5 biggest UFC headlining fights to take place in the UK
This weekend sees the UFC visit London, England for the first time in 2023, and the promotion is bringing a major headliner with them.
UFC 286’s main event of Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title is a huge bout, but is it the biggest that the promotion has ever put on in the UK? It’s a fair question to ask, particularly as UK fans have been treated to a number of title fights in the past, as well as other bouts involving major stars.
With that in mind, here are the five biggest UFC headliners to take place in the UK.
#5. Mirko Cro Cop vs. Gabriel Gonzaga – UFC 70
The UFC returned to the UK for the first time in five years in April 2007, and while the headline bout at UFC 70 wasn’t for a title, it was definitely a huge fight that featured a world-famous star.
At the time, Mirko Cro Cop was one of the biggest superstars in the heavyweight division. He’d joined the promotion after winning PRIDE’s 2006 Openweight Grand Prix, and was expected by some to capture gold in the octagon with relative ease.
In the promotion’s visit to Manchester, Cro Cop was paired with grappler Gabriel Gonzaga, with the winner going onto fight Randy Couture for his heavyweight title. It seemed like a lay-up for the former kickboxer, who’d easily beaten Eddie Sanchez in his promotional debut.
Remarkably, it wasn’t to be.
The 15,000 fans in attendance – and the millions watching at home in both the US and the UK – were stunned when ‘Napao’ hit Cro Cop with his own trademark blow. Gonzaga nailed Cro Cop with a head kick, turning his lights out late in the first round.
#OnThisDay in 2007, Gabriel Gonzaga pulled off one of the most SHOCKING upsets in UFC history 💥
[ Watch more classic UFC fights on @UFCFightPass ] https://t.co/l0IdlqSDvK
It was a shocking and dramatic way to end the night, and while there have been bigger fights to hit the UK, this one may well remain the most stunning.
#4. Matt Hughes vs. Carlos Newton – UFC 38
The majority of the UFC’s visits to the UK did not feature a title bout, but that wasn’t the case for the promotion’s first show there in 2002.
While it was largely only attended by hardcore MMA fans – the sport hadn’t broken big across the world at that point – UFC 38 featured a welterweight title bout between Matt Hughes and Carlos Newton in the main event.
This wasn’t just any title bout, either. It was a rematch of one of the most exciting – and controversial – title fights in octagon history. Just under a year earlier, Hughes and Newton had gone to war, with the former being declared champion after what was essentially a double knockout.
Unfortunately for ‘The Ronin’, he was unable to change the result in the Royal Albert Hall. Hughes largely dominated the fight, debuting his deadly mounted crucifix position to score a fourth-round TKO.
The fact that the show wasn’t a huge success meant that the promotion didn’t return to the UK for another five years. However, it’s hard to deny that this was a huge headliner at the time – and the UK fans were lucky to get to see it live.
#3. Michael Bisping vs. Anderson Silva – UFC Fight Night 84
With respect to the likes of Leon Edwards, Dan Hardy and Paddy Pimblett, Michael Bisping remains the biggest UK-based star ever produced by the UFC.
During his eleven-year career with the promotion, ‘The Count’ headlined multiple shows, including five in the UK.
While he eventually claimed the middleweight title – and defended it in his hometown of Manchester against Dan Henderson – it’s arguable that his biggest UK-based fight came in early 2016 against Anderson Silva.
‘The Count’ had been hunting for a bout with the Brazilian for years. While it finally happened after Silva had lost his 185lbs crown, it didn’t make it any less of a spectacle.
Over 16,000 fans packed into London’s o2 Arena to watch the clash, which turned out to be a stone cold five-round classic.
A special win for Michael @Bisping!
Five years ago the Count beat Anderson Silva in London 🙌
Watch the highlights 👇 https://t.co/1Xar9AAqdT
In the end, Bisping came out on top after outworking ‘The Spider’, despite suffering a brutal knockdown at the end of the fourth round.
It was, at that point, the biggest win of his career. Although he surpassed it months later by becoming the first British fighter to win a UFC title, this fight stands as probably the most memorable of his storied career. It's easily one of the biggest to take place in the UK, too.
#2. Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman – UFC 286
Sure, it hasn’t actually happened yet and may well turn out to be disappointing, but in terms of sheer magnitude, Leon Edwards’ trilogy bout with Kamaru Usman has to be considered one of the biggest UFC fights to ever hit the UK.
While their first fight, which took place on the preliminary card of a 2015 event, largely went ignored, the same cannot be said for their 2022 bout.
That fight saw Edwards pull off one of the biggest upsets in octagon history. He stunned Usman – who was ranked as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world – with a fifth round head kick to take his welterweight title.
#UFC278EDWARDS KNOCKED OUT USMAN 😱 #UFC278 https://t.co/RWYU2n3lap
Given Usman’s status as a pound-for-pound great, a trilogy bout was always inevitable. With the win making ‘Rocky’ the second UFC champion to hail from the UK, though, the promotion’s decision to bring the fight to London is a gift to British fans.
It’s arguable, in fact, that this fight is the biggest of 2023 thus far. It isn’t a champion vs. champion fight like Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski was, but Usman is a far bigger star than either man, standing as one of the few fighters to draw more than a million pay-per-view buys during his career.
Overall, this promises to be a pivotal bout for both men, and regardless of its eventual outcome, it stands as one of the biggest fights to ever hit the UK.
#1. Quinton Jackson vs. Dan Henderson – UFC 75
While it didn’t feature a UK favorite like Michael Bisping or Dan Hardy, it’s fair to say that the biggest UFC fight to ever hit British soil took place in London in September 2007.
The fight saw UFC light-heavyweight champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson face off against PRIDE 205lbs kingpin Dan Henderson in the first unification bout between the champions of the world’s biggest MMA promotions.
These days, of course, the UFC is by far the worldwide leader in MMA, and so it’s almost hard for newer fans to understand how big this fight was.
At the time, Japan-based PRIDE had only just been bought out by its US-based rival, and was still home to many of the world’s best fighters – including Henderson. ‘Hendo’ had won his title by knocking out Wanderlei Silva earlier that year and looked to be in top form.
‘Rampage’, meanwhile, had unseated Chuck Liddell for the light-heavyweight title a few months prior, and was widely considered the world’s best 205lber.
In the end, the fight turned out to be an excellent, back-and-forth one, even if it was short on real drama. When the final buzzer was sounded, it was Jackson who was declared the winner – making him arguably MMA’s first-ever truly undisputed champion.
After a hard fought competitive battle, Rampage emerged victorious, becoming the sport's first ever unified mixed martial arts Champion. https://t.co/KUlL09WpDM
Overall, history was made in London on this night, making ‘Rampage’ vs. Henderson the biggest fight to ever take place in the UK.