All 2019 UFC Events Ranked
- MMA News Now
- Apr 25, 2019
- 10 min read
Updated: Jul 1, 2019
This article outlines my personal list of the events that I thought were the best throughout 2019 ranked from best to worst. This list will be updated as events arrive throughout the year.
1. UFC 238: Cejudo vs Moraes (June. 8, 2019)
This card kicked off it's prelims with a bang when Calvin Kattar took out Ricardo Lamas with a devastating knockout -- the fights continued to entertain and maintain a supremely high level for the rest of the night. Sterling and Yan each picked up wins that could've potentially earned them bantamweight title shots. Tatiana Suarez and Blagoy Ivanov also earned big wins in each of their fights. 'Cowboy' Cerrone vs Tony Ferguson was pure bliss for MMA fans for as long as it lasted; that fight could've been a main event on a PPV and fans would've been elated. The next fight showcased Shevchenko's elite kickboxing as shew scored one of the best Ko's this year when she defended her belt. The main event was one of the most high-paced/high-level championship bouts in recent history. The card capped off in Henry Cejudo making history as the first double champ to hold an Olympic gold medal in UFC history. This was one of the greatest UFC cards in the past few years.
2. UFC 235: Jones vs Smith (March. 2, 2019)
This card saw two UFC title fights take place as well as the controversial debut of 'Funky' Ben Askren who has already turned into one the organization's biggest stars. Woodley was dethroned and Jones showed that he still was 'King of the Jungle'. Munhoz and Garbrandt put on a high-paced bout and we seen 2 huge performances on the prelims by UFC vet Diego Sanchez and top prospect Johnny Walker. The only knock on this talent filled card was that the two title fights were not as close as some as the masses would have liked which resulted in two one-sided headliners that left the audience feeling slightly fatigued.
3. UFC 236: Holloway vs Poirier (April. 13, 2019)
This card was definitely a front loaded one with top headliners expected to bring in PPV buys. They delivered. Adesanya vs Gastelum for the Interim Middleweight strap was a back and forth war that saw Adesanya show what he was made of in a deciding round where he poured it all on Gastelum to conclude a 'Fight of the Year' candidate. The main event went on next and did not disappoint. Poirier and Holloway traded jabs and combinations on the feet for five rounds. What resulted was a triumphant Poirier finally holding gold around his waist, a bloody and battered Holloway gracious in the defeat as well as a satisfied crowd due to another 'Fight of the Year' contender. The reason this card doesn't sit atop this list is because all of the prior fights being underwhelming. Highlights from the rest of the card are limited to a Boston Salmon hype train being derailed and a dominant performance from unranked LHW, Kahlil Rountree.
4. UFC Fight Night Brooklyn: Cejudo vs Dillashaw (January. 19, 2019)
This card exemplified what a nearly perfect free fight night should consist of. This was the inaugural ESPN card and it consisted of the revival of 'Cowboy' Cerrone and a superfight between two champions in the main event. The rest of the main card delivered expect for the one stain on the event which was putting Greg Hardy in the co-main event which resulted in one of the worst MMA moments of the year when he lost by DQ after a horrendous fight.
5. UFC Fight Night Phoenix: Velasquez vs Ngannou (February. 17, 2019)
This fight card entertained the fans from top to bottom and was filled with some really awesome moments. Manny Bermudez solidified his place as a future contender at 135 and Aljamain Sterling took out Jimmie Rivera to establish himself as a contender, capping off the prelims. On the main card, Luque and Barberena stole the show with an instant classic and Kron Gracie arrived at Featherweight by making Caceres tap in just over 2 minutes. Felder and Vick left everything in the cage during the co-main but the headliner did leave something to be desired. Velasquez blew out his knee while being semi-caught by Nagannou which was KO just 26 seconds in, but left fans with a sour taste in their mouths.
6. UFC Fight Night Minneapolis: Ngannou vs Dos Santos (June. 29, 2019)
This was an already above-average card until the fights started -- and virtually every single fight delivered. The entire card was filled with highlight reel finishes including big stoppages from: Eryk Anders, Alonzo Menifield and Joeseph Benavidez. RThe most devasting finish came at the hands of the most prolific knockout artist in the UFC when Francis Ngannou tapped JDS on the chin and put him out like a light. Demian Maia, Vinc Pichel and Jared Gordon put on entertaining fights and earned decision wins in each of their respective fights. This card proves how entertaining it is when the best athletes in the world go out and look for a huge finish.
7. UFC 237: Namajunas vs Andrade (May. 11, 2019)
Excluding the cringe-inducing slam knockout in the main event this was very lackluster for a PPV card. The UFC seemed to rely on former stars way passed their prime to fill out the card. These fighters included: Anderson Silva, B.J. Penn and 'Little Nog' -- all of which had one-sided losing efforts resulting from their deteriorating abilities. Jose Aldo and Alex Volkanovski had what seemed like a a compelling matchup on paper although it turned out to be very boring. Warley Alves had an impressive performance and hopped on to fan's radars when he earned an impressive stoppage in his bout In conclusion, although this card was a below-par PPV it still had some highly known fighters and finished with a bang.
8. UFC Fight Night Fortaleza: Moraes vs Assuncao (February. 2, 2019)
The second card on the new ESPN deal was a memorable night for the Brazilian fans as they saw their fellow country-mates reign supreme on a absolutely loaded main card. Moraes, Aldo and Maia all picked up exhilarating finishes bringing the fans to the edge of their seats. Charles Olivera extended his submission record and up-and-coming phenom, Johnny Walker ended his bout early. The problem with this card is that the prelims were filled with relative unknowns who put on mediocre performances which tainted an otherwise stellar card.
9. UFC Fight Night Philadelphia : Gaethje vs Barboza (March. 30, 2019)
The main card of this fight night was an absolute blast. 4 out of the 6 fights were finishes and the main event was a complete barn burner for the two and a half minutes it lasted. Justin Gaethje came out, traded leg kicks with Edson Barboza and showed that he was a legitimate world-class 155er. In the co-main event Jack Hermansson established himself as a future contender with quick submission victory over David Branch. Michael Johnson vs Josh Emmet and Michelle Waterson vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz were both co-main event quality and were extremely compelling from the opening bell to the end of their fights. Nigerian prospects were also on display as Sodiq Yusuff picked up a well-earned decision win and Kennedy Nzechukwu was stifled in the final round by a battered Paul Craig in a really gritty fight. The main card was phenomenal and the only thing that holds this card back from being higher on the list is a lack-luster preliminary card filled with slow, forgettable fights.
10. UFC FIght Night Sunrise: Jacare vs Hermansson (April. 27, 2019)
11. UFC Fight Night London: Till vs Masvidal (March. 16, 2019)
This whole card was the perfect example of what a good fight night and a great European fight night should consist of. The top three fights on this card were capable of headlining their own event. The main event consisted of one of the most shocking knockouts of the year with the 'Gorilla' suffering his first KO defeat of his young career. The two previous fights were tainted slightly due to some controversial decisions, however the fights were both very compelling and the viewers were engaged the whole time. The British super-prospect Nathaniel Wood had another impressive showing picking up yet another submission stoppage. Marc Diakiese also re-established himself as one of the best Brits in the UFC with a dominant decision win. All in all it it was better than average card sprinkled with pretty high-end talent and prospects. The British fans really added an extra element to this card as they always show up early and never fail to get loud for their fighters.
12. UFC Fight Night Rochester: Dos Anjos vs Lee (May. 18, 2019)
UFC Rochester was a solid card. It did nothing to dissapoint the fans and unfortunately it did nothing to overly excite them either. the main card was filled with some fun fights and some impressive finishes from Felicia Spencer, Rafael Dos Anjos and Vicente Luque but none of these fights really "blew the roof the place". The prelims were solid as well but were limited to a few big finishes and Aspen Ladd and Sijara Eubanks having a fairly one-sided fight, in conclusion, the card had some good moments but nothing really stuck out.
13. UFC Fight Night Nashville: Pettis vs Thompson (March. 23, 2019)
This card had some solid MMA moments but it did not possess many notable fighters outside of the top few fights and the card seemed rather slow at times. Pettis vs Thompson was a great main-event and Pettis's unorthodox 'showtime hook' KO was something that MMA fans will not forget any time soon. The card started to flounder from there, the majority of the other main-card fights were non-noteworthy one-sided decisions. Highlights from the main card include: Curtis Blaydes showing is still an elite heavyweight, Jussier Formiga putting his name in the hat for a title shot at 125, and Maycee Barber coming out as a super-prospect by finishing JJ Aldrich. The prelims and the rest of the card had few compelling moments and left fans with a fun main event and not much else.
14. UFC Fight NIght Ottawa: Iaquinta vs Cowboy (May. 4, 2019)
Cowboy and Iaquinta put a show on for the fans. 25 minutes of complete carnage and the fans ate up every last minute if it. Unfortunately, the rest of the card was not held to this same standard. The majority of the evening was filled with one-sided decisions and the co-main event was no different and even costed Elias Theodorou his job after the UFC was nit impressed with his 'non-flashy' style. Merab Dvalishvili, Macy Chiasson and Arjan Bhullar did put on really good performances but the rest of the card was rather lackluster.
15. UFC Fight Night Wichita: Lewis vs Dos Santos (March. 9, 2019)
If i had one word to describe this fight night it would be simply 'nostalgic'. This was a very fun card as a whole but it was not a high-level card. I absolutely loved the main event, it was awesome seeing JDS return to his former form and secure his third consecutive win. The co-main event was very interesting with a match-up between two highly touted prospects where Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos picked up a big win. Ben Rothwell and and Tim Boetsch returned providing the nostalgia the I spoke about but their effort resulted a couple losses. There were a couple other sub-par bouts but the nostalgia, main-event and the young gun's showdown is what sold the show for me.
16. UFC Fight Night Greenville: Moicano vs Korean Zombie (June. 22, 2019)
This card is a perfect example of what an injury can do to a fight night when the UFC does not fill that card out with with compelling matchups. Thankfully, the UFC was bailed out thanks to some impressive performances on the card from up-and-comers including: Andrea Lee, Luis Pena and Deron Winn. The main event also delivered in absolute brutal fashion when the Korean Zombie knocked Moicano out in less than a minute in one of the biggest finishes this year. This card struggled heavillt in depth do to the already weak co-main event of Rob Font and John Lineker being scrapped just a day prior. In hindsight, a few more well-known fighters on this card could have made it one of the best in 2019.
17. UFC Fight Night Stockholm: Gustafsson vs Smith (June. 1, 2019)
This card had many positive takeaways; up-and-coming 205er Alexander Rakic established himself as a future contender with a brutal early KO, Frank Camacho and Daniel Teymur showed that they were legit UFC fighters with a couple of crucial wins, and we saw the final chapter of Alexander Gustafsson's career play out. With this being said the card lacked depth and left the fans with a sour taste in their mouthes after seeing two European fan-favorites close their careers out on losses. The entire card, besides Gustafsson's farewell seemed to lack any "weight" and there were few impressive finishes or fights that could have earned this fight a higher spot on the list.
18. UFC Fight Night St. Petersburg: Overeem vs Oleinik (April. 20, 2019)
Initially I believed that this card would end up falling to the bottom of the list due to it being very weak and multiple fight cancellations and alteration. My expectations were completely subverted. The first 4 fights on the prelims were all finishes in which Shamil Abdurakhimov would stake his claim at heavyweight by finishing Macin Tybura in the second round. After a surprisingly entertaining preliminary card the main card delivered in every single bout. Jotko showed that he was a legitimate UFC roster member by taking ho dominant decision. Shevchenko and Modaferri put on a really high-level split decision fight that was back and forth. Sergei Pavolvich took home a KO only a minute in securing his first UFC win. The co-main event between Makhachev and Tsarukyan put on a masterful wrestling showcase and took on fight of the night. Overeem and Oleinik delivered as the two traded shots until Oleinik eventually went down. The whole card exceeded expectations for sure but the fighters were not extremely well-known or high level. In result the card was really entertaining for what it had but it did not have a lot.
19. UFC 234: Adesanya vs Silva (February. 10, 2019)
This was the worst PPV in recent memory. The show was sold on two really compelling headlining bouts but when Whittaker vs Gastelum fell through it was up to Anderson Silva and Israel Adesanya to lead the show. Their fight was one of my favorites from 2019. The two middleweights exchanged taunts and had some very unorthodox exchanges and the Australian fans soaked up every single second of this real-life anime fight. If those two did not put on that show then this would've easily been last on this list. The rest of the event consisted of unproven hometown guys and a lot of unranked athletes. When one guy in the co-main event of a PPV doesn't even have a Wikipedia page you know it was a bad card.
20. UFC Fight Night Prague: Santos vs Blachowicz (February. 23, 2019)
This card was definitely more exciting than I had originally anticipated but the main card excluding the main-event and John Dodson vs Petr Yan could've passed for a prelim card. With this being said this card over-achieved as there were some fun finishes and seeing a veteran like Struve retire on a win was a nice feel-good moment. The highlight of this card was certainly Thiago Santos's big stoppage which established him as a lethal top contender. That fight has even higher stakes in hindsight now that we know Santos would earn a title shot for his win. Even with these points in consideration it was very shallow card with few compelling or meaningful fights. In conclusion, this is a low quality fight night that had a few fun surprises but was still not comparable to many of the cards ranked above it.
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