We got another shocker yesterday with the loss of Israel Adesanya to nemesis Alex Pereira in their UFC middleweight title fight. It wasn't completely unexpected, as the new champ had beaten Izzy twice in their kickboxing days. Notwithstanding, Adesanya was a heavy favorite in the build up to the fight as people felt MMA is a different field.
True to form, Adesanya appeared to be in control of the fight heading into the final round and looked set to retain his title. Those dreams were shattered when he got caught with heavy punches for Pereira, leading to a knockout defeat. Just like that, we had a new middleweight UFC champion for the first time in over three years.
A Tale of Shocks
This fate was similar to that of Adesanya's countryman, Kamaru Usman who before he loss to Leon Edwards was considered the number one pound for pound fighter in the UFC. He was also fully in control of that fight heading into the final round, and had held the title since 2019.
Unlike boxing, Change is not uncommon in the UFC. Undefeated records do not last very long and winning streaks often end before they can stretch. Yet these men had managed to hold their respective divisions hostage that they went into all their bouts as overwhelming favorites. They had also become household names in the MMA world and change definitely was not expected. Take the reaction for instance of fans after Adesanya got knocked out yesterday.
It isn't just them though. Of the 12 divisions in both the Men's and Women's categories in the UFC, seven new champions have been crowned in 2022. Some like Amanda Nunes and Weili Zhang managed to bounce back and reclaim their titles after dropping them, while for other divisions it spells the beginning of a new era with the likes of Islam Makhachev, Leon Edwards, Jiří Procházka and Alex Pereira as new names to hold that belt.
Comebacks?
Change is constant, and sometimes it is needed. The previous long reining champions such as Usman and Adesanya have done an excellent job of popularizing the sport and giving it more credence with their skillset. Former lightweight champion Charles Olivera gave us exciting fights with his skillset and underdog story. They all served a purpose. Nothing lasts forever though, and sooner or later they were bound to drop those titles.
If anything, having new champions gives a breath of fresh air. We might see more than one comeback story between now and next year with rematches scheduled for some of these bouts but the change was necessary in my opinion. They will make for even more exciting fights and people have seeing their once seemingly invincible fighters shown some vulnerability.
The longest reining champion in the UFC now is Women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko who has held the title since 2018. Number one Men's pound for pound fighter, Alexander Volkanovski is the oldest in the Men's division. He looks set to move up in category to challenge reigning Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev next year.
One sure thing is that this has been the most exciting time in the UFC we have seen in recent memory.