5 times that big UFC title fights ended in draws
Whenever two fighters meet with a UFC title on the line, the one thing that fans hope for most is a definitive winner. Unfortunately, they don’t always get one.
Over the years, most major UFC title fights have ended climactically, but a handful have left everything to doubt by ending in draws.
Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev is just the 5th draw in UFC championship history.
It joins Uno-Penn, Edgar-Maynard, Woodley-Thompson, and Figueiredo-Moreno.
At times, these fights have been hugely memorable and have been used to set up big rematches. On other occasions, though, they haven’t been received quite so well.
Here are five times that big UFC title fights ended in draws.
#5. B.J. Penn vs. Caol Uno – UFC lightweight title (2003)
The first UFC title fight to end in a draw in the modern era was B.J. Penn’s clash with Caol Uno in 2003. The fight was intended to crown a new lightweight champion, after previous titleholder Jens Pulver had departed the promotion following a contract dispute.
In the eyes of many fans, the bout was likely to end in one-sided fashion in favor of Penn. After all, ‘The Prodigy’ had destroyed Uno in just 11 seconds in their first meeting in 2001.
However, wary of Penn’s brutal striking game, Uno fought with a much more careful, measured approach the second time around. It made for a more competitive fight, but in the end, things appeared to favor Penn anyway.
He largely dominated his Japanese opponent in the first, third and fourth rounds, particularly on the ground. He also appeared to have perhaps edged the other two stanzas as well thanks to his sharper striking.
Incredibly, though, the judges didn’t see it that way. While Tony Mullinax scored the fight for Penn, Douglas Crosby somehow believed Uno had won, while Steve Rice scored it 48-48 to make the official result a split draw.
Feb28.2003
In a fight that was to determine the next UFC Lightweight Champion,
BJ Penn & Caol Uno fight to a split draw https://t.co/zLUqB8ZWWi
The result did untold damage to the 155-pound division, as it was left without a champion again. A year later, the promotion put the division on ice, and it would not return until early 2006.
#4. Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard – UFC lightweight title (2011)
If the first UFC lightweight title bout to go to a draw was disappointing, the second almost surpassed everyone’s expectations. When Frankie Edgar defended his title against Gray Maynard in the headliner of 2011’s first event, nobody expected a classic.
After all, the two men had met before, with Maynard grinding out a victory in what was a highly dull fight.
It didn’t take long for the rematch to shock everyone, though. In the first round, ‘The Bully’ leveled Edgar with a huge left hand and then dropped him on multiple occasions throughout the stanza. Quite how Edgar survived was anyone’s guess.
Remarkably, though, ‘The Answer’ came into the second round looking well-recovered. From there, he somehow turned the tide, landing a number of heavy shots on his opponent before hitting a huge slam, dumping him to the ground.
From there, the two men continued to go toe-to-toe for the three remaining rounds, with both men landing some great strikes and neither really being able to gain an advantage in the wrestling department.
When the final buzzer sounded, it felt like a tricky bout to score. Had Maynard’s opening round been enough to seal him a win? Or had Edgar’s comeback offset it enough for him to retain? Unsurprisingly, the judges were split – and the draw that was announced felt like the correct result.
Jan1.2011
In what was one of the greatest fights in UFC history,
Frankie Edgar & Gray Maynard fight to a draw at UFC 125 https://t.co/jxMAmbPWVU
Unlike Penn vs. Uno, though, the fight went down well with everyone from the fans to Dana White himself. An immediate rematch was unsurprisingly signed, and incredibly, that fight – which saw Edgar win via TKO – was just as good.
#3. Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson – UFC welterweight title (2016)
When the UFC hit Madison Square Garden for the first time in 2016, all of the spotlight landed on Conor McGregor, who knocked out Eddie Alvarez in the event’s headliner.
However, it’s arguable that the welterweight title fight between champion Tyron Woodley and challenger Stephen Thompson actually stole the show somewhat. The clash was a wild, back-and-forth classic that ended in highly controversial fashion.
Going in, the general consensus was that Woodley would have an advantage if he could get ‘Wonderboy’ to the ground, while Thompson could win if he could keep the fight standing.
The first three rounds appeared to prove just that. ‘The Chosen One’ dominated the first after landing a takedown and feeding Thompson with a steady diet of elbows. However, when he couldn’t get takedowns in the second or third frames, ‘Wonderboy’ began to pick him apart.
In the fourth, though, everything changed. Woodley landed a crushing right hand that sent Thompson crashing to the ground, and when he got to his feet, ‘The Chosen One’ decked him again.
From there, the champion latched onto a tight guillotine choke that seemed to signal the end of the fight, only for ‘Wonderboy’ to remarkably survive and escape at the end of the round.
When the fifth stanza saw Thompson again pick at Woodley from distance, showing remarkable powers of recovery, it immediately became clear that the fight was difficult to call.
Logically, Thompson had won three rounds to Woodley’s two, but with the fourth likely to be scored 10-8, the bout seemed to be a draw.
Woodley vs Thompson 1 was AWESOME!!!! If u missed it then u NEED to watch this episode of Fight Flashback. youtu.be/X7U1Ai4H9ao
Sure enough, despite an announcing gaffe initially calling Woodley the winner, the fight was indeed declared a majority draw. With both men looking like bigger stars after the bout, the UFC unsurprisingly signed an immediate rematch – and the less said about that, the better.
#2. Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno – UFC flyweight title (2020)
It seems crazy to think about it now, but had Deiveson Figueiredo simply avoided throwing one too many fouls in his first clash with Brandon Moreno, we probably wouldn’t be waiting for their fourth flyweight title bout at the start of 2023.
After all, at the time of their first meeting in December 2020, literally nobody was giving Moreno a chance of dethroning ‘God of War’.
Figueiredo had won the vacant flyweight title by defeating Joseph Benavidez in violent fashion that summer, and needed just under two minutes to dispatch Alex Perez in his first defense. The defense had been so easy for the Brazilian that he agreed to face Moreno in his second defense just three weeks later.
It seemed like a no-brainer. Moreno was a decent fighter with a handful of good wins to his name, but nothing he’d done suggested that he could give the Brazilian a run for his money.
Incredibly, though, despite clearly losing the first two rounds, ‘The Assassin Baby’ simply wouldn’t go away. When Figueiredo was deducted a point for a bad low blow in the third round, the Mexican was given a way back into the fight.
He took the action to the ‘God of War’ in the final two stanzas, resulting in the two men putting on a stone-cold classic fight. By the end, it still felt like Figueiredo would get the nod, but the judges saw differently, and called a majority draw.
What a fight!!
How did you score Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno at #UFC256? https://t.co/pxCCiUflOe
Since then, the Brazilian has done battle with Moreno twice more, losing once via rear-naked choke and then defeating him via decision. The two men still haven’t topped the action we saw the first time around, though. Hopes will be high for them to do so in January.
#1. Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev – UFC light heavyweight title (2022)
The most recent UFC title fight to go to a draw took place this past weekend. Unfortunately, Jan Blachowicz’s fight with Magomed Ankalaev for the vacant UFC light heavyweight title was far closer to Penn vs. Uno than the other classic bouts on this list.
Thankfully, the promotion isn’t likely to put the light heavyweight division on ice any time soon as they did with the lightweight division. However, it was unsurprising to see Dana White make another title fight involving neither man in the post-event press conference.
The fight itself wasn’t a terrible one, per say, it just failed to live up to expectations. In the eyes of most fans, it looked like Ankalaev edged the first round on the feet and Blachowicz won the second and third with his striking, mainly his leg kicks.
The fourth and fifth frames, meanwhile, were clearly dominated by Ankalaev, who took the Polish former champion to the ground and punished him with elbows and punches from the top, coming close to a fifth-round stoppage.
The crowd appeared ready to accept Ankalaev as the new champion, but incredibly, the judges actually scored the fight a split draw, leaving the title vacant.
"Give the belt to [Magomed]
Ankalaev."
Jan Blachowicz said Ankalaev should have the light heavyweight belt after their split draw at #UFC282 https://t.co/MRZJPxNERv
Could Ankalaev have done more to look to secure a win? Perhaps, but not every fight can be finished, after all. The truth is that with better judges, he’d be holding UFC gold right now.
As it is, though, after the fight was condemned by White, he may never again receive another crack at the title. For Ankalaev, that might be as bad as having his division put on ice.