The 10 Best Fights Happening This Month | December 2022

Any clash of Top 5 fighters is intriguing, but it gets even more appetizing when it’s a meeting between heavyweights because the knockout potential soars through the roof.

Tuivasa may have lost his last outing, but he didn’t lose any ground in the weight class. If anything, he further solidified that he’s a legitimate threat in the big boy division by battling Ciryl Gane tooth and nail for nearly three full rounds in Paris. Prior to that, “Bam Bam” had collected five straight stoppage wins, showing improved patience and decision-making to go along with his ever-present willingness to sling hands and have fun while doing so.

Order UFC 282: Blachowicz vs Ankalaev

Pavlovich was thrown into the deep end of the talent pool in his promotional debut, facing off with and losing to Alistair Overeem. Since then, the hulking Russian heavyweight has collected four straight stoppage victories, capped by a 55-second win over Derrick Lewis at UFC 277 in Dallas earlier this year. Standing six-foot-three with an 84-inch reach, the 30-year-old Pavlovich is the top emerging name in the heavyweight division at the moment, and can catapult himself into contention with a victory here.

Things at the top of the heavyweight division remain complicated and unsettled, but hopefully that will start to get sorted out soon. This is a tremendous matchup to help clarify where each of these competitors stand within the divisional hierarchy, and should be an outstanding lead-in to the first main event of the month.

Stephen Thompson vs Kevin Holland

Welterweights at very different stages of their careers, but each needing to answer some lingering questions, meet in the December 3rd main event in Orlando.

Thompson returns for the first time in a year, aiming to shake out of a two-fight skid that has seen him corralled and wrestled by Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad in consecutive outings. The 39-year-old former title challenger is 3-4 since his twin championship bouts against Tyron Woodley, and while he still holds down a place in the Top 10, it feels like his lease is coming up and no one is sure if he’s going to renew or not.

Holland is back in familiar territory after getting shuffled into a short notice clash with Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279. Much like during his 2020 run of success at middleweight, “Trailblazer” began his welterweight stint with a pair of solid victories but stumbled when faced with a step up in competition. Now, it was a massive step up in competition and on short notice no less, so he gets a bit of a pass, but he needs to prove he’s capable of beating Top 15 competition in order to start making his way into the rankings.

Stylistically, this should be a stand-up battle, where Thompson will be able to deploy his traditional darting style and Holland will look to utilize his reach and off-tempo approach. Each of these men need this victory for different reasons, and it should bring out the best in both of them when they stand across from one another.

UFC 282: Blachowicz vs Ankalaev — Saturday, December 10

Darren Till vs Dricus Du Plessis

This speaks to the power of Till’s gravitational pull because despite the fact that he hasn’t won a fight in two years and has one victory in four years, I’m still completely captivated by this matchup with Du Plessis.

The former welterweight title challenger enters on a two-fight slide and sporting a 1-4 record over his last five bouts, which extends all the way back to his welterweight title fight with Tyron Woodley. Till has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, and yet doesn’t turn 30 until Christmas Eve, which is why so many still hold out hope that the rugged Scouser can get healthy, remain active, and perform to the best of his abilities going forward.

Order UFC 282: Blachowicz vs Ankalaev

Du Plessis has won each of his first three UFC assignments, most recently outlasting veteran Brad Tavares at UFC 276 to push his overall winning streak to five and his record to 12-2. The South African has good power, a willingness to trade, and could position himself as a dark horse contender in the shifting middleweight ranks with a dominant effort against Till at UFC 282.

With the changing of the guard atop the middleweight division, there will be a demand for fresh matchups and competitive battles to establish a pecking order behind new champion Alex Pereira, and the winner of this one should factor into those conversations in a major way.

Bryce Mitchell vs Ilia Topuria

Sounds the klaxons — we’ve got ourselves a banger alert!

Mitchell returns for the first time since out-hustling Edson Barboza at UFC 272 in March, shuffling forward to a fight with Topuria after a main event matchup with Movsar Evloev was scuttled when the Russian was forced to withdraw. The talented Arkansas-based grappler has won all six of his UFC appearances after coming off Season 27 of The Ultimate Fighter, and will look to continue that impressive march towards the top of the featherweight rankings by taking out Topuria at UFC 282.

The 10 Best December Fights In UFC History

While he’s lost a little momentum after announcing his presence on the UFC stage with two wins in three months at the end of 2020, Topuria remains one of the top emerging talents in the 145-pound weight class. After dispatching Ryan Hall in his lone appearance of 2021, the Georgian prospect jumped up to lightweight in March and defeated Jai Herbert in London, pushing his record to 12-0, with all but one of those wins coming inside the distance.

If there is one dark cloud hovering over this bout it’s that Topuria missed weight for a January assignment against Charles Jourdain prior to bumping up a division, so how things go the day before the event will surely impact the overall anticipation for this contest. Should everything remain intact and both parties hit the mark, this has the potential to determine the top up-and-coming name in a division that feels primed for some major turnover in 2023.

Paddy Pimblett vs Jared Gordon

I’ve got chicken skin just thinking about this one.

Pimblett has been a jolt of electricity since arriving in the UFC towards the tail end of 2021, registering three straight stoppage victories to push his overall winning streak to five while establishing himself as one of the most popular fighters on the roster. But those three wins have come against inexperienced or overmatched competition, leaving many to wonder how “The Baddy” would handle himself against a more seasoned, more polished opponent.

Order UFC 282: Blachowicz vs Ankalaev

Enter Gordon.

While “Flash” doesn’t have a number next to his name, he is the quintessential veteran litmus test in the lightweight division and the exact right kind of fighter to face Pimblett at this moment. Entering off a win over Leo Santos at UFC 278 and sporting a 4-1 mark over his last five, the 34-year-old Gordon is battle-tested, strong on the ground, and the kind of durable, rugged competitor you don’t get by unless you’re legitimately talented.

This is the kind of fight everyone has been wanting to see for Pimblett since his arrival, and now it’s here. Will the popular Scouser pass the test or will Gordon turn him aside?

Jan Blachowicz vs Magomend Ankalaev

Initially slated to be a title eliminator, a serious injury to Jiri Prochazka prompted the Czech champion to relinquish the title, turning the UFC 282 co-main event into a matchup for the vacant light heavyweight title.

Blachowicz lost the title to Glover Teixeira on Halloween 2021 in Abu Dhabi, but got right back into the win column six months later, earning a second-round TKO win over Aleksandar Rakic when the Austrian contender suffered a knee injury. The man with “legendary Polish power” is 6-1 in his last seven and 10-2 over his last dozen fights, stringing together strong winning streaks after each setback.

Fights We’re Thankful For | Jones vs Gustafsson 1

Over the last two years, the 30-year-old Russian has turned a five-fight winning streak into a nine-fight run of success by dispatching Nikita Krylov, Volkan Oezdemir, Thiago Santos, and Anthony Smith. If he does the same to Blachowicz to get to 10 consecutive victories, he’ll claim UFC gold.

While the circumstances around this fight being elevated to championship status are unfortunate, it’s difficult to argue against these two men garnering this opportunity. Blachowicz has been champion before and looked sharp in his return, while Ankalaev is on the longest winning streak in the division, so while this is certainly not how anyone would have liked for it to happen, this is an outstanding championship clash between deserving contenders.

UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland — Saturday, December 17

Arman Tsarukyan vs Damir Ismagulov

As the guy that is always writing about Fighters on the Rise, trust me when I tell you that you’re going to want to pay close attention to this fight because the winner is going to be heard from in the lightweight division in 2023.

Tsarukyan dropped a unanimous decision to Mateusz Gamrot in June in a technical, competitive clash that reminded everyone of why he’s considered one of the top up-and-coming names in the 155-pound weight class. Many believe he did enough to merit the victory in that bout, but a 5-2 record inside the Octagon bookended by losses to Gamrot and current champ Islam Makhachev still illustrates the level of skill the 26-year-old carries with him into battle.

“Money Moicano” Has A Plan

The 31-year-old Ismagulov has won an astounding 19 straight fights, including each of his first five UFC assignments. As I’ve said many times, you don’t win that many fights in a row — in the UFC or anywhere — if you’re not extremely talented, especially not when you’re facing the level of competition Ismagulov has shared the cage with as of late.

Each of these men rightfully enter with a number next to their names, and the victor should feature prominently when it comes time to map things out in the lightweight division in 2023.

Jared Cannonier vs Sean Strickland

Middleweights meet in the final UFC bout of the year, as Cannonier and Strickland look to close out 2022 by getting back into the win column.

Last time out, Cannonier came up short in his bid to knock Israel Adesanya from his perch atop the division, dropping a unanimous decision to “The Last Stylebender” at UFC 276 in July. In seven fights since relocating to the 185-pound weight class, the 38-year-old MMA Lab representative has gone 5-2 with four stoppage wins, with his losses coming against Adesanya and former champ Robert Whittaker.

While Cannonier lost to the champ at UFC 276, Strickland was knocked out by the man that would go on to challenge and defeat Adesanya last month at MSG, Alex Pereira. The 31-year-old had gone 5-0 since returning from a two-year hiatus and was unbeaten in the middleweight division heading into that fight with Pereira, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he gets right back into the win column and re-establishes himself as a contender with a big win here.

Bantamweight Breakdown With Marlon Vera 

The changing of the guard at the top of the division could be a jolt of electricity through the division, so closing out the year on a positive note has to be something both Cannonier and Strickland are desperate for heading into the final UFC bout of the year.