UFC 2023 Rewind! One Memorable (Or Forgotten) Moment From Every Single Card, Pt. 4

With 43 total Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events throughout 2023 — on top of all of the other promotions such as Bellator MMA, Professional Fighter’s League (PFL), ONE Championship and Bareknuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) — combat sports fans have probably forgotten about many of the wild moments that happened throughout the year.

From knockouts, post-fight interviews to funny in-cage spots, or maybe you’re a hardcore mixed martial arts (MMA) freak and remember everything.

Well, either way, we got you covered.

In part four (our final installment) of UFC 2023 “Rewind,” which runs from Noche UFC (Sept. 16, 2023) through UFC 296 (Dec. 16, 2023), we look back at some of the most memorable moments from that specific event timeline, including a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)-inspired callback, Alex Pereira making UFC “dual champion” history, Donald Trump’s favorite fighter getting cooked to the bone and so much more.

PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE | PART FOUR

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Noche UFC: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2

Sept. 16, 2023
Las Vegas, Nevada
Full results

Noche UFC was a special night because UFC finally celebrated Mexican Independence Day (in 2024, it is headed to The Sphere in Las Vegas).

Charlie Campbell made his UFC debut on the “Prelims” undercard, spoiling Alex Reyes’ long-awaited return after a six-year layoff via first round knockout (watch it). In his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier, Campbell tripped up “DC” with a quote from former WWE super star, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Corny or nah?

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UFC Vegas 79: Fiziev vs. Gamrot

Sept. 23, 2023
UFC Apex, Las Vegas
Full Results

In one of the most pointless rematches of 2023 (perhaps ever), Marina Rodriguez battered Michelle Waterson-Gomez for two rounds, leaving her a bloody mess for no reason whatsoever.

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UFC Vegas 80: Dawson vs. Green

Oct. 7, 2023
UFC Apex, Las Vegas
Full results

Drew Dober set the record for the most knockouts in Lightweight history (nine) at UFC Vegas 80, finishing Ricky Glenn in the first round.

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UFC Vegas 81: Yusuff vs. Barboza

Oct. 14, 2023
UFC Apex, Las Vegas
Full results

Michel Pereira made his Middleweight debut against Andre Petroski … and he impressed by knocking out Petroski in just 66 seconds.

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UFC 294: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2

Oct. 21, 2023
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Full results

On UFC 294’s “Prelims” undercard, Mike Breeden brought the dog out himself, literally, by barking at Anshul Jubli and then ended up knocking him out in the third round in a truly memorable comeback performance.

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UFC Sao Paulo: Almeida vs. Lewis

Nov. 4, 2023
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Full results

Elves Brener had an excellent 2023 and could easily be up for “Rookie of the Year.” At UFC Sao Paulo, he face-planted Contender Series contract winner, Kaynan Kruschewsky, in the first round.

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UFC 295: Prochazka vs. Pereira

Nov. 11, 2023
New York City, NY
Full results

UFC’s 30th Anniversary card was weak on paper, but it turned out to be pretty awesome. The pay-per-view (PPV) main card was all brutal finishes, including French madman — “God of War” Benoit Saint-Denis — crushing Matt Frevola with a head kick.

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UFC Vegas 82: Allen vs. Craig

Nov. 18, 2023
UFC Apex, Las Vegas
Full results

In UFC Vegas 82’s “Prelims” headliner, a sequence of events happened that is sooo MMA. Jonathan Pearce was on top of Joanderson Brito, and after Pearce told the referee he was getting hit in the back of the head, he told Brito to, “get up and do something.” Well, Brito did just that and ended up tapping Pearce seconds later, snapping “JSP’s” five-fight win streak.

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UFC Austin: Dariush vs. Tsarukyan

Dec. 2, 2023
Austin, Texas
Full results

My personal favorite UFC fight card of the year was VIOLENT. There’s no way not to mention the two slam knockouts that ended up being back-to-back.

I’ll spotlight Cody Brundage’s slam knockout because he needed a win badly, and he was a +200 underdog to a UFC newcomer, Zach Reese, who holds a 100 percent finish rate.

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UFC Vegas 83

Dec. 9, 2023
UFC Apex, Las Vegas
Full results

The final UFC Apex event of 2023 was … blah.

Anywho, Khalil Rountree knocked out Anthony Smith in the co-main event … and it was brutal.

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UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington

Dec. 16, 2023
Las Vegas, Nevada
Full results

Let’s end this four-part series with UFC’s “Knockout of the Year” in my eyes: Josh Emmett vs. Bryce Mitchell.

Emmett sent Mitchell to shadow realm in less than two minutes in one of the most brutal knockouts you will ever see to open up a UFC PPV main card.

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