5 UFC fighters who made the biggest impact in 2022
The year 2022 has been huge for a number of UFC stars, with some rising to stardom and others claiming huge title victories in the octagon.
Which UFC fighters made the biggest impact in 2022? It’s definitely a difficult question to answer. However, it’s fair to say that some of the promotion’s stars made a bigger impact than others. Some of them claimed the biggest wins of their careers, while others rose to prominence more than ever before.
Here are five UFC fighters who made the biggest impact in 2022.
#5. Paddy Pimblett – UFC lightweight contender
While none of his three wins in 2022 came over notable opponents, it’s safe to say that lightweight prospect Paddy Pimblett made a huge impact on the UFC this year. Essentially, ‘The Baddy’ looks like he could be the biggest star to come out of the UK since the heydays of Michael Bisping nearly a decade ago.
Pimblett debuted in the octagon in 2021 with a knockout of Luigi Vendramini. However, because that win came at the Las Vegas APEX, it was hard to know quite how popular he’d become with the fans, particularly in his home country. That question was firmly answered in March.
At the promotion’s first show in the UK since 2019, ‘The Baddy’ picked up an impressive win over Rodrigo Vargas and garnered a huge reaction from the fans. Despite the presence of a number of other UK stars like Arnold Allen and Tom Aspinall, it was clear that Pimblett was the favorite with the crowd. Remarkably, he received an even bigger reaction for his win over Jordan Leavitt, which also took place in London in July.
To add to this, Pimblett seems to understand the potential he has to become a star. His heartfelt speech on the UK’s mental health crisis after his win over Leavitt immediately went viral.
Watch. Listen. Talk.
Paddy Pimblett ladies and gents 👏 https://t.co/DUD4mFY4FV
Like him or hate him, there’s no disputing that 2022 was huge for Paddy Pimblett in terms of the impact he made, and 2023 could be even bigger.
#4. Sean O’Malley – UFC bantamweight contender
Despite only picking up a single win in his two fights this year, it’s safe to say that bantamweight prospect Sean O’Malley made a bigger impact than most fighters on the roster. Not only did ‘Sugar’ see his stock rise hugely to the point that he’s now considered one of the UFC’s fastest-rising stars, but he proved himself as a genuine title contender, too.
Prior to this year, O’Malley had never really been tested against an elite-level opponent. That changed in July, when he faced Pedro Munhoz, a top 10 ranked veteran. However, plans went awry when Munhoz was rendered incapable of fighting due to an errant eye poke in the second round.
Rather than drop O’Malley back down the card, though, he was instead matched with former bantamweight champion Petr Yan in October. And while many fans expected ‘No Mercy’ to walk right through him, ‘Sugar’ proved his worth by edging the Russian in a three-round thriller.
A thread on the biggest shots in Petr Yan vs Sean O'Malley:
O'Malley starts off playing with the hand fight from orthodox, but pulls his hand back and feints a jab, but Yan doesn't bite.
Sean goes to southpaw, feints again but follows through with a gigantic shifting left.
1/5 https://t.co/aTNGqqWDxL
Sure, many observers felt that Yan deserved the nod from the judges, but the fact that O’Malley hung with him for three rounds and won at least one was enough for him to make a massive impact.
How far he can go in 2023 remains to be seen, but it definitely feels like a title shot lies in his future.
#3. Alex Pereira – UFC middleweight champion
It’s honestly hard to quantify the impact that Alex Pereira made in the UFC in 2022 when you consider his status as a rookie in all but name.
Prior to this year, ‘Poatan’ had just five professional fights and one win in the octagon on his record. The fact that he’s going into 2023 as the new middleweight champion of the world is a truly remarkable feat.
Interestingly, the Brazilian’s first win of 2022 suggested that he still had a long way to go before moving into title contention. Sure, he clearly beat Bruno Silva, but he didn’t really come close to finishing him and had plenty of issues in the first round.
His second victory was a quick and violent knockout of Sean Strickland and was a real eye-opener. It showed how devastating ‘Poatan’ could be if an opponent chose to stand with him, something that Israel Adesanya found out to his detriment in their eventual title fight.
+410 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐋 😈
Alex Pereira (+100 ML) gets the win over Sean Strickland
Pereira KO/TKO in Round 1 ➡️ +410
https://t.co/eIl4MvGbB6
Adesanya was winning the bout till the last round, but when he was hurt in the fifth round, all it took was one thunderous flurry from Pereira to take him out for good.
So can Pereira remain the middleweight kingpin throughout 2023? It’s hard to say. It’s likely he’ll have to face Adesanya in a rematch first, but his trickier opponents may come somewhere down the line. Either way, regardless of what happens to him in the future, it’s fair to say that ‘Poatan’ was one of the UFC’s biggest impact players in 2022.
#2. Khamzat Chimaev – UFC welterweight contender
While he didn’t become a UFC champion in 2022, Khamzat Chimaev did something almost as monumental. ‘Borz’ became one of the promotion’s hottest stars, crossing over from a spot as a notable prospect to being amongst the biggest names in the sport. Chimaev not only did this by picking up a pair of major wins but also by talking plenty of trash, showing nearly unmatched charisma, and causing a ton of controversy along the way.
It didn’t take long for the Chechnyan-born Swede to make his mark this year. March saw him faced with his first real elite-level opponent in the form of former welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns. Many fans expected ‘Durinho’ to test Chimaev like never before, and while the Brazilian was able to do that, ‘Borz’ proved his worth as a top fighter by matching and eventually beating him over three rounds.
last night!This was WAR 💥
@KChimaev and @GilbertDurinho brought the 🔥 last night! https://t.co/LMklFEpYCX
That win made Chimaev a title contender in his own right, but it was the saga that followed next that really turned him into a superstar. Matched with ageing veteran Nate Diaz, Chimaev seemed to revel in an apparent role as the UFC’s executioner – only for the fight to fall apart entirely when ‘Borz’ missed weight spectacularly. The gaffe resulted in an entire show being shifted around, but somehow, the shine didn’t come off Chimaev when he simply whitewashed new opponent Kevin Holland instead.
Right now, the only question around Chimaev is whether he’ll fight as a welterweight or a middleweight in the future. Either way, he seems destined for the very top of the sport, and after a huge 2022, he’s positioned as one of the UFC’s poster boys.
#1. Islam Makhachev – UFC lightweight champion
While it’s arguable that both Khamzat Chimaev and Paddy Pimblett became more popular than him in 2022, it’s definitely fair to say that the biggest impact this year was made by Islam Makhachev.
In the space of two fights, Makhachev not only captured the UFC lightweight title, but he was also able to affirm his apparent status as the successor to his legendary mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Right now, the native of Dagestan sits atop arguably the promotion’s most stacked division, and it seems highly likely that he’ll follow Khabib directly toward superstar status, too.
Interestingly, the year started on a quiet front for Makhachev. Initially booked to face top contender Beneil Dariush, his first fight instead came against a late replacement in the form of Bobby Green. The late-notice bout could easily have gone wrong for the Dagestani given the stylistic differences between Dariush and Green, but instead, Makhachev dominated ‘King’ en route to a first-round TKO win.
For a while, it looked like he’d have to fight again before a title shot, but instead, he was granted a crack at the vacant lightweight crown against former champion Charles Oliveira in October. It looked like a hugely difficult challenge for Makhachev, particularly given Oliveira’s amazing submission skills. Remarkably, though, the Dagestani destroyed ‘do Bronx,’ knocking him down and submitting him in the second round.
ISLAM MAKHACHEV IS THE UNDISPUTED LW CHAMPION OF THE WORLD! 🏆
[ @MakhachevMMA | #UFC280 ] https://t.co/aJzHlS6fxF
Makhachev is now set to make his first title defense in early 2023, facing off against featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski in a champion vs. champion fight that is bound to draw interest. If he can win that fight, then he could well go on to surpass the massive popularity of his mentor. For now, though, he can settle for being the most impactful fighter of 2022.