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UFC champions do not have an easy life. While winning the UFC title is an accomplishment of a lifetime in itself, defending it against a division full of killers is a different ordeal altogether.
That said, fighters with championship-caliber do not usually have a hard time putting challengers away with their superior skill sets. However, a few challengers match up against the champions so well that title fights end up being nail-biting thrillers.
Many title fights in the UFC have seen favorites come out victorious without a single bruise. On the other hand, some main events have kept fans confused and the judges cautious until the final horn.
This article looks at three UFC title fights that fans forget were really close:
#3 - Alexander Volknovski vs. Max Holloway 2 - UFC 251
Alexander Volkanovski defeated Max Holloway at UFC 245 in 2019 to win the featherweight title. While it was a close fight in itself, with the judges awarding 'The Great' a win via unanimous decision, their rematch at UFC 251 was scandalously close.
Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway gave their fans a true barnburner at UFC 251. They didn't only go the distance but also kept the fans guessing who the winner would be. After five rounds of continuous back-and-forth, Volkanovski was awarded the win via split decision. While one judge had the decision in Max Holloway's favor, the other two gave it to the defending champion.
The scorecard read 47-48, 48-47, and 48-47 for Volkanovski. While Max Holloway came within a hair's breadth distance of winning the featherweight title, some experts believed he should have been the winner. At the post-fight conference, UFC president Dana White criticized the judges for the decision and said:
"You can’t leave it to these guys. We’ve got some bad judging. Has Max been in here yet? He must be devastated. Did anybody here score it for Volkanovski? Nobody in the media?"
Max Holloway is now 0-2 against Alexander Volkanovski, which would usually mean that there won't be a trilogy. However, the title fight at UFC 251 was so close that Dana White kept the possibility of a third bout open. He told the media:
"I don’t know, we’ll have to figure it out."
#2 - Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes - UFC 247
It is a big deal if a challenger comes close to defeating the most successful light heavyweight champion in MMA history. That was the case with Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in 2020. The only other fighter who ever came close to defeating 'Bones' in a title fight was Alexander Gustafsson, but that was way back in 2013.
At UFC 247, Dominick Reyes and Jon Jones went toe-to-toe for five intense rounds. 'The Devastator' was the one with a higher volume of strikes. However, Jones came off triumphant due to efficient striking and takedowns.
The judges handed out a unanimous decision win to the defending champion, with the scorecard reading 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46 in his favor. Even Jon Jones acknowledged it to be a close fight and credited his win to his performance in the fifth round.
Speaking to the media after one of his toughest title fights, Jon Jones said:
"I wasn’t always confident that I was winning the fight. Greg Jackson said to me, ‘Jon, you may need to win this fifth round to win.’ And the heart of a champion said, ‘No problem, coach. I can do that for you. I can leave it all out there.'"
Joe Rogan criticized the judges for their scoring. UFC president Dana White also said he scored the fight in favor of Dominick Reyes over Jon Jones.
"The scoring was all over the map.. Going into the last round, I had Dominick Reyes 3-1 going to the last round."
Also Read: What is the 'Jon Jones curse' and who are its victims?
#1 - Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler - UFC 262
Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler went head to head at UFC 262 for the vacant lightweight title. Oliveira was the favorite going into the fight with an eight-win streak on his resume. However, Chandler posed threats of his own after bursting onto the scene with a KO victory over Dan Hooker in his UFC debut.
Michael Chandler started strong in round one by landing a high percentage of shots on Charles Oliveira. 'Iron' hit Oliveira with a big left, opening a cut on the Brazilian's face. 'Do Bronx' replied with a takedown attempt but instead got locked in a scary guillotine by Chandler. At this point, the UFC veteran was bleeding and on the verge of losing.
Although Oliveira got out of the guillotine soon, he was again punished by Chandler with some vicious strikes while on the ground. 'Do Bronx' spent the remainder of the round just trying to survive. Round one went largely in Michael Chandler's favor.
Round two, however, saw Charles Oliveira display just how unpredictable the sport is. Oliveira caught Chandler with two big lefts in their first exchange of the second round. Chandler was eventually dropped and finished via TKO within 20 seconds, making Oliveira the new UFC lightweight champion.
Despite the TKO win for Charles Oliveira, the UFC 262 main event was a very close affair. Before he was dropped, Michael Chandler had everything going in his favor, from a submission attempt and ground and pound to winning the first round.
