Fighter of the Year 2022: Male

Jay Anderson: So many belts changed hands this year that Alexander Volkanovski pretty much deserves a medal. It’s hard to argue against the Australian, who has all but cleaned out his featherweight division and is set to take a stab at double-champ status when he takes on Islam Makhachev at UFC 284. Bellator’s Vadim Nemkov was one of the only other names even in the running, along with Alex Pereira.

Gabriel Gonzalez: Alexander Volkanovski. He put on a masterclass against the Korean Zombie in April that may have been one of the best showcases by any champion in recent memory. But to top that off with a similar route of longtime champion Max Holloway makes him an easy choice for Fighter of the Year and sets him up to be next year’s favorite.

Eddie Law: Very few will agree with me on this and even more will ridicule the pick, but to me Nate Diaz is fighter of the year. With so much talk around fighter pay and treatment Diaz refused to let the promotion put a price on his worth. After the booking against Chimaev, and the ultimate switch to a bout with Tony Ferguson, Diaz managed to walk away from the UFC with something very few do. 

A win, the bag, and plenty of positive prospects for himself in the future. 209, WHAT?!

Alex Behunun: Alex Pereira. Well, who saw this coming? Alex Pereira started his year off by defeating a tough as hell Bruno Silva, proving that he is more than a knockout artist. He then knocked out Sean Strickland who was on a run in the middleweight division and then he knocks out the second best middleweight of all time in their combat sports trilogy.

Jamie Theodosi: Alexander Volkanovski. As much as his win over “The Korean Zombie” was expected, the way in which he made the veteran look, speaks volumes to just how good Volk is. Pair that with how comprehensively he beat Max Holloway, who if it wasn’t for Volk, would be by far the best fighter in the division, his year has made us speak about him as the P4P best. And then we factor in the fact he’s moving up to take the toughest test in the sport. 

Val Dewar: Alexander Volkanovski. The best fighter in the world turned his game up to eleven in 2022 as he put on two absolutely dominant virtuoso performances against Chan Sung Jung and Max Holloway, the latter in particular being notable as one of the best performances in the history of the sport. Even though Volkanovski had beaten a legitimate all-time great talent in Holloway twice – once dominantly and once controversially – the third fight was what convinced the public he is the best in the world even though a lack of finishes and a fanbase which has long been enamored with Max Holloway had long led fans to not respect the Aussie. Now, Alexander ‘The Great’ is the consensus pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, has already cemented himself as one of the best fighters of not this generation but of the sport’s history, and will look to improve upon his already prodigious legacy by challenging for a second belt against the UFC’s pound-for-pound second best fighter, Islam Makhachev.

Michael Lynch: Alex Pereira. 3-0 on the year with three huge wins — Bruno Silva, Sean Strickland, then a comeback win for title against Izzy.

End result: Alex Pereira garnered a couple of votes, but Alexander Volkanovski claims our Fighter of the Year (Male) award for 2022. He remains undefeated in the UFC, defended his featherweight title twice, against The Korean Zombie and Max Holloway, and has now earned himself a shot at lightweight gold.

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Jay Anderson: Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler in New York was a whole lotta rosie fun, but Jiri Prochazka vs. Glover Teixeira had everything. High stakes, with the title on the line, crazy action, and a come-from-behind win for Prochazka. It’s a shame we were robbed of the rematch. But that’s my pick for Fight of the Year.

Gabriel Gonzalez: Glover Teixeira vs Jiri Prochazka. The fact that there were five rounds of momentum changes is still unbelievable even now.  The determination, tenacity, and sheer will from both men is really what makes this the best sport in the world.  To have the fight end with a late rally from Prochazka in the form of a submission was the cherry on top of an all-time classic.

Eddie Law: Coming into UFC 273 in April Khamzat Chimaev had been tearing through his opponents with only one of his bouts going into the second round. 

Until he ran into Gilbert Burns who showed no fear for “Borz” smothering style and even hurt the UFC rising star to take him the full 3 rounds. We finally saw Chimaev pushed to the brink and some even thought Burns won the fight. To me, easily the best fight of the year.

Alex Behunin: Jiri Prochazka vs. Glover Teixeira. This fight had everything and had surpassed Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson as the best LHW fight of all time. Both fighters were hurt and had their moments and then Jiri Prochazka who is not known for his submissions whatsoever, taps Glover Teixeira…when he was down on the scorecards. Amazing.

Jamie Theodosi: David Onama vs Nate Landwehr. I’ve picked this fight as opposed to the ones with higher stakes as it was the fight that had me on my feet for the majority of it. From Onama’s pure exhaustion, to his heart for being able to stay in the fight, this fight gave us everything. 

Val Dewar: Glover Teixeira vs Jiří Procházka. Glover Teixeira was ahead on the scorecards through twenty-four minutes and thirty-two seconds of absolute war in his first attempted title defense at UFC 275. The fight had been back-and-forth and he had absorbed absurd amounts of damage for anyone, let alone a forty-two year old, but he had largely been able to get the fight to the ground and mount extremely effective offense, even hurting his Czech striking specialist opponent severely early in round five. With little over a minute left, Jiří Procházka escaped full mount, found his way to a rear-naked choke attempt, and submitted the BJJ black belt Teixiera despite Jiří only having submitted two opponents in thirty-two career fights to that point. The back-and-forth action, high drama, and the unlikely method of the comeback victory make this UFC light heavyweight title bout a lock for fight of the year, despite fierce competition.

Michael Lynch: Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gilbert Burns. The fight was absolute madness.

End result: Jiri Prochazka vs. Glover Texieria claims our Fight of the Year award. It’s the fight that had it all, and convinced the UFC to book an immediate rematch where one wouldn’t have otherwise been warranted. Injury scuttled that bout, and the light heavyweight title remains vacant, with Texieira and Jamahal Hill fighting for it at UFC 283 later this month.

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Jay Anderson: There were a lot of solid contenders for this one. Cluadio Puelles locked up a kneebar on Clay Guida that was in the running. Championship fights gave up big moments like Prochazka submitting Teixeira, and Oliveira submitting Gaethje. But I like seeing things that are just plain different. Oliver Enkamp hit a buggy choke this year, but I’m giving it to “The Boa Constrictor” himself for a neck crank from a scarf hold against Jared Vanderaa.

Gabriel Gonzalez: Jessica Andrade Standing Arm-Triangle vs Amanda Lemos. This one is even better in context as Andrade caught Lemos with this difficult submission half-way through the year.  When considering that Lemos is now on the short list to fight for the title herself after bouncing back against with two stoppage victories of her own, the fact that Andrade made it look so easy gives it that wow factor.

Eddie Law: Sometimes we get match-ups where one man is clearly better than the other one one aspect of MMA and Jiri Prochazka vs. Glover Teixeira put one of the best all around strikers against one of the most experienced and talented grapplers at 205 pounds. 

After nearly five rounds of back-and-forth battle, most on the ground with Glover dictating the pace, Jiri was able to reverse the position, end up on top of Glover and sink in an RNC for the title.

Alex Behunin: Luca Poclit vs. Dante Schiro. I’m going to keep this very short. Just go watch this submission on YouTube, it is like seeing a unicorn in the wild.

Jamie Theodosi: Erin Blanchfield over Molly McCann. Again, situation aside because of course Jiri’s sub win over Glover was the higher stake situation. This was the fight and performance that has shown a lot of fans that Erin Blanchfield is the real deal, and most probably a future champion. McCann came in with a lot of hype and therefore there were a lot of eyes on the fight, and despite being so young and inexperienced at the very highest level, Blanchfield put on an absolute clinic, finished off with a beautiful Kimura.

Val Dewar: Luca Poclit Luca-nator Choke vs Dante Schiro. Since it was on the prelims of Bellator 285, Luca Poclit’s inventive submission of Dante Schiro flew under the radar, but even in a year where finishes were had by standing arm triangle, buggy choke, and inverted triangle choke, just to name a few, Poclit’s stood out. The choke, dubbed a “Lucanator” choke by the broadcast team as a derivative of Poclit’s first name, had never before been seen, earning it my top ranking.

Michael Lynch: Nate Diaz over Tony Ferguson. Biased pick — Diaz is my favorite fighter. Had to take one of his brighter moments of 2022 as Sub of the Year.

End result: Luca Poclit takes our Submission of the Year award for 2022. It’s a pretty good sign that your submission is something special when it’s actually named for you. Poclit put away Dante Schiro at Bellator 285 in September with what wound up being called the “Lucanator” choke. It dazzled fight fans and baffled even BJJ aficionados, who weren’t sure what to call it. Well, Lucanator it is.

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Jay Anderson: Michael Chandler’s foot connected with Tony Ferguson’s face at UFC 274 in May, and completely rearranged it, leaving Ferguson looking something akin to a Warcraft Orc. That’s an image I won’t soon forget. An easy pick for my Knockout of the Year.

Gabriel Gonzalez: Michael Chandler vs Tony Ferguson. It is Ferguson’s early success that also made this one all the more devastating.  Though the bout was far from over, Chandler looked as if he might have plenty to deal with before he made the adjustments and delivered the most brutal finish of fan-favorite Ferguson’s current skid.

Eddie Law: Nobody saw this one coming after 24 minutes of seeming domination from then champion Kamaru Usman. A literal last minute head kick by Leon Edwards saw the belt make it’s way to the UK. 

The left hand to hide the head kick was as basic as a set up gets, but very effective. Combined with the commentary that had written Edwards off at that moment, the KO left the entire arena in complete shock.

Alex Behunin: Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson. This knockout is just violent – which is what I like in a knockout. Did it have the story or stakes of Edwards vs. Usman? No but it was the first time Tony Ferguson was flatlined and it was brutal.

Jamie Theodosi: Leon Edwards over Kamaru Usman. Bias aside, my KO of the year goes to Leon Edwards. The whole situation, being down 3-1, Dave Lovell (his coach) giving him probably the most inspiring talk ever while being down 3 rounds, still holding out the hope that Leon could secure something monumental, Jon Anik’s perfectly timed bit of commentary, the whole moment played out to be one of the most unique, special moments, ever. 

Val Dewar: Molly McCann Spinning Elbow vs Luana Carolina. Molly McCann burst onto the scene this year and may have set herself up financially for life with the best knockout – even among many other great ones – on one of the biggest cards of the year, the first UFC London card back in March. This knockout instantly shot her into stardom, the UFC video game, and a six-figure sponsorship with Barstool Sports, changing her life forever. Though it is not part of choosing this award, it has to be mentioned that in her very next fight Molly once again got a finish with the help of a spinning elbow, turning it into somewhat of a signature move for her.

Michael Lynch: Leon Edwards over Kamaru Usman. Was down so bad going into the last round and pulled off a perfect high kick to win the title.

End Result: We were split between two thunderous head kick KOs this year. Michael Chandler’s front kick rearranged Tony Ferguson’s facial features, while Leon Edwards fifth-round head kick against Kamaru Usman secured him the welterweight title. The two share our Knockout of the Year award for 2022.

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Jay Anderson: I went with Prochazka vs. Teixeira for my Fight of the Year. Comeback is another story. Billy Quarantillo had a good one against Alexander Hernandez recently. Alex Pereira’s knockout of Israel Adesanya in the fifth and final round of their UFC 281 main event was huge, and absolute gold in terms of continuing their rivalry. But it’s hard, very hard, to argue against Leon Edwards’ comeback head kick KO of Kamaru Usman. Just as Usman was being talked about in terms of GSP-level greatness, he was humbled in an instant. It’s a cruel, cruel sport.

Gabriel Gonzalez: Leon Edwards vs Kamaru Usman. What more can be said? Usman was roughly a minute away from a record-tying 16th straight UFC victory and had routed Edwards from the second round onward before the now famous rallying speech in the corner propelled “Rocky” to a knockout finish worthy of his nickname.  Consider that Usman had previously gotten the best of Edwards before and it makes the victory all the more triumphant.

Eddie Law: Schnell vs. Mudaerji. The first round seemed to go the way Matt Schnell liked it, on the ground and landing shots on his opponent. The second round was a complete opposite when we saw Su Mudaerji rock Schnell repeatedly and drop him. 

And that’s when Schnell went to work, wobbled and all, locked up a triangle from bottom and pulled victory out of the clutches of defeat.

Alex Behunin: Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman 2. I was one of the few souls that didn’t watch this live because I was at a concert, however, I finally went back and watched the fight and wow, it was special. Leon Edwards was down on the cards about to lose a lopsided decision and then boom… headshot, dead. Epic.

Jamie Theodosi: Leon Edwards over Kamaru Usman. I know I could’ve picked Pereira here over Edwards being as though I’ve already made a pick for Edwards and this fight, but it means too much to me to not pick it!

Val Dewar: Leon Edwards Round 5 Headkick vs Kamaru Usman. Is there really any question what was the best comeback of 2022? Even in a year with a litany of incredible ones – Alex Pereira vs Israel Adesanya, Echols vs Downey, Douglas Silva de Andrade vs Sergey Morozov, Drew Dober vs Terrance McKinney, and Matt Schnell vs Su Mudaerji just to name a few – Leon Edward’s headkick knockout stands out as the clear leader for best comeback in MMA this year. Everything from the emotions of his coach before round five to the perfectly timed commentary of Jon Anik to the stakes of fighting the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC’s rankings at the time, a man who had already beaten Leon once, it was perfect. Not only is it the best comeback of the year, it will go down in history as one of the best ever.

Michael Lynch: Leon Edwards vs Usman. The speech Edwards’ corner gave him before the knockout gives chills. One of the best comebacks in UFC history.

End result: It’s a landslide! Leon Edwards was well on his way to becoming another notch on Kamaru Usman’s belt when he landed a head kick that changed the course of the fight, and welterweight history. And that is your Comeback of the Year for 2022. Many forget this was Edwards’ second fight against Usman, and it very well could have relegated the Brit to also-ran status had Usman won, and hung onto the belt for a few more years. Instead, Edwards becomes the England’s second UFC champion, paving the way for UFC 286 in March to be held in London.

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Jay Anderson: Recency bias be damned. I’m having a hard time not choosing Raul Rosas Jr. here. Yes, he made his debut just a few weeks ago. But, as a 17-year old, he went on the Contender Series and won a UFC deal. Then, freshly 18, he dominated Jay Perrin at UFC 282. At the very least, he’s going to win fights in the UFC. Will he someday become the UFC’s youngest-ever champion, as he desires? Wouldn’t that be something.

Gabriel Gonzalez: Dilano Taylor. While Taylor faced stiff competition from super prospect Raul Rosas Jr, it’s impossible not to acknowledge the Cinderella run the Florida native had this year.  Building experience in the likes of Titan FC, Taylor entered the PFL through the Challenger Series earlier this year to earn a place on the main roster.  When a late-notice spot in the semifinals opened up, Taylor completed his breakout year with a first round finish of UFC veteran and former Bellator champion Rory MacDonald to become an unexpected finalist.

Eddie Law: Jailton Almeida. When your style is compared to UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov that’s saying something, but when you’re a big guy jumping from light heavyweight to heavyweight and still dominating that’s special.

Jailton Almeida has the 205ers nervous and the heavyweights wary as he brought his smothering style to the octagon in 2022 and looks to dominate even more in 2023.

Alex Behunin: Jack Della Maddalena. Three fights, three knockouts and Jack Della looked absolutely amazing doing it. He is probably looking at a top 15 match-up in early 2023 and put the entire division on notice.

Jamie Theodosi: Muhammad Mokaev. What a year for Mok. Came into the UFC and utterly blitzed a tough opponent in Cody Durden in his first fight. Went on to fight twice more and now finds himself in the picture of people talking about possible title fights at the backend of next year. He is frighteningly good at such a young age.

Val Dewar: Jack Della Maddalena. Aussie Jack Della Maddalena showed the level he can fight at in 2021 when he won a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in a three round war with Ange Loosa, but it was not until 2022 that he showed the wider fanbase who he was, as he got three first round knockouts in a row, something usually only heavyweights and light-heavyweights do. Jack showed his prodigious boxing ability as he brutalized Pete Rodriguez and Danny Roberts before they succumbed to his hands, but he also showed he can deal with adversity and keep his eyes on the prize when he escaped a tight d’Arce choke from Ramazan Emeev before stopping the Russian with a hellacious hook to the body. The highly aggressive nature of Jack’s style makes him one of the most exciting prospects in recent years and fans will be sure to look out for him when the UFC comes to his hometown of Perth, Australia for UFC 284.

Michael Lynch: Jailton Almeida. 3-0 since joining UFC with three finishes. In my opinion one of the most exciting prospects in the UFC leading into 2023.

End result: It’s a tie between Jailton Almeida and Jack Della Maddalena for Newcomer of the Year. A frankly well-deserved one. Both fighters went 3-0 with three stoppages, and both put their respective division (or divisions) on notice. Look for a big 2023 from these two.

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Fans definitely played their part in a number of events, notably in London, Austin, and Paris. Promotions upped their game as well, stacking cards for shows that were open to the public. The end result was magical in many cases, but one event stood out above the rest. Read on for our Event of the Year in 2022!

Jay Anderson: Save for a couple of local shows, I missed all of 2021 in terms of live event coverage aside from a couple of local shows, all thanks to the pandemic. So I may be biased in choosing March’s UFC London card, the promotion’s triumphant return to the O2 Arena in London, England. That marked my first instance covering a UFC event since the Norfolk card just before the pandemic — but given how much this card resonated with fans, thanks to strong performances from Tom Aspinall, Paddy Pimblett, and Molly McCann, I feel the choice is justified. It’s a lock for Event of the Year.

Gabriel Gonzalez: UFC London. It’s been a long time since a Fight Night event went off with the same kind of impact that the first London event did this year in March. It was an unquestioned success for the talent coming out of the United Kingdom and in particular was a star turn for Paddy Pimblett who the fans continued to cheer for even as the event had moved on to the following fight. Competitively it was a fun night but the crowd definitely pushed this one into a special place this year.

Eddie Law: UFC London. Three decisions total on the card, a crazy crowd on hand, and some of the best the UK had to offer in the octagon made UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall the best event of the year. Tom Aspinall announced his arrival, Paddy Da Baddy continued his rise, Meatball Molly brought the KO and Paul Craig sunk in the possible Sub of the year. 

All around great event that could only have gone down in the UK.

Alex Behunin: UFC 281. Two title changes, a Fight of the Year contender and a bunch of finishes. What more can you ask for? Oh, and also…the birth of Money Moicano.

Jamie Theodosi: UFC London. A night where future champions were introduced (Mokaev) and Tom Aspinall showed the world he is one of the best heavyweights in the world. The first event in London in two years and it turned out to be an absolute BANGER from top to bottom.

Val Dewar: ONE X. The sheer volume of elite level fights on ONE X was something that may never be repeated again in combat sports, given how major promotions design their fight cards to have a maximum of three title fight so that they can hold several big events per year, each with a title fight headliner. ONE Championship held an event consisting twenty fights between four different combat sports taking place over the course of ten hours. This included five title fights, a kickboxing grand prix final, an MMA champion grappling one of the best BJJ masters alive, six aging legends of combat sports – including John Wayne Parr in his last ever fight, and the greatest MMA flyweight of all time competing against the current most popular Nak Muay in the world in a mixed rules bout which combined their two sports. Depth and massive names are all well and good, but the card still had to deliver, which it absolutely did as seen by Chatri Sityodtong giving out eight different performance bonuses and one fan voted bonus.

Michael Lynch: UFC London. 9/12 fights end in finish. Aspinall pulls off a straight arm bar in main event. Dan Hooker and Arnold Allen have an all out war in the co-main event and Paddy Pimblett even got a crazy knockout in the third to last fight.

End result: Over half the votes for Event of the Year in 2022 went to UFC London, the March 2022 edition. While the promotion would return to the O2 Arena later in the year, its triumphant return to England in March after years away was lightning in a bottle.

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2022 once again sees the focus on the women’s side of the sport, and another historic upset. Read on for our reasoning in awarding the 2022 Upset of the Year!

Jay Anderson: I’m going with Larissa Pacheco here, though to be honest, she did show she cold hang with Kayla Harrison through their first two meetings. In two prior fights, she pushed Harrison, taking her the distance both times. Finally, the third time was the charm, and she served up Kayla’s first loss while winning a million dollars in the process. Also of note: Pat Downey came into MMA with a lot of hype thanks to his wrestling pedigree. His first fight went very much according to plan. Fight number two? Not so much. Christian Echols, a +1500 underdog at times, dropped Downey like a sack of potatoes. Reminding us all that in MMA, anyone can win on any given night.

Gabriel Gonzalez: Aljamain Sterling vs Petr Yan. At least Leon Edwards had put together a ten fight win-streak going into his rematch with Kamaru Usman.  Most had said that Sterling was on borrowed time as a champion after he looked to be on his way out of the first fight with Yan before the infamous knee ended their bout in controversy.  To brilliantly execute a new strategy while also returning from a procedure on his neck gives Sterling this one in a year that saw several upsets.

Eddie Law: Leon Edwards over Kamaru Usman.

Alex Behunin: Larissa Pacheco vs. Kayla Harrison. I gave Larissa Pacheco literally 0% chance to beat Kayla Harrison and well, she shut me and everyone else up. She ended Harrison’s dominant run and took her 0. Great stuff.

Jamie Theodosi: Larissa Pacheco vs. Kayla Harrison. For Alex Pereira to come over to the highest level of MMA and win the title so soon, over someone who has been completely dominant, is nothing short of spectacular. Despite the history between them, this stands as a huge upset this year. But since we’re talking MMA as a whole, I’ll go Pacheco over Harrison.

Val Dewar: Kayla Harrison had already beaten Larissa Pacheco twice, was on the road to having big money superfights with Amanda Nunes and/or Cris Cyborg, and was around an 8-to-1 favorite over her opponent coming into the 2022 PFL Championships. However, it was Larissa Pacheco who shocked the world by pulling off the upset to win one million dollars, and not just by a flash knockout or submission, but rather by decision. With this, Pacheco showed the world she can compete with the best, even when the best is an Olympic Gold Medal judoka.

Michael Lynch: Sean O’Malley over Petr Yan. Self explanatory. Everyone thought O’Malley was getting rushed to a title then delivers against one of the best in his division.

End Result: Despite a couple of fights in the running, Larissa Pacheco was the clear favorite. There’s really no surprise here, with Harrison having previously been the most dominant talent in her weight class.

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In part two we are giving out awards to the best representative from each continent. Here are the names who we feel had the best year from every corner of the globe.

North American prospect of the year: Austin Bashi (8-0)

With North America, there was no question that Austin Bashi was going to be featured. He started off the year winning the Shamrock FC title and ended the year winning the Lights Out Championship title and won a fight in between. Beating Chris San Jose, Erion Zekthi, and Joe Penafiel all in one year is pretty good for small regional competitions. The only downfall is the lack of fight footage/exposure but the resume has been building up. Not a bad year for the young 21-year-old fighter.

South American prospect of the year: Bruno Lopes (11-0)

This is the second award Lopes has earned in this three-part series. As stated in part one, light heavyweight had a better year than heavyweight but to me, Bruno Lopes was the clear winner among them all. This year he went 3-0 made his debut for LFA going 2-0. Lopes is coming off the biggest win in his career after winning the vacant LFA 205-pound title in September. Lopes was away from the sport for six years until he made his comeback last year, and has gone on a tear since. Years ago, Lopes fought at welterweight and was the Jungle Fight champion. Now, he’s at light heavyweight where he’s right at home. Lopes already might be signed to a major promotion but we don’t know it yet. Either way, it shouldn’t be long before he lands in the big leagues.

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In part one we are handing out awards to the best representative of each division this year. For each division we’ll highlight one prospect that we felt has had the best year inside of the cage.

Heavyweight prospect of the year: Slim Trabelsi (5-0)

Heavyweight didn’t have a strong year. Most of the fighters that stood out were signed up by a major promotion. Heavyweight is like that, so as soon as there is someone that starts to stand outz, they immediately get snatched up. That includes Slim Trabelsi. Trabelsi was reported to sign with the UFC and was set to make his debut on October 22 on UFC 280. Unfortunately, Trabelsi was still under contract with Ares FC and after the promotion balked on letting him out of the contract, the UFC debut couldn’t happen. This year he went 3-0 beating John Winter who was 4-0, former UFC veteran Luis Henrique, and then Azamat Nuftillaev who was 12-0. In that Nuftillaev fight, Trabelsi won the Ares FC title.

Light Heavyweight prospect of the year: Bruno Lopes (11-0)

Light heavyweight had a better year than heavyweight, but Bruno Lopes was the clear winner among them all. This year he went 3-0 and made his debut for LFA going 2-0. Lopes is coming off the biggest win in his career after winning the vacant LFA 205-pound title in September. Lopes was away from the sport for six years until he made his comeback last year, and has gone on a tear since. Years ago, Lopes fought at welterweight and was the Jungle Fight champion. Now, he’s at light heavyweight where he’s right at home. Lopes already might be signed to a major promotion but we don’t know it yet.

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