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The UFC is renowned for being a wildly unpredictable place at times. Over the years, we’ve seen a number of surprising fighters end up challenging for UFC titles.
Right now, everyone knows about high-level UFC title contenders such as Weili Zhang and Colby Covington, but could some other, more unheralded fighters make a run for a title shot in 2022?
The answer is yes. It’s hardly surprising given that the UFC has a roster consisting of literally hundreds of fighters. The fact is that many of them are flying under the radar right now and probably shouldn’t be.
With that in mind, here are five lesser-known fighters who could move into UFC title contention in 2022.
#5. Casey O’Neill – UFC women's flyweight contender
The UFC’s women’s flyweight division is one of the thinnest that the promotion has to offer. Seemingly, any fighter who can put together a solid win streak can move into title contention.
There’s an obvious reason for this. Reigning UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko is one of the promotion’s most active titleholders. That means top contenders get knocked down the ladder on a regular basis and so the churn to find new ones is seemingly always ongoing. With that considered, despite the fact that she’s currently unranked, it’s hard to imagine Casey O’Neill failing to make it into contention in 2022.
In fact, it’d probably be a shock if ‘King Casey’ isn’t staring ‘Bullet’ down in a UFC title bout before next year is out. Simply put, O’Neill is an absolutely fantastic prospect to watch. The Scottish-born, Australian-based fighter has excellent skills in all areas and has proven herself capable of both knocking out and submitting foes inside the octagon.
Already 3-0 in the UFC and 8-0 overall, O’Neill is still just 23 years old, meaning it’s likely that she hasn’t even reached her athletic prime just yet. When you consider the fact that she most recently destroyed Antonina Shevchenko, the sister of ‘Bullet’, the storyline for a potential title shot for ‘King Casey’ essentially writes itself.
One more win should put O’Neill into contention and may even be enough to net her a shot at the gold, meaning this flyweight prospect is impossible to ignore.
#4. Arman Tsarukyan – UFC lightweight contender
The UFC lightweight division is probably the promotion’s most loaded when it comes to world class talent. Right now, arguably the hottest contender is Islam Makhachev. The Dagestani has become known as the heir to the throne vacated by Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, while he’s currently on an eight-fight win streak, it’s probably also fair to consider the only fighter to really test him as a potential contender too.
The fighter is Arman Tsarukyan. His loss to Makhachev, a tight decision that saw him go takedown-for-takedown with the Dagestani, was his UFC debut. Since then, he’s gone 4-0.
Like Makhachev, Tsarukyan’s primary weapon is his grappling. He’s used his takedowns to grind down the likes of Matt Frevola and Davi Ramos, essentially not giving them a moment to breathe.
In his most recent win, however, Tsarukyan showed off a different aspect of his game entirely. He waylaid the tough Christos Giagos with a series of brutal punches in just over two minutes.
That win, his first finish in the UFC, moved him directly onto the radar of many more UFC fans than his previous wins had done. Somehow he’s still largely flying under the radar.
However, he’d almost certainly stand a chance of beating a number of the fighters currently raked above him, Dan Hooker, Tony Ferguson and Diego Ferreira, for instance. That means it shouldn’t be a shock at all to see him reach title contention in 2022.
#3. Grant Dawson – UFC lightweight contender
Another rising lightweight contender flying under the radar in terms of making a UFC title run is Grant Dawson. Right now, ‘KGD’ is not even ranked in the top-15, something that will have to change quickly for him to climb to the top. However, he certainly seems to have the potential to make it there in the near future.
Dawson debuted in the UFC back in 2019 as a featherweight and quickly reeled off four wins in a row. The only caveat was his failure to make the 145-pound weight limit on two occasions. It came as no surprise to see him move to 155 pounds earlier this year.
What did surprise some fans was the way in which he dealt with veteran Leonardo Santos, who was unbeaten in the UFC at the time, in his lightweight debut. ‘KGD’ knocked Santos out in the final round of their fight with literally a second remaining.
Admittedly, Dawson remains somewhat unproven against the upper echelon of 155lbers and his next fight against Rick Glenn isn’t likely to change that. However, it’s impossible to sleep on anyone who can reel off five straight wins in the UFC, with three of them coming via finish. If Dawson can deal with Glenn in impressive fashion, it’ll be impossible to ignore him any further.
If he can then beat a ranked opponent in the octagon, the sky could be the limit for him in 2022.
#2. Phil Hawes – UFC middleweight contender
Traditionally, high-level wrestlers have always had plenty of success in the UFC. The likes of Daniel Cormier, Kamaru Usman and Khabib Nurmagomedov all came from wrestling backgrounds to thoroughly dominate their divisions inside the octagon.
One division that doesn’t have a wrestler at the top right now is middleweight. Striker Israel Adesanya currently holds the UFC title and has turned back all of his challengers thus far. However, in the form of Phil Hawes, there may be a high-level wrestler working his way up the ladder. If he continues to win, he may well find himself faced with ‘The Last Stylebender’ in 2022.
‘Megatron’ is currently 3-0 in the UFC, with wins over Jacob Malkoun, Nassourdine Imavov and Kyle Daukaus to his name. None of those opponents really stand out, but the latter two are probably underrated in their own right, meaning Hawes is almost certainly for real.
With brutally heavy hands to go along with his explosive takedowns, ‘Megatron’ poses a threat in all areas. And at the age of 32, he’s probably just about hitting his athletic prime, meaning he should be seen as a threat to any 185lber in the UFC.
Scheduled to face Deron Winn next, if Hawes can get past his fellow wrestler, then it might be enough to break him into the top fifteen. Given that he matches up well with some of the fighters ranked above him, names like Darren Till and Uriah Hall for example, there’s a definite chance that Hawes could find himself in title contention at some point in 2022.
#1. Sean Brady – UFC welterweight contender
The UFC welterweight division is just as full of talent as it’s ever been, with incredible fighters like Vicente Luque, Colby Covington and Leon Edwards all vying for a shot at UFC champion Kamaru Usman. The name completely flying under the radar right now at 170 pounds, despite being ranked at No.13, is Sean Brady.
In a lot of ways, it’s understandable that Brady might remain unknown to many UFC fans. The dangerous grappler has yet to appear on the main card of a UFC event despite being part of the promotion’s roster since late 2019. In that time, the native of Philadelphia has gone 4-0 in the octagon, defeating Court McGee, Ismail Naurdiev, Christian Aguilera and Jake Matthews.
Interestingly, despite being billed primarily as a grappler, Brady has also proven himself as a well-rounded fighter. He outstruck McGee in their fight and was forced to fend off takedowns rather than go for them.
Essentially, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has dangerous skills in all areas, and if he can beat his next opponent, the extremely tough Michael Chiesa, who is ranked at No.7 in the division, he’d instantly leap into title contention.
When you consider how quickly Usman has been dispatching his challengers, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Brady could find himself with a title shot in 2022.
