2023 MMA Recap: Year of Upsets and PFL-Bellator’s Major Merger

 While UFC 296, the final major MMA event of 2023, was a snoozer of an event, it hardly represented what was another thrilling year for MMA. From the UFC to the PFL, we saw wins that shook up the odds. But the result nobody saw coming was the merger between PFL and Bellator. How will this impact the MMA landscape? Our 2023 MMA recap breaks this own along with the biggest fights from a betting perspective.

The Biggest MMA News of 2023: PFL Snags Bellator

Unless you’re a hardcore fan just glued to the X feed looking for MMA news, the PFL-Bellator merger caught you off guard. In short: PFL, the Professional Fighters League, bought Bellator. Reportedly, they did not even pay cash but paid in stock. It only cost them less than $100 million.

With this “merger”, the door opens for plenty of “superfights” as PFL’s spokespeople have already hinted at pitting each promotion’s champions against each other. But this is for next year. Expect MMA odds for 2024 to feature these fights.

This move excites MMA fans as the combined rosters of PFL and Bellator may rival the UFC’s. Still, the MMA’s leading promoter dominates the headlines. And in 2023, upsets were one of the biggest storylines for the UFC and the return of a legend.

New Champions, Upsets are So Hot Right Now

In 2023, we saw 11 MMA fighters crowned as new UFC champions. This includes interim champs like Yair Rodriguez and Tom Aspinall. Jon Jones, widely regarded as the “GOAT” (greatest of all time) also returned from his three-year hiatus to become the eighth UFC fighter to win titles in two MMA weight divisions. Not long after, Alex Pereira captured Jones’s old title at 205 pounds to become the ninth two-division champ.

Jones and Pereira were not the only ones who made UFC history. Alexa Grasso became the first Mexican women’s champion when she submitted long-time queen, Valentina Shevchenko. The win was also one of 2023’s biggest upsets. Grasso was as long as +750 to win while a submission victory was 26-1.

Other title fight upsets include Sean O’Malley over Aljamain Sterling at +235 and Sean Strickland over Israel Adesanya at +540. O’Malley knocked Sterling out to capture the bantamweight title while Strickland shocked Adesanya after the latter had just recaptured the belt from his archnemesis, Pereira.

But the biggest UFC upsets may have taken place outside of title fights. Dricus du Plessis, who is now the number-one contender for Strickland’s title, got his shot by finishing Robert Whittaker as a +300 underdog. Meanwhile, Elves Brenner and Irina Alekseeva won their bouts at +550 and +400, respectively.

The Biggest Upsets Outside of the UFC

We’re not doing this 2023 MMA recap justice if we’re just focusing on the UFC. Some of the most notable upsets took place outside of the promotion. We don’t have to look too far back with Bellator.

Jason Jackson won the welterweight title and ended Yaroslav Amosov’s unbeaten record in Bellator’s final event before the merger. He was a +350 underdog. But the biggest upset, perhaps in all of MMA this year, was one few people noticed: Jeff Creighton over Joey Davis in the Bellator 293 prelims in March.

Davis, a bluechip wrestling prospect, was supposed to run over the little-known Creighton. Instead, the +850 underdog won a split decision. Based on the oddsmaker records, this is the biggest upset in Bellator history.

For PFL, there were many notable upsets. But we’ll focus on one fighter: Jesus Pinedo. The Peruvian put together not one, not two, but three upsets en route to winning the PFL featherweight tournament this 2023. He started by beating last year’s champion, Brendan Loughnane as a +375 underdog. He then beat Bubba Jenkins at +300 and capped it off by avenging his loss to Gabriel Braga at +150.

Russians Reign Supreme

And finally, instead of simply crowning one “Fighter of the Year”, we’re going to award the Russians as the best fighters of 2023, collectively. From Islam Makhachev to Magomed Magomedkerimov, these fighters dominated the year and helped bettors make easy coin in their MMA fight nights.

Makhachev defeated Alexander Volkanovski in the UFC’s biggest fight of 2023: the “champion vs champion” bout to decide the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He edged this one early in the year then put a cap on it by head-kicking and knocking out Volkanovski in the rematch in October.

Magomedkerimov, on the other hand, went 4-0 in PFL and captured his second welterweight title. He also earned three finishes in the process.

Usman Nurmagomedov also went 2-0 in Bellator with two dominant showings. He did get popped for a banned substance and was stripped of his belt. But whether he’s “cheating” or not, he deserves a mention in this 2023 MMA recap.

For more MMA news, analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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