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#4. Charles Oliveira – UFC lightweight champion
Charles Oliveira undoubtedly had one of the best years of any fighter in the UFC in 2021. He claimed the promotion’s lightweight title by knocking out Michael Chandler before retaining it with an impressive win over Dustin Poirier.
There can be no doubt now that ‘Do Bronx’ is currently the best 155lber on the planet. However, that doesn’t mean that he’s secure in his spot as champion. In fact, there are a number of reasons why the Brazilian’s title reign could be under threat in 2022.
Firstly, for as good as he looked in his two wins in 2021, it’s probably safe to say that both of them could’ve been considered comeback victories. Chandler almost knocked him out in the first round before Oliveira somehow managed to survive and finish the former Bellator champ in the second round.
Poirier, meanwhile, was teeing off on the Brazilian in the first round of their fight, only to run out of steam and become susceptible to Oliveira’s deadly ground game as the fight went on.
Secondly, the lightweight division is arguably the most stacked in the UFC, with dangerous contenders like Islam Makhachev and Beneil Dariush all looking to claim a title shot. Even Oliveira’s likely next opponent, Justin Gaethje, is more than capable of unseating him.
Therefore, despite Oliveira’s tremendous form over the past few years, he’s still quite likely to lose his title in 2022.
#3. Aljamain Sterling – UFC bantamweight champion
Perhaps no other UFC champion has won their title in as controversial circumstances as Aljamain Sterling. ‘Funk Master’ claimed the gold in March when previous champion Petr Yan was disqualified for using an illegal knee to stun Sterling in the fourth round.
Sterling is undoubtedly a great fighter. After all, he’s the only man to finish the dangerous Cory Sandhagen in the octagon and he holds impressive wins over other highly-ranked fighters, including Pedro Munhoz and Cody Stamann.
However, there can be no doubt that his title reign will be under threat this year, most notably when he faces Yan in a rematch in March.
Not only was ‘No Mercy’ arguably ahead on the scorecards at the time that he was disqualified, meaning Sterling probably never would’ve won the title without the illegal blow, but he’s also fought since. He claimed the interim championship by defeating Sandhagen in a wild fight in October.
Sterling, meanwhile, has been on the shelf since winning his title, as he was forced to have surgery on his neck and has been rehabbing the injury since.
When you put together the fact that Yan appeared to have his number before, as well as Sterling’s time on the shelf with a serious injury, it seems highly doubtful that ‘Funk Master’ will make it past March with his title intact, let alone out of 2022.
