Fans witnessed several dominating performances and new champions last year. That said, let's take a look at 5 fighters who had a great UFC run in 2021.
Oliveira became the new UFC lightweight champion by defeating Michael Chandler via TKO at UFC 262. Then, he successfully defended his title against Dustin Poirier via submission (rear-naked choke) at UFC 269.
Usman made three successful title defenses in 2021 by claiming a TKO victory over Gilbert Burns, shutting the lights out of Jorge Masvidal, and dominating Colby Covington throughout the fight.
Namajunas became the new UFC women's strawweight champion by defeating Zhang Weili via a dominating head-kick KO at UFC 261. Then, she successfully defended her title in the rematch via a split decision.
Makhachev won all three fights via a dominating submission against Drew Dober, Thiago Moises, and Dan Hooker in 2021. Furthermore, he claimed the fourth position in the UFC lightweight rankings by the end of the year.
Holloway won both fights in 2021 via lopsided unanimous decision victories over Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez.