Israel Adesanya’s standing as the seemingly unanimous “Breakthrough Fighter of 2018” highlights just how important outside-of-the-Octagon elements are when it comes to gaining recognition and claiming a share of the spotlight in this sport.

Adesanya had a tremendous year, debuting in February with a win over Rob Wilkinson, adding decision victories over Marvin Vettori (on FOX) and Brad Tavares (in an FS1 main event) before closing out his rookie season in the Octagon with a first-round stoppage win over Derek Brunson in the opening bout of this year’s annual trip to Madison Square Garden.

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Along the way, “The Last Stylebender” became a fountain of fabulous quotes and post-fight promos and showcased the kind of unwavering self-belief and swagger that helped make Conor McGregor a massive star as he rose through the featherweight ranks on his way to winning his first UFC belt. Adesanya became a fan favorite and the latest new arrival to be crown “The Next UFC Superstar” by everyone — fans, media, the promotion itself — and coupled with his string of strong outings, it made him a recognizable and oft-discussed figure within the MMA community before his one-year anniversary on the roster had arrived.

But as great as the former kickboxing standout was in 2018 — and he was outstanding — there were others fighters who turned in equally or perhaps more impressive efforts in the Octagon over the last 12 months who haven’t received the same level of recognition for their efforts because they simply don’t receive the same amount of attention as Adesanya.

After his thrilling second-round stoppage win over Chad Mendes at UFC 232, I tweeted that Alexander Volkanovski had a better year in terms of whom he’d beaten and how than his friend and occasional training partner at City Kickboxing in Auckland, Adesanya.

While he made his promotional debut two years prior, the former rugby man went 3-0 in 2018, bouncing Jeremy Kennedy from the ranks of the unbeaten with a second-round stoppage win at UFC 221 before putting a hurting on Top 15 fixture Darren Elkins, who entered on a six-fight winning streak, in July. Then, he closed out his year by adding a finish over a two-time title challenger who had only previously lost to Jose Aldo, Conor McGregor and Frankie Edgar.

Anthony Smith started the year as a middleweight journeyman, losing a thrilling battle with Thiago Santos, but spent the second half of 2018 establishing himself as an exciting new addition to the light heavyweight division. While wins over Rashad Evans and Shogun Rua don’t carry as much weight as they did in previous years, Smith ran through both with ease and then closed out his four-fight 2018 with a submission win over Volkan Oezdemir, who kicked off the year fighting for the light heavyweight title.

Santos deserves some recognition as well, having posted a 4-1 record including his win over Smith and a second-round knockout of Jimi Manuwa at UFC 231.

Recent TUF winner Tatiana Suarez had a tremendous year as well. She made quick work of former divisional darling Alexa Grasso in May and then followed it up by dominating former champion Carla Esparza at UFC 228 in Dallas.

But none of those athletes have received the same kind of opportunities and exposure that Adesanya has garnered over the last 12 months. So while the charismatic middleweight is already being talked about as a future title contender, current title contenders like Volkanovski, Smith and Suarez — all of whom beat higher ranked, more accomplished opponents in 2018 than Adesanya — make up the “Honorable Mentions” and “Others Receiving Votes” contingent.

Some of that certainly falls on the athletes themselves, as the last several years have shown the importance of self-promotion and taking advantage of every opportunity one has when there is a camera and microphone in their face. However, not everyone is as charismatic, engaging or comfortable spitting bars as Adesanya, who operates with a cool ease that few can match, and they shouldn’t get overshadowed simply because they’re less bombastic and loquacious.

The UFC needs to put a greater emphasis on showcasing those less talkative, but clearly skilled competitors who are rising up the rankings and posting impressive performances, rather than directing tremendous amounts of energy and attention towards more media savvy, but less accomplished athletes.

That includes putting those athletes in positions where they will receive maximum exposure and including them in shoulder programming for events as frequently as possible. Adesanya benefitted tremendously by going from fighting a FOX main card to headlining against Tavares on FS1 and then being on one of the biggest pay-per-view events of the year, where he was featured in the Embedded series as well.

Suarez got a little bit of a showcase on Embedded in advance of her fight with Esparza, but their fight was also stationed on the prelims, while another one of this year’s “anointed talents,” Zabit Magomedsharipov, fought on the main card against a late replacement opponent.

And some of this falls on the media too, as we tend to get caught up in narratives and talking about only a select group of fighters.

Because there is always another event on the horizon, standout performances get lost in the shuffle and athletes get pushed into the background, while others who are less accomplished, but carry a greater amount of buzz, garner more much attention.

Magomedsharipov is a great example of this.

While no one debates his upside, the mop-topped featherweight has yet to face a ranked opponent. In fact, the four men he’s bested inside the Octagon have a combined UFC record of 5-11, but he still received more coverage and attention than Volkanovski throughout the year.

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It’s no different than Mike Perry getting gobs of attention while having actually accomplished very little in the Octagon, while someone like Leon Edwards, who beat Donald Cerrone handily in a main event assignment earlier this year and has won six straight, gets little to no recognition whatsoever.

There is an imbalance in terms of how we look at and rate fighters and it’s becoming increasingly too focused on personality and media push, rather than performance.

Adesanya is the total package and had a tremendous year, but there were many others who did more in the cage, but received far less attention who should not be overlooked or forgotten simply because they don’t have as much flash as “The Last Stylebender,” because honestly, not many fighters do.