Retrospective 2018: Remember everything that happened in the first 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 | 0:40

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

The year 2018 is behind us and the UFC enters MMA history after 38 events. The organization celebrated 25 years of its creation 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 January to June 2018 in the world of MMA:

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JANUARY

Daniel Cormier beat Volkan Oezdemir and established himself as light heavyweight champion

Daniel Cormier regained his position as UFC light heavyweight champion after Jon Jones being removed from his post for doping use. In the organization's first numbered event, UFC 220, 'DC' had the chance to show that he can be the great fighter in the category.

Cormier needed seven minutes to knock him out Volkan oezdemir and established himself as light heavyweight champion. Daniel ended the fight with 'No team' two minutes into the second round.

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Stipe Miocic surpassed Francis Ngannou and made UFC history

Stipe Miocic showed the young Cameroonian why he holds the heavyweight belt since May 2016. The North American dominated his rival in the five rounds of the main fight of UFC 220. With that, he kept the belt and made history by becoming the first champion of the 120kg Ultimate division to defend his title three times.

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Miocic overcame great fighters from the organization such as: Tim Sylvia, Randy Couture and Cain Velazquez, previous main champions of the franchise.

Ultimate announced the organization's second superfight between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier

After the great performances at UFC 220, Stipe Miocic e Daniel Cormier were cast as coaches for the 27th season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). With this, the heavyweight champion would put the belt in dispute for the fourth time against the light heavyweight belt holder.

The second Ultimate superfight was announced in the main fight of UFC 226, on July 7, in Las Vegas (USA). The event would be the main attraction of International Fight Week.

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Ronaldo Jacaré knocked out Derek Brunson UFC Charlotte

Ronaldo Jacare He was the first athlete from Brazil to win in 2018 in Ultimate. The Brazilian knocked out Derek Brunson with a kick to the head at 3:50 of the first round in the main fight of UFC Charlotte.

With the victory, Jacaré recovered from the defeat to Robert whittaker, in April 2017 and put himself back on the path to a middleweight title fight.

FEBRUARY

Anderson Silva was caught in the United States Anti-Doping Agency drug test

Anderson Silva was caught taking an anti-doping test before UFC Shanghai in November 2017 and was removed from the main fight against Kelvin Gastelum. However, the test results were released on the first day of February. The former middleweight champion was caught using synthetic testosterone (methyltestosterone) and a diuretic. As a repeat offender, the Brazilian could face up to four years of suspension.

At the end of February, 'Spider' spoke about the case and denied that he had used any type of performance-enhancing substance. He stated that the change in the test could have been caused by the use of a contaminated supplement.

“Maybe the supplements I used were contaminated. I don't know, I'm just waiting. Because obviously if I used steroids I would be stupid. I’m very old, I’m not at the beginning of my career, I’m at the end”, said Anderson in an interview with the North American website TMZ.

Yoel Romero had the chance to win the middleweight title, but lost to the scales

In the second month of the year, Romero won the chance to win the middleweight belt at UFC 221. The Cuban was scheduled to face the division champion Luke Rockhold. However, his toughest rival was the scale and Yoel lost your battle. The fighter was 1,2 kg above his category weight, even using two extra hours to lose weight.

Even without being able to challenge for the belt, Romero showed his power inside the octagon and knocked out Rockhold by landing a devastating straight left at 1:48 of the third round of the UFC 221 main fight.

Donald Cerrone defeated Yanci Medeiros and equaled Ultimate's record for victories

Cerrone shook off his bad form and rediscovered his path to victory by knocking out Yancy Medeiros at 4:58 of the first round of the main fight of the ufc austin. With the triumph, 'Cowboy' became one of the athletes with the most victories (20) in the UFC, alongside Michael Bisping e Georges St Pierre.

Jessica Bate-Estaca beat Tecia Torres and broke the record for victories among women

Jessica Stacker dominated the 15 minutes with Tecia torres in the co-main event of UFC Orlando. The Brazilian beat her rival in a unanimous decision by the judges (29-28, 29-27, 29-28) and broke the record for victories (9) among all female categories in UFC history. She surpassed the bantamweight champion, Amanda nunes, and the former holder of the strawweight belt, Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

With her triumphs, Jéssica got closer to a strawweight title fight against the division champion Rose namajunas.

MARCH

Cris Cyborg ran over Yana Kunitskaya and retained the featherweight belt at UFC 222

Chris Cyborg showed all his power at UFC 222, in Las Vegas (USA). It's Kunitskaya She was knocked out at 3:25 of the first round and the Brazilian kept the women's featherweight belt. After dominating the category in Ultimate, the woman from Paraná accepted the challenge of the bantamweight champion Amanda nunes to hold the first female superfight in the organization.

Mackenzie Dern made her MMA debut against Ashley Yoder at UFC 222

Mackenzie dern arrived at Ultimate with the weight of becoming the 'new Ronda Rousey'. However, the Brazilian-American did not have an easy time on her debut. In the fight against Ashley yoder, the jiu-jitsu black belt tried to apply her ground game, but her rival was tough and didn't let her be dominated. The gentle art champion was declared the winner in a split decision by the judges (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

Dana White wanted to schedule the superfight between Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes at UFC 224

After the performance of Chris Cyborg at UFC 222, the president of Ultimate, Dana White decided to marry the women's superfight between the Brazilian champions. The franchise manager thought about withdrawing Rachel Pennington of the bantamweight belt dispute with Amanda nunes and call the featherweight belt holder to headline UFC 224.

Even with Dana's desire, Chris Cyborg turned down the offer to face Amanda in May in Rio de Janeiro. The Paraná native stated that she would return to the octagon only in the second half of 2018, as she had fought in March.

APRIL

Tony Ferguson was scheduled to face Khabib Nurmagomedov and due to injury he was removed from the fight

Tony Ferguson surprised all MMA fans by tearing his knee ligaments on the eve of UFC 223. The interim champion tripped during a recording in a studio and suffered the injury that took him out of the fight with the Russian for the fourth time.

Angry with Ferguson, Dana White stated that he would never reschedule this duel between lightweights. Furthermore, Ultimate took away the interim belt from 'El Cucuy'.

With Ferguson's departure, Max Holloway was called up to face Khabib Nurmagomedov

With six days to go until UFC 223, the featherweight champion, Max Holloway was summoned to face Khabib Nurmagomedov for the organization's lightweight belt. However, before the weigh-in, the New York Athletic Commission vetoed 'Blessed' from participating in the event after tests were carried out before the fighter stepped on the scale.

With Holloway's withdrawal, Ultimate tried to climb Anthony Pettis for the fight, but the former lightweight champion asked for a purse of US$1 million to accept the challenge and the UFC rejected the proposal.

With no viable options, Ultimate chose To the fifth to replace Max Holloway for the lightweight title in the main fight of UFC 223.

Conor McGregor invaded UFC 223 Media Day and attacked bus with fighters

Conor McGregor  invaded UFC 223'Media Day' in search of [...] Khabib Nurmagomedov to settle the differences. The Russian had argued with his friend and training partner, Artem Lobov, backstage at UFC 223. As a result, the Irishman lost his temper and threw the security bars of the bus that was taking the athletes to the event.

In the confusion, Michael chiesa and Ray Borg, who would fight at UFC 223 and were in the vehicle, were injured and removed from the show. Immediately, the New York Police issued an arrest warrant for McGregor, who surrendered to authorities the following day.

The Irishman was released after paying bail of US$50 and at the trial, held in June, he declared he regretted his actions and avoided going to jail, being only responsible for bearing the costs of the breakdown he caused.

Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Al Iaquinta to become lightweight champion

Khabib Nurmagomedov dominated To the fifth during the five rounds and won the dispute via unanimous decision by the judges (50-43, 50-44, 50,43). With that, the Russian fighter became the Ultimate lightweight champion and remained undefeated after 26 fights in professional MMA.

Still inside the Octagon, Khabib thanked Iaquinta for accepting the fight at the last minute and provoked McGregor. “Hey, Brooklyn, this is the real gangster, Al, who took this fight, not the Conor McGregor. Where is he?” said the Russian.

MAY

Lyoto Machida retired Vitor Belfort after surprising knockout at UFC 224

Lyoto Machida ruined his farewell party Vitor belfort of professional MMA at UFC 224. Dragão applied a front stomp and knocked out 'Fenômeno' one minute into the second round. The negative result marked the last fight of the carioca's career, as he left his gloves in the center of the Octagon announcing his retirement.

Lyoto (left) beats Belfort (right) at UFC 224. Photo: Reproduction / Facebook @ufc

Amanda Nunes beat Raquel Pennington and kept the bantamweight belt

Amanda dominated the five rounds and punished Rachel Pennington until the referee ends the dispute and declares a technical knockout. The main fight of UFC 224 ended at 2:36 in the fifth round. Amanda's triumph marked the third defense of the women's bantamweight belt, for the 'Leoa' of Ultimate.

“It was the hardest fight of my career. I respect a lot Rachel Pennington and Tecia (Torres, girlfriend of the challenger and also a UFC fighter). Tonight we will celebrate our friendship, have a beer, celebrate. Thank you very much, guys. It was very important for me to have you all here. It was something I had never felt before. I want to make it very clear: I live abroad, but I defend the Brazilian flag. This belt is ours. I came here to share it with you”, said Amanda still in the Octagon.

Mauricio Shogun was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame

During UFC 224, Maurício Shogun Rua was honored with induction into the UFC Hall of Fame. The award was due to the fight at UFC 139 against Dan Henderson. During the press conference, the Brazilian stated that the achievement is like a 'third belt'. Brazil was represented by Royce gracie e Rodrigo Minotauro yet.

Michael Bisping announced his retirement

Former UFC middleweight champion, Michael Bisping announced his retirement at the end of the month through his podcast Believe You Me. The fighter stopped fighting after 15 years dedicated to MMA. He ended his career with 39 fights, 30 wins and nine losses.

Diagnosed with “vitreous” detachment in his left eye, Bisping stated that the problem was the main reason for his retirement. "Not worth it. What else am I going to do? I won the belt, I had tons of victories. I did everything I set out to achieve,” Michael explained on his podcast.

JUNE

Colby Covington beat Rafael dos Anjos to win interim welterweight belt

Colby covington he proved that he was not just a 'talker', but also showed himself to be a great fighter. The North American won Rafael dos Anjos after 25 minutes of intense combat. 'Chaos' added another triumph in the judges' unanimous decision to his professional MMA career. The fighter won the interim UFC welterweight belt.

Ronda Rousey made history by becoming the first woman in the UFC Hall of Fame

Ronda Rousey She was already in UFC history by being the first woman to be hired by the organization. However, in June, 'Rowdy' accomplished another feat by becoming the first fighter to enter the franchise's Hall of Fame.

“Ronda is a true pioneer who has helped me personally, and many others, look differently at women in combat sports. She achieved everything she set out to do in the UFC and became a global icon and role model in the process. Today, the women's divisions are filled with incredibly talented fighters and they produce some of the best fights you will ever see. We are proud to announce Ronda as the first woman in the UFC Hall of Fame,” said UFC President Dana White.

Lyoto Machida left the UFC and signed with Bellator

Lyoto Machida surprised by announcing his move from UFC to Bellator in June. The marriage between the fighter and Ultimate lasted 11 years with the end of the contract. Dragão did not renew its contract, as it wanted to 'test the market'.

Machida had 25 fights in Ultimate, with 17 wins and eight losses. The peak of his career in the organization was in 2009, when he knocked out Rashad evans at UFC 98 and won the light heavyweight belt. He was coming off two consecutive victories in 2018 for the franchise.

Rashad Evans, Johny Hendricks and Felipe Sertanejo announce retirement

Three athletes chose the month of June to 'hang up their gloves': Rashad evans, John hendricks e Felipe Sertanejo.

Rashad evans announced he was retiring on June 25 after five consecutive losses. The former light heavyweight champion ended his career at the age of 38 with 28 fights as a professional – 19 wins, one draw and eight losses.

After being knocked out in UFC Singapore, Felipe 'Sertanejo' Arantes announced the end of his career on June 26th through his social networks. The 30-year-old fighter stated that he chose to 'hang up his gloves' after suffering some serious injuries during his time in MMA.

John hendricks After 11 years as a professional in MMA, he announced his retirement on June 29th. The former UFC welterweight champion ended his career after 26 fights and 11 years as a professional.

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