Heavyweight Championship (265)
[#1/#4DD/#3P4P] Francis Ngannou (16-3-0, +126) vs. [#3] Ciryl Gane (10-0-0, -152)
Francis Ngannou is the All-Time #16 ranked Heavyweight fighter.
Ciryl Gane is the All-Time #37 ranked Heavyweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Francis Ngannou (3-0-0)
2021-03-27: W vs. [#2HW+/#7DD] Stipe Miocic (20-4-0) via KO (Punch) in 0:52 of round 2
2020-05-09: W vs. [#7HW+] Jairzinho Rozenstruik (12-3-0) via KO (Punches) in 0:20 of round 1
2019-06-29: W vs. [#11HW+] Junior dos Santos (21-9-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:11 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Ciryl Gane (3-0-0)
2021-08-07: W vs. [#4HW+] Derrick Lewis (26-8-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:11 of round 3
2021-06-26: W vs. [#6HW+] Alexander Volkov (34-9-0) via UD (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)
2021-02-27: W vs. [#7HW+] Jairzinho Rozenstruik (12-3-0) via UD (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Francis Ngannou 301, Ciryl Gane 168
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Ciryl Gane leads 3-2
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Flyweight Championship (125)
[#1/#5DD/#5P4P] Brandon Moreno (19-5-2, -176) vs. [#2] Deiveson Figueiredo (20-2-1, +147)
Brandon Moreno is the All-Time #9 ranked Flyweight fighter.
Deiveson Figueiredo is the All-Time #7 ranked Flyweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Brandon Moreno (2-0-1)
2021-06-12: W vs. [#2FLY] Deiveson Figueiredo (20-2-1) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:26 of round 3
2020-12-12: D vs. [#2FLY] Deiveson Figueiredo (20-2-1) via Draw (Majority) in 5:00 of round 5
2020-11-21: W vs. [#12FLY] Brandon Royval (13-6-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:59 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Deiveson Figueiredo (1-1-1)
2021-06-12: L vs. [#1FLY/#5DD/#5P4P] Brandon Moreno (19-5-2) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:26 of round 3
2020-12-12: D vs. [#1FLY/#5DD/#5P4P] Brandon Moreno (19-5-2) via Draw (Majority) in 5:00 of round 5
2020-11-21: W vs. [#8FLY] Alex Perez (24-6-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 1:57 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Brandon Moreno 224, Deiveson Figueiredo 224
Previous Match-up Record: Brandon Moreno leads 1-0-1
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 1 win(s) against common opposition.
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Welterweight (170)
[#49] Michel Pereira (27-11-0, -285) vs. [#75] Andre Fialho (14-4-0, +228)

Last 3 Fights: Michel Pereira (3-0-0)
2021-07-10: W vs. [#53WW] Niko Price (15-5-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2020-12-19: W vs. [#42WW] Kalinn Williams (13-2-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2020-09-05: W vs. [*] Zelim Imadaev (8-3-0) via Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:39 of round 3

Last 3 Fights: Andre Fialho (3-0-0)
2021-10-29: W vs. [#187WW] Stefan Sekulic (14-5-0) via TKO (Elbow and Punches) in 1:53 of round 1
2021-09-04: W vs. [#659WW] Lincoln Henrique (11-4-0) via TKO in 4:47 of round 1
2021-06-19: W vs. [#206MW] Sang Hoon Yoo (7-2-0) via TKO in 0:18 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Michel Pereira 196, Andre Fialho 85
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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Ever since the start of the UFC, it has been home to some of the most dominant fighters that the world has ever seen. There have been many fighters who aren’t just good at fighting, they’re also good at grabbing onto any belt in sight and holding onto it for dear life. 

Today we’re taking a look at five athletes whose careers showed that kind of unstoppable dominance, even if they did get stopped in the end. If you’re part of the betting crowd, you should consider checking out Fanduel’s UFC fights odds. If any of the fighters below show up, you know who to put your money on.

1. Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva holds the longest title reign in the UFC. If that isn’t dominance, we don’t know what is.

Along with being one of the pioneers of the UFC during its rise to prominence, Silva won the UFC middleweight championship in just his second fight, which was against Rich Franklin at UFC 64. Then the challengers came – and he beat them all.

Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, Stephan Bonnar, all of them were repelled by Silva across six whole years. He would finally be defeated in 2013, after 16 victories as champion. This was where Chris Weidman scored lucky punches against Silva while he was showboating.

When Silva lost the title, he had held it for 2,457 days.

Four weeks will have passed since the UFC’s last event, Black Beast vs. Chris Daukaus on December 18, 2021.

Calvin Kattar returns to the Octagon for the first time in almost exactly one year with his Fight Night Main Event vs. Max Holloway taking place on January 16, 2021. A year later and he will be main eventing once again vs. Giga Chikadze on January 15, 2022.

Chikadze is currently an even bigger favorite than Max Holloway was vs. Calvin Kattar. The disrespect is palpable with BestFightOdds.com – one of the goat’d MMA sites – making a typo of Kattar to Cattar.

Featherweight (145)
[#8] Calvin Kattar (22-5-0) vs. [#9] Giga Chikadze (14-2-0)
Calvin Kattar is the All-Time #50 ranked Featherweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Calvin Kattar (2-1-0)
2021-01-16: L vs. [#2FW/#6DD] Max Holloway (23-6-0) via UD (50-43, 50-43, 50-42)
2020-07-15: W vs. [#11FW] Dan Ige (15-5-0) via UD (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
2020-05-09: W vs. [#78LW] Jeremy Stephens (28-19-0) via TKO (Elbows and Punches) in 2:42 of round 2

Last 3 Fights: Giga Chikadze (3-0-0)
2021-08-28: W vs. [#15FW] Edson Barboza (22-10-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:44 of round 3
2021-05-01: W vs. [#16FW] Cub Swanson (28-12-0) via TKO (Body Kick and Punches) in 1:03 of round 1
2020-11-07: W vs. [#398BW] Jamey Simmons (7-4-0) via TKO (Head Kick and Punches) in 3:51 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Calvin Kattar 364, Giga Chikadze 140
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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Women Flyweight (125)
[#3] Katlyn Chookagian (16-4-0, -177) vs. [#4] Jennifer Maia (19-7-1, +148)
Katlyn Chookagian is the All-Time #43 ranked Women’s fighter.
Jennifer Maia is the All-Time #22 ranked Women’s fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Katlyn Chookagian (2-1-0)
2021-05-15: W vs. [#10FLY] Viviane Araujo (10-3-0) via UD ()
2020-11-21: W vs. [#16FLY] Cynthia Calvillo (9-4-1) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2020-10-17: L vs. [#2FLY/#7DD/#10P4P] Jessica Andrade (22-9-0) via KO (Punches to the Body) in 4:55 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Jennifer Maia (2-1-0)
2021-07-10: W vs. [#38FLY] Jessica Eye (15-10-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
2020-11-21: L vs. [#1FLY/#3DD/#1P4P] Valentina Shevchenko (22-3-0) via UD (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
2020-08-01: W vs. [#17FLY] Joanne Wood (15-7-0) via Submission (Armbar) in 4:29 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Katlyn Chookagian 245, Jennifer Maia 189
Previous Match-up Record: Katlyn Chookagian leads 1-0-0
Wins Against Common Opposition: Jennifer Maia leads 5-3
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Flyweight (125)
[#12] Brandon Royval (12-6-0, -168) vs. [#19] Rogerio Bontorin (17-3-0, +139)

Last 3 Fights: Brandon Royval (1-2-0)
2021-08-21: L vs. [#4FLY] Alexandre Pantoja (24-5-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 1:46 of round 2
2020-11-21: L vs. [#1FLY/#5DD/#5P4P] Brandon Moreno (19-5-2) via TKO (Punches) in 4:59 of round 1
2020-09-26: W vs. [#5FLY] Kai Kara France (23-9-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 0:48 of round 2

Last 3 Fights: Rogerio Bontorin (1-2-0)
2021-05-15: W vs. [#26FLY] Matt Schnell (15-6-0) via UD (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
2021-03-06: L vs. [#5FLY] Kai Kara France (23-9-0) via KO (Punches) in 4:55 of round 1
2020-02-15: L vs. [#38BW] Ray Borg (14-5-0) via UD (30-25, 30-27, 30-27)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Brandon Royval 147, Rogerio Bontorin 245
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Brandon Royval leads 1-0
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Always eager to attract the crowds, whether packing arena seats or viewing from home via pay-per-view, the Ultimate Fighting Championship rarely disappoints. Opening the schedule for 2022 will be the UFC 270 event on 22 January, held at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, as the world’s most popular mixed martial arts promotion gets the new year going with a bang.

Not just one but two eagerly anticipated title fights will be headlining UFC 270, accompanied by a fine array of exciting contests on the fight card for this event. Headlining the event is the UFC Heavyweight Championship title unification, as Francis Ngannou takes on the interim champion Ciryl Gane, finally getting to decide which of these two superb fighters will take the belt.

The second and equally deserving of headlines is Brandon Moreno versus Deiveson Deiveson Figueiredo, as the reigning UFC Flyweight champion prepares to be tested by the number one challenger. As the latest contest between the Mexican and the Brazilian, this is a trilogy fight in which both fighters will be looking for a definitive resolution, plus the chance for one of these two rivals to walk away with the title belt, of course.

Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane

Nobody can forget Ngannou’s murderous left hand at UFC 218 in December 2017, rated by ESPN as their ‘Knockout of the Year’, when he delivered the KO punch in the victory against Alistair Overeem. This would firmly establish the Frenchman as a firm favorite amongst MMA fans, which also set him up for a first career attempt at the title.

The opportunity came quickly at UFC 220 in January 2018, although Ngannou was unable to find any way to beat Stipe Miocic on that occasion, as the American broke the record for most consecutive UFC Heavyweight Championship title defenses. Nevertheless, that loss by unanimous decision spurred Ngannou to improve his overall technique, as he sought another opportunity to top the UFC rankings.

Fearsome punching power and great timing brought added four more KO wins to the impressive resume of Ngannou, before the inevitable rematch against Miocic, which eventually came at UFC 260 in March 2021. This time there would be no stopping the fists of Ngannou, who finished Miocic in just two rounds with a KO punch.

Heavyweight Supremacy is at stake this January!@Francis_Ngannou and @Ciryl_Gane will lock horns for the 𝖀𝖓𝖉𝖎𝖘𝖕𝖚𝖙𝖊𝖉 👑! #UFC270 pic.twitter.com/sfXmIasXDM

— UFC_Asia (@UFC_Asia) December 23, 2021

The New Year was seen in by two veteran heavyweights treating their fans to a slugfest, as the betting favourite Luis Ortiz recovered from two knockdowns to defeat Charles Martin. At 42-years of age Ortiz showed that there is still plenty of fight in the old dog yet, delivering for oddschecker free bet users who’d backed him to KO the one-time Anthony Joshua victim. Even if his punch resistance appears to be on the wane, with Martin putting him down with an innocuous jab at one worrying point in the contest, Ortiz will still be given more than a puncher’s chance by bookies against whoever he happens to face next.

Ortiz has now set himself up for bigger and better fights in 2022, with some of the top contenders likely to fancy their chances against the veteran Cuban. Here we cast an eye over other elite level veteran boxers who may just be about to have an Indian summer to remember this year; putting father time back in his box for at least another twelve months.

Notable Info

• Happy New Year!
• Community adjustments made to Japanese male population for Current Rankings.
• A few bugfixes made to All-Time Rankings — mainly affects Women Absolute.
• 2021 awards posted.

The next big UFC event is just around the corner and will be kicking off the new year in style with a huge main event. UFC 270 will take place on Sunday, January 23rd 2022, at the Honda Center in Anaheim in the United States.

UFC 270 will be headlined by a heavyweight title bout between reigning champ Francis Ngannou vs the undefeated Ciryl Gane. The other big fight of the night to warm fans up will see a flyweight title bout between current champion Brandon Moreno and the challenger Deiveson Figueiredo. Both fights will have fans salivating at the prospect of big titles being put on the line to welcome in the new year with.

However, we’ll be focusing on the first of the two events in this article, the heavyweight clash between the Cameroonian, Francis “The Predator” Ngannou, and his opponent, Frenchman Ciryl “Bon Gamin” Gane. We’re going to preview the fight, talking a little about the statistics coming into it and try to make some predictions about what we think might happen.