So it was no surprise that 2012 began in the promotion’s new hotbed, Brazil. Returning to Rio de Janeiro after its ultra-successful UFC 134 event, UFC 142 on January 14 saw Jose Aldo successfully defend his featherweight title with a first-round knockout of Chad Mendes that saw Aldo run into the crowd after the bout ended to celebrate with his fans. It was a memorable moment to say the least for the hometown hero.

The first “official” event of the UFC’s landmark deal with FOX took place at the United Center in Chicago on January 28, with a network-televised card featuring Rashad Evans’ win over Phil Davis, a victory by Chael Sonnen over Michael Bisping, and an opener that saw Chris Weidman defeat Demian Maia. It wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing set of results, but FOX viewers would get plenty of compelling action in the coming months and years.

With Georges St-Pierre sidelined by injury, top contenders Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit squared off the interim welterweight title at UFC 143 on February 4, Condit scraping out a hard-fought five-round decision win to take the belt.

On February 26, the UFC’s international team traveled to Japan for the first event in the Land of the Rising Sun since 2000, and UFC 144 was another rousing success, as former WEC lightweight champion Benson Henderson dethroned Frankie Edgar, Ryan Bader defeated Rampage Jackson, Mark Hunt knocked out Cheick Kongo and Anthony Pettis stopped Joe Lauzon on an action-packed, star-studded card.

In March, a new weight class officially arrived in the UFC, as the Fight Night event in Sydney, Australia saw the first two bouts of the 125-pound flyweight division. Four of the top competitors in the world – Demetrious Johnson, Ian McCall, Joseph Benavidez and Yasuhiro Urushitani – would battle it out for the first UFC flyweight crown, and while Benavidez easily punched his ticket to the tournament final with a knockout of Urushitani, his opponent would take a little longer to determine, as Johnson and McCall fought to a draw.

Swedish star Alexander Gustafsson was the obvious choice to headline the UFC’s first visit to Stockholm on April 14, and he didn’t disappoint as he decisioned Thiago Silva, kicking off his move into the contenders’ race at 205 pounds. Of course, the champion of that division, Jon Jones, wasn’t slowing down any, as he proved when he defeated Rashad Evans in the main event of UFC 145 on April 21, defusing the feud between the former friends and teammates.

At UFC 146 in May, another young champion with a bright future, Junior Dos Santos, made it look easy in his first title defense, knocking out former two-time titleholder Frank Mir in the second round. Waiting in the wings for “Cigano” was the man he beat for the title, Cain Velasquez, who made a triumphant return in the co-feature, stopping debuting former Strikeforce star Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in the first round.

On June 1, a successful but stressful experiment came to a close, as the first live season of The Ultimate Fighter finished up with Michael Chiesa defeating Al Iaquinta. The finale show capped off a 13-week season, the longest in TUF history.

A week later, Johnson and McCall met again, Johnson taking a decisive decision win to earn a spot alongside Benavidez in the UFC’s first flyweight title fight later in the year. That business settled smoothly, but that wasn’t the case for UFC 147 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, as several changes to the card left fans wondering what was going to happen on fight night. Eventually, things settled, with Rich Franklin defeating Wanderlei Silva a second time and Brazil’s first two Ultimate Fighters, Cezar Ferreira and Rony Jason, being crowned.

There would be no upheaval in the highly-anticipated UFC 148 card in Las Vegas on July 7 though, as the most highly-anticipated rematch in history took place. Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen engaged in a classic the first time around in 2010, but in the return bout, “The Spider” put it on Sonnen and stopped him early in the second round. In the co-main event. Forrest Griffin decisioned newly-minted Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz in the final bout of their trilogy.

Sidelined by a knee injury that forced him out of his UFC 148 rubber match with Urijah Faber, Dominick Cruz revealed that he was going to be out for a while, prompting the promotion to establish an interim title fight between Faber and Renan Barao that took place at UFC 149 on July 21. The unheralded Barao was dazzling that night in Calgary, as he won a clear-cut five-round unanimous decision and the belt.

After an action-packed FOX show on August 4 that saw “Shogun” Rua outlast a game Brandon Vera en route to a fourth round knockout win, lightweight stalwarts Henderson and Edgar met again at UFC 150 on August 11, and it was the same result, a razor-thin decision win for “Smooth” Benson.

At this point, the year was going as smoothly as it could be, despite some key injuries causing fight card shifts, but on August 23, everything hit a stop when Dan Henderson was forced from his UFC 151 main event on September 1 against Jon Jones due to injury and Jones opted against a short notice fight against Sonnen, prompting the UFC to cancel the event. 

It was the first time in history that the UFC made such a move, and the company needed to come back strong with its next event on September 22, so it did just that. In the headliner of UFC 152 in Toronto, Jones returned to face Vitor Belfort, and after some rough moments early, he submitted “The Phenom” in the fourth round. Also that night, Demetrious Johnson became the UFC’s first flyweight champion, as he decisioned Joseph Benavidez in a five-round instant classic that showed precisely why the promotion brought the flyweights in.

Several changes rocked the organization’s UFC 153 event in Rio de Janeiro on October 13, so who came to the rescue? Middleweight superstar Anderson Silva, who agreed to move up to light heavyweight for the third time as a UFC fighter to face Stephan Bonnar on short notice. That decision certainly left the fans happy, as “The Spider” was in vintage form in scoring a first-round TKO of “The American Psycho.”

China became the newest international destination on the UFC’s itinerary on November 10, with a trip to Macao highlighted by a Cung Le knockout of former middleweight champion Rich Franklin, but a week later, all eyes were on Montreal’s Bell Centre, as Georges St-Pierre fought for the first time since knee surgery against Carlos Condit. Would GSP still be the same fighter after the long layoff? The answer was yes, as the welterweight champion rose from an early knockdown to win a dominant five-round unanimous decision victory over the game, but outgunned Condit.

FOX viewers got another championship fight on network television on December 8, but this time it was longer than 64 seconds, as Benson Henderson’s clinic against Nate Diaz went the distance but still kept the title belt firmly on the defending champion’s waist.

In Queensland, Australia a week after Henderson-Diaz, the Ultimate Fighter’s Smashes competition came to an end, with Robert Whittaker picking up a season title for Australia and Norman Parke doing the same for the UK. In the American version of TUF, it was Colton Smith winning the season 16 crown.

Now all that was left was for the heavyweights to make their final statement of the year, and at UFC 155 in Las Vegas on December 29, Cain Velasquez regained his title with a shutout five-round decision win over Junior Dos Santos, setting the stage for a 2013 rubber match.

After a wild submission win over Khadis Ibragimov in August and a decisive knockout of Mike Rodriguez last weekend, South Korea’s Da-un Jung looks like he may just be the latest addition to a list of up and coming light heavyweights making that division very interesting again. And speaking of interesting, Jung wants to fight Gian Villante in 2020. I’m in!

Volkan Oezdemir may have come up short in his first UFC title shot against Daniel Cormier nearly two years ago, but patient, yet effective, wins over Ilir Latifi and Aleksandar Rakic have him closing in on another crack at the crown, and it’s hard to count him out if he does get a title shot in late-2020. Of course, there are a few folks ahead of him on the line to meet Jon Jones, but should Jones get by Dominick Reyes (a fighter many people believe Oezdemir beat in their March bout), Jones-Oezdemir could be very interesting, as would a Reyes-Oezdemir rematch.

Ever since season 24 of The Ultimate Fighter, it was clear that Alexandre Pantoja was an intense competitor who was willing to go into those dark places to get the victory on fight night, and nothing has changed in the last couple years to change my opinion of him. But now, with the flyweight title vacant and a Performance of the Night knockout of Matt Schnell putting him at 6-2 in the UFC, he’s going to get his chance to reach an even wider audience in 2020, a year when he could very well find himself challenging the winner of the bout for the vacant title between Joseph Benavidez and the man he engaged in a Fight of the Night with earlier this year, Deiveson Figueiredo.

After jumping up ten pounds for a short-notice debut against Desmond Green in May and losing a decision, Charles Jourdain admitted that he faltered under pressure against Green and promised a return to form against Dooho Choi. Of course that’s what he’s supposed to say, but most who do don’t deliver the second time around. Jourdain did, taking on a tough test, battling through some adversity and then finishing matters in the second round. In the process, we now know that Jourdain is one of those fighters who we should be tuning in for every time he steps into the Octagon.

It’s easy to wonder where Chan Sung Jung, aka The Korean Zombie, would be if not for injuries and two years of mandatory military service in South Korea. But having said that, “The Zombie” is still a top featherweight, only 32 years old, and on a hot streak that has seen him beat a pair of opponents in Frankie Edgar and Renato Moicano that don’t get stopped the way he’s stopped them. That makes him the perfect candidate for a 2020 shot at newly crowned Alexander Volkanovski, and if not “Alexander the Great”, what kind of war would Zombie vs Max Holloway be? Wow.

In between competing inside the Octagon and mentoring youth across the country, Hall has accepted the challenge and joined his first Make-A-Wish fundraising campaign during the month of December, with a commitment to raise $1,000 to help grant wishes. His goal has doubled during his first two weeks and currently sits at $2,200.

“Watching Uriah interact with our wish kids has been such a joy,” said Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada Chief Executive Officer Caroline Ciocca. As a UFC fighter who battles inside the Octagon, Uriah relates to the inner warrior in all of our wish kids as they search for the strength they need to fight their illness. With his support, we’ll be able to create more life-changing wishes, providing the emotional medicine our kids need to face their unthinkable battle.”

„I love meeting the kids and hearing the stories of their Make-A-Wish trips and adventures coming true,“ said Hall. „The more money we raise with this campaign, the more wishes are granted to the kids and their families.“

Hall, who is currently on a two-fight winning streak, has also spent much of 2019 interacting with charities and delivering positive motivational speeches to children of all ages throughout the United States. In October, Hall spoke to members of After-School All-Stars of Tampa and participated in an opioid awareness seminar in Harlem, New York in November.

“I’ve had the great opportunity to speak to some of our youth recently about the importance of having a positive, ‘never-give-up’ attitude,” noted Hall. “Facing adversity head on, standing your ground, and never giving up are three qualities that we have to instill in our youth, as they are our future. We also have to teach them to have compassion and be able to pay things forward.”

UFC has partnered with Make-A-Wish on several events and campaigns, most recently hosting the local Southern Nevada’s World Wish Day event in April. The event, where more than 20 Make-A-Wish kids received their “Ultimate Wish” served as Hall’s introduction to the global program.

Make-A-Wish grants thousands of unique wishes each year. But for every wish granted, another eligible child is waiting for their wish to come true.

Uriah Hall’s donating challenge ends on Tuesday, December 31. To donate to his wish hero page, click here.

The Dutch-born Verhoeven, the 6’6” 260lbs “King of Kickboxing”, has reigned supreme for six years and defeated a who’s who of the greatest kickboxers of all-time. One of the 55 wins on his record is a December 2016 TKO over Hari, but that was the result of an arm injury to Hari and many people felt the fight was not decisive.

The rematch was inevitable and, in the three years since their first fight, a seething dislike has developed between the two biggest and best strikers in the world. 

At a head to head press conference in October, Hari said, “I am looking for legacy. I am looking for eternal glory. I will knock him out.

“Not a lot of people knew Rico before I fought him. Then the Badr Hari wave comes, he jumps on, and then people knew him and he was able to do a lot of big shows (headlining GLORY events) and make some money.

Make sure you tube into UFC Fight Pass to watch the historic rematch!

“I am happy for him. But now it ends. I’m going to show him what his real level of fighting is – and it isn’t great. He is a joke!”

At that, Verhoeven, who is somewhat kickboxing’s version of Georges St-Pierre in that he likes to avoid trash-taking, had finally heard enough.

The 30-year-old giant flat out accused Hari of faking the injury in the first fight once the going got tough in the second round.

“In the first round I was testing his range,” Rico said. “I found his range in about a minute and a half. He hit me with a few jabs – it was no problem. In the second round I began to get more aggressive – and then he quit!”

Rico then turned and looked at this challenger and asked directly: “Which arm was it? You were in the ring saying ‘Oh, it is my right arm… no, no, I hurt my other arm. Which is it I am saying is hurt to get out of the fight? Did I hurt my left or right? I dunno. But I give up!’”

The champion added, “Make sure you come and fight this time!”

On the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Rico went even further, questioning the validity of Hari’s 106-13 (92 KOs) record. “Who knows if many of these fights happened? I looked to find (records) and I couldn’t. There’s no video of these fights, no record. Did they even happen?”

Hari had an answer for the champion this week: “Even the fights that you can find on YouTube, just those, I had more knockouts in the ones you can get on YouTube than Rico has had in his entire career.”

Both men are predicting a knockout when they collide tomorrow.

The fight can be seen in the English-speaking world on UFC FIGHT PASS tomorrow at 12noon PT/3pm ET/9pm CET)

The COLLISION 2 portion of the huge event at the 31,000 sell out GelreDome tops a six hour extravaganza of striking action.

Another world title is on the line as reigning middleweight champion Alex Pereira takes on contender Ertugrul Bayrak.

Brazil’s Alex Pereira – who became GLORY’s first ever champ-champ when the won the interim GLORY light heavyweight title three months ago – is a friend and training partner of UFC legend Anderson Silva.

And Silva believes Pereira is a special talent. He said: “Alex is a great striker, one of the best the world. He’s fast, hits hard and has a lot of creativity with his attacks.

“I got to work with him in the gym closely earlier this year. The sparring was a great test of our martial arts skills. I showed him a few tricks I learned in my career, and he showed me some different things he uses in kickboxing.

“We’re both martial arts fans and love striking. I think he will do more great things in GLORY.”

Full line up tomorrow:

GLORY: COLLISION 2 (3pm ET/9pm CET)

GLORY Heavyweight Championship: Rico Verhoeven vs. Badr Hari

Light Heavyweight Bout: Luis Tavares vs. Stéphane Susperregui

Lightweight Bout: Mohammed Jaraya vs. Massaro Glunder

Featherweight Bout: Zakaria Zouggary vs. Asa Ten Pow

GLORY 74 ARNHEM (1pm ET/7pm CET)

GLORY Middleweight Championship: Alex Pereira vs. Ertugrul Bayrak

Featherweight Bout: Serhii Adamchuk vs. Aleksei Ulianov

Light Heavyweight Bout: Michael Duut vs. Ariel Machado

Lightweight Bout: Itay Gershon vs. Zhaoyang Li

GLORY 74 SUPERFIGHT SERIES (11pm ET/5pm CET)

Heavyweight Bout: Jahfarr Wilnis vs. Antonio Plazibat

Middleweight Bout: Donovan Wisse vs. Cesar Almeida

Heavyweight Bout: Cihad Kepenek vs. Nordine Mahieddine

Middleweight Bout: Kevin van Heeckeren vs. Ulric Bokeme

Super-Bantamweight Bout: Yi Xu vs. Rebekah Irwin