There were a number of UFC title changes over the past year, but three stood out from the bunch as the most dramatic.
Only a handful of championship bouts in UFC history have ended in the fifth round, and 2022 provided perhaps the most memorable of them all as Jiri Prochazka, Leon Edwards and Alex Pereira all staged incredible come-from-behind wins to put gold around their waists.
At UFC 274 in June, Prochazka (29-3-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) went tooth-and-nail with Glover Teixeira (33-8 MMA, 16-6 UFC) in one of the top Fight of the Year contenders. After coming close to being finished on multiple occasions, Prochazka dug deep in the final round and choked Teixeira into submission to become the new UFC light heavyweight champion.
Just two months later at UFC 278 in August, Edwards (19-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) was less than two minutes away from losing a clear-cut decision to Kamaru Usman (20-2 MMA, 15-1 UFC) in their welterweight title rematch. But then the head kick heard ’round the world unfolded, because Edwards landed the perfect combination to end Usman’s incredible winning streak inside the octagon and become just the second British titleholder in company history.
And lastly, at UFC 282 in November, Pereira (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) improved his career combat sports record to 3-0 against Israel Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) when he rallied from being down on the scorecards to rock his rival and get the fifth-round TKO to become UFC middleweight champion.
They were three of the all-time moments of perseverance we’ve ever seen at the highest level of the sport, and as 2022 comes to a close, the UFC has put together a highlight reel looking back at these moments that left the audience in shock and awe.