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“Pound-for-pound. Headshot. Dead.” Leon Edwards’ stunning finish of Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 is MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Year for 2022.
With another action-packed year of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie takes a look at the best knockouts from January to December 2022.
As voted on by our entire staff, here are the top 10 and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Year.
Check out a full recap of 2022’s most significant footnotes and milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.
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 2022’s most significant milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances in the octagon.
Watch the kickboxing knockout that led to the Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira rivalry. They meet Saturday in the UFC 281 main event.
The stars aligned at UFC 276 for a highly anticipated third combat sports meeting between rivals [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag].
Since Pereira fully committed to the mixed martial arts path, the buzz around a potential meeting with UFC middleweight champion Adesanya in MMA steadily grew.
Ahead of UFC 276, promotion president Dana White said that would be the next title fight if both men won, which they did. Adesanya cruised to a unanimous decision over Jared Cannonier shortly after Pereira quickly knocked out Sean Strickland in Round 1.
Saturday, they’ll meet for Adesanya’s 185-pound title in the UFC 281 main event at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.
While fans likely are familiar with their MMA careers, Adesanya encouraged fans and reporters to watch his fights against Pereira. The first meeting took place in April 2016, during which Adesanya lost a unanimous decision to Pereira – a decision Adesanya disputes.
The rematch took place in March 2017 and the full highlights of the fight can be seen in the video above. As Adesanya outlined during his UFC 276 pre-fight news conference, he had Pereira hurt prior to a table-turning left hook knockout by his Brazilian opponent.
Check out the Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira 2 fight highlights in the video above from the Glory of Heroes kickboxing promotion. Or you can check out both fights in full below.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 281.
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Ahead of his title fight against middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, relive Alex Pereira’s knockout of Sean Strickland at UFC 276.
[autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] used the same left hook that knocked out [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] to knock out Sean Strickland.
Pereira drew a big step up in competition this past July at UFC 276 where he was matched up with streaking contender Strickland.
Strickland had Pereira backpedaling to start, but the former Glory champion was sharp on the counter with his jabs and kicks. Strickland continued pressing forward with strikes, but midway through Round 1, he was met by a blistering left hand and a follow-up right, which put him out.
Pereira (6-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) returns to action on Nov. 12 when he challenges middleweight champion Adesanya (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) in the main event of UFC 281, which takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Before he faces Adesanya, relive Pereira’s finish of Strickland in the video above.
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Alexander Volkanovski, campeón de peso pluma de la UFC, tiene planes de ser una opción de emergencia para la próxima pelea para el título de peso ligero, solo en caso de que algo saliera mal antes de la UFC 280. El evento de pago por evento será el …
Alexander Volkanovski, campeón de peso pluma de la UFC, tiene planes de ser una opción de emergencia para la próxima pelea para el título de peso ligero, solo en caso de que algo saliera mal antes de la UFC 280.
El evento de pago por evento será el 22 de octubre en Abu Dhabi y el evento más esperado es la pelea por el título vacante de la división de peso ligero que se disputará entre Charles Oliveira e Islam Makhachev.
Volkanovski se rompió la mano izquierda en su reciente defensa del título contra Max Holloway en la UFC 276, y dice que planifica estar listo para subir al octágono en lugar de alguien y pelear por su segundo título de la UFC.
“Quiero volver a estar adentro”, fue lo que dijo Volkanovski en entrevista en el canal de YouTube de Daniel Cormier. “Aunque no lo crean, como yo sigo entrenando, en realidad estoy pensando que si necesitan a alguien de reserva, yo seré quien estará ahí. … Les digo que yo quiero estar ahí, quiero ser el de reserva. Voy a estar en suficiente forma, voy a tener el suficiente entrenamiento para estar en buena forma y lo haré. Soy ese tipo de persona.”
Siempre he dicho que me aseguraré de que nadie más me pueda quitar esa oportunidad. Porque si alguien más va y lo hace, ¿saben a lo que me refiero?, entonces me hace a un lado y entonces tengo que esperar aún más. Eso no me gusta. Estoy feliz de sentarme aquí y que si alguien se lastima o no llega al peso o lo que sea, yo me puedo colar.”
Si la pelea se realiza según los planes, Volkanovski también dio su predicción de quién cree que ganará la pelea y qué le pasaría a la división a partir de ese punto.
“Yo creo que si gana Charles, él peleará a principios del año que entra”, fue lo que dijo Volkanovski. “Si gana Islam, siento que sería más hacia mediados de año y yo no quiero esperar tanto tiempo. … ¿Que quién creo que se quedará con el cinturón después de esa pelea? Probablemente será Islam. Pero, estaré al pendiente en caso de que necesiten que entre en lugar de alguien”.
“Aquí estoy con la mano rota así que nadie me puede quitar mi lugar, pero entraría poco preparado”, dijo Volkanovski. “Aún así estaré preparado, pero estoy dispuesto a ser una peleador de reserva para los asesinos de la división de peso ligero para que nadie me quite esa oportunidad. … Estoy seguro de que no soy tan diferente, estoy seguro de que todos piensan así.
“Muéstrenme. Muéstrenme que ustedes creen en ustedes. Vayan y tomen el puesto No. 1, no me dejen oportunidad. Me quedaré aquí sentado y diré que ustedes son los campeones, ustedes tendrán esa oportunidad. Es así de sencillo”.
Artículo traducido por Ana Lucía Toledo
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Watch a preview of the latest edition of “The Thrill and the Agony,” which goes behind the scenes in the aftermath of UFC 276.
Watch a preview for the latest edition of “The Thrill and the Agony,” which goes behind the scenes of UFC 276.
At the event, which took place July 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) outpointed Jared Cannonier (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) to notch his fifth title defense.
In the co-headliner, [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (25-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) shut out Max Holloway (23-7 MMA, 19-7 UFC) in their trilogy bout to put a definitive end to their rivalry.
In a preview of “The Thrill and the Agony” special from UFC 276, which is available for UFC Fight Pass subscribers, we get an all-access look at the immediate aftermath of Adesanya and Volkanovski’s wins.
You can watch the preview in the video above.
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On UFC 276 fight night, Alexander Volkanovski predicted a broken hand early in the fight. As it turns out, he was right.
The featherweight champ walked away with his title after UFC 276, but he was not unscathed.
Thursday, [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] revealed his hypothesis in the immediate post-fight of Saturday’s fight vs. Max Holloway was true. On fight night, Volkanovski predicted a broken hand and an X-ray proved him accurate. Volkanovski suffered a broken thumb and will undergo surgery Friday local time in Australia. Volkanovski added the recovery timeline will be 12 weeks.
“Broke my thumb in the second round, but that don’t stop us!” Volkanovski wrote on Instagram. “Having surgery today and will be out for 12 weeks. Looking forward to getting back out there, thanks to everyone for the support.”
Volkanovski (25-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) defeated Holloway to notch his fourth-straight title defense. Other successful defenses include Holloway a second time, “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, and Brian Ortega.
Check out an X-ray of Volkanovski’s broken thumb in his surgery announcement post below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cfu0saaPlaB/
UFC 276 took place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.
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During the UFC 276 post-fight show, Chris Pratt directed a lot of criticism at Israel Adesanya – and now says he regrets it.
Chris Pratt had a lot of critical things to say about [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] on UFC 276 fight night, but has since changed his tune.
Wednesday, Pratt issued an apology to Adesanya on Twitter in which he called himself a “hypocrite” for his comments on Adesanya’s unexciting unanimous decision title defense Saturday over Jared Cannonier.
Adesanya triggered the apology after he posted a clip from the 2008 film “Wanted,” in which Pratt’s character gets drilled in the face with a keyboard. Keys fly off the keyboard after hitting Pratt and in slow motion spell out “F*UCK YOU” across the screen.
Shortly thereafter, Pratt responded, “You’re right. I’m sorry brutha. It bugs me when people criticize my work- having never themselves risked anything. It makes me a hypocrite to do exactly that to you. My bad. Keep on keeping champ.”
You’re right. I’m sorry brutha. It bugs me when people criticize my work- having never themselves risked anything. It makes me a hypocrite to do exactly that to you. My bad. Keep on keeping on champ. 🙏🏻♥️
— Chris Pratt (@prattprattpratt) July 6, 2022
The callout and apology came after Pratt served as a guest desk analyst during the ESPN+ post-fight show Saturday in Las Vegas, in part to promote his new Amazon Prime series “The Terminal List.”
Pratt, who was in attendance at the event from the start of the first prelim all the way through the main event decision reading, took exception with the main event’s lack of excitement – a criticism echoed by many viewers online after the fight.
“I’m going to say this as humbly as I can, as a guy who’s never stepped inside the octagon,” Pratt said, on the desk. “I don’t know this game. I’m just an actor. I’m not a fan, man. I’m not a fan of coming out with all that talk and then just putting on a little bit of a pitter-patter. I’m like, ‘Come on, man. You’ve got to cash on that. You’ve got to cash that promise of being a badass.”
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Daniel Cormier thinks Jared Cannonier is just as much to blame for Israel Adesanya’s performance at UFC 276.
[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] is just as much to blame for [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag]’s performance at UFC 276.
UFC middleweight champion Adesanya (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) outpointed Cannonier (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) in this past Saturday’s main event at T-Mobile Arena, where he received boos from the fans as the fight lacked action.
It was another clean performance for Adesanya, who admitted that he had an off night. But Cormier said Cannonier’s hesitancy to engage resulted in the uneventful affair.
“So many people have said this, and it gets a bit cliche, but it takes two to tango,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “DC & RC.” “If Jared Cannonier is going to cruise to a loss, how is it Izzy’s responsibility to do more? Now, I thought Cannonier early had some moments, but they just weren’t sustained.
“He could not get it going to a level or to a degree that could truly challenge Adesanya. Adesanya is one of the most talented counter-strikers in the business, so you’ve got to be very guarded with your engagements because if you don’t, you end up like Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker in the first fight and Kelvin Gastelum to a lesser degree.”
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Adesanya had tough acts to follow after his former kickboxing foe, Alex Pereira, starched Sean Strickland and City Kickboxing teammate Alexander Volkanovski put on a masterclass against Max Holloway. However, despite the criticism, Cormier still thinks Adesanya put on a good performance.
“I thought he fought a good fight,” Cormier said. “I thought he was smart. I thought he dominated the fight. He won the fight four rounds to one on both cards and then the other card was five rounds to zero. What more can you want from a guy in defending his championship but winning all the rounds? The problem is, when you become a guy like Israel – and Anderson Silva went through the same thing, Jon Jones went through the same thing – you become so dominant that those dominating performances become a bit lackluster.”
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“Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show, returns to discuss the fallout from UFC 276 and Daniel Cormier’s admission.
Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.
Our panel of Mike Bohn, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Matthew Wells discuss five topics with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Tuesday on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch the full episode in the video above.
