5 biggest fights to take place during the UFC's International Fight Week
UFC 276 goes down this weekend from Las Vegas. Unsurprisingly, as it is the centerpiece of the promotion’s International Fight Week, it promises to be a huge show.
The UFC has been presenting its International Fight Week for a decade now. Over the years, the events taking place during it have seen some genuinely huge fights.
While not all of these fights produced classics inside the octagon, it’s safe to say that when they happened, they garnered plenty of hype and a huge amount of the spotlight, making them well-remembered by the fans.
With that in mind, here are the five biggest fights to take place during the UFC’s International Fight Weeks.
#5. Jon Jones vs. Thiago Santos – UFC 239 (2019)
The culmination of 2019’s International Fight Week was UFC 239, a truly packed show that featured a number of highlight reel moments, most notably Jorge Masvidal’s record-setting five-second knockout of former Bellator titleholder Ben Askren.
The biggest fight on offer that weekend, however, was undoubtedly Jon Jones’ light heavyweight title defense against Thiago ‘Marreta’ Santos. Sure, the fight didn’t pique the interest of the fans like some of Jones’ other bouts, but it was still huge nonetheless.
At the time, ‘Bones’ was ranked as the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. By 2019, any fight involving him instantly felt like a huge deal, even if nobody was really giving Santos a chance.
Sure, the Brazilian had won four fights in a row, but prior to that he’d been seen largely as a journeyman, and felt like a relatively easy opponent for the champion.
However, that idea proved to be wrong, as ‘Marreta’ took the fight to Jones with his striking. Despite blowing his knee out in the early going, only ended up losing via a razor-close split decision.
#UFC239The step-in elbow that dropped Santos 💪 #UFC239 https://t.co/zDlpciWdZT
In the end, the fight was a worthy headliner for one of the biggest and best shows of 2019, and definitely stands as one of the biggest fights to take place during International Fight Week.
#4. Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Hunt – UFC 200 (2016)
UFC 200 was intended to be arguably the promotion’s biggest ever show. In the end, it didn’t quite go to plan. Not only did the event lose its original headliner of Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz, but it also lost Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier, too.
However, while the eventual main event of Miesha Tate vs. Amanda Nunes never felt like anything more than a standard pay-per-view headliner at best, UFC 200 still had one huge rabbit in its hat in the form of former heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar.
BROCK. IS. BACK!
@BrockLesnar vs @markhunt1974
#UFC200 | 7.9.16
ufc.com/200 https://t.co/m6OnURx3tw
Sure, ‘The Beast Incarnate’ hadn’t fought in well over four years by the time the event rolled around – he’d instead been performing in WWE – but his return was still a massive spectacle, especially as he was matched with former K-1 star Mark Hunt in what looked to be a wild fight.
In the end, it was clear that Lesnar vs. Hunt was the event’s real headliner and drawing card. Unsurprisingly, the Las Vegas crowd went wild when Enter Sandman played to signal the arrival of the former champ.
It didn’t really matter all that much that the fight was a little disappointing, as Lesnar simply outgrappled Hunt to take a three-round decision. The spectacle of the fight turned UFC 200 into a huge pay-per-view hit, and showed that despite his initial retirement, Lesnar had lost nothing of his star power during his time away from the octagon.
#3. Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier – UFC 226 (2018)
Prior to 2018, the UFC had never booked a superfight between their reigning heavyweight champion and reigning light heavyweight champion, but for that year’s International Fight Week, that changed.
With both men having largely cleaned out the competition in their respective divisions, the promotion decided to match heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic against his 205-pound equivalent Daniel Cormier, producing a clash for the ages.
With a season of The Ultimate Fighter put together to build the bout up, it definitely felt like a huge event by the time UFC 226 rolled around, even if neither man had really reached the levels of stardom of Conor McGregor or Jon Jones.
Interestingly, most fans appeared to be picking Miocic to win, but they were proven wrong very quickly. Cormier used his superior speed to constantly catch the bigger man with punches coming out of the clinch, and eventually landed a killer combination late in the first round, switching off Miocic’s lights.
DANIEL CORMIER KNOCKS OUT STIPE MIOCIC!!!!
OH MY GOD!!!!! #UFC226
The victory made Cormier only the second fighter behind McGregor to hold two titles in different weight classes simultaneously. It also transformed him into a bonafide legend overnight, even if a mooted fight with Brock Lesnar that was teased in the aftermath never came about.
Instead, the two men rematched twice, once in 2020 and once in 2021, with Miocic coming out on top on both occasions.
#2. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen – UFC 148 (2012)
When the UFC conceived the idea of International Fight Week back in 2012, the idea was that the festivities of the week would build to what felt like one of the promotion’s biggest-ever shows – UFC 148.
The reason that the event was so big was due to its massive headliner: the long-awaited rematch between bitter rivals Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen for the middleweight title.
The two men had put on an instant classic in the summer of 2010, with Silva retaining his title with a last-gasp submission. Largely thanks to Sonnen’s ability on the microphone, the rematch soon took a life of its own.
Literally the whole MMA world was buzzing for this fight, with UFC president Dana White even suggesting that the event could become the promotion’s first to break a million buys on pay-per-view since 2009.
In the end, UFC 148 fell just short of that mark, reportedly drawing around 925k buys, but Silva vs. Sonnen was undoubtedly 2012’s biggest fight. Despite not reaching the levels of the original, it did live up to the hype as ‘The Spider’ finished his foe via TKO in the second round, finally ending their epic feud.
As Sonnen fell, he turned around and saw Anderson Silva standing in front of him.
Silva then blasted Sonnen with a knee to the solar plexus. This was checkmate. Sonnen tried to survive, but he was too hurt. Silva finished the fight by TKO. https://t.co/EaVHvv4knU
#1. Conor McGregor vs. Chad Mendes – UFC 189 (2015)
While it would’ve been even bigger had Jose Aldo not been forced out due to an injury, the interim featherweight title bout between Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes at UFC 189 in 2015 stands as the biggest fight to ever take place during International Fight Week.
While he hadn’t quite reached the mainstream heights that he would by the end of that year, there was no denying that McGregor had become a huge star by that point, even if he hadn’t quite established himself as the best fighter in the division.
In fact, when the UFC announced that Aldo was out of the planned bout and Mendes was set to replace him, many fans predicted doom for ‘The Notorious’. They figured that the Irishman simply wouldn’t be prepared for Mendes’ powerful wrestling game.
Prior to the fight, the promotion pulled out all the stops, bringing in Aaron Lewis and Sinead O’Connor to sing the fighters’ respective walkout songs. With the fans in attendance buzzing, it was finally fight time.
"Rang out through the foggy dew..." 🎶
4 years on from Conor McGregor beating Chad Mendes at UFC 189 and his walkout with Sinead O'Connor still gives us goosebumps 🙏
https://t.co/9SHCjhRGpN
Remarkably, McGregor both proved his doubters wrong, but also showed that he wasn’t as unbeatable as he’d made out prior to the fight.
Mendes indeed managed to take him down on numerous occasions and even busted him up badly with ground-and-pound. On the feet, though, the Irishman was simply too sharp for his opponent. After escaping a takedown in the second round, he hurt ‘Money’ with a series of kicks to the body and then finished him off with a crushing left hand.
The win moved McGregor firmly into line for his eventual title win against Aldo. The event overall was a signal of exactly how big of a draw the Irishman could become, as it brought in 825k buys on pay-per-view, despite being his first headline bout.