5 big fights that the UFC should avoid booking in 2022

#4. UFC heavyweight title: Francis Ngannou or Ciryl Gane vs. Jon Jones

Jon Jones has done nothing to warrant a shot at the UFC heavyweight title in 2022

A clash between former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and the reigning UFC heavyweight champion – originally Stipe Miocic, now either Francis Ngannou or Ciryl Gane – has been talked about for a long time now, dating back to 2020.

So should 2022 be the year that the UFC finally pulls the trigger on this bout, bringing Jones back in from the cold? In all honesty, the answer ought to be no.

Firstly, it isn’t like the UFC is short on potential heavyweight title contenders right now. The likes of Tom Aspinall, Curtis Blaydes and Tai Tuivasa are climbing the ranks quickly, and that isn’t even mentioning veterans like Miocic and Derrick Lewis.

Given that Ngannou and Gane will face off to unify the UFC heavyweight title this month, the likelihood is that regardless of who wins, the next title bout won’t take place until the summer. That gives one of those fighters ample time to state their claim as the next challenger.

More importantly, though, Jones has done nothing to warrant a shot at the UFC heavyweight title. Not only has he never fought in the weight class before, but he’s also not fought in the octagon, period, in almost two years now.

Given that his attitude towards the UFC hasn’t always been that forthcoming – and his legal problems outside the octagon don’t seem to show any sign of slowing down – the promotion would probably be better avoiding booking him in any kind of title fight until he proves that he’s reliable and loyal again.

Jones in a UFC heavyweight title bout would undoubtedly be intriguing – but it could also cause the UFC more problems than it’s worth.

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#3. UFC featherweight title: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway

After defeating him twice previously, should Alexander Volkanovski really have to fight Max Holloway again?

On the face of it, booking a UFC featherweight title clash between champion Alexander Volkanovski and top contender Max Holloway in 2022 looks like an absolutely obvious call to make.

Both men enjoyed excellent years in 2021, with Volkanovski overcoming the challenge of Brian Ortega in what was arguably the year’s best fight, and Holloway picking up a pair of excellent victories over Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez.

With ‘Blessed’ still ranked as the top contender in the division, then, a title bout seems to be the only way to go. However, would this really be the correct match to make?

The big issue here is the fact that Holloway and Volkanovski have already met on two occasions in recent years – once in 2019 and once in 2020 – and in both bouts, ‘Alexander the Great’ came away with his hand raised.

Sure, it’s fair to say that both fights were very close, and that many fans felt that Holloway did enough to win the second bout, but the fact remains that Volkanovski has already beaten the Hawaiian twice. With that considered, why should he need to do so for a third time?

The UFC undoubtedly loves trilogies, but only the series between Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn ended with one fighter winning all three bouts. And in that instance, the third fight between them came a long time after the first two, and wasn’t for a UFC title.

Essentially, it seems harsh to ‘Blessed’, but the UFC would probably be better served by keeping his title shot on ice until Volkanovski is finally dethroned, if only to keep things fresh in the division.