Top 5 Contenders For The UFC Heavyweight Championship in 2022
Will The UFC Heavyweight Championship Belt Change Hands This Year?
The UFC is one of the most competitive fighting competitions in the world and anyone who earns a championship title knows that they could lose it in their very next fight. The UFC is the leading Mixed Martial Arts fighting company in the world. They host fights across the globe but are based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Many of the biggest names in the MMA scene are part of the UFC roster.
At the start of each year, we like to speculate what championship belts are going to be changing hands and today we are going to focus on the Heavyweight Championship belt.
Heavyweight fighters in the UFC must weigh between 206 and 265 lbs. The current Heavyweight Champion is Francis Ngannou. He won the title in 2021 and has defended it once since.
Note – Ngannou had surgery in March 2022 and will not be fighting for at least 10 months. This means that the undisputed Heavyweight Title may not be up for grabs this year; however UFC may introduce another interim title as they often do.
Do you think that Ngannou will hold onto his title when he returns? You can find the best MMA odds on upcoming fights here.
Featured Upcoming Bouts (Outside of UFC)
| Thursday, December 31st 2026: Rizin FF Super Rizin 6: Shiwasu no Owarinagoya Gekokujo Matsuri | |||
 [#1 W105] Natalia Kuziutina |  [#4 W105] Saori Oshima | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 9/10/2026 [Rizin Fighting Federation] Last Opponent: [#18 W105] Rena Kubota Last 5: W W W W W | Last Fight Date: 7/18/2026 [Rizin Fighting Federation] Last Opponent: [#13 W105] Ye Ji Lee Last 5: L W L W W | ||
| Sunday, December 13th 2026: Deep - 135 Impact | |||
| [#3 SW] Sukai China | [#4 SW] Jo Arai | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 5/04/2026 [DEEP] Last Opponent: [#6 SW] Sora Sugiyama Last 5: W W W W W | Last Fight Date: 9/13/2026 [DEEP] Last Opponent: [#23 SW] Daichi Kitakata Last 5: L L W L W | ||
| Sunday, December 13th 2026: Deep Tokyo Impact 2026 6th Round | |||
| [#6 SW] Sora Sugiyama | [#10 SW] Goal Makino | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 9/20/2026 [DEEP] Last Opponent: [NR] Musashi Musashi Last 5: W W W L W | Last Fight Date: 9/06/2026 [DEEP] Last Opponent: [#42 SW] Toshiya Takashima Last 5: W W W W W | ||
Featured Fighters
| [#18 W125] |  Lucia Szabova | [#1 WW] | Islam Makhachev | |
| [#18 LW] |  Renato Carneiro | [#1 FW] |  Alexander Volkanovski | |
| [#13 LW] | Tom Nolan | [#26 WW] |  Jacobe Smith | |
| [#8 HW] | Josh Hokit | [#102 W125] | Tainara Lisboa | |
| [#1 LW] | Justin Gaethje | [#2 LW] |  Ilia Topuria |
Fight Matrix Program – UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Andrade (04-23-2022)
Women Strawweight (115)
[#2/#5DD/#9P4P] Jessica Andrade (22-9-0, -167) vs. [#7] Amanda Lemos (11-1-1, +140)
Jessica Andrade is the All-Time #16 ranked Women’s fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Jessica Andrade (2-1-0)
2021-09-25: W vs. [#17FLY] Cynthia Calvillo (9-4-1) via TKO (Punches) in 4:54 of round 1
2021-04-24: L vs. [#1FLY/#2DD/#1P4P] Valentina Shevchenko (22-3-0) via TKO (Elbows) in 3:19 of round 2
2020-10-17: W vs. [#2FLY/#8DD/#6P4P] Katlyn Chookagian (17-4-0) via KO (Punches to the Body) in 4:55 of round 1
Last 3 Fights: Amanda Lemos (3-0-0)
2021-12-18: W vs. [#14SW] Angela Hill (13-11-0) via SD (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
2021-07-17: W vs. [#47SW] Montserrat Ruiz (10-2-0) via TKO (Punches) in 0:35 of round 1
2021-03-06: W vs. [#32SW] Livinha Souza (14-4-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:29 of round 1
| System | Favorite | Rating | Rating Diff | Win % |
| Betting Odds | Jessica Andrade | -167 | 60.01% | |
| Elo K170 | Jessica Andrade | 1788.34 | +97.30 | 60.93% |
| Elo Modified | Jessica Andrade | 1815.64 | +151.54 | 66.00% |
| Glicko-1 | Jessica Andrade | 1834.74 | +172.43 | 72.96% |
| WHR | Jessica Andrade | 1753.53 | +151.59 | 66.65% |
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Jessica Andrade 210, Amanda Lemos 126
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 1 win(s) against common opposition.
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Lightweight (155)
[#34] Clay Guida (37-21-0, -138) vs. [#93] Claudio Puelles (11-3-0, +115)
Clay Guida is the All-Time #32 ranked Lightweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Clay Guida (2-1-0)
2021-12-04: W vs. [#72LW] Leonardo Santos (18-5-1) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 1:21 of round 2
2021-08-21: L vs. [#33LW] Mark O. Madsen (12-0-0) via SD (29-28, 30-27, 28-29)
2021-02-06: W vs. [#193LW] Michael Johnson (19-17-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Last 3 Fights: Claudio Puelles (3-0-0)
2021-12-04: W vs. [#118LW] Chris Gruetzemacher (15-5-0) via Submission (Kneebar) in 3:25 of round 3
2021-06-05: W vs. [#157LW] Jordan Leavitt (10-1-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2019-09-21: W vs. [#1052LW] Marcos Mariano (7-7-0) via UD (30-25, 30-25, 30-25)
| System | Favorite | Rating | Rating Diff | Win % |
| Betting Odds | Clay Guida | -138 | 55.48% | |
| Elo K170 | Claudio Puelles | 1749.79 | +41.61 | 54.74% |
| Elo Modified | Clay Guida | 1762.39 | +3.92 | 50.43% |
| Glicko-1 | Clay Guida | 1809.49 | +36.69 | 55.26% |
| WHR | Clay Guida | 1736.65 | +37.01 | 54.22% |
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Clay Guida 140, Claudio Puelles 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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Heavyweight (265)
[#32] Tanner Boser (20-8-1, +376) vs. [#37] Alexander Romanov (15-0-0, -507)
Last 3 Fights: Tanner Boser (1-2-0)
2021-06-26: W vs. [#32LHW] Ovince St. Preux (25-16-0) via KO (Punches) in 2:31 of round 2
2021-06-05: L vs. [#31HW+] Ilir Latifi (15-8-0) via SD (27-29, 29-28, 29-28)
2020-11-07: L vs. [#34HW+] Andrei Arlovski (33-20-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Last 3 Fights: Alexander Romanov (3-0-0)
2021-10-09: W vs. [#80HW+] Jared Vanderaa (12-8-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:43 of round 2
2021-04-17: W vs. [#52HW+] Juan Espino (10-2-0) via TSD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
2020-11-07: W vs. [#33HW+] Marcos Rogerio de Lima (19-7-1) via Technical Submission (Forearm Choke) in 4:48 of round 1
| System | Favorite | Rating | Rating Diff | Win % |
| Betting Odds | Alexander Romanov | -507 | 79.90% | |
| Elo K170 | Alexander Romanov | 1799.66 | +194.25 | 70.84% |
| Elo Modified | Alexander Romanov | 1788.99 | +80.62 | 58.73% |
| Glicko-1 | Alexander Romanov | 1845.02 | +70.85 | 60.06% |
| WHR | Alexander Romanov | 1813.31 | +131.52 | 64.59% |
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Tanner Boser 301, Alexander Romanov 196
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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Fight Matrix Program – UFC Fight Night: Luque vs. Muhammad 2 (04-16-2022)
Welterweight (170)
[#4] Vicente Luque (21-7-1, -170) vs. [#7] Belal Muhammad (20-3-0, +141)
Vicente Luque is the All-Time #43 ranked Welterweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Vicente Luque (3-0-0)
2021-08-07: W vs. [#12WW] Michael Chiesa (18-6-0) via Submission (Brabo Choke) in 3:25 of round 1
2021-03-27: W vs. [#28WW] Tyron Woodley (19-7-1) via Submission (Brabo Choke) in 3:56 of round 1
2020-08-01: W vs. [#44WW] Randy Brown (14-4-0) via KO (Knee and Punches) in 4:56 of round 2
Last 3 Fights: Belal Muhammad (2-0-0, 1 NC)
2021-12-18: W vs. [#14WW] Stephen Thompson (16-6-1) via UD (30-25, 30-26, 30-26)
2021-06-12: W vs. [#25WW] Demian Maia (28-11-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
2021-03-13: NC vs. [#8WW] Leon Edwards (19-3-0)
| System | Favorite | Rating | Rating Diff | Win % |
| Betting Odds | Vicente Luque | -170 | 60.27% | |
| Elo K170 | Vicente Luque | 2180.15 | +18.36 | 52.10% |
| Elo Modified | Vicente Luque | 2137.91 | +12.72 | 51.39% |
| Glicko-1 | Vicente Luque | 2238.35 | +85.43 | 62.05% |
| WHR | Vicente Luque | 2011.65 | +20.88 | 52.38% |
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Vicente Luque 252, Belal Muhammad 119
Previous Match-up Record: Vicente Luque leads 1-0-0
Wins Against Common Opposition: Belal Muhammad leads 2-1
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Middleweight (185)
[#96] Caio Borralho (10-1-0, +115) vs. [#116] Gadzhi Omargadzhiev (13-0-0, -141)
Last 3 Fights: Caio Borralho (3-0-0)
2021-10-19: W vs. [#209LHW] Jesse Murray (8-4-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:41 of round 1
2021-09-28: W vs. [#107MW] Aaron Jeffery (11-3-0) via UD ()
2020-10-16: W vs. [#259HW+] Wildemar Matheus Souza do (8-3-0) via UD ()
Last 3 Fights: Gadzhi Omargadzhiev (3-0-0)
2021-10-26: W vs. [#342MW] Jansey Silva (7-2-0) via Submission (Kneebar) in 4:19 of round 1
2020-11-14: W vs. [#159MW] Vladimir Vasilyev (9-2-1) via UD ()
2019-10-30: W vs. [NA] Alexey Novikov (7-13-0) via TKO (Submission to Punches) in 2:54 of round 1
| System | Favorite | Rating | Rating Diff | Win % |
| Betting Odds | Gadzhi Omargadzhiev | -141 | 55.71% | |
| Elo K170 | Gadzhi Omargadzhiev | 1625.38 | +6.18 | 50.70% |
| Elo Modified | Caio Borralho | 1646.51 | +9.78 | 51.07% |
| Glicko-1 | Gadzhi Omargadzhiev | 1690.17 | +38.22 | 55.48% |
| WHR | Gadzhi Omargadzhiev | 1678.33 | +46.65 | 55.31% |
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Caio Borralho 179, Gadzhi Omargadzhiev 172
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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Welterweight (170)
[#48] Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (23-7-0, -196) vs. [#160] Mounir Lazzez (10-2-0, +160)
Last 3 Fights: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (2-1-0)
2021-10-30: W vs. [#131WW] Benoit St. Denis (8-1-0) via UD (29-26, 29-26, 29-26)
2020-07-11: L vs. [#21WW] Muslim Salikhov (18-2-0) via SD (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
2020-03-14: W vs. [#163WW] Alexey Kunchenko (20-3-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Last 3 Fights: Mounir Lazzez (2-1-0)
2021-01-20: L vs. [#87WW] Warlley Alves (14-5-0) via TKO (Body Kicks and Punches) in 2:35 of round 1
2020-07-15: W vs. [#76MW] Abdul Razak Alhassan (11-5-0) via UD (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
2020-02-07: W vs. [*] Arber Murati (10-9-1) via TKO (Knees and Punches) in 0:59 of round 1
| System | Favorite | Rating | Rating Diff | Win % |
| Betting Odds | Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos | -196 | 63.25% | |
| Elo K170 | Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos | 1885.95 | +336.66 | 82.32% |
| Elo Modified | Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos | 1927.85 | +340.32 | 81.61% |
| Glicko-1 | Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos | 1984.25 | +386.34 | 90.24% |
| WHR | Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos | 1860.52 | +314.76 | 80.81% |
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos 168, Mounir Lazzez 451
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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