5 UFC fighters who can dethrone Kamaru Usman as the P4P King in 2022
Kamaru Usman has topped the UFC pound-for-pound rankings since September 2021. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' is on an incredible run of victories and it will take a monumental effort to overtake him on that list.
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The pound-for-pound rankings are an effort to pinpoint the very best fighter in the promotion, with weight classes taken out of the picture. Only a select few fighters have held the top position in these rankings and doing so is considered a massive achievement.
When Kamaru Usman reached the peak of this list he joined an exclusive club of fighters to have done so. The other men to achieve this are Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, Demetrious Johnson, Jose Aldo, Daniel Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
This should indicate just how challenging it is to accomplish this goal. However there are a number of fighters who appear to be in a position to achieve it in 2022. In most cases, these stars will likely need a slip-up from Usman to overtake him in the rankings, unless they are to put together a truly historic 2022.
In any case, here are the 5 UFC fighters who have a chance at snatching the top spot away from Kamaru Usman in 2022:
#5. Charles Oliveria - UFC lightweight champion
Charles Oliveira had a sensational year in 2021, capturing the UFC lightweight title in May and successfully defending it in December. These wins over Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier have seen the Brazilian climb to No.5 in the pound-for-pound rankings.
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Given he is still a relatively new champion, Oliveira faces somewhat of an uphill struggle to claim the top spot in these rankings. The mixed results from early in his career also make it more difficult for 'Do Bronx' to overtake the promotion's elite, who do not have quite so many losses on their records.
If he is to become the No.1 pound-for-pound fighter, Oliveira must continue to rack up title defenses in one of the toughest weight divisions. Should 'Do Bronx' be able to pick up three wins next year and Usman and others above him in the rankings suffer losses, it's not unthinkable that Oliveira could claim the top spot for himself.