5 dark horses to claim UFC gold in 2022

#4. Irene Aldana – UFC bantamweight contender

Mexico’s Irene Aldana is the biggest dark horse in the bantamweight division right now.

The biggest upset in the UFC in 2021 came in the year’s final pay-per-view show. There, Julianna Pena unseated long-time bantamweight queen Amanda Nunes to become one of the promotion’s unlikeliest champions.

It feels highly probable that the UFC might simply book an immediate rematch between ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ and ‘The Lioness’ at some point in 2022. However, regardless of who comes out on top, the next title shot might well go to Irene Aldana.

The Mexican striker bounced back well from her 2020 loss to Holly Holm last year. She beat Yana Kunitskaya via TKO in July, with the win moving her into the #3 spot in the division.

Sure, she still sits behind Holm in the rankings. However, given the amount of title shots given to ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ over the years, it’s very likely the promotion could overlook her in favor of a fresher challenger, especially if Nunes reclaims the gold.

Interestingly, on paper at least, Aldana would probably be a tricky match for either woman. Pena showed that Nunes might be vulnerable to a fighter willing to work from behind a jab as Aldana tends to. Meanwhile, Pena’s striking is arguably still not as good as the Mexican’s.

Given that she isn’t the most marketable fighter, Aldana is definitely what you’d consider a dark horse to win gold in 2022. However, she’s more than capable in the octagon, and stranger things have happened before.

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#3. Vicente Luque – UFC welterweight contender

Vicente Luque might be the biggest threat to UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

Right now, the UFC champion who appears to be the most unbeatable is probably welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ enjoyed a phenomenal 2021. He turned back the challenges of Gilbert Burns, Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington, and seems leaps and bounds above the rest of his division.

Who is next for Usman? Most reports suggest that Leon Edwards, who beat Nate Diaz in the summer, could face the champion next. However, given that Usman already holds a victory over ‘Rocky’, and has improved since then, it’s difficult to imagine Edwards taking the gold.

The real dark horse to claim the title, then, might well be Usman’s TUF 21 teammate Vicente Luque. ‘The Silent Assassin’ lives up to his nickname, as he rarely, if ever, talks trash. However, inside the octagon, he’s as dangerous as any 170 lber on the planet.

In 2021, Luque finished both Tyron Woodley and Michael Chiesa. Overall, he now holds 14 wins in the octagon, with 13 of them coming via submission or knockout.

Would he stand a chance against Usman? It’s difficult to say. He doesn’t possess the wrestling of ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’. However, his balls-to-the-wall style might well prove to be the champion’s kryptonite, as the latter prefers to remain in control of his fights.

Basically, if anyone’s got a chance of dethroning Usman right now, it’s probably Luque, the ultimate dark horse at welterweight.