2018 in UFC

Mixed martial arts events From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The year 2018 was the 26th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States and founded in November 1993. This year, the UFC celebrated its 25th anniversary, and an anniversary event was held on November 10, 2018 in Denver, Colorado, the city where the historical UFC 1 was held.[1]

First dateJanuary 14
Last dateDecember 29
Total events39
UFC13
Quick facts Information, First date ...
2018 in UFC
A poster or logo for 2018 in UFC.
Information
First dateJanuary 14
Last dateDecember 29
Events
Total events39
UFC13
UFC on Fox5
TUF Finale events2
Fights
Total fights473
Title fights18
Chronology
2017 in UFC 2018 in UFC 2019 in UFC
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2018 UFC.com awards

More information No, Best Fighter ...
2018 UFC.COM Awards
No Best Fighter The

Upsets

The

Submissions

The Newcomers The

Knockouts

The

Fights

1 Daniel Cormier Alexander Hernandez
defeats
Beneil Dariush
UFC 222
Ryan Hall
defeats
B.J. Penn
UFC 232
Israel Adesanya Yair Rodríguez
defeats
The Korean Zombie
UFC Fight Night: The Korean Zombie vs. Rodríguez
Robert Whittaker
defeats
Yoel Romero 2
UFC 235
2 Amanda Nunes Chris Gruetzemacher
defeats
Joe Lauzon
UFC 223
Paul Craig
defeats
Magomed Ankalaev
UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Volkov
Alexander Hernandez Brian Ortega
defeats
Frankie Edgar
UFC 222
Dustin Poirier
defeats
Justin Gaethje 1
UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje
3 Khabib Nurmagomedov Jared Cannonier
defeats
David Branch
UFC 230
Aljamain Sterling defeats Cody Stamann UFC 228 (Tie)
Zabit Magomedsharipov defeats Brandon Davis UFC 228 (Tie)
Mackenzie Dern Lyoto Machida
defeats
Vitor Belfort
UFC 224
Yair Rodríguez
defeats
The Korean Zombie
UFC Fight Night: The Korean Zombie vs. Rodríguez
4 Henry Cejudo Henry Cejudo
defeats
Demetrious Johnson 2
UFC 227
Aleksei Oleinik
defeats
Júnior Albini
UFC 224
Maycee Barber Amanda Nunes
defeats
Cris Cyborg
UFC 232
Max Holloway
defeats
Brian Ortega
UFC 231
5 Valentina Shevchenko Sergio Pettis
defeats
Joseph Benavidez
UFC 225
Charles Oliveira
defeats
Christos Giagos
UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Anders
Sodiq Yusuff (Tie)
Petr Yan (Tie)
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
defeats
Sean Strickland
UFC 224
Tony Ferguson
defeats
Anthony Pettis
UFC 229
6 Anthony Smith Corey Anderson
defeats
Glover Teixeira
UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith
Adam Wieczorek
defeats
Arjan Bhullar
UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje
Brad Katona Yoel Romero
defeats
Luke Rockhold
UFC 221
Ronaldo Souza
defeats
Chris Weidman
UFC 230
7 Israel Adesanya Khalil Rountree Jr.
defeats
Gökhan Saki
UFC 226
Ilir Latifi
defeats
Ovince Saint Preux
UFC on Fox: Emmett vs. Stephens
Zhang Weili Jéssica Andrade
defeats
Karolina Kowalkiewicz
UFC 228
Thiago Santos
defeats
Jimi Manuwa
UFC 231
8 Ronaldo Souza Brian Kelleher
defeats
Renan Barão
UFC 222
Claudio Puelles
defeats
Felipe Silva
UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman
Johnny Walker Daniel Cormier
defeats
Stipe Miocic 1
UFC 226
Calvin Kattar
defeats
Shane Burgos
UFC 220
9 Dustin Poirier Nina Ansaroff
defeats
Cláudia Gadelha
UFC 231
Darren Elkins
defeats
Michael Johnson
UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi
Raoni Barcelos Ismael Bonfim
defeats
Terrance McKinney
UFC 283
Drew Dober
defeats
Frank Camacho
UFC on Fox: Jacaré vs. Brunson 2
10 Corey Anderson (Tie)
Thiago Santos (Tie)
Kamaru Usman (Tie)
Cody Stamann
defeats
Bryan Caraway
UFC 222
Donald Cerrone
defeats
Mike Perry
UFC Fight Night: The Korean Zombie vs. Rodríguez
Sijara Eubanks Derrick Lewis
defeats
Alexander Volkov
UFC 229
Zabit Magomedsharipov
defeats
Kyle Bochniak
UFC 223
Ref [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
Close

2018 by the numbers

The numbers below records the events, fights, techniques, champions and fighters held or performed for the year of 2018 in UFC.[8]

More information Events, Number of Events ...
Events
Number of Events PPV Continents Countries Cities Fight Night Bonuses
39 13 5 11 35 156
Total $7,800,000
Longest Event Shortest Event Highest Income

Live Gate

Lowest Income

Live Gate

Highest

Attendance

Lowest

Attendance

The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale

2:46:20

UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros

1:37:45

UFC 229

$17,200,000

The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale

$204,600

UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Oleinik

22,603

The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale

2,020

Title Fights
Undisputed

Title Fights

Title Changes Champions Remained

in Their Divisions

Number of

Champions

Number of

Interim Champions

Number of

Title Defenses

16 3 6
BW – T.J. Dillashaw
FW – Max Holloway
WW – Tyron Woodley
MW – Robert Whittaker
WSW – Rose Namajunas
WBW – Amanda Nunes
13 2 10
Champions
Division Beginning of The Year End of The Year Division Beginning of The Year End of The Year
Heavyweight Stipe Miocic Daniel Cormier Bantamweight T.J. Dillashaw T.J. Dillashaw
Light Heavyweight Daniel Cormier Jon Jones Flyweight Demetrious Johnson Henry Cejudo
Middleweight Robert Whittaker Robert Whittaker Women's Bantamweight Amanda Nunes Amanda Nunes
Welterweight Tyron Woodley Tyron Woodley Women's Flyweight Nicco Montaño Valentina Shevchenko
Lightweight Conor McGregor Khabib Nurmagomedov Women's Strawweight Rose Namajunas Rose Namajunas
Featherweight Max Holloway Max Holloway Women's Featherweight Cris Cyborg Amanda Nunes
Fights
Most Knockouts

at A Single Event

Most submissions

at A Single Event

Most Decisions

at A Single Event

Total Number

of Fights

Total Number

of Cage Time

UFC 229

7

UFC 224
The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale

5

UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith

10

474 87:21:11
Fighters
Number of

Fighters

UFC

Debutants

Releases /

Retired

Fighters

Suspended

Number of Fighters

Missed weight

(At the end of Dec 31, 2018)
573
121 N/A N/A 29
Champion feats[8]
  • Stipe Miocic became the first heavyweight to defend his title three consecutive times.
  • Henry Cejudo became the first Olympic gold medalist to win a UFC championship.
  • Daniel Cormier became the first fighter to make a successful title defense in two different weight divisions
Fighter feats[8]
  • Leon Edwards' knockout at 4:59 of the third round set a record for the latest knockout in a three-round UFC bout.
  • Corey Anderson's 12 takedowns landed at UFC Fight Night 128 set a new record for the most landed in a UFC light heavyweight bout.
  • Ricky Simon's submission victory at the 5:00 mark of round three set a new record for the latest finish in a UFC three-round bout.
  • Lyoto Machida became the first fighter to have two knockout victories from a front kick to the head.
  • Anthony Pettis' seven submission victories from the bottom position are the most in UFC/WEC/PRIDE/Strikeforce combined company history.
  • Paulo Costa became the first middleweight to start his UFC career with four consecutive knockout victories.
  • Charles Oliveira became the UFC's all‑time submission leader by securing his eleventh submission victory.
  • Gian Villante became the first and only UFC fighter to have four consecutive split decision bouts.
  • Donald Cerrone became the UFC's all‑time wins leader with his 21st victory, a mark later surpassed by Jim Miller, the current record holder.
  • Max Holloway set a new UFC record at UFC 231 by landing 290 significant strikes, including 134 in Round 4 — a mark he later surpassed in January 2021.
  • Edson Barboza became the first fighter to record knockout wins with five different techniques: head kick, body punch, body kick, leg kicks, and a flying knee.
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Title fights

More information Title fights in 2018, Weight class ...
Title fights in 2018
Weight class Method Round Time Event Notes
Light Heavyweight Daniel Cormier (c) def. Volkan Oezdemir TKO (punches) 2 2:00 UFC 220 [a]
Heavyweight Stipe Miocic (c) def. Francis Ngannou Decision (unanimous) (50-44, 50-44, 50-44) 5 5:00 UFC 220 [b]
Middleweight Yoel Romero def. Luke Rockhold KO (punches) 3 1:48 UFC 221 [c]
Women's Featherweight Cris Cyborg (c) def Yana Kunitskaya TKO (punches) 1 3:25 UFC 222 [d]
Women's Strawweight Rose Namajunas (c) def Joanna Jędrzejczyk Decision (unanimous) (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) 5 5:00 UFC 223 [e]
Lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov def Al Iaquinta Decision (unanimous) (50-44, 50-43, 50-43) 5 5:00 UFC 223 [f]
Women's Bantamweight Amanda Nunes (c) def. Raquel Pennington TKO (punches) 5 2:36 UFC 224 [g]
Welterweight Colby Covington def. Rafael dos Anjos Decision (unanimous) (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) 5 5:00 UFC 225 [h]
Heavyweight Daniel Cormier def. Stipe Miocic (c) KO (punches) 1 4:33 UFC 226 [i]
Flyweight Henry Cejudo def. Demetrious Johnson (c) Decision (split) (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) 5 5:00 UFC 227 [j]
Bantamweight T.J. Dillashaw (c) def. Cody Garbrandt TKO (knee and punches) 1 4:17 UFC 227 [k]
Welterweight Tyron Woodley (c) def. Darren Till Submission (D'Arce choke) 2 4:19 UFC 228 [l]
Lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov (c) def. Conor McGregor Submission (neck crank) 4 3:03 UFC 229 [m]
Heavyweight Daniel Cormier (c) def. Derrick Lewis Submission (rear-naked choke) 2 2:14 UFC 230 [n]
Women's Flyweight Valentina Shevchenko def. Joanna Jędrzejczyk Decision (unanimous) (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) 5 5:00 UFC 231 [o]
Featherweight Max Holloway (c) def. Brian Ortega TKO (doctor stoppage) 4 5:00 UFC 231 [p]
Women's Featherweight Amanda Nunes def. Cris Cyborg (c) KO (punch) 1 0:51 UFC 232 [q]
Light Heavyweight Jon Jones def. Alexander Gustafsson TKO (punches) 3 2:02 UFC 232 [r]
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The Ultimate Fighter

The following The Ultimate Fighter seasons are scheduled for broadcast in 2018:

More information Season, Finale ...
SeasonFinaleDivisionWinnerRunner-upRef
TUF 27: Undefeated July 6, 2018 Lightweight Mike Trizano Joe Giannetti [9]
Featherweight Brad Katona Jay Cucciniello [9]
TUF 28: Heavy Hitters November 30, 2018 Heavyweight Juan Francisco Espino Dieppa Justin Frazier [10]
Women's Featherweight Macy Chiasson Pannie Kianzad [11]
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Debut UFC fighters

The following fighters fought their first UFC fight in 2018:

More information Month, Day ...
MonthDayISOFighterDivisionEvent
January 14 United States Matt FrevolaLightweightUFC Fight Night 124
20 United States Brandon DavisFeatherweightUFC 220
United States Dan IgeFeatherweight
United States Julio ArceFeatherweight
United States Matt BessetteFeatherweight
27 United States Austin ArnettFeatherweightUFC on Fox 27
United States Cory SandhagenBantamweight
February 3 United States Maia StevensonWomen's StrawweightUFC Fight Night 125
Brazil Polyana VianaWomen's Strawweight
Brazil Priscila CachoeiraWomen's Flyweight
11 Nigeria Israel AdesanyaMiddleweightUFC 221
18 United States Curtis MillenderWelterweightUFC Fight Night 126
United States Geoff NealWelterweight
United States Steven PetersonFeatherweight
United States Tim WilliamsMiddleweight
24 United States Manny BermudezBantamweightUFC on Fox 28
Poland Marcin PrachnioLight Heavyweight
March 3 United States Alexander HernandezLightweightUFC 222
United States Mackenzie DernWomen's Strawweight
Russia Yana KunitskayaWomen's Featherweight
17 United States Charles ByrdMiddleweightUFC Fight Night 127
Canada Hakeem DawoduFeatherweight
Wales John PhillipsMiddleweight
Russia Dmitriy SosnovskiyHeavyweight
Russia Magomed AnkalaevLight Heavyweight
April 7 United States Mike RodriguezLight HeavyweightUFC 223
14 United States Dan MoretLightweightUFC on Fox 29
United States Lauren MuellerWomen's Flyweight
21 United States Ricky SimónBantamweightUFC Fight Night 128
United States Ricky RaineyWelterweight
May 19 United States Andrea LeeWomen's FlyweightUFC Fight Night 129
27 Italy Carlo Pedersoli Jr.WelterweightUFC Fight Night 130
England Craig WhiteWelterweight
England Molly McCannWomen's Flyweight
United States Ricky RaineyWelterweight
June 1 United States Chance RencountreWelterweightUFC Fight Night 131
United States Jose TorresFlyweight
England Nathaniel WoodBantamweight
United States Sijara EubanksWomen's Flyweight
9 Australia Megan AndersonWomen's FeatherweightUFC 225
United States Mike JacksonWelterweight
23 Mexico Hector AldanaWelterweightUFC Fight Night 132
Russia Petr YanBantamweight
July 6 Costa Rica Allan ZuñigaLightweightTUF 27 Finale
Canada Brad KatonaBantamweight
United States Bryce MitchellFeatherweight
England Jay CuccinielloFeatherweight
United States Joe GiannettiLightweight
United States John GuntherLightweight
United States Luis PeñaLightweight
Republic of Ireland Richie SmullenLightweight
United States Michael TrizanoLightweight
United States Tyler DiamondFeatherweight
14 Bulgaria Blagoy IvanovHeavyweightUFC Fight Night 133
United States Elias GarciaFlyweight
Brazil Jennifer MaiaWomen's Flyweight
Brazil Raoni BarcelosBantamweight
Russia Said NurmagomedovBantamweight
22 Morocco Abu AzaitarMiddleweightUFC Fight Night 134
Serbia Darko StošićLight Heavyweight
Germany David ZawadaWelterweight
Germany Khalid TahaBantamweight
China Liu PingyuanBantamweight
England Nad NarimaniFeatherweight
Serbia Stefan SekulićWelterweight
August 4 United States Kevin HollandMiddleweightUFC 227
United States Matt SaylesFeatherweight
United States Montel JacksonBantamweight
China Zhang WeiliWomen's Strawweight
September 15 Russia Adam YandievMiddleweightUFC Fight Night 136
Russia Alexey KunchenkoWelterweight
South Korea Jin Soo SonBantamweight
Russia Khalid MurtazalievMiddleweight
22 United States Andre EwellBantamweightUFC Fight Night 137
Brazil Augusto SakaiHeavyweight
United States Christos GiagosLightweight
Brazil Livia Renata SouzaWomen's Strawweight
Brazil Luigi VendraminiLightweight
Brazil Mayra Bueno SilvaWomen's Bantamweight
United States Mike RodríguezLight Heavyweight
United States Ryan SpannLight Heavyweight
October 6 United States Jalin TurnerLightweightUFC 229
27 England Chris FishgoldFeatherweightUFC Fight Night 138
South Africa Don MadgeLightweight
United States Jonathan MartinezBantamweight
United States Te'Jovan EdwardsLightweight
November 10 United States Bobby MoffettFeatherweightUFC Fight Night 139
United States Devonte SmithLightweight
United States Hannah CifersWomen's Strawweight
United States Maycee BarberWomen's Flyweight
Brazil Thiago MoisésLightweight
17 Brazil Anderson dos SantosBantamweightUFC Fight Night 140
United States Ian HeinischMiddleweight
Peru Jesus PinedoFeatherweight
Brazil Johnny WalkerLight Heavyweight
Argentina Laureano StaropoliWelterweight
30 Kyrgyzstan Antonina ShevchenkoWomen's FlyweightTUF 28 Finale
United States Chris GutiérrezBantamweight
United States Edmen ShahbazyanMiddleweight
Spain Juan EspinoHeavyweight
Lithuania Julija StoliarenkoWomen's Bantamweight
United States Justin FrazierHeavyweight
United States Kevin AguilarFeatherweight
United States Leah LetsonWomen's Featherweight
United States Macy ChiassonWomen's Bantamweight
United States Maurice GreeneHeavyweight
Cuba Michel BatistaHeavyweight
Sweden Pannie KianzadWomen's Bantamweight
United States Roosevelt RobertsLightweight
December 2 Australia Alex GorgeesLightweightUFC Fight Night 142
Kazakhstan Damir IsmagulovLightweight
Australia Jimmy CruteLight Heavyweight
New Zealand Kai Kara-FranceFlyweight
Nigeria Sodiq YusuffFeatherweight
Australia Suman MokhtarianFeatherweight
8 Canada Kyle NelsonFeatherweightUFC 231
15 United States Dwight GrantWelterweightUFC on Fox 31
United States Jordan GriffinFeatherweight
United States Juan AdamsHeavyweight
29 United States Bevon LewisMiddleweightUFC 232
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Events list

More information #, Event ...
# Event Date Venue Location Attendance Ref.
463 UFC 232: Jones vs. Gustafsson 2 December 29, 2018 The Forum Inglewood, California, U.S. 15,862 [12]
462 UFC on Fox: Lee vs. Iaquinta 2 December 15, 2018 Fiserv Forum Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. 9,010 [13]
461 UFC 231: Holloway vs. Ortega December 8, 2018 Scotiabank Arena Toronto, Ontario, Canada 19,039 [14]
460 UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Tuivasa December 2, 2018 Adelaide Entertainment Centre Adelaide, South Australia, Australia 8,652 [15]
459 The Ultimate Fighter: Heavy Hitters Finale November 30, 2018 Pearl Theatre Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. 2,020 [16]
458 UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2 November 25, 2018 Cadillac Arena Beijing, China 10,302 [17]
457 UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Ponzinibbio November 17, 2018 Estadio Luna Park Buenos Aires, Argentina 10,245 [18]
456 UFC Fight Night: Korean Zombie vs. Rodríguez November 10, 2018 Pepsi Center Denver, Colorado, U.S. 11,426 [19]
455 UFC 230: Cormier vs. Lewis November 3, 2018 Madison Square Garden New York City, New York, U.S. 17,011 [20]
454 UFC Fight Night: Volkan vs. Smith October 27, 2018 Avenir Centre Moncton, New Brunswick 6,282 [21]
453 UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor October 6, 2018 T-Mobile Arena Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. 20,034 [22]
452 UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Anders September 22, 2018 Ginásio do Ibirapuera São Paulo, Brazil 9,485 [23]
451 UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Oliynyk September 15, 2018 Olimpiyskiy Arena Moscow, Russia 22,603 [24]
450 UFC 228: Woodley vs. Till September 8, 2018 American Airlines Arena Dallas, Texas, U.S 14,073 [25]
449 UFC Fight Night: Gaethje vs. Vick August 25, 2018 Pinnacle Bank Arena Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S. 6,409 [26]
448 UFC 227: Dillashaw vs. Garbrandt 2 August 4, 2018 Staples Center Los Angeles, California, U.S. 17,794 [27]
447 UFC on Fox: Alvarez vs. Poirier 2 July 28, 2018 Scotiabank Saddledome Calgary, Alberta, Canada 10,603 [28]
446 UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith July 22, 2018 Barclaycard Arena Hamburg, Germany 7,798 [29]
445 UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Ivanov July 14, 2018 CenturyLink Arena Boise, Idaho U.S. 5,648 [30]
444 UFC 226: Miocic vs. Cormier July 7, 2018 T-Mobile Arena Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. 17,464 [31]
443 The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated Finale July 6, 2018 Pearl Theater Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. 2,123 [32]
442 UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Edwards June 23, 2018 Singapore Indoor Stadium Kallang, Singapore 6,419 [33]
441 UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero 2 June 9, 2018 United Center Chicago, Illinois, U.S. 18,117 [34]
440 UFC Fight Night: Rivera vs. Moraes June 1, 2018 Adirondack Bank Center Utica, New York, U.S. 5,063 [35]
439 UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till May 27, 2018 Echo Arena Liverpool, England, U.K. 8,520 [36]
438 UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman May 19, 2018 Movistar Arena Santiago, Chile 11,082 [37]
437 UFC 224: Nunes vs. Pennington May 12, 2018 Jeunesse Arena Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 10,696 [38]
436 UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Lee April 21, 2018 Boardwalk Hall Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. 9,541 [39]
435 UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje April 14, 2018 Gila River Arena Glendale, Arizona, U.S. 11,382 [40]
434 UFC 223: Khabib vs. Iaquinta April 7, 2018 Barclays Center Brooklyn, New York, U.S. 17,026 [41]
433 UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Volkov March 17, 2018 The O2 Arena London, England, U.K. 16,274 [42]
432 UFC 222: Cyborg vs. Kunitskaya March 3, 2018 T-Mobile Arena Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. 12,041 [43]
431 UFC on Fox: Emmett vs. Stephens February 24, 2018 Amway Center Orlando, Florida, U.S. 10,124 [44]
430 UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros February 18, 2018 Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas, U.S. 10,502 [45]
429 UFC 221: Romero vs. Rockhold February 11, 2018 Perth Arena Perth, Western Australia, Australia 12,437 [46]
428 UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Anders February 3, 2018 Arena Guilherme Paraense Belém, Brazil 10,144 [47]
427 UFC on Fox: Jacaré vs. Brunson 2 January 27, 2018 Spectrum Center Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. 10,249 [48]
426 UFC 220: Miocic vs. Ngannou January 20, 2018 TD Garden Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. 16,015 [49]
425 UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi January 14, 2018 Scottrade Center St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. 10,052 [50]
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