The 20 Best UFC Fights of All Time

Date: December 29, 2007, UFC 79
Title: N/A
Result: Liddell, UD
For years, these two champions were considered some of the best 205-pound fighters in Pride and the UFC, respectively. But they never got the chance to face each other until years later, when they were past their primes. It didn't matter. Their striking war proved to be one of the best three-round fights the UFC has ever seen.

In the first round, Liddell used his significant reach advantage to keep Silva away with the jab and hurt him, forcing the Brazilian to back up. By the second round, however, the fight descended into a beautiful brawl, with both men unloading wild punches. This time Silva was the aggressor and got the better of Liddell, knocking him down near the end of the round. But the American came back with a flurry of punches before the bell rang, cutting Silva and wrestling him to the ground.

The third round saw more blood, more chaos, and more frenetic flurries. Liddell blitzed out from his corner and wrestled Silva to the mat. The Brazilian popped up and the two began circling each other. Halfway through the round, Liddell connected with a spinning back fist, then smashed Silva with hard punches along the cage. The former Pride champ was hurt, but Liddell seemed exhausted and kept looking at the clock. Silva stalked him, hoping for a final burst of offense. No luck. Liddell clinched and landed a takedown with 30 seconds left to seal the decision victory.

Date: December 12, 2020, UFC 256
Title: UFC Flyweight Championship
Result: Draw
No one likes a draw. There's something unsatisfying about seeing two fighters slug it out without either claiming victory. This fight is a clear exception. Figueiredo, the champion from Brazil, had the clear power advantage and the better-credentialed ground game. Moreno, a crafty boxer from Mexico, looked much smaller, and many expected him to get overwhelmed.

Early on, Figueiredo's power was a clear advantage as he stalked Moreno, seemingly throwing every strike with full force. But the Mexican fighter wasn't intimidated. Through the first two rounds, he showed he could grapple with the jiu-jitsu ace and take his best shots.

What changed the bout came late in the third: the Brazilian hit Moreno in the groin, and the referee took a point away. Moreno finished the round with momentum, then rocked the champion in the fourth and nearly finished the fight.

In the fifth, the pace slowed as Figueiredo seemed to regain his energy and Moreno faded due to a shoulder injury. The challenger kept advancing, but the bout ended when the champion tossed him onto his head.

The groin shot ultimately proved significant as the judges scored the bout a majority draw. Moreno showed his doubters that he belonged in the cage with the champion. He went on to beat him in two of their three subsequent rematches, emerging as the overall winner of their tetralogy.

Date: October 19, 2013, UFC 166
Title: N/A
Result: Melendez, UD
Throughout his career, Diego Sanchez was in some unforgettable wars, perhaps most famously his frenetic 2009 Hall of Fame bout against Clay Guida. This one was arguably better. Both fighters hoped it would eventually give them a shot to once again vie for the belt.

Within 30 seconds, Sanchez rushed Melendez—the former WEC and Strikeforce lightweight champ—and took him down. Then he climbed on his back and sunk his hooks in. Melendez reversed Sanchez, dropping him to the ground, and when Diego popped up, Melendez smacked him with hard shots to the body. The former Strikeforce champ clearly had the more fluid strikes, and pieced him up for much of the first round and second. But Sanchez, who won the first season of The Ultimate Fighter at middleweight, seemed possessed. He moved forward with a snarl on his face, his eye dripping blood down his chest.

Needing a knockout, Sanchez charged Melendez in the third round, winging punches. With blood streaming down his face, he taunted his opponent and connected, getting the better of the exchanges. There was so much blood, the ref stopped the fight to examine Sanchez, but allowed them to continue. The crowd erupted, and once again Sanchez pressed forward, windmilling strikes, seemingly not caring about being hit or the blood covering his body.

With under two minutes left, he floored Melendez with an uppercut, then tried to choke him out. After a brief scramble, Melendez slipped away — and the two proceeded to try to decapitate each other until the fight ended. Melendez won by decision. But Sanchez took the round—and again gained the admiration of fighters and fans alike—with his remarkable, crazy performance.

Date: December 10, 2016, UFC 206
Title: N/A
Result: Swanson, UD
Though he'd beaten the likes of Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira, Swanson, 33, had never strung together enough wins for a title shot. Choi, 25, a standout striker from South Korea, was seen as the potential future of the division. He was 14-1 and hadn't lost in more than six years. But Swanson, still an elite contender, didn't appreciate being the underdog. "I was definitely insulted," he recalled.

Swanson fought like it, too. The first round was close, with Choi throwing crisp knees and punches, and Swanson attacking with unorthodox strikes from odd angles. In the second round—perhaps the greatest in MMA history—Swanson was more aggressive, and the pressure worked.

The Palm Springs, California-native hurt Choi with looping punches along the fence. Swanson tried to finish, but Choi stood up, and as they traded bombs, the South Korean walloped him, then unleashed a flurry of his own. Swanson survived by taking Choi to the ground. Moments later they were up and swinging. Swanson applied more pressure, landing a cartwheel kick, a spinning back fist, and several other heavy strikes. Choi took them all and kept coming forward.

The chaos continued into the third with both fighters landing hard overhand rights. Choi eventually dragged Swanson to the mat, but the jiu-jitsu expert quickly reversed him. They rose again, as Swanson tagged Choi with more looping shots, then hip-tossed him back to the canvas. And so it went, back and forth, until both men could barely stand. In the final exchange, Swanson clubbed Choi and put him down with a superman punch. The veteran won by unanimous decision. In 2022, their fight was enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

Date: October 25, 2014, UFC 179
Title: UFC Featherweight Championship
Result: Aldo, UD
Another rematch, another stellar fight. Aldo, then one of the most dominant fighters in the sport, was the champion and hadn't lost a bout in nearly a decade. He'd knocked out Mendes in 2012 and even beat former champion Frankie Edgar. But Mendes had dominated everyone else in the division with his powerful wrestling, and he was determined to hone his striking and avenge his loss.

It was immediately obvious that Mendes had improved dramatically since the first encounter. He came out pressuring the champion, bobbing and weaving and using leg kicks to try and slow down Aldo's power. The two traded hard body shots and leg kicks for 25 fast-paced minutes. Nearly every round was close, but Aldo tended to get the better of him, especially early on. In the first, he knocked Mendes down with a two-punch combo, then pounced on him with strikes. Both rocked each other in the third, and the challenger rebounded in the later rounds, especially the fourth, bruising and bloodying Aldo and putting on a remarkable display of grit and athleticism. Mendes had become a much better fighter, but it still wasn't enough to beat one of the sport's all-time greats. Aldo walked away with a decision victory.

Date: December 2, 2017, UFC 218
Title: N/A
Result: Alvarez, KO (Knee)
When these two top lightweight contenders fought, Gaethje was undefeated and seemingly on the path to a title shot, having just beaten Michael Johnson in a back-and-forth banger. Alvarez, meanwhile, had just been embarrassed by McGregor and lost his title. But the veteran wasn't looking to give up his spot as a leading contender so easily. 

Gaethje came out as he always does, slamming his shins into Alvarez's legs. Over and over again, he connected, until Alvarez seemed to struggle to circle away. He kept pressing forward though, ripping Gaethje to the body. By the end of the round, he had cut the undefeated fighter and seemed to gain the momentum.

He kept it in the beginning of the second, using excellent head movement to evade Gaethje's power shots. But the younger, stronger fighter kept moving forward. Alvarez clearly won the round, but his face looked like he had a golf ball on the inside of his cheek.

In the third, Gaethje continued attacking Alvarez's lead leg, and once again the ex-champion was struggling to move. It got so bad, he even tried to pull guard. The ref forced him to stand, and again Gaethje targeted the leg and landed solid uppercuts. "The Underground King" seemed to be losing the round (and possibly the fight). Late in the third, Gaethje wobbled him, but Alvarez responded, landing a knee to his opponent's face that ended the fight with roughly a minute left.

Date: May 9, 2026, UFC 328
Title: UFC Flyweight Championship
Result: Van, TKO (Kick, punches)
While most of the hype at UFC 328 was over Sean Strickland's upset of Khamzat Chimaev, it was this contemporary classic that was the best fight on the card. Van had won the belt due to a freak injury to longtime 125-pound champ Alexandre Pantoja. And while his boxing is considered to be among the best in MMA, people questioned whether he could deal with Taira on the ground.

Van proved that he could. The bigger, taller Japanese grappler took him down with ease and mounted him in the first round. But Van stayed calm and was able to stand back up without getting hurt. The pattern repeated in the second. That is, until late in the round, when the young boxer clocked Taira with a hard right that bounced his head off the canvas.

Van’s momentum carried him into the third as he blasted Taira with power shots and nearly submitted him with a rear naked choke. But Taira rallied in the fourth and again took Van to the ground, winning the round on two of the three judges' scorecards. It easily could have been tied going into the fifth, and that's when the champion finally finished off Taira with strikes to retain his title. It was a legendary performance that augured big things for the young UFC champion.

Date: May 15, 2021, UFC 262
Title: UFC Lightweight Championship
Result: Oliveira, TKO (Punches)
After Khabib Nurmagomedov retired, these two clashed for the vacant lightweight title, and fight fans were eager to watch. Chandler was a former Bellator champ known for his power and willingness to brawl, even when it wasn't in his best interest. Oliveira was a submission specialist, whose improved striking and astounding ability to recover allowed him to take a massive amount of punishment in the cage.

The first minute and a half or so was bedlam. Oliveira knocked Chandler down with a leg kick. Chandler popped up, then tagged him with a left. Oliveira shot in for a takedown, and Chandler snatched a guillotine choke. The Brazilian escaped and took Chandler's back. Chandler stood up, Oliveira wrapped his legs around the wrestler in a body triangle, and then Chandler fell back and slammed himself into his opponent.

Bleeding from his right eye, Oliveira retained the body triangle and worked for the choke. Chandler exploded out of the position and wound up on top with two minutes left in the round. He charged forward and sat Oliveira down with punches and hammered away at him until the bell rang.

The two came out to a standing ovation in round two, with Chandler hoping to finish off his opponent. But the opposite happened. Oliveira clipped Chandler with a left hook and followed up with strikes, pounding out the American wrestler within 20 seconds to claim the title. It was a short fight, but contained more action and drama in just over one round than most title fights do in five.

Date: April 16, 2005, UFC 52
Title: UFC Welterweight Championship
Result: Hughes, Submission (Rear-naked choke)
Rematches, Matt Hughes once remarked, tend to benefit the loser. Which is perhaps why Hughes, one of the greatest fighters in UFC history, wasn't eager for this one with his main rival, Trigg. "I had nothing to win," he said.

The two wrestlers first fought in 2003, with Hughes winning an otherwise close grappling match with a standing rear naked choke. The challenger then rattled off two subsequent victories against tough opponents, then trash-talked his way into the second fight. The staredown in the cage became legendary as Trigg got so close to Hughes, they touched noses, and the latter shoved him right before the bell rang.

Trigg then blew him a kiss and the fight began. In an early clinch along the fence, "Twinkle Toes" threw a knee that Hughes claimed hit him low, but the referee didn't stop the fight. As the champion complained, the challenger downed him with strikes and pummeled him on the ground. Trigg later said he thought the fight was basically over, but the referee let them continue.

Hughes recovered and wound up on top. He then picked up Trigg, carried him all the way across the Octagon and slammed him to the ground, before cinching in another rear naked choke for the victory. It was an epic battle that was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2015.

Date: April 9, 2005, The Ultimate Fighter I Finale
Title: N/A
Result: Griffin, UD
Today, mixed martial arts is a popular, mainstream sport — and the UFC is its largest promotion. This light heavyweight fight is a major reason why. It was the finale of The Ultimate Fighter, a successful reality show on Spike TV, and the stakes were real: the winner received a six-figure contract with the promotion.

From the moment it began, viewers knew it was something special. The two men fought at a pace and with a fervor rarely seen in this sport or any other. In the first round, Griffin used hard straight punches and wrestling to outmatch Bonnar. But in the second, the “American Psycho" pressed forward with looping strikes that connected. In the third round, both men showed astonishing grit and determination. They were tired. They were bloodied. But they kept throwing bombs at each other until the bell rang.

Griffin won by decision, and Bonnar collapsed either in frustration, exhaustion, or a little bit of both. The UFC offered both fighters a contract, and the reality show—a last-ditch attempt to save a sputtering sport—became its greatest platform. Griffin went on to become a champion in the division. Bonnar, who died in 2022, remained a fan favorite and a staple of the light heavyweight ranks. Their bout entered the UFC Hall of Fame's Fight Wing in 2013.

Date: December 14, 2019, UFC 245
Title: UFC Welterweight Championship
Result: Usman, TKO (Punches)
When they first fought, Usman and Covington were the best welterweights in the world and had perhaps the best rivalry in the division since Matt Hughes and Frank Trigg. Covington played the part of the heel to help build notoriety, making derogatory comments about Usman in the lead-up to their fight. The son of Nigerian immigrants, Usman was cast as the good guy, a hardworking champion with bad knees who hadn't lost a fight in six years.

The fight was a grueling, five-round affair, and both fighters showed heart and incredible cardio. Covington had the slight advantage in the fast-paced first round, using volume and movement against the champion. The challenger even hurt Usman early in the second, but late in that round, the champ gained the advantage with hard punches to the body. The third round, however, is really when the fight changed. That's when Usman went back to the head and broke Covington's jaw with a straight right. The California native rallied early in the fourth, a close round that the commentators thought might have tied it up.

Covington continued to land early in the fifth. But with under two minutes left, Usman hurt the challenger with a right and then floored him twice before finishing him with strikes. It was a delicious coda for Covington haters, even if they had to begrudgingly respect his toughness and skill. Usman went on to defeat his rival again by decision about two years later.

Date: August 20, 2016, UFC 202
Title: UFC Lightweight Championship
Result: McGregor, MD
After Diaz's surprise submission win over the Irish knockout artist some five months prior, McGregor, the featherweight champion, again went up in weight to fight his American rival at 170 pounds. Their first fight was fantastic; the rematch proved to be even better.

McGregor used leg kicks to soften up Diaz, before knocking him down with a left in the first. The second round? Similar results. Hard leg kicks. Two knockdowns. McGregor was making it look easy. But midway through the round, McGregor began to slow down and Diaz kept marching forward. He cracked his opponent and changed the momentum of the fight.

Diaz kept the pressure on in the third, twice slapping McGregor in the face and taunting him. By the end of the round, the bombastic Irishman looked exhausted, and Diaz worked him over with dirty boxing along the cage, at one point nearly finishing the fight.

Momentum shifted once again in the fourth as the damage McGregor inflicted earlier began to affect Diaz. Blood blurred his vision, and the champ seemed to regain his strength.

Both men were caked with blood to begin the final round. The commentators believed it was 2-2, and both McGregor and Diaz fought like they had to win the tie-breaker. They slugged it out along the cage, Diaz getting the best of the exchanges. Two out of the three judges, however, scored it for the Irishman, who won by majority decision. Diaz emerged as an even bigger star; McGregor cemented his place among the all-time greats.

Date: November 19, 2011, UFC 139
Title: N/A
Result: Henderson, UD
These two champions spent years knocking opponents unconscious in Japan's Pride, but had never fought one another until they entered the UFC. By then, Henderson, an Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler, was 41 years old, and Rua was 11 years his junior.

The age disparity didn't matter. Henderson hadn't lost his power. In the first round, he hit "Shogun" with two nearly fight-ending right hands, then slapped on a guillotine. Rua recovered and rocked Henderson at the end of the round. And that's how it went for 25 minutes.

Exhausted, both fighters kept teeing off on each other, coming close to ending the fight, but somehow survived. In the third, Rua made a strong comeback until Henderson caught him with a right that left his face looking like a Jackson Pollock. In the fourth, "Hendo" had Rua in a crucifix, but couldn't finish. In the fifth, "Shogun" hit Hendo with a huge uppercut and then mounted him, trying to finish off the battered, exhausted ex-champ. To no avail.

It was an absolutely savage slugfest, and one that Henderson won by decision. Neither would win a belt again, but the bout earned a place in the UFC Hall of Fame Fight Wing in 2018.

Date: June 9, 2018, UFC 225
Title: Non-Title (Romero missed weight)
Result: Whittaker, SD
Roughly a year before this long-awaited rematch, Whittaker defeated Romero for the interim middleweight belt, despite suffering a knee injury early in the fight.

The first contest saw Romero, an Olympic silver medalist from Cuba, use his superior wrestling to his advantage. But this bout proved to predominantly be a striking affair, pitting Whittaker's precision punches and kicks against Romero's power and explosiveness. The reason: Romero didn't shoot much, and when he did, Whittaker stuffed his takedowns and kept his opponent away in the first two rounds, despite injuring his right hand.

Early in the third, however, Romero, who missed weight for the fight and may have been conserving his energy, connected with a big right hand and dropped Whittaker. The Australian eventually recovered, but Romero wobbled him again in the fourth, a close round that could have gone either way. In the fifth, Romero floored Whittaker again and nearly finished the fight. Again the champion survived, and eventually took a split decision. The win established him as one of the toughest—and greatest—fighters of all time.

Date: April 13, 2019, UFC 236
Title: Interim UFC Middleweight Championship
Result: Adesanya, UD
Many assumed Gastelum would have the wrestling advantage in this highly anticipated interim title bout. But this was mainly a striking affair. After a short feeling-out process, Gastelum used hooks and feints to land heavy shots, at one point clipping Adesanya and knocking him against the fence. The kickboxer was hesitant in the first, but proved resilient, bashing Gastelum with body kicks and dropping his opponent in the second with a straight right. Adesanya easily took round three, but Gastelum came back in the fourth, wobbling his opponent, whose face now looked swollen and bloody.

"I'm prepared to die," Adesanya said to himself as the fighters went into the final round. And he was. He knocked Gastelum down three times and won by unanimous decision. Six months later, "the Last Stylebender" unified the title, knocking out Robert Whittaker.

Date: June 12, 2022, UFC 275
Title: UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Result: Procházka, Submission (Rear-naked choke)
Teixeira, one of the oldest champions in the history of the UFC, entered this fight an underdog against his younger, more athletic challenger. But from round one, it became clear this was going to be a great matchup. Teixeira used superior boxing and wrestling to dominate at the outset. In the second round, Procházka's speed and unconventional striking helped him batter the 42-year-old from Brazil, but midway through the round, Teixeira came back, downing the Czech challenger with a counter left hook, then slicing him up with elbows on the ground.

Procházka rebounded in the third, overwhelming his opponent with strikes and cutting Teixeira open. Once again, however, Teixeira wound up on top, punishing the challenger with elbows. His momentum continued in the fourth as Procházka began to slow down. The Brazilian took him to the mat and locked in an arm triangle, but the challenger eventually escaped, and this time he ended the round on top.

By the fifth round, the younger fighter seemed to fade, and Teixeira started catching him with hard, straight punches. Once again he wound up in mount and seemed mere minutes from victory, until Procházka reversed him, slipped his arms around his neck, and forced the exhausted jiu-jitsu black belt to tap with about 30 seconds left. It was a stunning finish that few saw coming.

Date: January 1, 2011, UFC 125
Title: UFC Lightweight Championship
Result: Draw (Split)
Nearly three years prior, Maynard used his superior wrestling to bully the smaller Edgar over three rounds. But this fight carried far greater stakes—namely Edgar's lightweight title—and far more excitement.

In the first round, Maynard absolutely mauled Edgar, knocking him down multiple times and clobbering him with heavy punches. It was a true 10-8 round—one of the most brutal in UFC history. Edgar would later say he couldn't really remember what had happened.

The beatdown took a lot out of Maynard, however, and in the second, Edgar slammed the Michigan State wrestler to the mat early, stuffed his takedowns, and stunned his opponent with strikes. Maynard came back in the third, scoring takedowns and big shots, but Edgar picked up the pace in the fourth and fifth, tossing around his larger opponent despite the beating he'd taken earlier.

The fight ended in a draw, but few were disappointed. Edgar would go on to win their rematch—and keep his lightweight title—by knockout later that year. He was named to the Modern Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame in 2024.

Date: March 7, 2020, UFC 248
Title: UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship
Result: Zhang, SD 
If any men still doubt the quality of women's MMA, they should watch this strawweight title fight. Jędrzejczyk, the former women's strawweight champ, entered trying to regain her title. Zhang, who held the belt, was defending it against one of women's MMA's all-time greats.

The bout was competitive from the beginning, with both women landing hard shots. And while Jędrzejczyk, a UFC Hall of Famer, may have had the technical advantage, it quickly became clear Zhang was the faster, more powerful fighter — a contrast that made for a masterful display of striking. The two women landed a combined 351 significant strikes throughout 25 minutes of close combat. Although Jędrzejczyk connected more (186 to 165), Zhang did more damage. The evidence: A massive hematoma transformed Jędrzejczyk's forehead into something almost alien, but she fought on, determined to win back the strap.

Zhang ultimately won a split decision. Earlier this year, their bout was named to the UFC Hall of Fame's Fight Wing.

Date: September 21, 2013, UFC 165
Title: UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Result: Jones, UD
By the time these two light heavyweight legends clashed, Jones had already established himself as an unbeatable force in the division, and few thought Gustafsson would be able to match his size, skill, and athleticism.

They were wrong. The Swedish boxer darted in and out with strikes, using footwork to stay out of range, stuff the champion's takedowns, and land his big right hand to cut Jones. The champ pressed forward with side and crescent kicks, his best offensive weapons. At the end of the first round, Gustafsson shot in for a double leg and became the first fighter to ever take Jones down in the UFC.

Though Jones cut and hurt Gustafsson in the fourth, most of the fight was similar to the first — a tense, dramatic chess match pitting Jones's kicks and pressure vs. Gustafsson's boxing and takedown defense. The two athletes combined for a total of 244 significant strikes, a record in the division at the time. At the end of the fight, Jones took a unanimous decision, but it was close.

Five years later, the American easily won their rematch. But for that one night in September, Gustafsson showed fans that the greatest fighter of all time was arguably beatable.

Date: July 11, 2015, UFC 189
Title: UFC Welterweight Championship
Result: Lawler, TKO (Punches)
Sometimes the consensus choice exists for a reason, and this bout, which was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame Fight Wing in 2023, is a classic example. Lawler, a veteran UFC brawler, won the welterweight title in 2014. He didn't get an easy first defense. Instead, he collided with MacDonald, a Canadian standout whom Lawler had defeated via split decision in 2013.

Their rematch had all the drama of a high-stakes title fight. The first round was slow and measured, but Lawler began taking control in the second, breaking MacDonald's nose and turning his face into a mask of blood. MacDonald changed the bout late in the third with a devastating head kick that stunned the champ, then followed up with strikes that nearly ended the fight. The Canadian continued unloading on Lawler in the fourth, landing punishing kicks and vicious elbows.

But early in the fifth, Lawler rebounded, crushing MacDonald's nose with a powerful straight left. The challenger collapsed, his face a bloody, vacant mess. As former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans once put it: "If you want to show somebody what it means to be a fighter, this is the fight that you would play."