at Honda Center on January 22, 2022 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
- Francis Ngannou defended his title in an unification title bout against interim titleholder Ciryl Gane. Ngannou showcased another side of his game in the fight, utilizing his wrestling to defeat Gane
- Deiveson Figueiredo recaptured the UFC flyweight belt from Brandon Moreno in the third fight of their rivalry
- Welterweight debutants Michael Morales and Jack Della Maddalena show out
- Victor Henry upset Raoni Barcelos on short notice in their bantamweight bout
UFC 271: Adesanya vs Whittaker 2
February 12, 2022 – Houston, TX

Israel Adesanya of Nigeria faces Robert Whittaker of Australia in their UFC middleweight championship fight during the UFC 271 event at Toyota Center on February 12, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)
- Israel Adesanya beat Robert Whittaker for the second time and defended his middleweight title
- Tai Tuivasa scored a massive KO win over Derrick Lewis
- Jared Cannonier made a statement with a brutal KO of Derek Brunson
UFC 272: Covington vs Masvidal
March 5, 2022 – Las Vegas, NV

Colby Covington taunts Jorge Masvidal after the first round of their welterweight fight during the UFC 272 event on March 05, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
- Colby Covington dominated Jorge Masvidal in their grudge match main event
- Rafael Dos Anjos defeated Renato Moicano, but “Money” Moicano showcases true heart in the short notice bout
- Bryce Mitchell displayed improvements in his standup game on the way to winning against Edson Barboza
- Kevin Holland thrilled on his way to knocking out Alex Oliveira
- Jalin Turner proved he’s a problem by beating Jamie Mullarkey in emphatic fashion
- Marina Rodriguez won a razor close split decision over Yan Xiaonan in a showdown of strawweight contenders
UFC 273: Volkanovski vs The Korean Zombie
April 9, 2022 – Jacksonville, FL

Alexander Volkanovski of Australia punches 'The Korean Zombie' Chan Sung Jung of South Korea in their UFC featherweight championship fight during the UFC 273 event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on April 09, 2022 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC)
- Alexander Volkanovski put on a masterclass versus The Korean Zombie in defense of his featherweight title
- Aljamain Sterling wins super close split decision over Petr Yan in their bantamweight title unification bout
- Khamzat Chimaev earned the nod against Gilbert Burns in a Fight of the Year candidate
- Mackenzie Dern got past Tecia Torres in a hard-fought strawweight bout
UFC 274: Oliveira vs Gaethje
May 7, 2022 – Phoenix, AZ

Charles Oliveira of Brazil punches Justin Gaethje in the UFC lightweight championship fight during the UFC 274 event at Footprint Center on May 07, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
- Charles Oliveira missed weight ahead of his lightweight bout with Justin Gaethje, forfeited the belt, meaning the belt was vacant if he won, then put on the performance of a lifetime in a victory over Gaethje
- Carla Esparza beats Rose Namajunas in an uneventful rematch for the strawweight title
- Michael Chandler lands a Knockout of the Year candidate with a shocking front kick on Tony Ferguson and follows it up with the Octagon interview promo of the year
- Brandon Royval submitted Matt Schnell with a first round guillotine choke
UFC 275: Teixeira vs Procházka
June 12, 2022 - Singapore, Singapore

- Jiri Procházka submitted Glover Teixeira with less than 30 seconds left in their epic light heavyweight title fight
- Valentina Shevchenko won a split decision over Taila Santos in her closest flyweight title fight yet
- Zhang Weili knocked out Joanna Jędrzjczyk with epic spinning backfist
- Jędrzjczyk retired from MMA after the bout
- Jake Matthews delivered a blistering KO of André Fialho
- Jack Della Maddalena shined in his sophomore performance against Ramazan Emeev
UFC 276: Adesanya vs Cannonier
July 2, 2022 – Las Vegas, NV

Israel Adesanya of Nigeria walks to the Octagon in the UFC middleweight championship fight during the UFC 276 event at T-Mobile Arena on July 02, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
- Israel Adesanya cruised to another title defense over Jared Cannonier
- Alexander Volkanovski put on the best performance of his career against rival Max Holloway, going 3-0 against the former champion
- Alex Pereira knocked out Sean Strickland in the statement win he needed to call for a fight with Adesanya
- Pedro Munhoz vs Sean O’Malley ended in controversy after an accidental eye poke
- Jalin Turner delivered a sub-minute submission win over Brad Riddell to earn a spot in the lightweight rankings
- Jim Miller submitted Donald Cerrone to become the UFC’s all-time leader in wins and finishes. After the fight, “Cowboy” Cerrone decides to call it a career and walks away from MMA
- Dricus Du Plessis out-dueled Brad Tavares in an absolute banger
- Jessica Eye retired from MMA after losing to Maycee Barber
UFC 277: Peña vs Nunes 2
July 30, 2022 – Dallas, TX

Amanda Nunes of Brazil elbows Julianna Pena in the UFC bantamweight championship fight during the UFC 277 event at American Airlines Center on July 30, 2022 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
- Amanda Nunes recaptured the bantamweight title in a dominant win over Julianna Peña
- Brandon Moreno won the interim flyweight title thanks to a body kick TKO over Kai Kara-France
- Sergei Pavlovich jumped into the heavyweight elite with a sub-minute KO win over Derrick Lewis
- Alexandre Pantoja solidified himself as a title contender with submission win over Alex Perez
- Magomed Anakalev defeated Anthony Smith and moves into the light heavyweight top five
- Drew Dober took Rafael Alves out with a body punch KO
UFC 278: Usman vs Edwards 2
August 20, 2022 – Salt Lake City, Utah

Leon Edwards of Jamaica lands a head kick to Kamaru Usman of Nigeria in the UFC welterweight championship fight during the UFC 278 event at Vivint Arena on August 20, 2022 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)
- Leon Edwards stunned the MMA world with a last-minute head kick KO upset of pound-for-pound leader Kamaru Usman
- Paulo Costa won a crazy fight over Luke Rockhold. After the fight, Rockhold retired from MMA
- Merab Dvalishvili beats José Aldo to stake his claim as a bantamweight title challenger
- Tyson Pedro overwhelmed Harry Hunsucker with a brutal body kick
- Marcin Tybura upset the rising Alexandr Romanov with a majority decision victory
UFC 279: Ferguson vs Diaz
September 10, 2022 – Las Vegas, NV

Nate Diaz taunts Tony Ferguson in a welterweight fight during the UFC 279 event at T-Mobile Arena on September 10, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
- After a weight miss from headliner Khamzat Chimaev, the entire UFC 279 card experienced a dramatic shakeup
- Nate Diaz submitted Tony Ferguson
- Khamzat Chimaev submitted Kevin Holland in a dominant performance
- Irene Aldana made history with a upkick to the body knockout over Macy Chiasson
- Jailton Almeida made it 3-0 in his first year in the UFC thanks to a first-round submission win over Anton Turkalj
UFC 280: Oliveira vs Makhachev
October 22, 2022 – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Islam Makhachev of Russia battles Charles Oliveira of Brazil in their UFC lightweight championship fight during the UFC 280 event at Etihad Arena on October 22, 2022 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
- Islam Makhachev put on the performance of a lifetime, beating Charles Oliveira by submission to become the 12th undisputed UFC lightweight champion
- Aljamain Sterling defeated TJ Dillashaw by TKO for his second bantamweight title defense
- Sean O’Malley shocked the world by beating Petr Yan by controversial split decision
- Beneil Dariush defeated Mateusz Gamrot in their high-profile lightweight bout
- Manon Fiorot established herself as one of the best flyweights in the world by beating longtime title contender Katlyn Chookagian
- Belal Muhammad delivered the most impressive win of his career, beating the undefeated Sean Brady by TKO
UFC 281: Adesanya vs Pereira
November 12, 2022 – New York City, New York

Alex Pereira of Brazil punches Israel Adesanya of Nigeria in the UFC middleweight championship bout during the UFC 281 event at Madison Square Garden on November 12, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
- Alex Pereira completed an epic comeback win over Israel Adesanya, knocking out “The Last Stylebender” in the fifth round of their title fight
- Zhang Weili dominated Carla Esparza en route to recapturing the strawweight title
- Dustin Poirier beats Michael Chandler in one of the best fights of the year
- Chris Gutiérrez knocked out Frankie Edgar with a flying knee. After the fight, the former lightweight champion retired from MMA
- Dan Hooker defended Claudio Puelles’ leg attacks and defeated him with a body kick
- Renato Moicano added to his reputation as a master of the rear-naked choke by submitting Brad Riddell. In his Octagon interview with Joe Rogan, Moicano went off and dropped one of the promos of the year
- Ryan Spann catapulted himself into the light heavyweight elite with a knockout win over Dominick Reyes
- Erin Blanchfield proved to fight fans why she’s one of the top prospects in the sport, defeating Molly McCann in dominant fashion
- Michael Trizano and SeungWoo Choi have an epic one-round fight in which both fighters were dropped multiple times before Trizano finished Choi
UFC 282: Blachowicz vs Ankalaev
December 10, 2022 – Las Vegas, NV

- Due to an injury, Jiri Procházka decided to vacate the belt and Glover Teixeira decided not to fight for the belt, allowing the two other light heavyweights on the card to fight for the vacant title
- Jan Błachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev fight to a controversial split decision draw, leaving the UFC light heavyweight title vacant
- Paddy Pimblett won a close decision over Jared Gordon
- Santiago Ponzinibbio completed an incredible comeback victory over Alex Morono with a third-round TKO
- Dricus Du Plessis submitted Darren Till in the third round of their intense middleweight clash
- Ilia Topuria submitted Bryce Mitchell in their featherweight bout and then called for the UFC to host an event in Spain
- 18-year-old Raul Rosas Jr. made his debut as the youngest fighter in UFC history, submitting Jay Perrin in the first round
- Jairzinho Rozenstruik bounced back with a big KO win over Chris Daukaus
- Edmen Shahbazyan halted his three-fight skid with a TKO win over Dalcha Lungiambula