Throughout 2019 there have been many title fights. Some involved long-time champions defending their gold, and continuing their dominance of their weight class. Others were contenders who realized a life long dream of becoming the best in the world in their division. In this post I will take a look at each champion and what they have accomplished thus far in 2019.
Daniel Cormier – Heavyweight (206 lb-265 lb): As of this writing Cormier has yet to defend his Heavyweight Championship in 2019. His first fight of the year will come against the man he knocked out in the first round to win the belt initially, Stipe Miocic.
Jon Jones – Light Heavyweight (186 lb-205 lb): After coming back in December 2018 to impressively reclaim his Light Heavyweight crown that he has held most his career; Jon has defended his belt twice in 2019. His first defense came on March 2, against Anthony Smith. The only time this title defense was in question was when Jon accidentally landed an illegal knee. Had Smith been unable to continue, he would have been awarded the championship. He instead went the way of the warrior and wanted to actually win the belt from Jon. He did not succeed, Jon retained in a unanimous decision, that was never really close. The second defense, against Thiago Santos, was quite the opposite. Jon faced some adversity for the first time inside the cage. A back and forth contest, this was an odd fight for Jon because he chose to stand and strike with a very dangerous striker. He never really attempted to take advantage of his (on paper) superior grappling and gas tank. This fight was so close one judge actually scored the fight in favor Santos, the first man take a scorecard from Jones. Overall for Jon this year he is 2-0, but has not appeared the unstoppable force that he is shown he can be throughout his career. He does not have a fight currently booked.
Robert Whittaker – Middleweight (171 lb – 185 lb): Whittaker was due to defend his belt against Kelvin Gastelum in February 2019. He had to pull out of the fight due to a hernia/collapsed intestine. Because of this, he has not defended his title in 2019. His next fight comes in October 2019 against interim-champion Israel Adesanya.
Israel Adesanya- Interim Middleweight: Adesanya has been impressive throughout his time in the UFC. He has risen to the occasion no matter the obstacle put in front of him to thus far. In 2019, he began the year fighting Anderson Silva. this fight was never in doubt for Israel. He picked his spots and out-struck the legend during the duration of the fight, only failing to land a finshing blow to Silva. In April he fought Gastelum in an Interim-Title bid. If you are new to sport, and missed this one, go back and watch it. The fight was an instant classic. Both fighters came dangerously close to finishing this fight multiple times throughout the course of the 5 round bout, and to this point has been my fight of the year. He will get his first chance at undisputed gold in October, when he and Whittaker fight to unify their belts; to crown a undisputed champion.
Kamaru Usman – Welterweight (156 lb – 170 lb): Usman has had one fight in 2019. That fight being the one in which he won the Welterweight belt. It came against Tyron Woodley in March of this year. Usman dominated this fight from bell to bell. He controlled every aspect of the fight game, like nobody has done to Woodley before. He swept the scorecards, and left no doubt that he is the standard bearer for the Welterweights moving forward. He currently doesn’t have his first title defense scheduled.
Khabib Nurmagomedov – Lightweight (146 lb – 155 lb): Khabib has not fought in 2019 due to a suspension he received for the post-fight brawl that occurred after his fight with Conor McGregor in October 2018. He will see his first octagon action in September when he faces off with interim-champ Dustin Poirier.
Dustin Poirier – Interim Lightweight: Poirier himself has not been all that acitve himself this year, but in his lone fight this year he claimed the Interim-Championship. The bout took place in April against Featherweight champ Max Holloway, and it likely would have been awarded Fight of the Night had it not been placed on the same card as Adesanya vs Gastelum. In a very close and very competitive fight Poirier’s power advantage was very evident. He hurt Holloway multiple times throughout the fight, but was unable to put him away. The power Poirier showcased made the difference in eyes of the judges and he walked away with the interim belt. He will look to unify against Nurmagomedov in September.
Max Holloway – Featherweight (136 lb – 145 lb): Max is having an interesting year in 2019. After defending his title against Brian Ortega in 2018, many people suspected he would try his hand at lightweight. It turns out those people were right, and he did in the aforementioned fight with Poirier. Holloway never went away and was competitive throughout that bout. Unfortunately the punching power of Poirer was a problem for Max, and proved to be the difference in the decision. In July he moved back to the division that he presides over as champion. He fought Frankie Edgar, and won a clean-cut decision to remind everybody that he is still the featherweight king. He used his length and precise striking to methodically pick apart Edgar, and defend his title. His next fight has not been announced.
Amanda Nunes – Women’s Featherweigh & Bantamweight: Nunes became the first woman to win a championship in two different weight classes in the UFC. She defeated Cris Cyborg in December 2018, by way of a vicious first round knock-out, to claim the Women’s featherweight belt. She has not defended the Women’s Featherweight gold yet. She has defended her bantamweight championship once this year, in July 2019. The fight was against Holly Holm, and Nunes again displayed her dominance. She stopped Holm in the first round. Nunes used Holm’s own calling card for the knock-out, a head kick. By defeating Holm, she has now defeated every former champion at both Womens’ Featherweight and Women’s Bantamweight, staking her claim as the best women’s fighter in UFC history. As of this writing, we don’t know what is next for Nunes.
Henry Cejudo – Bantamweight (126 lb – 135 lb) & Flyweight (125 lb max): Henry Cejudo may have had the best 2019, inside the cage, of any champion to this point. He defeated Demetrious Johnson in August of 2018 to claim the flyweight crown. Following this, his next defense came against (at the time) bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw. There was a lot of questions surrounding the flyweight division headed into the bout with Dillashaw. People thought the UFC was trying to phase the men’s flyweight division out because they don’t draw as many eyes to the UFC as some of the heavier weight classes. Cejudo made it his mission to save his division in this fight. The fight took place in January, and lasted less than a minute. Cejudo landed a punch behind the ear, knocking Dillashaw off balance. He continued to punish TJ until the ref jumped in and stopped it. Dillashaw then tested postive for PED’s and surrendered his batamweight title. Cejudo coming off scoring a TKO over the former champion decided to try his hand at 135 lbs. In June, he got his chance at the bantamweight gold against Marlon Moraes. The first round was competitive. Beginning in the second round Cejudo used his wrestling, which he won a gold medal in the Olympics for, to take over the fight. He dominated the rest of the bout until he scored a TKO stoppage in the third round. Following this fight Cejudo had surgery, and nothing has been announced for his next defense.
Valentina Shevchenko – Women’s Flyweight (116 lb – 125 lb): Shevchenko is another champion who has had a strong 2019. She had her first title defense in June. The fight was against Jessica Eye, and it showcased Shevchenko at her best. She took the first round to find her range, and get a feel for Eye’s timing. Then the second round began. Twenty-six seconds into the round Schevchenko landed a head kick, and Eye was unconscious before she hit the ground. The round ended as quickly as it began. Her next defense came against Liz Carmouche, in August. There wasn’t much action in this one. Carmouche appeared tentative to engage, and Shevchenko was more than happy to stand on the outside and pick her shots. Shevchenko was awarded a one-sided decision win, to once again defend her title.
Jessica Andrade – Women’s Strawweight (115 max): Jessica Andrade got her second chance to win UFC gold in 2019. Her first chance came in May of 2017 against Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and she lost in a fight that was never really close. She got her second chance to be champion almost exactly two years later. Against Rose Namajunas, the fight was not going her way early. Rose was controlling almost every aspect of the fight through the first round and a half. Then Andrade flipped the fight on its’ head, literally. She scooped Rose into the air, and slammed her down. Rose landed on top of her head, and went out. Andrade winning her first UFC gold; pulling victory from the jaws of what was appearing to be another one sided loss. Her next fight will come against Weili Zhang in August, as she attempts to make her first defense of her throne.
2019 has been a fun year to this point. Some of the champions have added career highlights to their reel this year. While others have faced the most adversity they have experienced in their run as champions. Some others have also achieved their lifelong goal of becoming champion for the first time, and are learning about the challenges that come with that. Going forward I can’t wait to see what the future holds for all of these athletes, and see who can cement their legacy as a champion in the UFC.
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