2020 in Review: The Breakouts

Looking back on the fighters that made a splash over the last 12 months

Breakouts come in various shapes and sizes, but a first-year introduction and a “finally putting it all together” year are both important things to take note of when you’re watching events or looking back on the year that was in the rearview mirror.

While we often spend a great deal of time fixating on newcomers and breakthrough performers — both of which are important — it leaves a lot of room for everyone else to fall through the cracks because they don’t fit the category being covered, resulting in their quality year inside the Octagon fading from memory or not being remembered in the first place.

As such, I’ve compiled a comprehensive list — presented in alphabetical order because that’s easiest— of fighters that, in my opinion, enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2020.

Many will appear again on New Year’s Eve when I roll out the annual Fighters to Watch list and some will land on the incoming Top Prospects in the UFC collection that will drop before that, and for good reason: my hope is that if you hear me talk about these athletes enough, their names will take root and resonate, prompting you to pay closer attention and avoid feeling like an ultra-talented emerging competitor “came out of nowhere” when they had already tried to introduce themselves to you a number of times in the past.

Merry Christmas to you all.

Here’s the list.

2020 Breakout UFC Fighters

Joel Alvarez: the 27-year-old lightweight earned a pair of victories in 2020, pushing his UFC record to 3-1 with submission wins over Joseph Duffy and Alexander Yakovlev.

Magomed Ankalaev: we’re always talking about how LHW is shallow and features the same names, but Ankalaev is 28 and kept things moving in the right direction by winning his drawn out feud with Ion Cutelaba with another first-round finish in late October.

Askar Askarov: the flyweights are in the spotlight at the moment, but the unbeaten Russian did his damage early in the year, registering decision wins over Tim Elliott and Alexandre Pantoja before August arrived to cement his standing as one of the top contenders in the division.

Tom Aspinall: he didn’t beat anyone of great significance, but Aspinall did what you want a promising heavyweight to do in those situations by making quick work of Jake Collier and Alan Bedout to register his first two UFC triumphs.

Miguel Baeza: if rallying to beat Matt Brown in May wasn’t enough to get you excited about the undefeated Baeza, his follow-up finish of Takashi Sato to push his record to 3-0 in the Octagon (and 10-0 overall) should have been.

Raoni Barcelos: when you have the broadcast crew pulling the old “he’s way better than people understand” routine as you’re winning an entertaining scrap to push your record to 5-0 in the UFC, you've had a breakout performance.

Jan Blachowicz: the Polish veteran completed his climb to the top of the LHW division in 2020, blasting Corey Anderson before doing the same to Dominick Reyes to claim UFC gold.

Tanner Boser: everyone’s favourite Albertan won two fights in four weeks to earn a little buzz before losing a lacklustre fight against Andrei Arlovski towards the end of the year, lessening his momentum, but not killing it entirely.

Sean Brady: the Philadelphia native kept his unbeaten record intact with a decision win over Ismail Naurdiev and a second-round submission finish against Christian Aguilera that showed how dangerous he can be now that he’s getting comfortable in the UFC cage.

Joaquin Buckley: though he lost his short-notice debut, Buckley had a banner year in 2020, authoring the Knockout of the Year before following it up with another strong finish against Jordan Wright six weeks later.

Gilbert Burns: he entered 2020 as an intriguing figure in the welterweight division and exits as the top contender in the 170-pound weight class after victories over Demian Maia and Tyron Woodley and a postponed title fight with Kamaru Usman.

Giga Chikadze: kickboxing fans were already well aware of Chikadze, but 2020 was the year UFC observers discovered the talented Georgian, who should garner Honourable Mentions in the Fighter of the Year race after a 4-0 campaign inside the UFC cage.

Khamzat Chimaev: three fights, three wins, two strikes absorbed; Chimaev was the star of the summer and is currently the most hyped emerging talent on the UFC roster.

Randy Costa: “The Zohan” scored a second straight first-round finish in his lone 2020 appearance, blasting Journey Newsom with a head kick that should earn consideration for Top 10 Knockouts of 2020 lists.

Jimmy Crute: the 24-year-old Crute went 2-for-2 in 2020, needing a combined five-and-a-half minutes (exactly) to sub out Michel Oleksiejczuk and knock out Modestas Buskauskas and push his record to 12-1 overall.

Beneil Dariush: Dariush continued the resurgence he began at the tail end of 2018 with two more impressive finishes in 2020, extending his winning streak to five and his finishing streak to four while climbing back into the rankings in the loaded lightweight division.

Chris Daukaus: the elder member of “The Fighting Daukaus Brothers” did the same thing as Tom Aspinall, but without the fanfare, blasting his way through both guys the UFC put in front of him in less than five minutes.

Kyle Daukaus: the younger half of the Philadelphia-based fighting family started his year with a hard-fought loss to Brendan Allen that showed he belonged, and closed it out with his first UFC victory.

Mackenzie Dern: after suffering the first loss of her career to close out 2019, Dern responded with three wins this year, including the first leg lock finish in women’s strawweight division history.

Drew Dober: because he hasn’t fought since May, it’s easy to forget that Dober blasted both Nasrat Haqparast and Alexander Hernandez in the first half of the year to become a dark horse in the lightweight division.

Dricus Du Plessis: combine the name with a memorable nickname (“Stillknocks”) and a first-round knockout victory in your promotional debut and you’ve got the breakout trifecta.

Merab Dvalishvili: “The Machine” registered 473 takedowns in his three wins in 2020… okay, it wasn't quite that many, but Dvalishvili still dominated and did so with flare and panache.

David Dvorak: two wins in as many appearances in a division currently in the spotlight after starting the year not even on the roster feels like the recipe for a breakout to me.

Diego Ferreira: though he only fought once, Ferreira made the most of it, extending his winning streak to six with the biggest win of his career when he submitted Anthony Pettis at UFC 246.

Deiveson Figueiredo: while I don’t support the “relative unknown” tag many are retroactively affixing to him, he’s certainly established himself as someone you need to know and follow in 2020.

Rafael Fiziev: “Ataman” followed up his solid effort against Marc Diakiese with a blistering performance opposite Renato Moicano to announce his presence as a lightweight threat.

Rob Font: like Ferreira, Font made the most of his lone 2020 appearance, piecing up and putting down Marlon Moraes last weekend.

Justin Gaethje: “The Highlight” took things to another level with his masterful performance against Tony Ferguson in May, moving back into the championship tier with an unforgettable effort.

Ciryl Gane: entering the year as one of the top prospects in the UFC, “Bon Gamin” departs 2020 as a bona fide contender in the heavyweight division after dispatching Junior Dos Santos.

Phil Hawes: the former hyped prospects continued his post-hype ascension, shining on the Contender Series and in his Octagon debut.

Jamahal Hill: my pick for Newcomer of the Year, “Sweet Dreams” earned three* wins (one was overturned), capped by a second-round stoppage win over Ovince Saint Preux.

Angela Hill: the former TUF contestant rocketed up the rankings with two wins in four weeks, then earned a step up in competition and more than held her own, dropping a pair of close decisions to Michelle Waterson and Claudia Gadelha to finish 2-2 in 2020.

Kevin Holland: no one had a better year overall in the Octagon than Holland, who went 5-0 and closed things out by putting away Jacare Souza from his knees.

Dan Hooker: playing a part in two of the five best fights of the year is going to elevate your profile, sending “The Hangman” into 2021 as a member of the lightweight elite.

Dan Ige: the Hawaiian featherweight showed he’s a Top 15 talent with split decision wins over Mirsad Bektic and Edson Barboza before landing on the wrong side of the cards in a gritty, hard-fought battle with the next man on this list.

Calvin Kattar: followed up his hellacious finish of Jeremy Stephens in May with a steely, technical effort against Ige in July, setting up his January 16 showdown with Max Holloway.

Casey Kenney: after dropping a decision o Dvalishvili in February, the former Contender Series contestant rattled off three straight wins, and has an early 2021 date with Dominick Cruz.

Jordan Leavitt: when you slam someone into unconsciousness 30 seconds into your debut, you have my attention and hopefully everyone else’s as well.

Thiago Moises: made a splash with his second-round submission win over Michael Johnson early in the year, and quietly added a second victory over Bobby Green late in the year to cement his position in the lightweight ranks.

Brandon Moreno: if you weren’t already a fan of Moreno and his fighting style heading into the year, his efforts against Jussier Formiga, Brandon Royval, and Figueiredo most likely won you over.

Sumudaerji: blistering left hands from a freakishly massive flyweight? I’m listening and you better be as well.

Charles Oliveira: “Do Bronx” came into the year on a six-fight winning streak, but took things up a notch by finishing Kevin Lee in March and dominating Tony Ferguson in December.

Jiri Prochazka: flamboyant, slightly crazy, and happy to sling leather, all while icing a former title challenger? Not a bad way to introduce yourself, Mr. Prochazka.

Amanda Ribas: the Brazilian broke out with two wins in 2019, but took it up another notch with two more in 2020, thereby establishing herself as one of the brightest young stars in the UFC.

Daniel Rodriguez: a veteran of the California regional, “D-Rod” upset Tim Means in February and picked up two more victories in the middle third of the year before dropping a close decision to Nicolas Dalby in November.

Alexander Romanov: the 30-year-old heavyweight submission specialist nicknamed “King Kong” earned two finishes in four months to begin his UFC tenure.

Brandon Royval: submission wins over Tim Elliott and Kai Kara-France put “Raw Dawg” in the thick of the title chase before he ran into Brandon Moreno.

Taila Santos: quality wins over solid opposition in a division starved for fresh talent makes the Brazilian Santos a breakout fighter in 2020.

Sean Strickland: two wins in three weeks after two years out of action is impressive enough, but Strickland beat a seasoned vet and a promising upstart, and pushed his record to 17-0 at middleweight as well.

Ilia Topuria: he wasn’t on the roster in September, and now he’s one of the most promising young talents in the loaded featherweight ranks; that’s what I call a breakout campaign.

Gavin Tucker: the 34-year-old Newfoundlander turned in a pair of technical, smooth efforts to push his winning streak to three, opening a lot of eyes along the way.

Marvin Vettori: “The Italian Dream” made a tremendous leap in 2020, earning a place in the Top 5 at middleweight after a masterful effort against Jack Hermansson.

Khaos Williams: the Michigan native kicked in the door by detonating nuclear missiles on the chins of Alex Morono and Abdul Razak Alhassen in his first two appearances.

Yan Xiaonan: a mauling of Karolina Kowalkiewicz and a strong effort against Claudia Gadelha pushed Yan’s winning streak to 11 and elevated her into title contention in the strawweight ranks.

Adrian Yanez: a blistering knockout on the Contender Series earned Yanez a UFC contract, and a highlight reel finish in his debut made him someone fans will be paying close attention to heading into 2021.

Youssef Zalal: early victories over Austin Lingo, Peter Barrett, and Jordan Griffin had Zalal in the “Rookie of the Year” race before a loss to Topuria slowed his momentum.

Zhang Weili: the strawweight champ used her first title defence to co-author the 2020 Fight of the Year with Joanna Jedrzejczyk and establish herself as a legitimate star.