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UFC 270 goes down this weekend. In the headline bout, heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou puts his gold on the line against interim titleholder Ciryl Gane.
Hopes are high for Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane to be a classic fight, but will it match up to the greatest heavyweight title fights in UFC history? Only time will tell.
One thing is for certain, though. Over the years, the promotion has put on some incredible heavyweight title bouts, with some of the best fighters to ever step into the octagon involved in some genuine wars.
With that considered, here are the five best heavyweight title bouts in UFC history.
#5. Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski – UFC 59
When Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski first squared off for the interim UFC heavyweight title in early 2005, the fight didn’t last long at all. Arlovski appeared to be moving in a totally different dimension to the plodding Sylvia. He decked ‘The Maine-Iac’ with a right hand before submitting him with an Achilles lock, all inside a minute.
The fight was so one-sided that when the promotion booked the two men for a rematch for the title in early 2006, nobody was giving Sylvia a chance. Sure, he’d looked good in his two comeback bouts, beating Tra Telligman and Assuerio Silva, but ‘The Pitbull’ appeared to be on another level entirely.
Sure enough, within the first couple of minutes of the fight, Sylvia’s doubters appeared about to be proven right. Once again looking like the quicker man, Arlovski threw a huge overhand right that dropped ‘The Maine-Iac’ like a ton of bricks.
Somehow though, unlike in the first fight, Sylvia was able to will his way to his feet. Quite how he survived the shot was anyone’s guess. Arlovski clearly thought he wouldn’t last much longer, though, and closed in for the kill.
However, ‘The Pitbull’ made a tremendous error. In closing in to finish Sylvia, he left himself wide open. The opportunity was all that ‘The Maine-Iac’ needed. He threw a short right uppercut that connected perfectly with Arlovski’s jaw, dropping him face-first. Seconds later, the fight was over.
Sure, this clash lasted less than three minutes, but it was action-packed and featured one of the promotion's all time great comebacks, making it a bonafide heavyweight title classic.
#4. Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin – UFC 116
Brock Lesnar’s reign as UFC heavyweight champion actually didn’t last that long – from November 2008 to October 2010. However, it was certainly one of the more dramatic in the promotion’s history, with a number of wild title bouts.
The best amongst them was almost certainly his clash with interim champion Shane Carwin at UFC 116. At the time, Lesnar had not fought for almost a year following a bout with diverticulitis. Carwin, meanwhile, had been destroying everyone in his path, including former UFC champion Frank Mir.
The big question was whether Lesnar could take a punch from Carwin, who appeared to hit as hard as any fighter in the promotion’s history. Early on, at least, it looked like he definitely couldn’t.
Carwin caught him with a heavy uppercut in the first round and then opened up with a flurry, forcing Lesnar back and then down to the ground, where he covered up under more fire. As Carwin continued to bomb Lesnar, the fight looked all but over. Somehow, ‘The Beast Incarnate’ did just enough to survive the round.
Incredibly, despite being completely dominant, when the two men headed back to their corners, it was clear what was about to happen. Lesnar looked bloodied, but still seemed fresh, while Carwin looked completely out of gas.
Sure enough, once the second round began, Lesnar shot in, tackled the exhausted Carwin to the ground and slapped on an arm triangle choke to submit him.
The fight not only proved that ‘The Beast Incarnate’ was the real deal as heavyweight champion, but his comeback was also classed amongst the best in UFC history. The dramatic fight instantly took its spot amongst the best the promotion had ever put on, too.
#3. Randy Couture vs. Ricco Rodriguez – UFC 39
Josh Barnett was stripped of the UFC heavyweight title following a positive steroid test in 2002. The promotion wasted little time in putting together a battle for the vacant UFC belt between former champion Randy Couture and top contender Ricco Rodriguez.
Both men were no strangers to putting on barnburners. When they faced off, they ended up producing an instant UFC classic with more ebbs and flows than most title fights inside the octagon.
Early on, it looked like despite giving up a lot of size to ‘Ricco Suave’, Couture’s wrestling ability would give him the edge. He was able to plant Rodriguez on his back on numerous occasions in the first and second rounds and punished him with elbows and punches from the top.
When Rodriguez was taken down and cried out in pain in the latter part of the second, the fight looked all but over. ‘The Natural’ clearly smelt blood and flurried on the larger man to finish him. However, Rodriguez was just about able to survive.
In the third round, though, despite Couture starting well again, Rodriguez was able to get to his feet and surprise ‘The Natural’ with a takedown of his own. From there, the tide began to turn.
‘Ricco Suave’ began to weigh heavily on the smaller man, breaking him down with ground-and-pound. In the fourth round, he was even able to mount Couture at one point to punish him further.
At that point, the fight only appeared to be going one way. When Rodriguez took Couture down again in the fifth, he landed a stiff elbow directly to the eye socket. ‘The Natural’ was renowned as a tough fighter, but even he couldn’t take such a vicious blow and ended up verbally tapping out.
Rodriguez’s UFC title reign lasted just one more fight, as he dropped the belt to Tim Sylvia in his first defense, but this title bout remains an underrated classic that newer fans ought to check out if they haven’t seen it.
#2. Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum – UFC 188
When the UFC decided to travel to Mexico for an event in 2014, their plan was to headline with a heavyweight title bout between champion Cain Velasquez and challenger Fabricio Werdum.
Those plans went up in smoke when Velasquez picked up an injury, forcing Werdum to instead defeat Mark Hunt for an interim title. However, the promotion quickly returned to the well when the champion returned, re-booking his fight with ‘Vai Cavalo’ in a second event in Mexico City in 2015.
It was a good thing that they did, as Velasquez and Werdum produced an all-time classic war. The Brazilian came out on top in one of the bloodiest and most brutal fights in heavyweight history.
Naturally, the fight began with Velasquez looking to push a pace that was too hard for Werdum to handle. Renowned for his incredible cardio, the champion attacked Werdum with heavy strikes in and out of the clinch, looking to break the Brazilian down.
However, despite busting him up, two issues quickly began to rise for Velasquez. Firstly, every time he clinched with Werdum, usually one of his major strengths, ‘Vai Cavalo’ was actually getting off better strikes, abusing him with knees and elbows.
Secondly, and most importantly, for the first time in his UFC career, Velasquez appeared to be sucking wind. By the time the second round ended, it was painfully clear who was in control. Velasquez was bloodied and beaten, and walked to his corner on rubbery legs.
When the third round began, Werdum hit him with more knees. When Velasquez shot for a sloppy takedown, it was all the invitation the Brazilian needed to snatch up a tight guillotine. Seconds later, Velasquez was forced to tap out.
Not only was this one of the most action-packed heavyweight title bouts of all time, but it was also one of the biggest upsets, too, earning it an easy spot on this list.
#1. Randy Couture vs. Pedro Rizzo – UFC 31
When former UFC announcer Mike Goldberg was asked about his favorite title bout, the one he would often bring up was Randy Couture’s heavyweight title clash with Pedro Rizzo at UFC 31. It’s hard to disagree with his sentiment.
The clash is now well over two decades old. On a rewatch, it has lost none of its drama, impact or entertainment value. It remains one of the few heavyweight title bouts to feature genuine back-and-forth action. When it ended, it was nearly impossible to pick a winner.
A classic battle of grappler vs. striker, in the early going it looked like the former would come out on top. Couture took Rizzo down early in an action-packed first round and basically beat the hell out of him from top position. He even came close to stopping him, only for the buzzer to save the Brazilian.
However, when ‘The Natural’ attempted to replicate that in the second round, Rizzo countered with a brutal body kick that had the champion badly hurt.
From there, ‘The Rock’ took over, using his vicious leg kicks and punching power to keep Couture at a distance. At the end of the round, a head kick and a right hand almost put the champion down for good.
The third round went to Rizzo again, as he busted Couture’s nose up with his strikes, forcing a doctor to check ‘The Natural’ over at one point, only for the champion to come roaring back with a takedown to end the stanza.
The fourth round went the other way, as Couture beat the Brazilian up in the clinch and then landed a huge takedown, only for ‘The Rock’ to turn the tables again in the fifth. He hurt Couture with more strikes before dropping him in the final moments.
The fight could easily have gone either way, but despite Rizzo arguably coming closer to a finish at points, Couture was awarded the nod.
Naturally, the UFC signed an immediate rematch that saw Couture leave nothing to doubt by finishing Rizzo, but it was unsurprising that the quality of the fight didn’t match the original.
Considering the incredible action it produced, it’s hardly a surprise that no other heavyweight title fight has matched it since, either.
