Women’s MMA 2022 Season Review: Restoring Balance to the Top
Top Women Fighters Reclaimed Their Spot in the P4P Rankings
Women’s MMA 2022 Season Betting Odds
If the men’s MMA 2022 season recap featured some upsets at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings, the women were all about restoring it. Sort of. Amanda Nunes and Zhang Weili returned to the top with dominant years that saw them recapture their respective titles. Cris “Cyborg” Justino and Valentina Shevchenko also kept their spots. However, a massive upset on the MMA betting lines loomed outside of the UFC.
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P4P Rankings Restored, Except …
Kayla Harrison, who many saw as the best fighter outside of the UFC, suffered her first loss at the hands of a rival: Larissa Pacheco. It was the third time the pair met and Pacheco finally pulled off the upset as a 5-1 underdog.
Larissa Pacheco upsets Kayla Harrison with the unanimous decision victory 😳 #PFL pic.twitter.com/l1YuMSNbit
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) November 26, 2022
Pacheco’s win not only dropped Harrison from the P4P rankings but also produced one of the most-high profile upsets on the sportsbook. The Brazilian then mentioned several potential opponents including a “superfight” with Cyborg, Bellator’s 145-pound champion.
Cyborg defended her belt in a rematch against Arlene Blencowe. It was her only fight this year in MMA as she did her other winning in the boxing ring (2-0).
Over to ONE Championship, the promotion also saw no changes to its women’s division as both Xiong Jingnan and Angela Hill remained the champions. However, the two concluded their trilogy for Xiong’s strawweight title (125 pounds). The Chinese fighter won a close decision in what was one of the most action-packed fights of the year.
This rematch emphasized a theme for the top women’s MMA fighters this year.
Rivalries and Rematch Atop the Women’s Divisions
Not unlike its boxing counterpart, women’s MMA is starting to be defined by its brewing rivalries. Nunes recaptured her bantamweight belt by defeating Julianna Pena in a rematch. While lopsided, a potential trilogy is not out of the question.
Shevchenko has also called for a trilogy with Nunes. Instead, she may also have to rematch Taila Santos, the challenger who nearly defeated her this year. The Brazilian was one decision away from pulling off the biggest upset in the UFC. Folks betting online would have won $400 for every $100 wagered on her.
As for Zhang, she recaptured her strawweight title but had to rematch Joanna Jedrzejczyk on the same card as Shevchenko-Santos. Zhang finished her old rival with a spinning backfist that prompted the former champion to call it quits.
On the Bellator’s side, Liz Carmouche upset Juliana Velasquez twice. The longtime veteran first TKO’d Velasquez in April to capture the belt then submitted her in the rematch. While the first ended with plenty of controversies, the second-round submission in the rematch erased any doubts and put to bed this rivalry.
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The Best Women’s Fighters of 2022
All the aforementioned women all have a case for being this year’s best female fighter. Pacheco is the strongest contender as she not only won four fights in the span of six months, but she also took down Harrison. Pacheco also knocked out her three other opponents.
But as far as “style points,” Zhang will be hard to top. She won both of her fights in a dominant fashion. Her KO of Jedrzejczyk is a nominee for the “Knockout of the Year” and she became the first fighter to submit Carla Esparza in the UFC. That submission win paid 11-1 and was the best UFC bet that evening.
Both Carmouche and Cyborg also deserve mention. Cyborg only won once in an MMA setting, but she dominated in her two boxing bouts. That deserves some praise. As for Carmouche, she won twice as an underdog over one of the hottest fighters in Velasquez.
The Best Fight of 2022…
Just as it’s difficult to pick the single best women’s MMA fighter of 2022, finding the best fight is. We give the nod to the trilogy between Lee and Xiong as these top Asian fighters went at it for 25 minutes. While the decision was contentious, it only showed how evenly matched the two were.
A special mention goes to Priscilla Cachoeira and Ji Yeon Kim for putting a barnburner of a fight early in the year.