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Few events in combat sports seem to matter more than a blockbuster Ultimate Fighting Championship extravaganza these days. While other organizations like Bellator MMA, Rizin Fighting Federation and Invicta Fighting Championships all reeled due to the pandemic, the UFC thrived whether it posted up in its Las Vegas headquarters of the UFC Apex or in one of a few non-Vegas locales this year. The Professional Fighters League fought valiantly for airtime during its tournament season, but did not do nearly enough to stand out from the pack. By any reasonable viewer, the most memorable cards were practically all out of the UFC, besides a few of Bellator’s biggest offerings.
No organizations that shout from the rooftops about ratings or potential viewers have a snowflake’s chance in garnering any relevance or intensity that one of the major promotions operating provides today. The biggest fights come from the biggest fighters, out of the biggest organizations; it is a sad truth for some of the smaller promotions, but it is a truth nonetheless. In light of some of the contenders, Bellator staged a pair of events in July and October that drew attention and accolades for the excitement that Bellator 263 and 269 brought to the table. In the former, a pound-for-pound talent emerged at the end of a fun tournament, while the latter saw a legend in the sport triumphant in his home country on his retirement tour. Those magnificent moments of A.J. McKee and Fedor Emelianenko getting their hands raised on their respective home soils still paled in comparison to a handful of UFC pay-per-views that simply could not be ignored.
When a fight card contains a bout worthy of a year-end superlative, its stock rises greatly as a whole. The memory of a terrific battle, a sensational knockout or a shocking submission can keep the energy of and event alive in the minds of fans, who otherwise need to white-knuckle their way through a nonstop UFC onslaught of weekly events. The ones that stand out, like UFC on ABC 1, thanks in part to Max Holloway’s otherworldly performance against Calvin Kattar, do so because big fights deliver and good portions of the night’s festivities deliver as well, like Li Jingliang smashing Santiago Ponzinibbio or Carlos Condit and Matt Brown delivering an all-action scrap that would have been worthy of “Fight of the Night” honors were it not for a Max Holloway spectacular.
UFC 261 also laid claim as a great fight offering, not only because fans came back in the building, but because of the wild finishes from Brendan Allen’s ankle lock of Karl Roberson to a pair of “Knockout of the Year” candidates in Rose Namajunas and Kamaru Usman shellacking Weili Zhang and Jorge Masvidal, respectively. UFC 264 should scarcely be forgotten after it bounty of knockouts on the main card, including Tai Tuivasa walking out to “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls and wrecking Greg Hardy in 67 seconds before drinking several beers out of multiple shoes, not to mention the rubber match between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor that might not have ended things as conclusively as hoped.
Coming up just short of the goal line of eternal greatness was UFC 269, as the final UFC PPV of the year saw Brazilians running the show in the two title fights. Not only did Julianna Pena stage one of the biggest upsets of all time when she thwarted Amanda Nunes, but Charles Oliveira proved definitively that he is the best 155-pounder in the sport today. The action was plentiful, the finishes violent, and a few rising stars punched their tickets towards greater opportunities, but the fight card as a whole came up short to one a month prior. At UFC 268, greatness happened early on, it continued as the night progressed, and it firmly stuck the landing to earn its place as the Sherdog 2021 “Event of the Year.”
The night was Nov. 6, and the stage was set not in Las Vegas but in New York, inside of the iconic Madison Square Garden. Championship rematches populated the top billing, while a sure-fire lightweight thriller opened the main card in such a manner that the night could have ended with that pairing and still have been in consideration for one of the best shows of the year. The early preliminaries saw a trio of decisions, as Ode Osbourne, Melsik Baghdasaryan and Dustin Jacoby outgunned their foes and captured unanimous verdicts to get things going. A seeming mess of a heavyweight clash was on deck, and many in the building and watching around the world brooded about how two big, sloppy heavyweights might drag the mood down. They didn’t.
Neither Chris Barnett nor Gian Villante are the type of goliath that would find themselves on a Men’s Health magazine, with muscles on muscles and the kind of figure “where every man wants to be them and every woman wants to be with them.” Looks can be deceiving; the aforementioned victorious Emelianenko never had an imposing frame, but what he did in the ring was anything but boring. Clocking in at 524.4 combined pounds, these heavyweights appeared out of breath after the first stanza, as they belted one another with kicks for the good part of five minutes. The action was not overly scintillating, and even the commentary team found themselves bored and going off on tangents. The moment happened in the blink of an eye, such that fans or UFC head Dana White goofing around on their phones may have missed it: the portly but powerful Barnett whirled around with a spinning wheel kick that crashed square into Villante’s dome, sending the New Yorker careening to the canvas. It was an instant, fabulous contender for “Knockout of the Year” after Barnett pounded Villante out with punches, and just the spark the rest of the fighters out back needed to follow suit.
The Barnett knockout – one that came with a physics-defying front flip where the man once known as “Huggy Bear” thumped seat-first on the ground – was the first of six stoppages from strikes, and each one seemed to have greater import than the last. Ian Garry closed out the early prelims with a comeback drubbing of Jordan Williams, staying flawless as a pro and announcing himself as the future of the company with his successful UFC debut. From there, Nassourdine Imavov kept momentum right on trucking when he crucified Edmen Shahbazyan with elbow strikes to earn the most emphatic victory of his young career.
The rest of the ESPN prelims were no less exciting, and fight fans practically frothed at the mouth after the continuous violence on display. Chris Curtis, a competitor cruising through lower circuits, finally earned a spot in the big leagues as an underdog to the powerful Phil Hawes, and expectations were largely that Hawes would blow away what some coined as a “journeyman.” For the first few minutes of the opening round, true to form, Hawes shrugged off anything Curtis threw at him and landed the harder shots. That all changed when “The Action Man” sat down on a left hand that buckled the legs of Hawes, and a few punches later, Curtis had emerged victorious in his first Octagon outing.
Other than filler on the ESPN airwaves between quick finishes, there was little lull in excitement from match to match. Bobby Green, whom some considered a career underachiever, earned his first knockout in exactly eight years when he clobbered Al Iaquinta, and thereby became the first man to put “Raging Al” down with strikes. The wave of mutilation swept right on to the prelim headliner, as vaunted kickboxer made his organizational debut against gritty Greek brawler Andreas Michailidis. After finding his sea legs in an unsuccessful first period, “Poatan” made good of his first outing with the UFC by mauling Michailidis with a flying knee and a few unnecessary follow-up blows courtesy of a noncommittal Dan Miragliotta to make instant waves as the man who twice topped divisional kingpin Israel Adesanya in kickboxing. Even with all that early excitement built up from knockout after violent knockout, fans may not have been ready for what came in the next few minutes.
Interim UFC titleholder Justin Gaethje came to blows with multiple-time Bellator king Michael Chandler in a widely anticipated that many considered to be the “people’s main event” in this otherwise stacked fight card. To simply say “it delivered” would be a major disservice to the 15 minutes of fistic fireworks that unfolded inside the Octagon from bell to bell. The lightweights hit one another with everything they had and more, dealing massive damage but ultimately remaining upright for most of the instant classic. The pace rarely waned despite a tremendous amount of energy expended from each man as they brutalized each other, and Gaethje ultimately pulled away towards the end and did enough to sway the judges in his favor. The clear-cut winner of Sherdog’s 2021 “Fight of the Year” blew all those watching away, as this titanic tilt claimed “Round of the Year” honors as well for its first five frenetic minutes of combat. It was truly a battle for the ages, and one that will be remembered vividly for quite some time.
Perhaps unfairly for Shane Burgos and Billy Quarantillo, they had to go on after Gaethje and Chandler duked it out for three rounds. Any fight would have seemed to be at a disadvantage having to follow that mighty melee, but despite that, they managed to put on quite a show. The contest proved to be one that stayed on its feet even as Quarantillo doggedly pursued the takedown when Burgos started laying into him. In any other night, the 145ers would have pocketed an additional $50,000 for their furious effort, but it was not meant to be as Gaethje and Chandler clocked in that night. Burgos got his hand raised after another 15-minute encounter that left fans on the edge of their seat, and the action was nearly exhausting as it carried on from one to the next. The matchmakers did their homework putting the card together, and it showed as the next fight on deck came between Marlon Vera and Frankie Edgar.
A back-and-forth scrap ensued between the bantamweights, with Edgar having the grappling advantage while Vera’s punching power and fast kicks kept “The Answer” honest. Possibly tied up going into the third frame, the ex-lightweight kingpin managed to ramp up his aggression and volume to swipe the last round. As strikes from “Chito” started busting up the 38-year-old New Jersey native, Edgar pursued a takedown to convince the judges he had done enough. Vera did not accept the position this time, and got back to his feet so that he could fire off a front kick that pierced Edgar’s guard completely. Edgar was out before he hit the ground with his face, and later protests fell on deaf ears after he realized what had happened.
The first of two titles was up for grabs next, in a worthwhile style clash that brought about grappling and ground exchanges in each and every one of the five full rounds of combat. Rose Namajunas, fresh off capturing the title by melting Weili Zhang with a head kick some six-plus months earlier, found her way into yet another immediate rematch. The strawweights did not approach this contest anywhere close to their first meeting, as they showed respect for the other’s power and ended up spending a plethora of time on the mat. Both displayed control and effective wrestling as the fight ensued, and the champ did enough on two of three scorecards to retain her strap. While it did not result in a face-first slugfest a la Zhang’s encounter with Joanna Jedrzejczyk, questions were answered and Namajunas’ status as the top 115-pound competitor in the organization remained intact.
All roads lead to Rome, and in the case of UFC 268, all fights led to the grudge match everyone had been waiting for. Even if some felt it a bit premature or unearned, Colby Covington once again challenged Kamaru Usman for the welterweight throne inside of a packed Madison Square Garden. In their first clash back in 2019, Usman brought order to “Chaos” as he put him away in the final round with strikes. Covington had one once since then, a late stoppage due to injury over Tyron Woodley, while Usman had defended his title three times in dominant fashion against Masvidal twice and Gilbert Burns. As if he wanted to pick up right where he left off, Usman let his fists do the talking as he won the first round before leveling Covington in the second stanza.
Unlike their 2019 excursion, Covington did not wilt under the pressure and damage, even after he arguably dropped a 10-8 Round 2, having been knocked down on two occasions. A strange thing began to happen for the challenger after taking a pounding for a few rounds: he started gathering steam. As if something had been activated deep within the polarizing figure, he found another gear to start coming back in the third round and beyond. Whether Usman started fatiguing or Covington’s will came forth, Covington very nearly took Usman down towards the end of the third round, but official scorekeepers did not give it to him – thus keeping Usman’s takedown defense rate at a sterling 100%.
Strikes seemed less damaging from Usman, and Covington began to smile as he could suddenly eat strikes that put him down mere minutes before. This allowed “Chaos” to start ramping up his output, forcing the champion to fight off of his back foot and do excellent work to the body. As the fighters approached the 20-minute mark, Covington found his greatest success, when a kick to the body sucked some of the wind out of Usman’s sails. Covington kept his foot on the gas, landing at a higher clip and staggering “The Nigerian Nightmare” before the bell leading into the last round. The pace from the former interim welterweight champ did not relent as he pushed hard into the last round, with Covington pushing Usman harder than any foe in recent memory. Although Covington gave Usman everything he had to offer, Usman still managed to get the nod on the scorecards, in a decision that drew some contention as one judge awarded four rounds to the champ. No matter the result, the gladiators appeared to settle their differences in the cage, putting an end to a phenomenal night of fights.
With a marquee event that brought few if any dull moments, it comes as little surprise that UFC 268 is considered the best event of 2021. The combat was not only extremely entertaining, but imminently relevant for the landscapes of several top divisions. When the dust settled, several matches throughout the evening proved worthy of year-end consideration, putting this fight card above a slew of excellent options from January to December. In an era where MMA events can blend together due to a focus on content over quality, on Nov. 6, 2021, New York City played host to a festival of face-punching that will unquestionably hold up as the years progress.
UFC 268 takes its place alongside previous Sherdog “Event of the Year” winners in UFC 249, UFC 236, UFC 229, UFC 214, UFC 206, UFC 194, UFC 178, UFC 166, UFC on Fox 5, UFC 134, WEC 53, UFC 100 and UFC 84.