Jones vs Ngannou, McGregor vs Ferguson. Five dream fights in the UFC in 2022

Although one of the most high-profile fights between Ngannou and Gan has already taken place, there are many potential fights left in the strongest promotion in the world that you really want to watch in the near future.

John Jones vs Francis Ngannou

Former UFC light heavyweight champion and one of the strongest fighters in MMA history, Jon Jones hasn’t been in the cage for nearly two years, but that doesn’t stop him from being a buzzword and one of the most coveted fights in the sport. Of course, we are talking about the UFC heavyweight title fight, and the name of the opponent is not so important here.

However, after Francis Ngannou defended his belt in a duel with former teammate Cyril Gan, it is his name that unconditionally looks like the best match for the controversial fighter. The Predator is regarded as some of the most formidable puncher in the history of mixed martial arts, while the Bones combines the qualities of a talented all-rounder who is equally good in every aspect of his professional activity.

Despite the fact that Jones has not appeared in the octagon for a long time and has never fought in the heavyweight division, the confrontation between a talented techie and a brutal knockout machine could be the highest grossing in the history of the promotion.

Conor McGregor vs Tony Ferguson

There are few fighters who will capture the attention of the fans and make the UFC bosses money, regardless of sports results. You can think of Brock Lesnar and Tito Ortiz, but much more recent and still relevant in this context is the name of Conor McGregor.

Despite a series of defeats in the cage, the Irishman is still the most popular and profitable MMA fighter, so a fight with him is a ticket to a comfortable old age for anyone. For sure, Conor will have a third fight ahead of him with another hype generator, Nate Diaz, who is also going through hard times, but we would like to see a confrontation of a slightly different plan.

A couple of years ago, Tony Ferguson was called the only fighter capable of breaking the hegemony of Khabib Nurmagomedov, but such a fight was constantly frustrated, until it finally became clear that the old Tony was defeated by time. To date, El Cucuy has three defeats in a row, but he still has not lost in popularity. Conor is not threatened under any circumstances.

Stylistically, this is a very interesting duel between two guys who at one time were among the best in the stand, but due to age and other reasons, they did not keep up with the development of this sport. But, no matter how cool the fight between the two veterans turned out, in terms of the intensity of passions, the events in the octagon will not be able to compete with the degree that will be during the promotion of the duel.

Alex Volkanovski vs Max Holloway III

These guys have a rich history of cage relationships. Despite the fact that the score in their series is 2:0 in favor of the Australian, a closer look at the previous fights makes it clear that the first fight was very competitive, and the result of the rematch was even somewhat scandalous.

After two defeats in a row, Holloway managed to hold two fights, defeating top featherweight fighters Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez. “The Great” made only one appearance in the octagon, interrupting Brian Ortega. All of the aforementioned names are in the top 5 of the UFC Featherweight rankings today, so it’s obvious that the trilogy is logical and moving towards it. Such a fight could have taken place as early as March, but the Hawaiian fighter caught covid, so the champion will defend the title a month later against the Korean Zombie. Well, already in the summer I would like to see the denouement of this cool confrontation between the two best fighters of the division and the pounf-for-pound regulars.

Petr Yan vs Henry Cejudo

Interim UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan has a long-awaited rematch with Algemain Sterling at UFC 273 in April. Considering what is happening in the cage a year ago, when the Russian took control of the fight, but was disqualified for an illegal knee strike on the opponent below, it is Peter who is considered the favorite with the bookmakers.

No matter how the rematch ends, the next opponent of the champion will probably be TJ Dillashaw, who recently returned from disqualification (No. 2 in the rating). However, if Ian wins, we would like to see him fight against a fighter whose absence from the UFC rankings does not interfere with his presence in the media field at all. This is the former double champion Henry Cejudo.

As expected, the decision to hang up the gloves in the prime of life was premature. Henry is actively giving out interviews, showing interest in a comeback, moreover, the fighter is eager to get a chance to become a champion in the third weight category, hoping for a fight with Alexander Volkanovski. What we want is for his Twitter activity to materialize into something tangible, and his fight with the all-rounder Petr Yan could be a treat for MMA fans.

Amanda Nunes versus Valentina Shevchenko

Now Amanda Nunes’ head is busy trying to figure out what happened at UFC 269, when she sensationally lost to Juliana Peña, and her body is already rushing into the cage to quickly get even for the first defeat in the last seven years. However, no matter how the revenge with Peña ends, we are interested in another unfinished business of the “Lioness” from Brazil.

The two-part confrontation between Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko needs to be continued, and the sooner this happens, the better. The girls met in 2016 and 2017, and then both times the Brazilian celebrated the victory on points. The second fight was the championship, and “Lioness” got only a split decision – perhaps the most difficult fight in her career.

Since losing to Amanda, “The Bullet” has been on a streak of eight wins in a row and has a tight grip on the flyweight division, confidently defeating everyone they put against her. The Lioness did the same in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions until she stumbled last December. So after the rematch with Peña, I would really like to see the third fight between Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko. The case when the fight looks logical both from the point of view of marketing and sports.