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2022 is now upon us, and the UFC has already announced some huge fights for the year, including Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane and Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker.
Plenty more huge fights have been talked about for 2022, but should the UFC really look to book some of them, even if they could draw big money?
The answer is probably no. For some major fights that have been talked about, the cons of booking them far outweigh the pros if the bigger picture is looked at.
With this in mind, here are five fights that the UFC should probably avoid booking in 2022.
#5. UFC welterweight bout: Khamzat Chimaev vs. Nate Diaz
On the face of it, a welterweight bout between Khamzat Chimaev and Nate Diaz might make a lot of sense for the UFC.
Chimaev is the fastest-rising star in the division, if not the entire promotion, and the UFC simply needs him to collect one big win to push him through the stratosphere and set him up for a shot at the UFC welterweight title.
Nate Diaz, meanwhile, is one of the promotion’s biggest-drawing stars, but he’s also on the way down in terms of his career overall.
The UFC has always used aging superstars to build up their next generation, and this fight would definitely fit that pattern. More to the point, Chimaev’s wrestling and power would seem to make him a tricky stylistic match for Diaz.
However, the fact that Diaz will become a free agent after his next bout – and looks set to depart the UFC – means that the promotion should avoid booking this fight like the plague.
Sure, Chimaev might be capable of whitewashing Diaz, but what if the opposite were to happen? Diaz would walk away from the UFC with one of the biggest wins of his career, and would either be able to squeeze the promotion for an insane amount of money, or be able to help a burgeoning rival.
Chimaev, meanwhile, would be left looking like a busted flush after suffering the first loss of his career to a fighter seen as past his prime.
In this instance, the UFC would be better served by allowing Chimaev’s star to rise with wins over opponents ranked more highly than him, and would be better served by matching Diaz with an opponent who could afford to take a loss should it happen – meaning his departure wouldn’t be quite as seismic.
#4. UFC heavyweight title: Francis Ngannou or Ciryl Gane vs. Jon Jones
A clash between former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and the reigning UFC heavyweight champion – originally Stipe Miocic, now either Francis Ngannou or Ciryl Gane – has been talked about for a long time now, dating back to 2020.
So should 2022 be the year that the UFC finally pulls the trigger on this bout, bringing Jones back in from the cold? In all honesty, the answer ought to be no.
Firstly, it isn’t like the UFC is short on potential heavyweight title contenders right now. The likes of Tom Aspinall, Curtis Blaydes and Tai Tuivasa are climbing the ranks quickly, and that isn’t even mentioning veterans like Miocic and Derrick Lewis.
Given that Ngannou and Gane will face off to unify the UFC heavyweight title this month, the likelihood is that regardless of who wins, the next title bout won’t take place until the summer. That gives one of those fighters ample time to state their claim as the next challenger.
More importantly, though, Jones has done nothing to warrant a shot at the UFC heavyweight title. Not only has he never fought in the weight class before, but he’s also not fought in the octagon, period, in almost two years now.
Given that his attitude towards the UFC hasn’t always been that forthcoming – and his legal problems outside the octagon don’t seem to show any sign of slowing down – the promotion would probably be better avoiding booking him in any kind of title fight until he proves that he’s reliable and loyal again.
Jones in a UFC heavyweight title bout would undoubtedly be intriguing – but it could also cause the UFC more problems than it’s worth.
#3. UFC featherweight title: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway
On the face of it, booking a UFC featherweight title clash between champion Alexander Volkanovski and top contender Max Holloway in 2022 looks like an absolutely obvious call to make.
Both men enjoyed excellent years in 2021, with Volkanovski overcoming the challenge of Brian Ortega in what was arguably the year’s best fight, and Holloway picking up a pair of excellent victories over Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez.
With ‘Blessed’ still ranked as the top contender in the division, then, a title bout seems to be the only way to go. However, would this really be the correct match to make?
The big issue here is the fact that Holloway and Volkanovski have already met on two occasions in recent years – once in 2019 and once in 2020 – and in both bouts, ‘Alexander the Great’ came away with his hand raised.
Sure, it’s fair to say that both fights were very close, and that many fans felt that Holloway did enough to win the second bout, but the fact remains that Volkanovski has already beaten the Hawaiian twice. With that considered, why should he need to do so for a third time?
The UFC undoubtedly loves trilogies, but only the series between Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn ended with one fighter winning all three bouts. And in that instance, the third fight between them came a long time after the first two, and wasn’t for a UFC title.
Essentially, it seems harsh to ‘Blessed’, but the UFC would probably be better served by keeping his title shot on ice until Volkanovski is finally dethroned, if only to keep things fresh in the division.
#2. UFC lightweight title: Charles Oliveira vs. Conor McGregor
Based on what has been said recently by UFC President Dana White, it seems like the next UFC lightweight title bout is set. Seemingly, it will see champion Charles Oliveira defend his title against former interim champion Justin Gaethje in early 2022.
For the most part, this booking makes perfect sense. Gaethje is a great fighter to watch and is coming off a huge win over Michael Chandler.
However, in recent weeks, there have been a few hints that the UFC might head in a different direction. Namely, the promotion may well end up booking a title bout between Oliveira and former UFC lightweight champ Conor McGregor.
To put it simply, this would be an absolute folly. If the UFC were to deny ‘The Highlight’ a shot at the title in favour of Islam Makhachev, who is on a lengthy win streak, then Gaethje would probably be aggrieved, but the decision could be justified.
However, to remove him in favour of McGregor, who has won just one fight in the octagon since 2016 and has just one win as a lightweight in the UFC, period, would be ridiculous.
Sure, Oliveira vs. McGregor might draw far more money than Oliveira vs. Gaethje, but the fact is that the UFC simply can’t book this fight if it wants to retain any semblance of credibility from a sporting perspective.
So while McGregor has stated that he wants the bout, and Oliveira seems to have welcomed it too – largely because it’d give him a huge payout – the UFC should look to ignore the pleas of both men and continue on the path that makes more sporting sense.
#1. Boxing match: Jake Paul vs. Jorge Masvidal
The biggest bout that the UFC should absolutely avoid in 2022 is a boxing match between YouTube star Jake Paul and former UFC welterweight title challenger Jorge Masvidal. In fact, the promotion should avoid doing any kind of business with Paul point blank.
Given that ‘The Problem Child’ seems to be at constant loggerheads with UFC president Dana White and has criticised his business practices on numerous occasions, it seems unlikely that the two parties could come to an agreement anyway.
However, Paul draws money on pay-per-view – recent rematch with Tyron Woodley notwithstanding – and as everyone knows, drawing money has always been the biggest driving factor for the UFC.
So given that they came to an agreement to allow then-UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor to step into the boxing ring against Floyd Mayweather, there’s definitely a chance that a similar agreement could be drawn up to match Paul against Masvidal or another current UFC star.
Unfortunately, if this were to happen, it’d be a huge mistake on the part of the UFC, even if it might make them money.
Given that it’s unlikely that he’d want to fight an opponent his own size – around 195lbs – ‘The Problem Child’ would probably have to be matched with a fighter like Masvidal or Nate Diaz. When you then add in the differences between the sports of boxing and MMA, as well as Paul’s recent victory over Woodley, it’s probably safe to say there’s a chance that the YouTuber could actually win.
When Mayweather defeated McGregor in the squared circle, there was certainly no shame in the Irishman losing to one of the greatest boxers of all time – and so the UFC’s credibility wasn’t harmed at all.
However, if one of their current stars were to lose to Paul, who is still seen as a YouTuber masquerading as a fighter by some, then that credibility would almost certainly be damaged. And that damage could well leave a more lasting mark than the money generated from such a fight.
Essentially, the UFC would be better off not only avoiding any kind of deal with Jake Paul, but also simply ignoring him altogether.
