Ranking 2022’s Best MMA Bouts

2022 was the year that sports slowly began to get back to normal, which means that crowds were finally allowed back in full force inside arenas.

Of all the sports, it was perhaps mixed martial arts (MMA) that benefitted most from this return to normalcy.

Perhaps no other sport in the world feeds off the crowd as MMA does, and 2022 provided some of the best bouts in recent memory.

Join us as the International Business Times ranks the five best MMA bouts of 2022.

5. Joshua Pacio vs. Jarred Brooks at ONE 164

After three long years, ONE Championship finally made its return to the Philippines—one of its biggest markets—so of course, the Singapore-based combat sports outfit had to bring its big guns.

Headlining ONE 164 on December 3, the promotion’s return to the country’s capital would be a highly-anticipated strawweight title bout between reigning champion Joshua Pacio and challenger Jarred Brooks.

Pacio and Brooks had quite a heated build-up to the title fight, and when the two were finally inside the Circle, they delivered.

Pacio did well to defend Brooks’s seemingly unstoppable takedowns, and the latter did an even better job of adjusting to his opponent by showing off his striking game.

After a hard-fought five-round war, it was Brooks who emerged the victor, dethroning the longtime champion by way of unanimous decision.

4. Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler at UFC 281

What do you get when you put two of the most exciting fighters inside the Octagon? Fireworks.

That’s exactly what Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler produced when the two fan-favorite lightweights squared off at UFC 281 on November 12.

The hard-hitting Chandler found success in the opening round as he blasted Poirier with some hard shots.

Before the first round was over, the former interim UFC lightweight champion rallied back by knocking Chandler down and unloading a flurry of his own.

Chandler controlled the second round again, this time taking Poirier down and attempting a number of submissions.

Poirier turned the tables in the final round as he was able to take Chandler’s back and lock in the rear naked choke to get the submission victory in one of the craziest fights of the year.

3. Angela Lee vs. Stamp Fairtex at ONE X

For the third bout on this list, it pitted two of ONE Championship’s biggest female stars against each other in Angela Lee and Stamp Fairtex at ONE X on March 26 for the organization’s coveted women’s atomweight trinket.

When Stamp began to pick up steam in her MMA career, it became more and more apparent that a showdown with Lee was inevitable.

The two finally squared off on ONE’s tenth-anniversary show, and it delivered in spades.

Stamp had Lee hurt in the opening round, but the defending atomweight queen did what she does best: grapple.

By the end of the round, Lee had taken Stamp’s back, threatening a submission.

Lee continued to dominate Stamp on the ground in the second round until she eventually fastened a rear naked choke to get the win.

2. Gilbert Burns vs. Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 273

Khamzat Chimaev has been on a meteoric rise since 2020, and in 2022, he faced arguably the biggest test of his career when he met former title challenger Gilbert Burns at UFC 273 last April 9.

Since coming to the UFC, Chimaev has dominated everyone put in front of him and many believed Burns would be the first man to push the Swedish sensation to the limit.

Burns did just that as and Chimaev went back and forth, trading big shot after big shot.

By the end of the second round, Burns had hurt Chimaev more than anyone else in the UFC.

In the final round, Chimaev rallied back and managed to swing the fight in his favor, earning the unanimous decision nod at the end of an action-packed three rounds.

1. Glover Teixeira vs. Jiri Prochazka at UFC 275

Looking back at it now, this bout became responsible for the biggest storyline in the UFC in 2022, but more on that later.

After finally realizing his dream of becoming UFC champion, Glover Teixeira’s first title defense was against up-and-coming phenom Jiri Prochazka.

The two 205-pounders put on a show for the ages at UFC 275 last June 12 as they busted each other open with massive shots.

By all accounts, Teixeira’s superior ground control had the fight won, but Prochazka had other plans.

In literally the final minute of the fight, Prochazka managed to choke out an exhausted Teixeira and capture the UFC title in just his third bout under the promotion’s banner.

Prochazka and Teixeira were scheduled to meet in a rematch at UFC 282, but the former sustained an injury and was forced to withdraw and relinquish his title.

Former champion Jan Blachowicz and surging contender Magomed Ankalaev battled for the vacant title, but their bout ended in a split draw.

Now, Teixeira will get another chance at the title when he meets Jamahal Hill at UFC 283 in Brazil this coming January.