UFC 281 was the Best PPV of 2022

UFC 281 is now in the rearview mirror, yet it will be fresh on everyone’s mind for a long while. The pay-per-view event had fans around the world drooling with anticipation as it was stacked top to bottom. Some were worried after Adesanya’s last fight against Cannonier left some to be desired when it comes to action. However, UFC 281 did not disappoint in the slightest. With great action on the prelims that continued throughout the main card, UFC 281 was in my humble opinion the best pay-per-view event of 2022.

Poirier vs. Chandler

Going into the night, the Poirier vs Chandler was touted as the “peoples’ main event.” The 3 rounder delivered in a big way going all 3 rounds and ending with Poirier finding a submission finish by getting Chandlers’ back in the 3rd. The first two rounds were full of action themselves however including massive punches to the face of Chandler, causing a broken and bloody nose that dripped into the open mouth of Poirier in round 2, which Chandler contributed to gravity in his post-fight press conference.

The fight earned fight of the night awards, and both fighters got a nice little bonus. This fight lived up to all the hype, and fans would be more than willing to see these two scrap inside the cage any day of the week. Both promised to come out and put on a show, and they did, and for that, fans across the world thank them. This fight was everywhere on the feet, on the matt, and ended with some great jiu Jitsu, and was the epitome of mixed martial arts as both fighters combined all of their fighting expertise to put on a show unlike any other.

Adesanya vs. Pereira

Israel Adesanya had been on a tear lately. He cemented himself as one of the greatest Middleweight Champions in UFC history and one of the greatest champions in UFC history. Having cleaned out the division and showing that he was heads and shoulders above the competition. Fans were wondering if anyone would be able to challenge Adesanya for the belt and then came Alex Pereira.

Pereira had an excellent career in kickboxing before coming over to MMA. In kickboxing, he defeated Adesanya twice and knocked him out once. After a quick entrance to the UFC, he got a title fight, and many wondered how the matchup would play out in the rule set of MMA.

Adesanya proved early that when it came to mixing the arts he was the better man, controlling the fight in the first 4 rounds using grappling. In round 3, he took Pereira down and showed that Pereira’s wrestling still had a long way to go to be truly competitive in the UFC.

However, in Round 5, after an emotional and very inspiring talk from his corner, Pereira came out and showed that his striking may be the best in the UFC, getting a TKO in the 5th shocking the MMA world and delivering a great finish to the best PPV event of the year.