Fight Facts: UFC 2022, a Year in Review

Praise Be to Gamblor

Less Picky Than Usual: Of the 511 matches to take place inside the Octagon, per sportsbook 5dimes, 486 closed with a favorite and an underdog – the remaining 25 were pick-‘ems. That number of even matches is down from recent previous years, as was the favored win rate of 64.8%.

Eye Gouge to Success: The biggest betting upset of 2022 in the UFC occurred in the lone match that featured a disqualification: Jackson vs. Barry. Jackson closed at +550 against Ireland’s Barry at -800. In terms of matches that ended by traditional means, the most sizeable upset came at the hands of +415 Victor Henry against the heavily favored Raoni Barcelos (-470).

Easy Locks: Four fighters closed with odds of -1000 or above: Alexander Romanov (-2000) against Sherman, Umar Nurmagomedov (-1000) against Brian Kelleher, Aliaskhab Khizriev (-1000) against Denis Tiuliulin and Muhammad Mokaev (-1000) against Malcolm Gordon. All four favored finished their opponents.

Plenty of Lopsided Action: A whopping 38 betting favorites closed at -500 or above – well above the 23 from last year – and only one lost: Barry. Of those massive favorites, Khamzat Chimaev, Muhammad Mokaev, Tyson Pedro and Umar Nurmagomedov were the lone four repeat offenders on that list.

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Heavy Duty, Schmeavy Duty

Bad Year to Miss Weight: Without counting matches scuttled due to bad weight cuts, 2022 featured 26 matches where a fighter missed weight: fewer than 2020 and 2021’s 32 apiece. Just nine heavy fighters prevailed, with a low win percentage of .346 substantially below last year’s .469.

You’re Not Alone Anymore: In 2021, Justin Tafa became the first UFC fighter to ever miss the heavyweight limit. This miraculous feat was replicated by Chris Barnett in September, when he hit the scales at 267.5 pounds. Like Tafa, Barnett subsequently won by knockout.

Welcomed Company: At women’s featherweight, Norma Dumont missed the 146-pound cap by half a pound ahead of her bout with Chiasson in May. She became the second woman to miss weight at that weight class. The first? Chiasson.

A Nightmare on the Scales: William Knight blew the light heavyweight limit by 12 pounds ahead of his UFC 271 encounter with Maxim Grishin. The former middleweight went on to lose a decision, and subsequently moved to heavyweight.

Get It Under Wraps: Other than Knight, the lone competitor to clock in at a non-catchweight at least five pounds above his opponent was Zhu Rong at UFC Fight Night 202. He succumbed to a brabo choke from Ignacio Bahamondes in the third round.

Cause and Effect: A shade below 2021, five women missed their proper marks this past year. Only one of those heavy ladies ended up winning her fight, when Joselyne Edwards squeaked a split decision by Ji Yeon Kim in July.

Catchweight Craze: Thirteen bouts were intentionally booked outside of normal weight classes throughout the year, tying 2020’s banner year where many fights were rescheduled on short notice for COVID-19 purposes. Ten of those 13 ended by stoppage, including six of the last seven.

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Start the Music

No Rhyme, No Reason: Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold” was dethroned as the most commonly used walkout track in 2022. A quartet of tunes, being a theme song, a rock anthem, a pop hit and a soundtrack staple, took the top spot with six walkouts apiece: “PRVT e Hora de Vencer” by Faccao 288 (3-3), “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC (4-2), “Unstoppable” by Sia (1-5) and “Promentory” off the “Last of the Mohicans” soundtrack (1-5).

Five for Fighting: Four different tracks came in one shy of the tally of six for the most frequently used entrance music: “Amor a Portugal” by Dulce Pontes (2-3), “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC (3-2), “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” by the Dropkick Murphys (2-3) and “Lezginka 4” as composed by Deni Senroyev (5-0).

Regional Music: Nurmagomedov, Khizriev and Makhachev all went with “Lezginka 4” at least once this year, making it the winningest track in 2022 with five total victories. Of note, fighters walking out to “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin went 4-0, as did those accompanied by Fort Minor’s “Remember the Name” and “T.N.T” by AC/DC.

AC/DC Turnaround: Of all the artists played throughout arenas containing the Octagon this year, fighters opted to go with AC/DC or 2Pac more than any other artist (19 songs apiece). The win/loss rate of 2Pac was decent at 57.9%, while AC/DC’s excelled at 68.4% as the Australian rock group celebrated the year’s most wins with 13.

Always Giving, Never Receiving: Those two artists led the pack by a wide margin, as no other surpassed 13 uses. DMX clocked in with 13, and a solid winning rate of 61.5% thanks in part to several victorious fighters using “X Gon’ Give It to Ya” accompanied them.

Bad Times for Kanye All Around: Kanye West, who is among the most frequently used walkout artists, held the no. 4 spot alongside 50 Cent with 12 uses apiece. The win percentage of the former was a lowly .333, while the latter sat a 38.5%.

Curse and Tell: Ten different fighters tested their might after walking out to tracks containing or created by Eminem, exceeding 2021’s number by a fair share. However, only 30% of those competitors emerged victorious.

Swing It Back Next Year: With five defeats for each song, both “Promentory” and “Unstoppable” ended 2022 with the most losses of any individual music choice.

Try 1.1 Billion Views: Once again making history, Tai Tuivasa claimed Sherdog’s 2022 “Walkout of the Year” trophy by selecting “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper ahead of his UFC 271 battle with Derrick Lewis. The fan-favorite knocked Lewis out in the second round and chugged several beers from multiple shoes.