Best fighter each weight class+last shooting star prediction

Editorial by Sixty Nine

It seems like nobody else is making 2022 award voting and I get that there are still a lot of important fights on New Year’s Eve, so I’m going to say who I think are the most dominant fighters this year from each weight class. 

135 lbs. Pablo de geno 15-0 in 2022

(soon to be 16-0 after he KOs Valen Dreth on New Year’s Eve) Yes of course De Geno is the best 2022 midgetweight fighter. He hasn’t lost this year and give me one reason why Valen Dreth will beat him on Saturday. It’s true that he just joined syn’ but with 2 TKO’s against reigning champ Detkhunjon Sitsongrit in a row, I think De Geno has proved himself enough. 
 

145 lbs. Chamuaknoi Sitsongrit 12-1 in 2022

You’re probably thinking this is an outrage! This stupid person thinks that chamuaknoi is better than Petchaunglek! Tell me how many fights Petchaunglek has at 145 this year. 3. He has three fights and it’s true, they were his last three and it seems like he’s transitioning to the 145 weight class, but three wins this year isn’t enough proof to make him the best. Tell me, who would win, chamuaknoi or Petchaunglek. Nobody, because they have the same manager!  Seriously, somebody tell me if one of your fighters has ever fought another one of your fighters. It doesn’t happen, especially with 2 big name fighters. 
 

155 lbs. Rod De Minaur 13-1 in 2022

Rod de Minaur is one of the best fighters in the game, and the next two up, jubei akechi, who is too scared to go to syn’ and is just relaxing at Gamma, could not beat him. Mista Ispa has already proven he can’t beat De Minaur and probably will lose again on New Year’s Eve. 
 

170 lbs. Raate Road 13-2-1 in 2022

this was tough between Summa Sector and Ratte Road, who are both great fighters from the same manager. Raate is going against Joe Exotic, number 2 p4p, at 185, which is strange because Raate has never fought at 185, let alone against the champ of 185. He will probably get KO’d back to 170 where maybe he still is the champ of 2022. Seriously, this could go either way. Maybe tomorrow I’ll look back at this and think Summa is the best 170 fighter. But at least I won’t upset their manager with my decision because they have the same one!

185 lbs. Joe Exotic 11-1-1 in 2022

Joe is the obvious choice here because he SHOULD beat Raate Road fighting out of his weight class. He’s beaten anyone else you can consider for this EXCEPT chip nickel, who he really needs to fight to solidify his place as the 185 champ.

205 lbs. Mohammed Kahn????????

This division is stacked so this was VERY tough as is came down to 13-5-1 Joosep Lohmus, 13-2 Mohammed Kahn, who seems like the obvious choice except that both his losses came from Joosep, which makes this confusing. There’s also 15-0 torhte Finlayson who fights at highland and has never fought the other guys on the list so I’m going to discount him. Then there was Baldyr Torsten, who was in the top 10 until Mike Okafor upset him. After that tough loss, he probably can’t win this either. But Okafor himself, 14-1-1, has a chance at this BUT he just joined syn’ and even though he had a long winning streak and has the syn’ belt I think Montak Garuda might give him a run for his money this week. 10-6 Garuda is good but has so many losses he can’t contend for this award. I think his age is catching up with him. I really can’t decide somebody make a poll to decide who wins this award because I have no clue how to make a poll. 
 

265 lbs. Leif Leifsson 13-3 in 2022

Let’s be honest only 2 people could win this, Kilo or Leif and if Leif didn’t just beat Kilo I probably would give it to him. 16-5 Kilo has avenged pretty much every loss in his career and it’s still tough to decide this because at this point in kilos career he’s just having fun and fighting as often as possible because he loves it. And THATS why kilos one of the best of all time. Leif has been better this year but if you’re comparing careers it Kilo, no contest.

265+ lbs. Zabhit Lovanov 12-1 in 2022

Some people might say Karim is no. 1 here but come on, he’s 12-4, just lost the trilogy to Maluga and already lost to Lovanov this year. “Carnage” might get the nod as best fighter is this class if he beats Lovanov on new years. This fight is definitely the best non syn’ fight on New Year’s Eve. 
 

If you have any different opinions feels free to write them below.

First up Steve vs. Puno

Puno is younger, more energetic and definitely has the stuff to go as far as his ancestors but he’s just not experienced enough to beat Steve. This may be Steve’s last fight and I think he’ll go out with a bang. Steve by  TKO in round 4. 
 

Second Todd vs. Bird

Both of these fighters have a history of being humiliated by Joe Exotic. Number 1 p4p Winston Todd was on a 16 fight winning streak and looked unbeatable until the rising tiger king joe exotic dethroned him and then added salt to the wound by fighting him again and winning again. Todd’s legacy went out the door, just like that and he must have and grudge but winning this fight might make ANOTHER rematch possible. Bird hasn’t done well in his last few fights and that should carry over today. Bird doesn’t get KO’d easily so I think Todd by decision. 
 

Next our last non title fight Maluga vs. CDB

Maluga has the clear edge here but he is aging and anything could happen. He lost his only fight to Maluga by KO and it seems he loses almost every fight by KO. And to make it worse, all that Maluga does is KO. All 48 victories by KO so I think it makes a lot of sense for me to say Maluga by KO in round 2.

Our first title fight is Petchaunglek Sitsongrit vs. Darren Dixon

Darren Dixon is a very accomplished fighter but Petchaunglek is younger and has more energy and frankly, just knows how to win. Sitsongrit is great at just fighting better and doesn’t have to KO because he can drag the fight out and get the decision win. So I think it will be Petchaunglek by decision.

For the bantamweight title Pablo De Geno vs. Valen Dreth

Dreth has a real shot because he doesn’t get knocked out easily and that’s what De Geno does best. He also can make you submit if he wants and that seems to be the only way to beat De Geno. But if De Geno manages to not submit he could win this. I think De Geno will hold on and win by decision. 

Okafor vs. Garuda

In this fight I think that Okafor will dance around Garuda and will toy with him to tire him out and look for a KO opportunity because Okafor has good power but if he doesn’t see any opportunity’s he can let it go to the decision and win there. Garudas age will make it hard to keep up with Okafor. I’m going with Okafor by KO in round 5 when Garuda gets tired.

Then theres Sector vs. Benedetti

Summa Sector is ranked 3 p4p and he is the favorite for sure. 3 months ago Summa lost to Benedetti but avenged that loss 2 months later. Now this rubber match will decide if benedetti can climb back into the top 10. Summa sector usually wins by TKO which Benedetti usually avoids but Summa did KO him last fight so we’ll have to see. For Benedetti to win he needs to avoid getting knocked out and take the fight to the decision, where summa usually loses. I think Benedetti can win the rubber match by decision and cement himself as a great fighter.

Then there’s De minaur vs. Perkeke

De Minaur is ranked 4 p4p and he has proven a lot, and he has beaten Ispa before but since that bout Ispa has captured the syn’ belt. Can De Minaur win again and finally get his hands on that belt? I think he will and De Minaur will win by KO in round 5. 

Leifsson vs. White

After leifsson beat Maluga for the 3rd time, he cemented his legacy as one of the best of the best. But Barron white may have other plans for The Viking. Looking to break into the top 20 p4p or even top 10 for the first time in his career, white looks to claim his first career syn’ belt and maybe become a household name in the MMA conversation. Both fighters win almost every fight by KO and lose almost every fight by KO. You know what they say, live by the punch, die by the punch. But I think leifsson will live by it here with him KOing white in round 4. 
 

Lastly our most hyped matchup…

Joe Exotic vs. Raate Road

This is a good one between 2 stars of the MMA with no. 2 p4p vs. no.8 p4p. But Raate may be fighting out of his league here as he is certainly fighting out of his typical weight class. This fight will take place at 185, something Raate has never done as he usually stays at 170. This is Raate’s first fight in the big leagues, where he looks to make a good impression. But will his skills make up for the weight difference? I think not. Exotic by decision. 

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