UFC Review: My 40 Favourite Performances from Q1
Highlighting the standout efforts from the first three months of action inside the Octagon
“The only thing I care about are performances.”
I said that a couple episodes back on The Next Day Takeaways, probably after Paddy Pimblett’s win in London got treated like a big deal because he has star power and beat a dude he absolutely should have beaten handily, and I genuinely mean it.
When it comes to the fights themselves, the only thing that matters to me is what happens inside those eight walls, because that’s what provides me with the information I need to make better assessments of where these athletes fit in their respective divisions, how far they could climb, and what elements are lacking from their arsenals.
And the reason I’m so vehement about it and try to keep the focus on performance so often is because I feel like it’s the last thing people want to talk about at times.
We go on about charisma and drawing power, Twitter beefs, organizational issues with and within the UFC, all these different things, and the dynamic efforts that determine wins and losses are often the pieces that fall by the wayside first, even though they’re the most pure piece of the puzzle.
All that other stuff is fun and engaging and stirs conversations, but at the end of the day, we all look to performance as the true measure of whether an athlete truly merits the fight in front of them or really should have done a little more. Performance is how we really grade these competitors, what makes us curious about matchups we haven’t seen and how fights are going to play out, and so for me, it’s the one thing I care about most.
And with the first three months of action inside the Octagon behind us, I wanted to take some time today to go back through the my compilation of the best performances thus far in 2022. A couple caveats first:
this is a chronological list, not a ranking of performances
this is my list, which means you don’t have to agree with everything said here
With those two things established, let’s get to it.
* * * * *
Calvin Kattar: everyone knew Kattar would be the toughest test of Giga Chikadze’s MMA career, but few expected the New England Cartel member to go out there and put it on the kickboxer the way he did.
Viacheslav Borshchev: the body shot that crumpled Dakota Bush was a thing of beauty.
Francis Ngannou: I love when fighters show us new elements of their game, and the Ngannou Ngrappling was certainly something I wasn’t expecting. For “The Predator” to win this fight the way he did remains one of the most surprising moments of the year thus far.
Said Nurmagomedov: not only was it a quick, nasty modified guillotine choke, but it came in the biggest spot of Nurmagomedov’s career to date. Really curious to see who he gets matched up with next. Bantamweight is awesome.
Michael Morales: he’s 22 and showed poise and patience in securing a first-round stoppage win over Trevin Giles, who’d previously earned wins at light heavyweight and middleweight and many tabbed as an intriguing addition to the welterweight ranks. This was one of those “circle his name and red and keep an eye on him for later” type of efforts.
Victor Henry: very cool to see the 34-year-old nomad finally find his way into the Octagon and post a unanimous decision win over a very skilled, very respected competitor like Raoni Barcelos.
Jack Della Maddalena: some of the praise has to be tempered because he busted up a short-notice replacement, but at the same time, that’s what you want to see from intriguing prospects against overmatched competition. “Della” was dominant and I can’t wait to see him back out there again.
Shavkat Rakhmonov: I wanted to see Rakhmonov face a Top 15 opponent after he made quick work of Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira in his promotional debut, and I want to see it even more now that he’s 3-0 in the UFC and finishes Carlston Harris with a spinning wheel kick.
Julian Erosa and Steven Peterson: in terms of pure entertainment and fun, this is the Fight of the Year so far. It won’t win because you have to factor in stakes and things like that, but this was every bit as enjoyable as I thought it would be, plus we got the awesome picture of Erosa I’ve used here too.
Chidi Njokuani: similar to Henry in that it was cool to see a talented veteran finally get his chance to step into the Octagon, but then “Chidi Bang Bang” followed it up by laying out Marc-Andre Barriault in 16 seconds.
Jailton Almeida: you can only beat the people they put in front of you, and so while I don’t hold Danilo Marques in particularly high regard as a competitor, Almeida’s dominant first-round stoppage win has me eager to see what he can do for an encore later this year.
Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker: this was the most enjoyable tactical fight of the year for me thus far, as I loved the cat-and-mouse between these two, with Whittaker having to make adjustments in order to keep it close. If they fought three more times over the next five years, I wouldn’t complain one bit.
Tai Tuivasa: if folks hadn’t recognized the improvements and adjustments Tuivasa made before this fight, they should be aware now, because this wasn’t just a heavy-handed kid from West Sydney taking it to a perennial contender; there was growth and development and real promise going forward on display in Tuivasa’s win over Derrick Lewis, and it’s been really great to see.
Jared Cannonier: he should have fought Adesanya following his win over Jack Hermansson, rather than the champ defending against Yoel Romero, so it was nice to see Cannonier get back to being the No. 1 contender with a hellacious stoppage win that reminded everyone of the power he carries in the 185-pound weight class.
Douglas Silva de Andradre: the Brazilian seemed like he was on the brink of getting stopped in the first round, but didn’t let the fight get out of the second, rallying and putting Sergey Morozov to sleep. This was one of those efforts that prompted people to look deeper into Silva de Andrade’s resume, where they learned he’s only lost to quality fighters and is a consistently entertaining competitor.
Jamahal Hill: the Michigan native delivered another statement win by stopping Johnny Walker cold in mid-February, giving him back-to-back violent first-round finishes and a ticket into the Top 10 at light heavyweight. I don’t know if he’s the future champion my guy Sean Sheehan believes him to be, but I’m sure interested in seeing him continue trying to get there.
Jim Miller: I can’t think of a veteran fighter that has handled the twilight of their career better than Miller, so to see him continue going out there, accepting every assignment given to him, and continuing to put up quality results is so enjoyable to me. Guy is an absolute legend.
David Onama: I had circled Onama’s name as “one to watch next time” following his short-notice, debut loss to Mason Jones, and the Glory MMA & Fitness representative made me look smart in his move back to featherweight. He’s a really intriguing talent to track in the 145-pound weight class after putting away Gabriel Benitez.
Stephanie Egger: the 33-year-old from Switzerland made it back-to-back stoppage wins with a first-round armbar finish of Jessica-Rose Clark in February, and while I don’t see her marching to the top of the division, there is room for her to move forward at bantamweight and her last two efforts make her someone I’m keeping tabs on going forward.
Chad Anheliger: there is something about guys that have a little more experience and have been through some shit that draws me to them even more, and I really enjoyed the poised debut effort from Anheliger. He was down early, but never got hurried or broke from the game plan, and in the third, he found the opening he needed to secure the win.
Arman Tsarukyan: guys like Tsarukyan are why the over-the-top attention given to fighters like Pimblett grates on me, because from the jump, this guy has shown he’s a world-class talent, and yet he operates in the shadows and off the radar. That should have changed after he mauled Joel Alvarez for his fifth straight UFC victory.
Ignacio Bahamondes: I still have some reservations about Bahamondes and his upside as a prospect, but what is undeniable and what I genuinely love is that he’s hunting for finishes and pushing right to the very end. We’ve now seen that in back-to-back efforts, and if he can dial in a couple other things, he could be a real fun addition to the lightweight ranks.
Terrance McKinney: “T. Wrecks” waited a long time to make his sophomore appearance inside the Octagon, and the quickly put away Fares Ziam to show that he’s already someone that should be fighting further up the division ladder at ‘55. He didn’t get the result he wanted a month later against Drew Dober (more on him shortly), but even there, McKinney showed flashes of being a special talent.
Bryce Mitchell: as someone who rants about understanding the quality and the level of competition everyone is facing and why that matters more than anything, I have to give it up to Mitchell, who out-hustled Edson Barboza from start-to-finish and looks like a real player in the featherweight division.
Maryna Moroz: just a gutsy, emotional effort from the Ukrainian at a time when it would have been totally understandable for her to withdraw from the fight. Moroz has won three straight since returning to flyweight too, so she might have a little something cooking going forward too.
Umar Nurmagomedov: “Cousin Umar” kept his unbeaten record intact with a first-round submission win over Brian Kelleher, which is the kind of result that should graduate him to the next tier of competition in the ultra-talented bantamweight ranks. I don’t now how good he is or can be just quite yet, but I’m very much looking forward to each new opportunity to get another read on what he brings to the table.
Song Yadong: the 24-year-old from China is probably the poster boy for my whole “Performance over Personality” argument, at least in the bantamweight division. This dude is now 8-1-1 in the UFC (and 19-5-1, 1 NC overall) with wins over a couple different ranked opponents, and yet folks spend far more time talking about what Sean O’Malley said on his latest podcast than discussing Song’s prospects in the bantamweight division. Dude is a problem, and he’s only going to keep getting better.
Khalil Rountree Jr: I have long maintained that if Rountree ever reached a point where he fought with confidence and aggression on a consistent basis, he could be a real problem in the light heavyweight division, and he’s starting to get there. For the second straight fight, he ended things violently, and then followed it up by being vulnerable and opening himself up to the world. He’s a great dude and a scary talent to keep eyes on going forward.
Drew Dober: how Dober survived Terrance McKinney’s early rush remains a mystery to me, so the fact that he rallied to finish things in the first round speaks further to his quality as a fighter and how outstanding this performance was. Dober is one of those “ecosystem” types for me — not quite a Top 15 fighter, but crucial for the continued life of their division — and this was a perfect example of how important it is to have fighters like him around and thriving at all times.
Miranda Maverick: coming off what had to be a demoralizing loss to Erin Blanchfield, I was curious to see how Maverick would respond, and she looked outstanding, taking the fight to Sabina Mazo and getting the submission in transition in the second round. She’s still very much part of that ascending pack of young talents to watch in the flyweight division, and could blossom to become the best of the bunch.
Tom Aspinall: this might be my favourite performance of the year so far because Aspinall looked so confident, so unbothered in there, despite facing the toughest test of his career, in his first UFC main event, at home in England. The 28-year-old is world class and has a full arsenal of weapons; he’s a contender in the heavyweight division and has the markings of a future champion.
Arnold Allen: he put it on Dan Hooker, has won nine straight in the UFC, and has done enough to merit a championship opportunity. If he’s not getting the next crack at the belt, let’s get him in there with Max Holloway and see which one of them has next because I’m done watching Allen be slowly moved up the divisional ladder… he’s too goddamn good to have to wait any longer. Thank you for listening to my Ted Talk.
Molly McCann: I love a good fiery performance in front of a home crowd, and the fact that you saw her setting up the elbow that iced Luana Carolina made it even more thrilling. “Meatball” is another one of those “ecosystem” fighters I was talking about earlier and we really do need to celebrate them more, even when they’re not delivering wild efforts like this.
Ilia Topuria: while I still believe he’s best suited for life at featherweight, this performance confirmed to me that Topuria is an elite talent with a genuinely scary set of skills, abilities, and innate gifts, and I cannot wait to see what is next for him, regardless of division.
Sergei Pavlovich: we’re always looking for new heavyweights, and Pavlovich showed, after two years away, that he’s someone that is going to keep climbing the rankings over the next 12-18 months. The big fella is super-intriguing to me.
Paul Craig: I love when fighters know exactly who they are inside the Octagon and play to their strengths, and Craig does that every time out now. I don’t know why anyone bothers to engage with him on the ground, but I’m glad they do because it allows the Scotsman to lace up lightning fast, deep submissions that make me smile on a regular basis.
Jack Shore: I have been waiting to see Shore get a step up in competition for a couple years, and he passed his latest test impressively. He too has done enough to merit a major step forward in his division, and remains one of the most underrated talents on the UFC roster.
Muhammad Mokaev: hands down the best debut performance of the year, and to do it at home in England, in under a minute? C’mon, son. Mokaev is going to be in the spotlight every step of the way, but something tells me this 21-year-old is up to the task, and destined for great things inside the Octagon.
Curtis Blaydes: Blaydes’ approach is awesome to me because he knows he’s got work to do in order to get back into the championship mix, and the only thing he’s worried about and focused on is putting in the work and posting the results to make that happen. He’s still developing as a fighter, still improving when it comes to his efforts inside the Octagon, and that showed on Saturday.
Alexa Grasso: the poise and wherewithal to turn Wood landing a spinning back elbow into a clinch and takedown attempt from Grasso is what really stood out for me in the finishing sequence on Saturday, because a couple years ago, I think she gets flustered and isn’t processing her next step that quickly. Grasso is reaching those levels many forecasted her to reach earlier in her career, and she’s not too far away from a championship opportunity.
Kai Kara-France: this was just a big, big win in a big, big spot for the flyweight from New Zealand, handing Askar Askarov his first career loss and doing it by fighting a patient, defensively sound, measured fight. Kara-France has learned just because he has big power doesn’t mean he has to throw it all the time; it’s made him a much better fighter and put him in line to potentially challenge for the flyweight title.
I’ll be back later in the week to look ahead to some of the fights that are booked and being talked about in Q2 that really excite me.