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#4. Israel Adesanya - UFC middleweight champion
Israel Adesanya would likely already be top of the UFC pound-for-pound rankings had he won the light heavyweight championship back in March. Instead, he suffered his first career loss to Jan Blachowicz and now faces a more challenging task if he is to claim the No.1 spot.
However, this ability to fight in two different weight classes gives Adesanya a good chance of achieving this feat. Should 'The Last Stylebender' hang on to his middleweight championship throughout the duration of 2022 and be successful in a second attempt to win light heavyweight gold, he would have a very good case.
However, that is obviously much easier said than done. Adesanya would have to beat Robert Whittaker in February, then possibly defeat the winner of Jared Cannonier and Derek Brunson.
Adesanya would then need to move up a weight division and successfully capture the title. However, he failed at this goal when he last fought for the light heavyweight title.
#3. Francis Ngannou - UFC heavyweight champion
At this point in time, it's very difficult to try and predict what 2022 has in store for Francis Ngannou. 'The Predator' is on the last fight of his contract and will face Ciryl Gane in a heavyweight title unification fight on January 22nd.
Should Ngannou lose that fight his chances of becoming number one pound-for-pound would obviously disappear and who knows what would come next. Should 'The Predator' win, however, he would likely be in line for a massive payday which could lead to the UFC finally getting behind one of their biggest stars.
If Ngannou can win that bout and add a couple more title defenses throughout 2022 it may be tough to deny him the top spot, particularly if he continues to knock his opponents out cold, as he has been doing recently.
