Valentina Shevchenko continued her increasingly unparalleled run of dominance as the flyweight queen in 2021, defending her belt twice with a pair of finishes over Jessica Andrade and Lauren Murphy. Shevchenko shows no signs of slowing down, and the division is doing its best to churn out challengers quickly. Young prospects are rising quickly, but the newest face in this title mix is Taila Santos, who is riding a four-fight winning streak and is fresh off a submission win over Joanne Wood. Santos’ lone loss came via split decision in her UFC debut, and since then, she has looked like a well-rounded problem in the making. She is entering her fighting prime at 28 years old, and one more win could get her that title shot. Elsewhere, Katlyn Chookagian and Jennifer Maia are vying for a second crack at “Bullet.” They’ve bounced back from their losses to the champ well, and they’ll meet for a rematch to open 2022. If the timing works out, the winner may find themselves in a No. 1 contender fight sooner than later.

Names to Watch For in 2022: Manon Fiorot, Casey O’Neill, Erin Blanchfield

My oh my, did this division get shaken up to end the year. Peña’s upset over Nunes course-corrected a lot of things that seemed like they had order, including any potential fights Nunes had her eyes on down the road. First, their rematch is likely to come. If Nunes recaptures her belt, maybe there is a trilogy fight, or maybe she moves on to the rest of the challengers rising like Irene Aldana and Ketlen Vieiera (more on them in a moment). Should Peña thwart Nunes, it rejuvenates a division full of Nunes’ vanquished foes, including a particular flyweight champion.

Whatever happens in the rematch, Aldana and Vieira have put together solid resumes for a title shot. Aldana has continuously showed off her strong boxing and one-punch power, and Vieira bounced back from some struggles to regain her top-tier form. They should feature in some high stakes fights in 2022.

Names to Watch For in 2022: Aspen Ladd, Raquel Pennington, Macy Chiasson

After Amanda Nunes defended her 145-pound belt against Megan Anderson, there’s not a featherweight on the roster who has made themselves a clear contender. However, Norma Dumont has put together a few wins, and although she has had struggles making the bantamweight limit, she clearly has talent and the size to compete in a 145-pound contest. Elsewhere, maybe a bantamweight sees a path to the title if they fight at featherweight, but nobody has made a standout statement yet. Julianna Peña said she would rather stay at bantamweight for now, but she could be in the mix as well depending on how their bantamweight rematch goes. 

Frequently referred to as the deepest division in the UFC, bantamweights delivered banger after high-level banger in 2021, but it also provided some messiness at the top, as well. In Petr Yan’s first title defense, he lost his belt via disqualification when he kneed a grounded Aljamain Sterling. Sterling then went on to have a surgery that eventually scratched their rematch, and Yan captured the interim title in a fun fight against Cory Sandhagen.

Eventually, Sterling and Yan will fight to unify the belts, and then they can turn their attention to a pair of established stars primed to fight for gold once again. TJ Dillashaw returned from his two-year suspension with a split decision win over Sandhagen to immediately throw himself into the title picture, and José Aldo got his feet under him in the division, tallying a pair of wins in 2021. They could find themselves fighting one another for the next title shot if the timing is right, but as we’ve seen in the division in years past, anything can happen at 135.

Names to Watch For in 2022: Merab Dvalishvili, Marlon Vera, Sean O’Malley, Cory Sandhagen

The featherweight division didn’t produce much in terms of a frequency of high stakes fights at the top of the class, but when the best did step in against each other, they put on some of the best fights of the year. Namely, Alexander Volkanovski’s title defense against Brian Ortega was one of the best title fights the division has seen in recent memory. Just go back and watch that third round if you need an adrenaline rush.

Meanwhile, Max Holloway bolstered his case for a third crack at the Aussie. He likely earned the chance when he put on a historic performance against Calvin Kattar to open 2021, but he stamped it with a five-round war against Yair Rodriguez, who also looked sharp in his return. Kattar and Giga Chikadze are opening the 2022 slate with a main event, and whomever comes out victorious might be a win away from a shot at whomever holds the belt after the eventual trilogy fight between “The Great” and “Blessed.”

Names to Watch For in 2022: Josh Emmett, Arnold Allen, Bryce Mitchell, Movsar Evloev, Dan Hooker

Kamaru Usman defined 2021 in many ways. UFC.com’s Fighter of the Year defended his title in spectacular fashion three times in the year, taking out Gilbert Burns, Jorge Masvidal (also UFC.com’s Knockout of the Year), and Colby Covington. He doesn’t have much time to sit back, though, as another wave of contenders is prepared to challenge his throne.

Leon Edwards returned in 2021 to mixed results. His return bout against Belal Muhammad turned out to be anticlimactic due to an accidental eye poke that led to a no contest, but he did look good against Nate Diaz at UFC 263. Edwards controlled that fight for 24 minutes before Diaz shook Edwards late but couldn’t finish the job. Edwards hasn’t lost in six years – his last defeat coming coincidentally to Usman. Vicente Luque is in top form, as well, and few are lining up to fight “The Silent Assassin.” He might need one more big win to earn a shot, but he also might have a case as it stands. Belal Muhammad turned in a dominant, breakout performance against Stephen Thompson, so he figures to play a heavy part in the title picture in 2022.

Khamzat Chimaev is the biggest question mark heading into the next year. Chimaev has been utterly dominant so far, and he passed his biggest test against Li Jingliang with flying colors. He seems like he’s on a fast track up the division, so how he decides to leap up the ladder might be determined by who wants to take that fight.  

Names to Watch For in 2022: Gilbert Burns, Sean Brady, Geoff Neal

Glover Teixeira capturing the light heavyweight title at 42 years old is one of the most heartwarming stories of the year, and all signs point toward his first defense coming against Jiri Prochazka, the Czech wildman who has knocked out Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes in two UFC outings.

Right on the precipice of title shots are Aleksandar Rakic and Anthony Smith. Rakic added another main event win to his name with a decision victory over Thiago Santos, but some felt underwhelmed by his performance. He can pick up a signature win early in the year, however, if he can put away former champion Jan Blachowicz, who is keen on getting his belt back sooner than later. Someone who also has eyes on Rakic is Anthony Smith, who bounced back from losing to Rakic with three straight wins (all first-round finishes) and an emphatic callout of Rakic. That fight hasn’t come to fruition just yet, but “Lionheart” is firmly back in the title picture.

Names to Watch For in 2022: Magomed Ankalaev, Jamahal Hill, Dominick Reyes, Paulo Costa

Free from the trilogy between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier, Ngannou finally captured the title with a knockout win over Miocic in March. It seemed like a new era was set to begin in the division, but Ngannou did not fight again in 2021. Instead, an interim title was created, and Frenchman Ciryl Gane emphatically took that at UFC 266 in Houston after he knocked out Derrick Lewis. Gane and Ngannou are set to unify the titles at UFC 270 in January, which is a razor-close fight on paper.

Depending on who comes out on top determines what’s next. Derrick Lewis might have a shout at another title shot if Ngannou retains the belt considering Lewis holds a win over Ngannou. If it’s Gane, the door is much more open for Curtis Blaydes, who has only lost to Lewis and Ngannou in the UFC. Of course, the impending heavyweight run of Jon Jones still lingers, but it’s unclear if and when “Bones” will decide to return to action.

Names to Watch For in 2022: Chris Daukaus, Tom Aspinall, Tai Tuivasa