The Pulse of MMA: What Was The Best UFC Event of 2021?

The Pulse of MMA: Fan Reactions To The Sport’s Biggest Stories

In this installment of The Pulse of MMA, we look at the raw, unfiltered reactions from MMA fans to the UFC‘s nominations for Best Event of 2021.

It’s the last week of 2021, which means it’s time to start looking back at the biggest and best moments of the year. Right now, that means taking a peek at the UFC’s nominations for the best event of the year.

There were four events nominated for the honor. Below, you can find the fast results for each event, followed by a brief video recap, then we’ll see what the Pulse of MMA had to say when they let their voices be heard.

EARLY PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+/6 p.m. ET)

• Bantamweight bout: Danaa Batgerel def. Kevin Natividad by TKO (punches) at :50 of Round 1
• Lightweight bout: Kazula Vargas def. Rongzhu by unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-28)
• Flyweight bout: Jeffrey Molina def. Aoriqileng by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
• Women’s strawweight bout: Ariane Carnelossi def. Na Liang by TKO (punches) at 1:28 of Round 2

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/8 p.m. ET)

• Welterweight bout: Randy Brown def. Alex Oliveira by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:50 of Round 1
• Welterweight bout: Dwight Grant def. Stefan Sekulic by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Middleweight bout: Brendan Allen def. Karl Roberson by submission (heel hook) at 4:55 of Round 1
• Featherweight bout:  Pat Sabatini def. Tristan Connelly by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

MAIN CARD (ESPN/10 p.m. ET)

• Welterweight title bout: Kamaru Usman def. Jorge Masvidal by knockout (punches) at 1:02 of Round 2 to retain the title
• Women’s strawweight title bout: Rose Namajunas def. Zhang Weili by knockout (head kick) at 1:18 of Round 1 to win the title
• Women’s flyweight title bout: Valentina Shevchenko def. Jessica Andrade by TKO (elbows) at 3:19 of Round 2 to retain
• Middleweight bout: Uriah Hall def. Chris Weidman by TKO (injury) at :17 of Round 1
• Light heavyweight bout: Anthony Smith def. Jimmy Crute by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of Round 1

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 10:30 a.m. ET)

• Flyweight bout: Tagir Ulanbekov def. Allan Nascimento by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Middleweight bout: Andre Petroski def. Hu Yaozong by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:46 of Round 3
• Featherweight bout:  Lerone Murphy def. Makwan Amirkhani by knockout (knee) at :14 of Round 2
• Light heavyweight bout: Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Shamil Gamzatov by TKO (punches) at 3:31 of Round 1
• Welterweight bout: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos def. Benoit Saint-Denis by unanimous decision (29-26, 29-26, 29-26)
• Middleweight bout: Albert Duraev def. Roman Kopylov (30-27, 29-27, 29-27)
• Featherweight bout:  Zubaira Tukhugov def. Ricardo Ramos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) 
• Women’s strawweight bout: Amanda Ribas def. Virna Jandiroba by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 2 p.m. ET)

• Light heavyweight bout: Magomed Ankalaev def. Volkan Oezdemir by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Welterweight bout: Khamzat Chimaev def. Li Jingliang by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:16 of Round 1 
• Heavyweight bout: Alexander Volkov def. Marcin Tybura by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) 
• Lightweight bout: Islam Makhachev def. Dan Hooker by submission (kimura) at 2:25 of Round 1
• Interim bantamweight title bout: Petr Yan def. Cory Sandhagen by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
• Light heavyweight title bout: Glover Teixeira def. Jan Blachowicz by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:02 of Round 2

EARLY PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

• Flyweight bout: Ode Osbourne def. CJ Vergara by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Featherweight bout:  Melsik Baghdasaryan def. Bruno Souza by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Light heavyweight bout: Dustin Jacoby def. John Allan by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Heavyweight bout: Chris Barnett def. Gian Villante by TKO (wheel kick and punches) at 2:23 of Round 2
• Welterweight bout: Ian Garry def. Jordan Williams by knockout (punches) at 4:59 of Round 1

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPNews/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

• Middleweight bout: Nassourdine Imavov def. Edmen Shahbazyan by TKO (elbows) at 4:42 of Round 2
• Middleweight bout: Chris Curtis def. Phil Hawes by knockout (punches) at 4:27 of Round 1
• Lightweight bout: Bobby Green def. Al Iaquinta by TKO (punches) at 2:25 of Round 1
• Middleweight bout: Alex Pereira def. Andreas Michailidis by TKO (flying knee) at :18 of Round 2

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Lightweight bout: Justin Gaethje def. Michael Chandler by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Featherweight bout: Shane Burgos def. Billy Quarantillo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Bantamweight bout: Marlon Vera def. Frankie Edgar by knockout (front kick) at 3:50 of Round 3
• Women’s strawweight title bout: Rose Namajunas def. Zhang Weili by split decision (47-48, 48-47, 49-46) to retain
• Welterweight title bout: Kamaru Usman def. Colby Covington by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) to retain

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 1 p.m. ET)

• Light heavyweight bout: Da Un Jung def. Kennedy Nzechukwu by knockout (elbows) at 3:04 of Round 1
• Lightweight bout: Rafael Alves def. Marc Diakiese by submission (guillotine choke) at 1:48 of Round 1
• Women’s flyweight bout: Cortney Casey def. Liana Jojua by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Featherweight bout: Sean Woodson def. Collin Anglin by TKO (punches) at 4:30 of Round 1
• Women’s flyweight bout: Andrea Lee def. Cynthia Calvillo by TKO (referee stoppage) at 5:00 of Round 2
• Lightweight bout: Joel Alvarez def. Thiago Moises by TKO (strikes) at 3:01 of Round 1

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 1 p.m. ET)

• Bantamweight bout: Song Yadong def. Julio Arce by TKO (punches) at 1:35 of Round 2 
• Welterweight bout: Khaos Williams def. Miguel Baeza by TKO (punches) at 1:02 of Round 3
• Women’s featherweight bout: Felicia Spencer def. Leah Letson by TKO (punches) at 4:25 of Round 3
• Heavyweight bout: Marcos Rogerio de Lima def. Ben Rothwell by TKO (punches) at :32 of Round 1
• Featherweight bout: Max Holloway def. Yair Rodriguez by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)

Event Of The Year Highlights Package

You can check out the highlights from the four Events of the Year nominees down below!

MMA Twitter Weighs In

Finally, here is what the Pulse of MMA had to say about the UFC’s nominations list after UFC 268 took home 47.2% of the votes as of this writing.

What say you, MMA News family? Which event gets YOUR vote for Event of the Year??