5 most memorable champion vs. champion fights in UFC history
This weekend sees a major champion vs. champion fight in the UFC, as lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev is set to defend his title against featherweight titleholder Alexander Volkanovski.
Makhachev. Volkanovski. Lightweight Title. P4P Status. Perth. February. OFFICIAL 🤩
#UFC284 https://t.co/AWag8K4PSE
Champion vs. champion bouts have become ever more common in the UFC over the past decade, and many of them have produced memorable outcomes.
Whether Alexander Volkanovski can become the promotion’s latest double champion or join the list of fighters who received the opportunity but failed to achieve the feat remains to be seen.
For now, though, here are the five most memorable champion vs. champion fights in UFC history.
#5. Henry Cejudo vs. TJ Dillashaw – UFC flyweight title (2019)
The majority of the UFC’s champion vs. champion clashes have seen a lighter fighter move up in weight to chase after a title in a higher division.
That wasn’t the case when TJ Dillashaw, the then-bantamweight champion, dropped 10lbs to move to flyweight to come after Henry Cejudo’s crown in 2019.
The bout was shrouded in controversy, with Dillashaw promising to defeat Cejudo so that Dana White and the company could shut the flyweight division down for good. Whether that would’ve been the case had Dillashaw won remains a mystery.
In the end, though, not only did he fail to win, but he was destroyed by ‘Triple C’.
Cejudo caught him with a flurry of strikes that included a head kick and put him down in the fight’s opening seconds. Dillashaw got back to his feet but was badly hurt. He succumbed to another flurry of strikes and the fight was over in less than a minute.
HENRY CEJUDO!!!!!!!
Messaged. Sent. WOW!!!!! #UFCBrooklyn @HenryCejudo https://t.co/5gx41CdUOM
The victory instantly moved Cejudo towards the top of most fans’ pound-for-pound list, although how depleted Dillashaw was due to his weight cut was a fair question.
Ironically, Dillashaw also tested positive for banned substances in the fight’s aftermath, forcing him to vacate his bantamweight title, which ‘Triple C’ subsequently won by stopping Marlon Moraes.
#4. Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier – UFC heavyweight title (2018)
The summer of 2018 saw a champion vs. champion fight in the heavyweight division, as 205lbs kingpin Daniel Cormier moved up to challenge Stipe Miocic for his crown.
The bout made a lot of sense, as both men had largely run out of challengers in their own divisions, and ‘DC’ had famously held Strikeforce’s heavyweight title before his move to the UFC in 2013.
On paper, at least, the bout seemed to favor Miocic. Despite Cormier’s world-class wrestling credentials, there was a feeling that the bigger, stronger Miocic would simply be too much for him to handle.
In the end, though, it was ‘DC’ who came through, proving his pound-for-pound credentials in the process. He was too quick for Miocic and his game plan of catching the heavyweight champ with strikes coming out of the clinch was a smart one.
Late in the first round, Cormier caught Miocic on the exit with a heavy right hand that crumpled him, and some follow-up shots from ‘DC’ were enough to make him the promotion’s second simultaneous double champion.
OH MY DC!!! 😱
Daniel Cormier with a devastating first-round knockout of Stipe Miocic to become the UFC heavyweight champion 🏆
Simply incredible. Simply historic. #UFC226 https://t.co/MLwuBgojCD
Cormier and Miocic would end up doing battle a further two times, and it’s arguable that this was the worst of their trilogy – the final two bouts were classics.
However, their subsequent two fights weren’t champ vs. champ clashes, and so their first clash just about deserves to be on this list.
#3. Amanda Nunes vs. Cris Cyborg – UFC featherweight title (2018)
The only female champion vs. champion bout in UFC history came in 2018. It pit longtime bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes against the most feared female fighter in the world at the time, featherweight queen Cris Cyborg.
Coming into the bout, very few fans were giving Nunes any chance of winning.
Sure, ‘The Lioness’ had beaten the likes of Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey en route to becoming the top 135-pounder in the world, but this was Cyborg, a fighter who’d literally destroyed most of her foes and hadn’t lost in over a decade.
Stunningly, though, Nunes produced one of the octagon’s all-time great upsets. It didn’t take long for her pressure game to draw Cyborg into a trademark brawl, but unlike most of her previous fights, this one didn’t favor the featherweight champ.
Nunes not only had the faster, more technical punches, but she was clearly packing heat, too. A big right hand stunned Cyborg, and from there, ‘The Lioness’ didn’t let up, smashing her compatriot with a vicious combination that put her down and out in under a minute.
THE BADDEST WOMAN ON THE PLANET!!!
@Amanda_Leoa #UFC232 https://t.co/miyNd7xBwb
The victory blew the roof off Inglewood’s Forum and transformed Nunes into the consensus greatest female fighter of all time. It remains one of the most exciting title fights in UFC history, period.
#2. Georges St-Pierre vs. BJ Penn – UFC welterweight title (2009)
The UFC’s first-ever champion vs. champion bout came way back in 2009, as reigning lightweight titleholder BJ Penn attempted to unseat welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre.
To say this was a big fight would be an understatement.
After reclaiming his title from Matt Serra and beating Jon Fitch in his first defense, St-Pierre was seen as probably the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Penn, though, had held the welterweight title previously, beating Matt Hughes in 2004. He’d dominated everyone he’d faced at 155lbs, including Sean Sherk and Joe Stevenson, and many fans felt he’d beaten ‘GSP’ when they first faced off in 2006.
The promotion threw all of its weight behind the bout, running the first-ever ‘UFC Prime Time’ series to build to it, and while Penn was positioned as the villain of the piece, he was still hopeful of making history.
However, St-Pierre left no room for doubt in this four-round thriller. After a slow-burn first round, he began to land takedowns on ‘The Prodigy’ and abused the Hawaiian with brutal ground-and-pound from the top position.
Watch more on @UFCFightPass ]Champ vs Champ! 🏆🏆
#OnThisDay in 2009 - GSP and BJ Penn squared off for the welterweight strap!
[ 📺 Watch more on @UFCFightPass ] https://t.co/9jbRILcRm6
By the time the fourth round ended, Penn had taken so much punishment that his corner – which included his brother Regan – decided to throw in the towel.
Sure, the fight was a little one-sided, but it didn’t make it any less dramatic or memorable, and it remains one of St-Pierre’s greatest-ever performances in the octagon. It also stands as one of the best champ vs. champ fights of all time.
#1. Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez – UFC lightweight title (2016)
The most memorable champion vs. champion bout in UFC history remains the one that saw the promotion’s first-ever simultaneous double champ crowned.
That bout, of course, saw featherweight kingpin Conor McGregor move up to 155lbs to dispatch reigning lightweight titleholder Eddie Alvarez, making history in the process.
The win basically turned ‘Notorious’ into the biggest star in MMA history and led directly to him challenging Floyd Mayweather in a mega-money boxing match the following year.
Whether McGregor truly deserved the opportunity remains debatable. He’d beaten longtime featherweight champ Jose Aldo a year prior but never defended his title despite having numerous viable challengers.
Instead, he split a pair of fights with Nate Diaz at 170lbs before embarking on his challenge, bringing accusations of favoritism towards Dana White and the company.
However, if the validity of McGregor’s challenge could be questioned, nobody could really criticize his performance.
The Irishman produced a counterpunching masterclass, making Alvarez look like an amateur as he caught him time and time again with wicked punches on the back foot.
‘The Underground King’ was dropped on multiple occasions before being put out of his misery in the second round, launching his Irish opponent into the stratosphere.
"He didn't just do it, he did it flawlessly."
Calm. Composed. Clinical.
Conor McGregor with one of the great title fight performances vs Eddie Alvarez 🙏
#UFC246 | January18 | BT Sport Box Office https://t.co/UKliXiTJF8
Nearly six-and-a-half years later, this remains McGregor’s defining performance in the octagon, and it stands as the best champ vs. champ fight of all time.