| 2021 in UFC | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Information | ||||
| First date | January 16, 2021 (2021-01-16) | |||
| Last date | December 18, 2021 (2021-12-18) | |||
| Events | ||||
| Total events | 43 | |||
| UFC | 13 | |||
| TUF Finale events | 1 | |||
| Fights | ||||
| Total fights | 509 | |||
| Title fights | 19 | |||
| Chronology | ||||
| ||||
The year2021 was the 29th year in the history of theUltimate Fighting Championship (UFC), amixed martial arts promotion based in the United States.
Starting in 2019, the UFC created year-end awards with "UFC Honors President's Choice Awards" for categories "Performance of the Year" and "Fight of the Year" being chosen by UFC CEODana White. The other "UFC Honors Fan Choice Awards" are for categories "Knockout of the Year", "Submission of the Year", "Event of the Year", "Comeback of the Year" and, from 2020, "Debut of the Year" in which fans are able to vote for the winner on social media.[1]
Winners receive a trophy commemorating their achievement along with a set of tires from sponsorToyo Tires.[2]
These fighters have either been released from their UFC contracts, announced their retirement or joined other promotions:
The following fighters fought their first UFC fight in 2021:
The list below is based on fighters suspended either by (1)United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) orWorld Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for violation of taking prohibited substances or non-analytical incidents, (2) by local commissions on misconduct during the fights or at event venues, or (3) by the UFC for reasons also stated below.
| ISO | Name | Nickname | Division | From | Duration | Tested positive for / Info | By | Eligible to fight again | Ref. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | T.J. Dillashaw | Bantamweight | Jan 18, 2019 | 1 year (NYSAC) 2 years (USADA) | Erythropoietin (EPO). | NYSAC andUSADA | Jan 18, 2021 | [87] [88] | ||
 | Michel Prazeres | Welterweight | Mar 9, 2019 | 2 years | Exogenousboldenone and its metabolite 5β-androst-1-en-17β-ol-3-one. | USADA | Mar 9, 2021 | [89] | ||
| Bruno Silva | Blindado | Middleweight | Jun 14, 2019 | 2 years | Boldenone and its metabolite. | USADA | Jun 14, 2021 | [90] | |
| Giacomo Lemos | Heavyweight | Jul 9, 2019 | 2 years | Drostanolone and its metabolite 2α-methyl-5α-androstan-3α-ol-17-one. | USADA | Jul 9, 2021 | [91] | ||
| Istela Nunes | Women's Strawweight | Jul 22, 2019 | 2 years | Stanozolol metabolites 16β-hydroxystanozolol and 3′-hydroxystanozolol. | USADA | Jul 22, 2021 | [92] | ||
| Raphael Pessoa | Bebezão | Heavyweight | Mar 4, 2020 | 1 year | hydrochlorothiazide and its metaboliteschlorothiazide and 4-amino-6-chloro-1,3-benzenedisulfonamide | USADA | Mar 4, 2021 | [93] | |
| Chase Sherman | The Vanilla Gorilla | Heavyweight | May 13, 2020 | 9 months | Anastrozole | USADA | Feb 13, 2021 | [94] | |
 | Aleksander Doskalchuk | Flyweight | Jun 6, 2020 | 14 months | Mesterolone. | USADA | Aug 6, 2021 | [95] | ||
 | Marc-Andre Barriault | Power Bar | Middleweight | Jul 21, 2020 | 6 months | Ostarine | USADA | Jan 21, 2021 | [96] | |
| Jesse Ronson | The Body Snatcher | Welterweight | Jul 22, 2020 | 20 months | Metandienone | USADA | Mar 22, 2022 | [97] | |
 | Jorge Gonzalez | George St. | Light Heavyweight | Aug 5, 2020 | 2 years | Stanozolol metabolites,drostanolone metabolite andtamoxifen metabolite. | USADA | Aug 5, 2022 | [98] | |
 | Abu Azaitar | Gladiator | Middleweight | Aug 25, 2020 | 7 months | tamoxifen and/or tamoxifen metabolite 3-hydroxy-4-methoxy-tamoxifen | USADA | Mar 25, 2021 | [99] | |
| Yair Rodríguez | El Pantera | Featherweight | Sep 8, 2020 | 6 months | 3 Whereabouts Failures in Last Year | USADA | Mar 8, 2021 | [100] | |
| Kevin Croom | The Hard Hitting Hillbilly | Lightweight | Sep 19, 2020 | 4 1/2 months | Marijuana | NSAC | Jan 26, 2021 | [101] | With addition of $1,800 fine |
| Niko Price | The Hybrid | Welterweight | Sep 19, 2020 | 6 months | Marijuana | NSAC | Mar 19, 2021 | [102] | With addition of $8,500 fine |
 | Oskar Piechota | Imadło | Middleweight | Sep 25, 2020 | 22 months | Growth hormone releasing peptide 2 (GHRP-2 or pralmorelin) and GHRP-2 (1-3) free acid, a metabolite of GHRP-2, | USADA | Jul 25, 2022 | [103] | |
| Charlie Ontiveros | The American Badboy | Welterweight | Oct 30, 2020 | 6 months | Chlorodehydromethyltestosterone metabolites | NSAC | Apr 30, 2021 | [104] | With addition of $2,245.36 |
| Raquel Pennington | Rocky | Women's Bantamweight | Nov 7, 2020 | 6 months | 7-Keto-DHEA andAOD-9064 | USADA | May 7, 2021 | [105] | Self-reporting doping violation when she found out she had ingested banned substances prescribed by her doctor to help treat a medical condition |
 | Liliya Shakirova | Women's Flyweight | Dec 5, 2020 | 2 years | Meldonium | USADA | Dec 5, 2022 | [106] | ||
| Geraldo de Freitas | Spartan | Bantamweight | Jan 11, 2021 | 2 years | Exogenous administration of testosterone and/or its precursors | USADA | Jan 11, 2023 | [107] | |
| Raphael Pessoa | Bebezão | Heavyweight | Feb 9, 2021 | 2 years | 7-Keto-DHEA andAOD-9064Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) and its metabolitesChlorothiazide and 4-amino-6-chloro-1,3-benzenedisulfonamide (ACB) | USADA | Feb 9, 2023 | [108] | Second USADA violation. Results collected from out-of-competition on February 9, 2021, February 15, 2021, February 16, 2021, and March 4, 2021. Ressoa also evaded sample collection on January 25, 2021, and January 28, 2021. |
| Rogério Bontorin | Bantamweight | May 1, 2021 | 3 months | Hydrochlorothiazide | USADA | Aug 1, 2021 | [109] | ||
 | Juancamilo Ronderos | 100 | Flyweight | May 22, 2021 | 1 month | Cocaine and its metabolitebenzoylecgonine | USADA | June 22, 2021 | [110] | |
| Chris Barnett | Huggy Bear/Beastboy | Heavyweight | May 22, 2021 | 4 1/2 months | Marijuana | NSAC | Oct 26, 2021 | [111] | |
| Daniel Pineda | The Pit | Featherweight | June 26, 2021 | 9 months | Amphetamine | NSAC | Mar 26, 2022 | [111] | |
| Rodrigo Nascimento | Yogi Bear | Heavyweight | July 17, 2021 | 6 months | Ritalinic acid | NSAC | Jan 17, 2022 | [111] | |
| Ryan Benoit | Baby Face | Flyweight | July 31, 2021 | 9 months | Modafinil | NSAC | April 1, 2022 | [112] | |
| Michel Prazeres | Tractor | Welterweight | Aug 27, 2021 | 4 years | Clomiphene,Oxandrolone metabolites, and theExogenous administration of testosterone and/or its precursors | NSAC | Aug 27, 2025 | [113] | Second USADA violation |
| Kevin Lee | The Motown Phenom | Welterweight | Aug 28, 2021 | 6 months | Adderall | NSAC | Feb 28, 2022 | [114] | $19,526 Fine |
| Josh Quinlan | The Maverick | Welterweight | Sep 7, 2021 | 9 months | Drostanolone | NSAC | June 7, 2022 | [115] | |
| Łukasz Brzeski | The Bull | Heavyweight | Sep 14, 2021 | 9 months | Clomiphene | NSAC | June 14, 2022 | [116] | $750 Fine |
| Carlos Felipe | Boi | Heavyweight | Oct 16, 2021 | 18 months | Boldenone and its metabolites | NSAC | Apr 16, 2023 | [117] | $4,200 fine and $489 in prosecution fees |
 | Zviad Lazishvili | Bantamweight | Oct 23, 2021 | 9 months | Clomiphene | NSAC | July 24, 2022 | [118] | $1,800 fine and $326 in prosecution fees |
The followingThe Ultimate Fighter seasons are scheduled for broadcast in 2021:
| Season | Division | Winner | Runner-up | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Ultimate Fighter 29 | Middleweight | Bryan Battle | Gilbert Urbina | [119] |
| Bantamweight | Ricky Turcios | Brady Hiestand | [120] |
| Title fights in 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Event | Notes | |||
| Welterweight | Kamaru Usman (c) | def. | Gilbert Burns | TKO (punches) | 3 | 0:34 | UFC 258 | [a] |
| Bantamweight | Aljamain Sterling | def. | Petr Yan (c) | DQ (illegal knee) | 4 | 4:29 | UFC 259 | [b] |
| Women's Featherweight | Amanda Nunes (c) | def. | Megan Anderson | Submission (triangle armbar) | 1 | 2:03 | UFC 259 | [c] |
| Light Heavyweight | Jan Błachowicz (c) | def. | Israel Adesanya | Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 49–45, 49–45) | 5 | 5:00 | UFC 259 | [d] |
| Heavyweight | Francis Ngannou | def. | Stipe Miocic (c) | KO (punch) | 2 | 0:52 | UFC 260 | [e] |
| Women's Flyweight | Valentina Shevchenko (c) | def. | Jessica Andrade | TKO (elbows) | 2 | 3:19 | UFC 261 | [f] |
| Women's Strawweight | Rose Namajunas | def. | Zhang Weili (c) | KO (head kick) | 1 | 1:18 | UFC 261 | [g] |
| Welterweight | Kamaru Usman (c) | def. | Jorge Masvidal | KO (punch) | 2 | 1:02 | UFC 261 | [h] |
| Lightweight | Charles Oliveira | def. | Michael Chandler | TKO (punches) | 2 | 0:19 | UFC 262 | [i] |
| Flyweight | Brandon Moreno | def. | Deiveson Figueiredo (c) | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 3 | 2:26 | UFC 263 | [j] |
| Middleweight | Israel Adesanya (c) | def. | Marvin Vettori | Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 50–45, 50–45) | 5 | 5:00 | UFC 263 | [k] |
| Heavyweight | Ciryl Gane | def. | Derrick Lewis | TKO (punches) | 3 | 4:11 | UFC 265 | [l] |
| Women's Flyweight | Valentina Shevchenko (c) | def. | Lauren Murphy | TKO (punches and elbows) | 4 | 4:00 | UFC 266 | [m] |
| Featherweight | Alexander Volkanovski (c) | def. | Brian Ortega | Decision (unanimous)(49–46, 50–45, 50–44) | 5 | 5:00 | UFC 266 | [n] |
| Bantamweight | Petr Yan | def. | Cory Sandhagen | Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 49–46, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | UFC 267 | [o] |
| Light Heavyweight | Glover Teixeira | def. | Jan Błachowicz (c) | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 3:02 | UFC 267 | [p] |
| Women's Strawweight | Rose Namajunas (c) | def. | Zhang Weili | Decision (split) (47–48, 48–47, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | UFC 268 | [q] |
| Welterweight | Kamaru Usman (c) | def. | Colby Covington | Decision (unanimous) (48–47, 48–47, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | UFC 268 | [r] |
| Women's Bantamweight | Julianna Peña | def. | Amanda Nunes (c) | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 3:26 | UFC 269 | [s] |
| Lightweight | Charles Oliveira (c) | def. | Dustin Poirier | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 3 | 1:02 | UFC 269 | [t] |
| By year |  | |
|---|---|---|
| General info | ||
| Executives |
| |
| Lists | ||
