I watched UFC 222 and felt like it was one great big, living edition of this column – an event where throughout the evening, new talents made the most of their time in the spotlight and a handful of new stars started to emerge.
Jordan Johnson remained unbeaten and Cody Stamann toppled a Top 10 fighter on UFC FIGHT PASS. Alexander Hernandez blitzed a standout lightweight in his promotional debut and Mackenzie Dern arrived in the Octagon for the first time. Ketlen Vieira asserted herself as one of the top contenders in the women’s bantamweight division, “The Sugar Show” continued to draw rave reviews and Brian Ortega delivered a breakthrough effort in the biggest fight of his career.