Now that the year has come to a close, and with a major assist from UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll, here are some of 2021’s most significant milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances in the octagon.
Event notes
The UFC held 42 events in 16 different cities across five countries and three continents.
Within those events, there were 511 fights across 12 different weight classes (including catchweight bouts).
Those 511 fights combined for a total cage time of 92 hours, 30 minutes and 16 seconds.
The longest event of the year was “UFC 271: Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2” in Houston, Texas, at 2 hours, 57 minutes and 22 seconds.
The shortest event of the year was “UFC on ESPN 40: Santos vs. Hill” in Las Vegas, at 1 hour, 10 minutes and four seconds.
At those events, the UFC drew an announced total attendance of 356,011 for a live gate total of $84,437,808.93.
(Note: live-gate was not announced for 20 events; one event was closed to the public for Mark Zuckerberg).
The highest reported attended event of the year was “UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira” in New York (20,845), while the lowest announced attended event was “UFC 275: Teixeira vs. Prochazka” in Singapore (10,787).
The highest reported income gate of the year was “UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira” in New York ($11,562,807.77) while the lowest reported income gate of the year was “UFC 275: Teixeira vs. Prochazka” in Singapore ($1,546,732)
In 2022, 199 fight-night bonuses were given out for a sum of $9,950,000 million.
“UFC 282: Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev” featured 11 fight-night bonuses, the single-event record in company history.
In 2022, athletes were paid $8,351,000 million in Promotional Guidelines Compliance money.
The most knockouts at a single event went to “UFC on ESPN 37: Kattar vs. Emmett” and “UFC on ESPN 42: Thompson vs. Holland,” which each had eight.
“UFC on ESPN 37: Kattar vs. Emmett” and “UFC on ESPN 42: Thompson vs. Holland” featured eight knockout results, tied with the six other events for the single-event record in modern company history.
“UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2” marked the 10th event in UFC history to feature two or more finishes stemming from body strikes. UFC on FOX 31 was the only event with three.
The most submissions at a single event went to “UFC Fight Night 214: Rodriguez vs. Lemos” and UFC Fight Night 204: Volkov vs. Aspinall,” which each had five.
“UFC Fight Night 204: Volkov vs. Aspinall” and “UFC 276: Adesanya vs. Cannonier” were the second and third events in modern UFC history to feature two submissions earned in under a minute each. UFC 188 also had the feat.
The most fights to go to a decision at a single event went to “UFC 274: Oliveira vs. Gaethje” which had 10.
“UFC on ESPN 40: Santos vs. Hill” was the second modern-era event in company history to feature all finishes. UFC Fight Night 54 in 2014, which featured 11 bouts, was the other.
“UFC 281: Oliveira vs. Makhachev” and UFC Fight Night 204: Volkov vs. Aspinall” featured seven first-round stoppage results, tied for the single-event record in the modern era.
“UFC Fight Night 204: Volkov vs. Aspinall” and “UFC 281: Oliveira vs. Makhachev” featured seven first-round stoppage results, tied with the single-event record for the most in company history
“UFC Fight Night 208: Tsarukyan vs. Gamrot” featured 128 total takedown attempts, the single-event record in company history.
Betting favorites went 346-155. Ten fights ended in a draw, no contest or had even odds.
Betting favorites went 25-16 in event headliners. One main event ended in a draw.
“UFC Fight Night 207: Volkov vs. Rozenstruik” had the most favorites come through victorious, with 12 of 14 winning. On the flip side, “UFC 279: Diaz vs. Ferguson” was the only event where more underdogs won than favorites.
A total of 30 fighters officially missed weight for their respective contests. The 24 fighters in that group to compete went 8-16 in their respective bouts.
“UFC on ESPN 41: Vera vs. Cruz” marked the third event in company history to feature two predetermined catchweight fights.
A total of 99 fighters made their UFC debut in 2022. Those fighters went 42-56-1. Debuting fighters who faced an opponent with at least one bout of UFC experience went 31-44-1.
A variety of circumstances caused a total of 26 UFC main event or co-main event fights to be adjusted, postponed or canceled entirely.
Weight class recap: Heavyweight
Number of fights: 39
Knockouts: 16
Submissions: Six
Decisions: 14
Champion at beginning of year: Francis Ngannou
Champion at end of year: Ngannou
Most fights in divisional history: Andrei Arlovski (39)
Longest winning streak in division: Ngannou (six)
Most wins in divisional history: Arlovski (23)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Derrick Lewis & Frank Mir (13)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Lewis (13)
Most submissions in divisional history: Mir (eight)
Most fight-night bonuses: Stipe Miocic (nine)
Weight class recap: Light heavyweight
Number of fights: 35
Knockouts: 20
Submissions: Five
Decisions: 10
Champion at beginning of year: Glover Teixeira
Champion at end of year: Title vacant
Most fights in divisional history: Ovince Saint Preux & Mauricio Rua (23)
Longest winning streak in division: Jiri Prochazka, Anthony Smith and Carlos Ulberg (three)
Most wins in divisional history: Jon Jones (20)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Teixeira (13)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Chuck Liddell (nine)
Most submissions in divisional history: Teixeira (seven)
Most fight-night bonuses: Teixeira (nine)
Weight class recap: Middleweight
Number of fights: 64
Knockouts: 24
Submissions: 11
Decisions: 29
Champion at beginning of year: Israel Adesanya
Champion at end of year: Alex Pereira
Most fights in divisional history: Michael Bisping (24)
Longest winning streak in division: Andre Muniz (five)
Most wins in divisional history: Bisping (16)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Anderson Silva (11)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Silva, Uriah Hall & Thiago Santos (eight)
Most submissions in divisional history: Gerald Meerschaert (nine)
Most fight-night bonuses: Silva (12)
Weight class recap: Welterweight
Number of fights: 62
Knockouts: 25
Submissions: Eight
Decisions: 28
Other: One
Champion at beginning of year: Kamaru Usman
Champion at end of year: Leon Edwards
Most fights in divisional history: Matt Brown (29)
Longest winning streak in division: Michel Pereira (five)
Most wins in divisional history: Neil Magny (20)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Brown (14)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Brown (12)
Most submissions in divisional history: Demian Maia, Chris Lytle, and Gunnar Nelson (six)
Most fight-night bonuses: Chris Lytle (10)
Weight class recap: Lightweight
Number of fights: 66
Knockouts: 22
Submissions: 17
Decisions: 27
Champion at beginning of year: Charles Oliveira
Champion at end of year: Islam Makhachev
Most fights in divisional history: Jim Miler (37)
Longest winning streak in division: Makhachev (10)
Most wins in divisional history: Miller (21)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Miller (14)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Dustin Poirier & Drew Dober (eight)
Most submissions in divisional history: Oliveira (10)
Most fight-night bonuses: Joe Lauzon (15)
Weight class recap: Featherweight
Number of fights: 55
Knockouts: 19
Submissions: Nine
Decisions: 27
Champion at beginning of year: Alexander Volkanovski
Champion at end of year: Volkanovski
Most fights in divisional history: Darren Elkins (25)
Longest winning streak in division: Volkanovski (10)
Most wins in divisional history: Max Holloway (18)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Holloway (10)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Holloway (eight)
Most submissions in divisional history: Charles Oliveira (six)
Most fight-night bonuses: Holloway & Cub Swanson (nine)
Weight class recap: Women's featherweight
Number of fights: Five
Knockouts: Zero
Submissions: One
Decisions: Four
Champion at beginning of year: Amanda Nunes
Champion at end of year: Nunes
Most fights in divisional history: Megan Anderson & Felicia Spencer (six)
Longest winning streak in division: Nunes (three)
Most wins in divisional history: Cris Cyborg (four)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Anderson & Spencer (three)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Anderson, Spencer & Cyborg (two)
Most submissions in divisional history: Multiple fighters tied with one
Most fight-night bonuses: Multiple fighters tied with one
Weight class recap: Bantamweight
Number of fights: 61
Knockouts: 17
Submissions: 11
Decisions: 32
Other: One
Champion at beginning of year: Aljamain Sterling
Champion at end of year: Sterling
Most fights in divisional history: Pedro Munhoz (18)
Longest winning streak in division: Sterling (eight)
Most wins in divisional history: Sterling & T.J. Dillashaw (13)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Marlon Vera (10)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Dillashaw (seven)
Most submissions in divisional history: Rani Yahya & Urijah Faber (six)
Most fight-night bonuses: Dillashaw (eight)
Weight class recap: Women's bantamweight
Number of fights: 15
Knockouts: Three
Submissions: Three
Decisions: Nine
Champion at beginning of year: Julianna Peña
Champion at end of year: Amanda Nunes
Most fights in divisional history: Raquel Pennington (15)
Longest winning streak in division: Pennington (three)
Most wins in divisional history: Nunes (12)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Nunes (eight)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Nunes (six)
Most submissions in divisional history: Ronda Rousey (three)
Most fight-night bonuses: Rousey (seven)
Weight class recap: Flyweight
Number of fights: 32
Knockouts: Eight
Submissions: 10
Decisions: 14
Champion at beginning of year: Brandon Moreno
Champion at end of year: Deiveson Figueiredo
Most fights in divisional history: Joseph Benavidez (19)
Longest winning streak in division: Matheus Nicolau (four)
Most wins in divisional history: Benavidez & Demetrious Johnson (13)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Figueiredo & Johnson (seven)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Benavidez (five)
Most submissions in divisional history: Johnson (five)
Most fight-night bonuses: Johnson (nine)
Weight class recap: Women's flyweight
Number of fights: 33
Knockouts: Five
Submissions: Seven
Decisions: 21
Champion at beginning of year: Valentina Shevchenko
Champion at end of year: Shevchenko
Most fights in divisional history: Gillian Robertson & Katlyn Chookagian (13)
Longest winning streak in division: Shevchenko (nine)
Most wins in divisional history: Shevchenko & Chookagian (nine)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Robertson (seven)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Shevchenko (four)
Most submissions in divisional history: Robertson (six)
Most fight-night bonuses: Molly McCann (three)
Weight class recap: Strawweight
Number of fights: 34
Knockouts: Six
Submissions: Six
Decisions: 22
Champion at beginning of year: Rose Namajunas
Champion at end of year: Zhang Weili
Most fights in divisional history: Angela Hill (21)
Longest winning streak in division: Vanessa Demopoulos (three)
Most wins in divisional history: Carla Esparza & Joana Jedrzejczyk (10)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Namajunas, Jessica Andrade & Amanda Lemos (five)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Andrade & Lemos (three)
Most submissions in divisional history: Mackenzie Dern (four)
Most fight-night bonuses: Andrade (eight)
Championship feats
Deiveson Figueiredo became the first two-time flyweight champion with his win at UFC 270.
Carla Esparza became the second female in history to have multiple title reigns in a single weight class when she regained the strawweight belt at UFC 274.
Esparza set the record for longest gap between UFC title reigns at 2,612 days with her win at UFC 274.
Rose Namajunas became the first female in history to have multiple title reigns ended with her loss at UFC 274.
Jiri Prochazka became the first Czech-born champion in history when he won the light heavyweight belt at UFC 275.
Brandon Moreno became the fourth fighter in UFC history to win a championship bout with a knockout stemming from a body kicks at UFC 277. St-Pierre, Johnson and Ronda Rousey also accomplished the feat.
Amanda Nunes became the first fighter in history to have multiple simultaneous two-division title reigns by regaining the women’s bantamweight belt at UFC 277.
Leon Edwards became the first Jamaican-born champion with his welterweight title win at UFC 278.
Edwards became the second British titleholder in UFC history. Michael Bisping also accomplished the feat.
Alex Pereira’s eight MMA fights before becoming champion at UFC 281 is the second fewest in modern history behind Brock Lesnar’s four.
Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 282 marked the fifth title-fight draw in history.
Individual feats
Katlyn Chookagian became the first fighter in history to earn her first 10 octagon victories by decision with her win at UFC on ESPN 32.
Sam Alvey tied B.J. Penn for the longest winless skid in history with his eighth consecutive bout at UFC Fight Night 200.
Chidi Njokuani’s 16-second victory at UFC Fight Night 200 marked the second-fastest debut in history behind Terrance McKinney’s seven-second win at UFC 263 in June 2021.
Ronnie Lawrence vs. Mana Martinez at UFC 271 marked the second fight in history to feature two knockdowns landed for each fighter.
Rafael dos Anjos became the 10th fighter in history to reach 20 octagon victories with his win at UFC 272.
Makwan Amirkhani vs. Mike Grundy at UFC Fight Night 204 was just the seventh fight in history to feature zero total strikes landed.
Molly McCann earned the fourth knockout in history stemming from a spinning back elbow at UFC Fight Night 204.
Chris Gutierrez became the ninth fighter in history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning backfist at UFC on ESPN 33.
Gutierrez became the first in history to earn knockouts by spinning backfist and by leg kicks during an octagon career with his win at UFC on ESPN 33.
Neil Magny became the first to win 13 fights by decision with his victory at UFC on ESPN 33.
Alexander Volkanovski became the fifth fighter in history to start 11-0 with the promotion with his win at UFC 273.
Claudio Puelles became the first in history to earn three submission victories by kneebar with his win at UFC Fight Night 205.
Jessica Andrade earned the first standing arm-triangle choke submission in history with her win at UFC Fight Night 205.
Rob Font landed 271 significant strikes at UFC on ESPN 35, the single-fight record for a bantamweight bout.
Marlon Vera won at UFC on ESPN 35 despite a -112 significant strike differential (159 vs. 271), the largest negative differential for a fighter to win by decision in history.
Michael Chandler earned the ninth knockout in history stemming from a front kick with his win at UFC 274.
Chookagian became the first fighter in history to earn her first 11 octagon victories by decision with her win at UFC on ESPN 36.
Karine Silva became the second female in history to earn a submission victory by D’Arce choke at UFC Fight Night 207. Tatiana Suarez also accomplished the feat.
Zhang Weili became the first female in history to earn a knockout by spinning back fist at UFC 275.
Ricard Ramos became the first fighter in history to earn multiple knockout victories stemming from a spinning back elbow when he won at UFC on ESPN 37.
Max Holloway became the first fighter in history to complete 26 octagon appearances without a knockout after his fight at UFC 276.
Muhammad Mokaev landed 12 takedowns in his win at UFC Fight Night 208, the single-fight record for a flyweight bout.
McCann became the second fighter in history with multiple knockout victories stemming from a spinning back elbow with her win at UFC Fight Night 208. Ramos also accomplished the feat.
Cory McKenna became the first female in history to earn a submission victory by Von Flue choke at UFC on ESPN 40.
Martin Buday’s -52 significant strike differential (66 vs. 118) at UFC on ESPN 41 marked largest negative differential for a fighter who won a decision in heavyweight bout.
Vera became the second fighter in UFC history to score three knockdowns in back-to-back fights with his win at UFC on ESPN 41. Conor McGregor also accomplished the feat.
Irene Aldana earned just the third finish in history stemming from an upkick from bottom position at UFC 279. Jon Fitch and Niko Price also accomplished the feat.
Khamzat Chimaev delivered his fourth performance without absorbing a significant strike at UFC 279, the most in company history.
Jesse Ronson became the third fighter in history to start his career with the promotion on a six-fight winless skid at UFC Fight Night 211. Elvis Sinosic and Pat Healy also share the dubious record.
Dos Anjos became the first fighter in UFC history to cross eight hours of octagon time with his fight at UFC on ESPN 42.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik became the first fighter in history to earn three knockout victories of 30 seconds or less with his win at UFC 282.
Raul Rosas Jr., at 18, became the youngest fighter in history to earn a victory when he won at UFC 282.
Drew Dober tied Dustin Poirier’s record for most knockouts in lightweight history with his eighth at UFC Fight Night 216.
