5 most memorable trilogies in UFC history
Next weekend at UFC 264, Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier will complete their epic trilogy inside the octagon. Whoever wins, the three bouts between them will go down in UFC history as classics.
The UFC has always enjoyed putting trilogies together, and while their efforts haven’t always worked, sometimes these trilogies have quickly become part of UFC legend.
With McGregor and Poirier all set to follow that path and end their epic rivalry next weekend, it seems fitting to look back at some of the classic trilogies we’ve seen over the years in the UFC.
So without further ado, here are the five most memorable trilogies in UFC history.
#5 Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos – UFC on Fox 1, UFC 155, UFC 166
Both fighters might feel largely forgotten by UFC fans in today’s Francis Ngannou heavyweight era. A decade ago, however, there was no disputing the idea that Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos were the best big men of their generation.
When they first met at the UFC’s first show on the Fox network back in November 2011, Velasquez’s UFC heavyweight title was on the line. The records of both men inside the octagon at the time were insane.
Neither man had tasted defeat in the UFC, and together they’d beaten a combined 13 opponents, including Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
That first meeting, though, belonged to JDS. After working Velasquez with jabs to the body, he caught the champion with a huge overhand right and knocked him silly, claiming the title in the process. The fight lasted just over a minute.
Despite the quick loss, it didn’t take long for Velasquez to get back into title contention. He destroyed Bigfoot Silva to set up a rematch and then went about proving exactly who the real champion was.
At UFC 155, Velasquez dismantled Dos Santos over five rounds. He used the clinch to rough the Brazilian up, battered him with punches, and didn’t allow him a moment to breathe. It was one of the most one-sided title fights in UFC history, and reminded everyone exactly why Velasquez was so highly rated in the first place.
But despite the one-sided nature of the fight, it didn’t take long for the UFC to book a third bout – basically inking it the moment JDS knocked out Mark Hunt with a spinning kick.
Unfortunately for the Brazilian, beating Velasquez again proved to be a step too far. In a career-altering bout at UFC 166, the champion destroyed Cigano once more, this time stopping him in the fifth round after dishing out a scary amount of punishment.
While all three fights were one-sided in their own way, this was a legendary UFC trilogy because it saw the two best heavyweights of their generation doing battle. After all was said and done, neither man was really the same again.