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.
2018 UFC.com awards
2018 UFC.COM AwardsNoBest FighterThe UpsetsThe SubmissionsThe NewcomersThe KnockoutsThe Fights1Daniel CormierAlexander Hernandez defeats Beneil Dariush UFC 222Ryan Hall defeats B.J. Penn UFC 232Israel AdesanyaYair Rodríguez defeats The Korean Zombie UFC Fight Night: The Korean Zombie vs. RodríguezRobert Whittaker defeats Yoel Romero 2 UFC 2352Amanda NunesChris Gruetzemacher defeats Joe Lauzon UFC 223Paul Craig defeats Magomed Ankalaev UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. VolkovAlexander HernandezBrian Ortega defeats Frankie Edgar UFC 222Dustin Poirier defeats Justin Gaethje 1 UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje3Khabib NurmagomedovJared Cannonier defeats David Branch UFC 230Aljamain Sterling defeats Cody Stamann UFC 228 (Tie) Zabit Magomedsharipov defeats Brandon Davis UFC 228 (Tie)Mackenzie DernLyoto Machida defeats Vitor Belfort UFC 224Yair Rodríguez defeats The Korean Zombie UFC Fight Night: The Korean Zombie vs. Rodríguez4Henry CejudoHenry Cejudo defeats Demetrious Johnson 2 UFC 227Aleksei Oleinik defeats Júnior Albini UFC 224Maycee BarberAmanda Nunes defeats Cris Cyborg UFC 232Max Holloway defeats Brian Ortega UFC 2315Valentina ShevchenkoSergio Pettis defeats Joseph Benavidez UFC 225Charles Oliveira defeats Christos Giagos UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. AndersSodiq Yusuff (Tie) Petr Yan (Tie)Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos defeats Sean Strickland UFC 224Tony Ferguson defeats Anthony Pettis UFC 2296Anthony SmithCorey Anderson defeats Glover Teixeira UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. SmithAdam Wieczorek defeats Arjan Bhullar UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. GaethjeBrad KatonaYoel Romero defeats Luke Rockhold UFC 221Ronaldo Souza defeats Chris Weidman UFC 2307Israel AdesanyaKhalil Rountree Jr. defeats Gökhan Saki UFC 226Ilir Latifi defeats Ovince Saint Preux UFC on Fox: Emmett vs. StephensZhang WeiliJéssica Andrade defeats Karolina Kowalkiewicz UFC 228Thiago Santos defeats Jimi Manuwa UFC 2318Ronaldo SouzaBrian Kelleher defeats Renan Barão UFC 222Claudio Puelles defeats Felipe Silva UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. UsmanJohnny WalkerDaniel Cormier defeats Stipe Miocic 1 UFC 226Calvin Kattar defeats Shane Burgos UFC 2209Dustin PoirierNina Ansaroff defeats Cláudia Gadelha UFC 231Darren Elkins defeats Michael Johnson UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. ChoiRaoni BarcelosIsmael Bonfim defeats Terrance McKinney UFC 283Drew Dober defeats Frank Camacho UFC on Fox: Jacaré vs. Brunson 210Corey Anderson (Tie) Thiago Santos (Tie) Kamaru Usman (Tie)Cody Stamann defeats Bryan Caraway UFC 222Donald Cerrone defeats Mike Perry UFC Fight Night: The Korean Zombie vs. RodríguezSijara EubanksDerrick Lewis defeats Alexander Volkov UFC 229Zabit Magomedsharipov defeats Kyle Bochniak UFC 223Ref 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. EventsNumber of EventsPPVContinentsCountriesCitiesFight Night Bonuses391351135156 Total $7,800,000Longest EventShortest EventHighest Income Live GateLowest Income Live GateHighest AttendanceLowest AttendanceThe Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale 2:46:20UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros 1:37:45UFC 229 $17,200,000The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale $204,600UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Oleinik 22,603The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale 2,020Title FightsUndisputed Title FightsTitle ChangesChampions Remained in Their DivisionsNumber of ChampionsNumber of Interim ChampionsNumber of Title Defenses1636BW – T.J. DillashawFW – Max HollowayWW – Tyron WoodleyMW – Robert WhittakerWSW – Rose NamajunasWBW – Amanda Nunes13210ChampionsDivisionBeginning of The YearEnd of The YearDivisionBeginning of The YearEnd of The YearHeavyweightStipe MiocicDaniel CormierBantamweightT.J. DillashawT.J. DillashawLight HeavyweightDaniel CormierJon JonesFlyweightDemetrious JohnsonHenry CejudoMiddleweightRobert WhittakerRobert WhittakerWomen's BantamweightAmanda NunesAmanda NunesWelterweightTyron WoodleyTyron WoodleyWomen's FlyweightNicco MontañoValentina ShevchenkoLightweightConor McGregorKhabib NurmagomedovWomen's StrawweightRose NamajunasRose NamajunasFeatherweightMax HollowayMax HollowayWomen's FeatherweightCris CyborgAmanda NunesFightsMost Knockouts at A Single EventMost submissions at A Single EventMost Decisions at A Single EventTotal Number of FightsTotal Number of Cage TimeUFC 229 7UFC 224The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale 5UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith 1047487:21:11FightersNumber of FightersUFC DebutantsReleases / RetiredFighters SuspendedNumber of Fighters Missed weight(At the end of Dec 31, 2018) 573121N/AN/A29Champion feats 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 divisionsFighter feats 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.
Title fights
The Ultimate Fighter The following The Ultimate Fighter seasons are scheduled for broadcast in 2018: SeasonFinaleDivisionWinnerRunner-upRefTUF 27: UndefeatedJuly 6, 2018LightweightMike TrizanoJoe GiannettiFeatherweightBrad KatonaJay CuccinielloTUF 28: Heavy HittersNovember 30, 2018HeavyweightJuan Francisco Espino DieppaJustin FrazierWomen's FeatherweightMacy ChiassonPannie Kianzad
Debut UFC fighters
The following fighters fought their first UFC fight in 2018:
Month Day Fighter Division Event January 14 Matt Frevola Lightweight UFC Fight Night 124 20 Brandon Davis Featherweight UFC 220 Dan Ige Featherweight Julio Arce Featherweight Matt Bessette Featherweight 27 Austin Arnett Featherweight UFC on Fox 27 Cory Sandhagen Bantamweight February 3 Maia Stevenson Women's Strawweight UFC Fight Night 125 Polyana Viana Women's Strawweight Priscila Cachoeira Women's Flyweight 11 Israel Adesanya Middleweight UFC 221 18 Curtis Millender Welterweight UFC Fight Night 126 Geoff Neal Welterweight Steven Peterson Featherweight Tim Williams Middleweight 24 Manny Bermudez Bantamweight UFC on Fox 28 Marcin Prachnio Light Heavyweight March 3 Alexander Hernandez Lightweight UFC 222 Mackenzie Dern Women's Strawweight Yana Kunitskaya Women's Featherweight 17 Charles Byrd Middleweight UFC Fight Night 127 Hakeem Dawodu Featherweight John Phillips Middleweight Dmitriy Sosnovskiy Heavyweight Magomed Ankalaev Light Heavyweight April 7 Mike Rodriguez Light Heavyweight UFC 223 14 Dan Moret Lightweight UFC on Fox 29 Lauren Mueller Women's Flyweight 21 Ricky Simón Bantamweight UFC Fight Night 128 Ricky Rainey Welterweight May 19 Andrea Lee Women's Flyweight UFC Fight Night 129 27 Carlo Pedersoli Jr. Welterweight UFC Fight Night 130 Craig White Welterweight Molly McCann Women's Flyweight Ricky Rainey Welterweight June 1 Chance Rencountre Welterweight UFC Fight Night 131 Jose Torres Flyweight Nathaniel Wood Bantamweight Sijara Eubanks Women's Flyweight 9 Megan Anderson Women's Featherweight UFC 225 Mike Jackson Welterweight 23 Hector Aldana Welterweight UFC Fight Night 132 Petr Yan Bantamweight July 6 Allan Zuñiga Lightweight TUF 27 Finale Brad Katona Bantamweight Bryce Mitchell Featherweight Jay Cucciniello Featherweight Joe Giannetti Lightweight John Gunther Lightweight Luis Peña Lightweight Richie Smullen Lightweight Michael Trizano Lightweight Tyler Diamond Featherweight 14 Blagoy Ivanov Heavyweight UFC Fight Night 133 Elias Garcia Flyweight Jennifer Maia Women's Flyweight Raoni Barcelos Bantamweight Said Nurmagomedov Bantamweight 22 Abu Azaitar Middleweight UFC Fight Night 134 Darko Stošić Light Heavyweight David Zawada Welterweight Khalid Taha Bantamweight Liu Pingyuan Bantamweight Nad Narimani Featherweight Stefan Sekulić Welterweight August 4 Kevin Holland Middleweight UFC 227 Matt Sayles Featherweight Montel Jackson Bantamweight Zhang Weili Women's Strawweight September 15 Adam Yandiev Middleweight UFC Fight Night 136 Alexey Kunchenko Welterweight Jin Soo Son Bantamweight Khalid Murtazaliev Middleweight 22 Andre Ewell Bantamweight UFC Fight Night 137 Augusto Sakai Heavyweight Christos Giagos Lightweight Livia Renata Souza Women's Strawweight Luigi Vendramini Lightweight Mayra Bueno Silva Women's Bantamweight Mike Rodríguez Light Heavyweight Ryan Spann Light Heavyweight October 6 Jalin Turner Lightweight UFC 229 27 Chris Fishgold Featherweight UFC Fight Night 138 Don Madge Lightweight Jonathan Martinez Bantamweight Te'Jovan Edwards Lightweight November 10 Bobby Moffett Featherweight UFC Fight Night 139 Devonte Smith Lightweight Hannah Cifers Women's Strawweight Maycee Barber Women's Flyweight Thiago Moisés Lightweight 17 Anderson dos Santos Bantamweight UFC Fight Night 140 Ian Heinisch Middleweight Jesus Pinedo Featherweight Johnny Walker Light Heavyweight Laureano Staropoli Welterweight 30 Antonina Shevchenko Women's Flyweight TUF 28 Finale Chris Gutiérrez Bantamweight Edmen Shahbazyan Middleweight Juan Espino Heavyweight Julija Stoliarenko Women's Bantamweight Justin Frazier Heavyweight Kevin Aguilar Featherweight Leah Letson Women's Featherweight Macy Chiasson Women's Bantamweight Maurice Greene Heavyweight Michel Batista Heavyweight Pannie Kianzad Women's Bantamweight Roosevelt Roberts Lightweight December 2 Alex Gorgees Lightweight UFC Fight Night 142 Damir Ismagulov Lightweight Jimmy Crute Light Heavyweight Kai Kara-France Flyweight Sodiq Yusuff Featherweight Suman Mokhtarian Featherweight 8 Kyle Nelson Featherweight UFC 231 15 Dwight Grant Welterweight UFC on Fox 31 Jordan Griffin Featherweight Juan Adams Heavyweight 29 Bevon Lewis Middleweight UFC 232
Events list