Top 5 fiercest UFC rivalries
Take a look at some of the fiercest UFC rivalries of all time.
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Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz (Via UFC)
Since its inception, the UFC has seen many rivalries come and go. But only a few have stood out. And some have even taken the promotion to greater heights, eventually sculpting the UFC for what it is today. From nasty callouts to brutal trash talks to on-court bloodbaths, here are the top 5 fiercest UFC rivalries in modern times:
The UFC has seen some of the best mixed martial artists from various fighting backgrounds go up against each other. As such, these rivalries are also a culmination of different combat sports. Continue reading to see if your favorite fighter is on our list.
Honorable Mentions
The UFC has featured some of the most intense rivalries combat sports has ever seen. However, many of those rivalries did not make the top five. Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar was an intense rivalry, and so was Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans. Colby Covington‘s rivalry with Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal remains fresh in the minds of fans. The same is the case with Sean Strickland. The former middleweight champion had an intense rivalry against Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis.
In the bantamweight division, Dominick Cruz had a competitive rivalry with Urijah Faber and TJ Dillashaw. Former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt had the most intense rivalry in the division. Garbradnt vs. Dillashaw were fireworks both inside and outside the cage. Despite the intensity and noteworthiness, these rivalries couldn’t match up with the rivalries on the list.
5) Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate
The two UFC legends fought twice in different promotions. Their first fight was in Strikeforce on the 3rd of March 2012. Miesha Tate had just won the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight title, whereas Ronda Rousey was rapidly making her way to the top. The fight began, and all Rousey needed was 4 minutes and 27 seconds of the first round to win the bantamweight title via an armbar.
Miesha Tate had a wrestling background, whereas Rousey came from a Judo background and had incredible submission skills. They ran it back again. This time, it was in the biggest MMA promotion in the world, UFC. Rousey vs. Tate 2 headlined UFC 168. The duo appeared on The Ultimate Fighter as opposing coaches. Tate was the challenger, as Rousey had already become the UFC women’s bantamweight champion by then. The second bout had huge promotions.
Going into the fight, Tate was a lot more careful this time but still couldn’t outpower Rousey. And 58 seconds into the third round, Rousey once again submitted Tate via an armbar to successfully defend her title against Tate and go 2-0 up in the rivalry. Following the bout, Rousey refused to shake Tate’s hand, indicating her deep hatred.
A trilogy bout was largely looming after Tate then went on to become the UFC women’s bantamweight champion in an interesting turn of events. But the fight never came to fruition as Tate lost the title belt to Amanda Nunes, and Nunes defeated Rousey as well. Hence, a trilogy bout never happened.
4) Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
Despite fighting just once at UFC 229, the sheer animosity between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor caused it to be one of the greatest UFC rivalries. Things were going fine until McGregor made a switch to the lightweight division, the division where Khabib was making a name for himself.
The Russian was supposed to take on Eddie Alvarez in 2016, but instead, the UFC planned on giving it to the Irishman, who was just making his lightweight debut. After McGregor won the lightweight title, he took a break from the sport rather than facing Khabib. In 2018, Khabib had a backstage interaction with Artem Lobov, McGregor’s then-friend.
McGregor and friends attacked the bus that had Khabib and his teammates in April 2018, causing the rivalry to boil over. This eventually culminated in a heated match between the two at UFC 229. The promotion for the fight featured intense trash talk from McGregor. In the end, the trash-talker got owned by his opponent.
A vastly superior Khabib comprehensively beat McGregor. And all hell broke loose after the Russian made McGregor tap. McGregor was attacked inside the cage by Khabib’s teammates, whereas Khabib began unleashing his fury on Conor’s training partner, Dillon Danis.
The animosity still exists. The fight happened more than five years ago, and both fighters. The rematch did not happen, as Khabib retired with a perfect record in 2020. On the other hand, McGregor hopes to return to the octagon in 2024.
3) Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen
“Anderson Silva, you absolutely suck!” were the words of Chael Sonnen after his victory at UFC 136. Anderson Silva, who was present in the stadium, was listening. Sonnen made a big claim that he would leave the UFC if he lost to him, but at the same time, Silva must move to a different division in case the Brazilian loses. Sonnen had lost to Silva once before at UFC 117. However, it was a fight Sonnen dominated, and Silva won in the final minute.
However, Silva was at the peak of his power during those days. He was untouchable, and people hardly ever saw so much speed in the middleweight division. After losing the first match to the ‘Spider’ via submission, Sonnen again took on the Brazilian at UFC 148.
He was determined to get a victory against Silva. However, Silva ended up winning the fight via TKO in the second round. An animosity between the duo existed at the time. However, time has healed all wounds, and they are close friends these days.
2) Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz
No one ever expected this fight even to take place. McGregor was supposed to face Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 196 in a lightweight title bout. However, RDA had to pull out just a few weeks before the fight due to a foot injury. In stepped Nate Diaz. Since there were only a few days left for the fight, the contest was declared a welterweight bout.
Even before the fight ever came to fruition, Diaz made the greatest call-out of all time. This call-out eventually gave the UFC to go ahead with the fight. McGregor went into the fight, being unbeaten in the UFC. Diaz, on the other hand, was UFC-tested and a seasoned fighter. But he was the clear underdog. As expected, McGregor dominated round 1, outstriking the Stockton superstar.
But in the second round, Diaz began landing some good hits, and towards the end of the round, he clipped McGregor, almost knocking him down. A groggy McGregor tried to get back to his feet, but Nate Diaz executed a rear-naked choke in a split second. After a bit of struggle, McGregor tapped!
Diaz just shocked the world and uttered the famous quotable one-liner. The pair fought again in a rematch at UFC 202, and McGregor played it safe this time. He won the rematch via majority decision.
Throughout their rivalry, the world witnessed angry words and trash-talks of the highest order. It was a windfall for Dana White and the UFC because even a fight between McGregor and Rafael dos Anjos wouldn’t have been this big a hit. The duo continues to tease a trilogy bout even in 2024 despite not coming to fruition.
1) Jon Jones vs Daniel Cormier
One of the nastiest rivalries in the sport’s history is Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier. This was Cormier’s biggest-ever puzzle. This rivalry had everything from violent callouts to a massive brawl at the press conference. DC is among the greatest wrestlers in UFC history, and Jones is the arguable GOAT of MMA.
The pair first met at UFC 182 in January 2015. After a warrior’s performance from both fighters, which saw the fight go the full five rounds, Jones emerged victorious via unanimous decision. He thereby retained his light-heavyweight belt. And what’s more? It was DC’s first-ever loss in his MMA career.
They met again at UFC 214 two years later. Jones wasn’t the light-heavyweight champion; it was Cormier who was. Not because Jones took an L, but because of Jones’ off-field activities. He had a hit-and-run incident that led the UFC to strip him. In the meantime, Daniel Cormier became the champion. The rematch would have happened at UFC 200 in 2016, but Jones tested positive.
The rematch eventually happened in 2017 at UFC 214. Jones eased to a third-round knockout victory to win the light-heavyweight championship. But the result was overturned because Jones tested positive for another banned substance, a turinabol metabolite. The two fighters since went their separate ways. However, the duo still mock each other from time to time.
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Gerard Crispin
(3318 Articles Published)