5 UFC bouts that turned both fighters into bigger stars
In the UFC, winning is often everything. However, at times we've seen fighters receive a big boost even in losing inside the octagon.
Over the years, we've seen a few fights that somehow turned both fighters involved into bigger stars, often due to the quality of the fight. On occasion, both fighters ended up going onto big things, while sometimes, one or both of the fighters peaked during that moment. Either way, their stock was high coming out of their bout.
Here are five UFC bouts that turned both fighters into bigger stars.
#5. Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez - UFC 166 (2013)
When they were matched up at UFC 166, it's safe to say that both Gilbert Melendez and Diego Sanchez weren't exactly having the best time of things.
Melendez had come into the promotion as the Strikeforce lightweight champion under much fanfare. However, 'El Nino' had lost to Benson Henderson in a title unification fight, and had many fans questioning whether he could compete at the top level.
Sanchez, meanwhile, had fallen from grace badly and looked past his prime, despite beating Takanori Gomi in his previous fight. Realistically, the bout looked like a lay-up for Melendez to regain some of his lost mojo. However, Sanchez had other ideas.
'The Nightmare' decided to go toe-to-toe with his opponent, and Melendez was more than happy to oblige. In a brawl for the ages, both men exchanged rapid combinations for three rounds, with defense going firmly out of the window.
The result was one of the most exciting fights in MMA history, and while Sanchez lost the decision, despite dropping 'El Nino' in the third round, it didn't matter.
Both men saw their star power increase hugely after the fight, with Melendez going directly into a role as a TUF coach and a lightweight title shot.
'The Nightmare', meanwhile, saw his stock rise dramatically, although unfortunately, he was too far past his prime to make it count. Still, his performance probably earned him at least three or four more big fights, making it all worth it in the long run.
#4. Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir - UFC 81 (2008)
It seems odd to name this fight on this list, given at the time, Frank Mir was a former UFC heavyweight champion and Brock Lesnar already enjoyed superstar status from his WWE days.
However, it's easy to forget how differently things could've gone for both men when they first met in the octagon.
Lesnar was already viewed with an air of suspicion by MMA fans who felt like his spot in the UFC hadn't been earned. Mir, meanwhile, had never truly recovered from his 2004 motorcycle accident and looked like a bloated shell of his old self in his 2006 bouts with Brandon Vera and Dan Christison.
Thankfully, both men showed their absolute best in their clash, and ended up seeing their stocks rise substantially as a result.
Lesnar took the fight to Mir, taking him down and abusing him with clubbing, heavy punches. He showed that his mix of top-class wrestling, brutal power, and sheer ferocity could work in MMA.
Mir, though, survived the onslaught, and managed to catch 'The Beast Incarnate' in a kneebar late in the first round, forcing him to submit. He proved that he was far tougher than anyone gave him credit for, and also showed that he still had world class grappling skills, making him a threat to any heavyweight.
Both men saw their star power rise, and by the end of 2008, Lesnar held the heavyweight title, while Mir captured the interim version.
Their rematch, in 2009, was deemed big enough to headline UFC 100 and was probably the biggest heavyweight fight of all time to that point.
#3. Tyson Griffin vs. Frankie Edgar - UFC 67
When the UFC reinstated its lightweight division in 2006, it took a while for the 155-pounders to get going. For the most part, fights between, at the time, the smallest athletes on the roster tended to be kept to the prelims.
A number of things changed in 2007 in order for the lightweight division to grow in popularity, including B.J. Penn's return to the weight class and the airing of TUF 5.
However, it's arguable that the biggest boost came from a series of hugely exciting bouts between new, young stars who were just breaking onto the scene.
The first of those fights came at UFC 67 between Tyson Griffin and Frankie Edgar, and saw both men transformed into recognisable stars in the process.
Prior to the fight, Edgar had never fought in the octagon, while Griffin had just one win to his name a few months later.
Given that their fight came on the same card that saw the debuts of 'Rampage' Jackson and Mirko Cro Cop, nobody expected it to make much noise.
However, the two lightweights stole the show, going toe-to-toe and hold-for-hold, with both men getting plenty of offense in.
In the end, 'The Answer' was awarded a razor-close decision win, but both men saw their stock rise substantially and went onto numerous main card offerings in the years that followed.
Edgar, of course, claimed the lightweight title in 2010, and while Griffin didn't quite find the same success, he was still a constant in the division for years.
Overall, their fight helped to elevate the status of 155 pounds, turning not just them into stars, but others, too.
#2. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen - UFC 117 (2010)
Suggesting that a title bout helped to turn two fighters into bigger stars seems insane, but that's what happened at UFC 117 when Anderson Silva faced Chael Sonnen.
Silva was well into his fourth year as middleweight titleholder. However, 'The Spider' simply wasn't getting over with the fans as a big star, despite Dana White and company pushing him as a pound-for-pound great.
Following his debacle-like fights with Thales Leites and Demian Maia, in fact, many fans were just desperate to see his reign end.
Sonnen, meanwhile, had built momentum by beating Yushin Okami and Nate Marquardt, earning a title shot in the process. However, his new trash-talking persona was only just taking shape, and had he been brushed aside by Silva, he would've looked silly.
Thankfully, the fight turned out perfectly for both men. 'The American Gangster' put a ridiculous beating on Silva for almost five rounds, backing up every single word of trash he'd talked.
That was, of course, until 'The Spider' produced a true 'Hail Mary' move in the form of a fight-ending triangle choke, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
In putting up such a fight against a true great, Sonnen's star power was elevated hugely, and he turned into one of the UFC's biggest stars overnight.
Silva, meanwhile, finally had the big-time rivalry that his title reign needed. He was transformed from a disliked champion into one of the promotion's biggest superstars and drawing cards, too.
Essentially, the two men clearly disliked one another, but their rivalry - which ended in a big-money rematch two years later - was the best thing for both of them.
#1. Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar - TUF 1 Finale (2005)
The best example of a fight that saw both participants emerge from it as far bigger stars is Forrest Griffin's wild brawl with the late Stephan Bonnar.
Not only did this fight help to turn Griffin and Bonnar into bonafide superstars, but it's also been credited by many people, including Dana White, as outright transforming the fortunes of the UFC.
At the time, the promotion was floundering. Despite the efforts of early stars such as Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell, it felt like MMA would just never crack the mainstream status that White and the Fertitta brothers craved.
The inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, which aired on Spike TV in 2005, was essentially the last roll of the dice.
A reality show following a group of UFC hopefuls training and fighting for their spot in the promotion, it quickly became a big hit with fans, primarily thanks to outlandish characters like Chris Leben and Josh Koscheck.
Despite this, when the finals of the series aired live on Spike, nobody was sure exactly what the future held.
That changed when Griffin and Bonnar squared off to decide the season's light-heavyweight winner.
The two men engaged in a brawl for the ages, with neither man backing down for a second. They exchanged haymakers for the full three rounds, and despite suffering a badly busted nose, Griffin was declared the winner.
The fight was so good, though, that White decided to offer Bonnar the same 'six figure contract' handed to Griffin, essentially declaring both men the victor.
Later, according to White, Spike TV executives, amazed by what they'd witnessed, inked a long-term deal with the promotion "in an alley on a napkin".
Naturally, Griffin and Bonnar instantly became two of the biggest stars in MMA. While their paths ended up wildly diverting - Griffin went onto become light-heavyweight champion while Bonnar saw only middling success and tragically passed away in 2022 - they remained intrinsically linked throughout their careers.
Now, nearly two decades on, the fight remains one of the most entertaining - and important - bouts in octagon history.