Retrospective 2018: Remember everything that happened in the second half of the year

2018 was a great year, but to remind you of the best things that happened this season, check out our retrospective

Franciele Marques

01/01/2019 | 0:58

Follow the best moments of this year. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc

In 2018, Ultimate celebrated 25 years of its creation with 38 events held. The largest MMA organization in the world shook the fighting world with many surprises, the establishment of new champions and some moments to forget.

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To start 2019 in style, our team prepared a special to remember the best things that happened from July to December 2018 in the UFC:

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JULY

Daniel Cormier knocked out Stipe Miocic and became the second fighter to win two belts simultaneously

Daniel Cormier left the defeats to Jon Jones back and wrote his name in Ultimate history on July 08th. The American, who already held the light heavyweight belt and knocked out Stipe Miocic in the first round and took home the heavyweight title. With the triumph, DC joined Conor McGregor as the only athletes to hold two Ultimate belts simultaneously.

After beating Miocic, Cormier has already planned his next duel by challenging Brock Lesnar for a confrontation. The opponent, famous for his history in WWE, was in the Arena, went up to the octagon, faced Daniel and accepted the challenge.

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José Aldo beat Jeremy Stephens at UFC Calgary and returned to winning ways

Jose aldo He showed Ultimate why he is one of the greatest fighters in MMA history. The Brazilian knocked out Jeremy Stephens in spectacular fashion in the co-main event of UFC Calgary, held on July 28th. With the triumph, 'Scarface' solidified himself as the featherweight fighter with the most victories in UFC/WEC history, with 17, in addition to being the athlete in the category who finished the most fights, with 10.

Conor McGregor accepts deal with New York court after confusion at UFC 223 and is cleared to fight

Conor McGregor accepted a deal with North American justice after the attack on the bus taking athletes to UFC 223 Media Day in New York. The Irishman pleaded guilty to vandalism and was cleared of all assault and serious crime charges. With that, his criminal record was cleared, and he could fight again.

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McGregor was facing more than ten charges, which included serious assault charges for the attack at the UFC 223 event. The fighter threw objects at the vehicle, including a cargo cart, which broke the windows and caused cuts to the fighters. Michael chiesa and Ray Borg, as well as an Ultimate employee.

Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz came out of retirement and confirmed the fight that ended the trilogy

Former UFC light heavyweight champions Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz They came out of retirement and confirmed their third fight at the end of 2018 for Golden Boy MMA. 'Iceman' defeated the 'Bad Boy of Huntington Beach' in the first two bouts by knockout. The first meeting was in November 2004, and the second meeting was in December 2006.

AUGUST

Henry Cejudo beat Demetrious Johnson, won the flyweight belt and broke the champion's hegemony

Henry Cejudo surprised everyone who watched the co-main event at UFC 227 by winning Demetrious Johnson in the judges' split decision. The Olympic champion dethroned 'Mighty Mouse' as the greatest champion in the history of Ultimate and won the flyweight belt.

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Cejudo ended a streak of 11 consecutive title defenses against Johnson and challenged the bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw for a super fight for the 61,2kg belt.

TJ Dillashaw knocked out Cody Garbrandt and kept the bantamweight belt

TJ Dillashaw put an end to the rivalry with cody garbrandt in style in the main fight of UFC 227. The bantamweight champion only needed four minutes and 10 seconds to knock out his arch-rival for the second time. With the triumph, 'Viper' retained the bantamweight title and announced that he is the greatest bantamweight of all time.

Thales Leites announced retirement

With a 15-year career in professional MMA, Thales leites at the age of 37, he announced his departure from the profession in UFC Sao Paulo. In his last fight, the Brazilian defeated Hector Lombard in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) and 'hanged the fights'. He had 37 fights, with 28 wins and nine losses on his record.

After 12 years in Ultimate, Gleison Tibau left the UFC

After a 19-year career in professional MMA, 12 of which in Ultimate, Gleison Tibau says goodbye to the UFC after 28 fights. After four consecutive defeats, the Espírito Santo player did not have his contract renewed with the franchise. At age 35, he left the organization after 28 fights, with 16 wins and 12 losses. In his last fight in the UFC, the Brazilian was defeated by Desmond Green in June 2018.

SEPTEMBER

Nicco Montaño had problems with the weight cut, was removed from the fight at UFC 228 and Ultimate takes away her belt

Nicco Montaño was scheduled to make his first flyweight title defense against Valentina Shevchenko in the co-main event of UFC 228. The fighter was taken to the hospital after having problems with the weight cut and was removed from the fight with the Kyrgyzstani.

The problem with the weight cut cost Montaño dearly. After being removed from her first waist defense, the North American was stripped of her title as UFC flyweight champion.

Tyron Woodley submitted Darren Till and retained the welterweight belt

Tyron woodley has been the welterweight champion since 2016 and had made three successful title defenses, but he was still contested. 'The Chosen One' needed less than two rounds to show why he reigns in the division. In front of English Darren till, the North American fought an almost perfect fight and managed to finish the fight with a beautiful rear naked choke in the second round of the main fight of UFC 228.

In his light heavyweight debut, Thiago Marreta beat Eryk Anders and put on a show in São Paulo

Thiago Marreta e Erik Anders fought a war in the main struggle of UFC Sao Paulo. At the end of the third round, the Brazilian achieved victory by technical knockout, as his rival was unable to return to the center of the octagon for the fourth round. The former TUF fighter showed good progress in his takedown defense and an arsenal of strikes in his stand-up fight in his debut in the light heavyweight division. Thus, Ultimate ended the event season in 2018 in Brazil.

Charles do Bronx defeated Christos Giagos and broke Royce Gracie's record for number of submissions

Charles of the Bronx wrote his name in Ultimate by locking in a rear naked choke Christos Giagos at 3m22s of the second round. With that, the Brazilian scored his 11th submission and broke the legend's submission record. Royce gracie. The fight ended the preliminary card of the UFC Sao Paulo.

OCTOBER

Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted Conor McGregor in the most anticipated encounter of 2018

UFC 229 held the long-awaited clash between Khabib Nurmagomedov e Conor McGregor in the main fight of the night. The Russian, with a dominant performance, submitted his arch-rival with a rear-naked choke at 3:03 of the fourth round. With the triumph, 'Eagle' retained the lightweight title by making his first belt defense and shutting up the 'Irish loudmouth'.

Khabib attacked Dillon Dennis and started a fight at the end of UFC 229

The fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov e Conor McGregor UFC 229 could be one of the biggest fights in the history of the franchise, but the clash will be marked differently. After submitting his rival, Khabib jumped over the bars of the Octagon and went to fight with McGregor's jiu-jitsu coach, Dillon Dennis. The Russian was also attacked from behind.
On the other side, members of Nurmagomedov's technical team invaded the octagon and tried to fight with McGregor. Security guards were unable to contain the chaos and the Las Vegas police had to be called to prevent an even bigger mess.

Tony Ferguson knocked out Anthony Pettis and qualified for the lightweight belt fight

In open combat, Tony Ferguson derrotou Anthony Pettis by technical knockout five minutes into the second round. At the end of the intermediate round, 'Showtime' broke his hand and was unable to return to the octagon. Thus, the former interim lightweight champion was declared the winner of the fight. After his triumph in the co-main event of UFC 229, he qualified to be the next challenger for the division title.

UFC and One FC carry out the first exchange of athletes in professional MMA

UFC and ONE Championship held the first exchange of athletes in the history of mixed martial arts. The former flyweight champion, Demetrious Johnson signed a contract with an Asian event, while Ben Askren will join Ultimate. Athlete exchanges are common in other sports such as the NFL and NBA, but MMA this type of agreement has never been done before.

NOVEMBER

In a turnaround, Ronaldo Jacaré beat Chris Weidman and broke his hegemony over the Brazilians

After almost eight years, Ronaldo Jacare managed to break the hegemony of Chris Weidman about Brazilian fighters. The black belt lost the first two rounds to the 'All American', however he showed great determination to open the game in the third round, knocking out the former middleweight champion. With the triumph, he once again dreamed of a chance to compete for the category belt.

UFC plans to eliminate men's flyweight division in 2019

With the output of Demetrious Johnson for the One Championship, Ultimate chose to eliminate flyweight in 2019. To conclude the category's activities, Ultimate called the superfight between TJ Dillashaw e Henry Cejudo for the under-57kg division belt at UFC Brooklyn.

Tito Ortiz beats Chuck Liddell and gets revenge in the end of a historic trilogy

In the return of two MMA legends, Tito Ortiz 'washed his soul' by getting his first victory over Chuck Liddell. The 'Bad Boy from Huntington Beach' knocked out his arch-rival at 4:24 minutes into the first round of the main fight of the first Golden Boy MMA event. 'Iceman' was ahead of the scoreboard by defeating his opponent at UFC 47, in 2003, and at UFC 66, in 2006.

Ortiz returned to retirement after achieving the most anticipated triumph of his career. At 43 years old, Tito had 33 fights, 20 wins, 12 losses and one unsuccessful fight in his professional MMA career.

Kamaru Usman dominates Rafael dos Anjos at TUF 28 Finale and qualifies to fight for the welterweight belt

Kamaru Usman showed his strength and dominated Rafael dos Anjos in the 25 minutes of the main fight of TUF 28 Finale. With that, the 'Nigerian Nightmare' beat the former lightweight champion in a unanimous decision by the judges. With the triumph, the fighter scored his 13th consecutive victory and is already aiming for a chance at the welterweight belt.

DECEMBER

Valentina Shevchenko dominates Joanna Jedrzejczyk and wins the flyweight belt

Valentina Shevchenko revealed why he won three times Joanna Jedrzejczyk in Muay Thai. The Kyrgyzstani applied her strategy and dominated the Polish woman in the five rounds of the UFC 231 co-main event. Thus, 'Bullet' left with her hand raised with a unanimous decision victory and the flyweight belt.

In an almost perfect performance, Max Holloway surprised and beat Brian Ortega at UFC 228

Max Holloway because he is the Ultimate featherweight champion. In an almost perfect performance, he dominated the previously undefeated Brian ortega, punished his rival for 20 minutes and won the duel due to medical interruption at the end of the fourth round of the main fight of UFC 228. With the triumph, the 'Blessed' man defended his reign for the second time.

Ultimate changes UFC 232 venue after Jon Jones anti-doping problem

Dana White took the MMA world by surprise when he announced the change of venue for UFC 232 less than a week in advance. The event cannot take place in Las Vegas, as Jon Jones was caught in the anti-doping test in early December with traces of Turinabol, the same substance found before the fight with Daniel Cormier in 2017. As a result, the Nevada Athletic Commission denied the license for the light heavyweight to enter the octagon in the state and the show was moved to Los Angeles.

Jon Jones beat Alexander Gustafsson and regained the light heavyweight belt

Jon Jones He showed everyone that he returned to Ultimate with everything by knocking out Alexander Gustafson in the main fight of UFC 232, on Saturday (29), in Los Angeles (USA). The first two rounds were even, but in the third round Bones took down the Swede and went in search of the knockout in just over two minutes. Thus, the fighter regained the UFC light heavyweight belt.

Amanda Nunes surprised the world, knocked out Cris Cyborg and made history at UFC 232

Amanda nunes shocked the world by knocking out Chris Cyborg at 51 seconds of the first round of the co-main event of UFC 232. With the triumph, the Lioness won the featherweight belt from her rival and became the first female champion of two UFC categories.

King of Brazil? UFC loudmouth blasts Charles do Bronx and wants welterweight fight

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