5 UFC Dream Matches we'll probably never see
Ever since they began to truly dominate the MMA world back in the mid-2000’s, the UFC has given fans of the sport some genuine dream matches that at one point, we thought we’d probably never see. Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva? Check. Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz? Check. Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem? Check. And the list goes on.
Unfortunately – often for reasons out of the UFC’s control – the world’s biggest promotion has still failed to give us a handful of matches which at one stage had the fans salivating. In fact, some of these fights still do – but unfortunately, it’s not likely we’ll ever see them.
Here are 5 UFC dream matches that we’ll probably never get to see.
#1: Ronda Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg
Rewind back to late 2015 for a moment. It seems like a lifetime ago now, but at that time, the most dominant force in female MMA was undoubtedly Ronda Rousey. The reigning UFC Women’s Bantamweight champion had defended her title successfully 6 times, and was preparing for her 7th defence against Holly Holm, but if you’d asked UFC fans who they really wanted to see Ronda face, the answer wouldn’t have been ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’.
It undoubtedly would’ve been the other dominant force in female MMA – Cristiane Justino, AKA Cris Cyborg. At the time, Cyborg hadn’t debuted in the UFC, but she was widely recognized as the best female 145lber on the planet and she’d been running roughshod over that division in Invicta for years.
Sure, Cyborg could probably never have made the 135lbs limit to challenge Rousey for her title, but fans figured Ronda could easily have moved up in weight – or perhaps a catchweight of 140lbs could’ve been arranged. Everyone wondered whether Rousey’s stellar judo game and submission skills could overcome the ultra-violent striking and brute force of Cyborg.
And then, of course, Rousey was knocked out by Holm in their fight, took a year off and returned only to be knocked out by Amanda Nunes in her big comeback. She’s since moved into the world of pro-wrestling – becoming WWE Women’s Champion in the process – and the thought of her facing Cyborg – who is now UFC Women’s Featherweight champ – remains a dream that unfortunately, we never got to see, and probably never will.