5 fighters who were undefeated when they won UFC gold

#4. Rashad Evans – Former UFC light heavyweight champion

Rashad Evans was still undefeated when he won the UFC light-heavyweight title in 2008

When he debuted in the UFC in 2005, coming off what was a relatively disappointing second season of TUF, it seemed hard to imagine Rashad Evans winning UFC gold despite his undefeated record.

But Evans clearly had a lot of natural talent that could be unlocked, and slowly but surely, it began to shine through as he made his way up the ladder at 205 pounds.

‘Suga’ started his UFC career with some largely dull wins, but rose to prominence when he knocked out Jason Lambert and Sean Salmon to take his overall record to 10-0.

And after narrowly avoiding a first defeat at the hands of Tito Ortiz – the fight went to a draw due to Ortiz having a point deducted – Evans then beat Michael Bisping before taking a year away from the UFC.

When he returned, he looked much improved, particularly in his striking game, and stunned everyone by violently knocking out legendary former champion Chuck Liddell before unseating Forrest Griffin for the UFC light heavyweight title.

Rashad Evans went into his title fight with Forrest Griffin as an undefeated fighter.Evans reached the pinnacle of the sport, as he knocked out Griffin to become the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. pic.twitter.com/MIKqwKrZZj

— MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) June 26, 2018

The win made Evans one of the UFC’s rare undefeated champions, with an impressive record of 13-0-1. Incredibly, though, 'Suga' would suffer his first career defeat in his first title defense – to a fellow undefeated fighter.

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#3. Lyoto Machida – Former UFC light heavyweight champion

Lyoto Machida won a battle of undefeated fighters when he knocked out Rashad Evans to win the UFC light-heavyweight title

Lyoto Machida arrived in the UFC in 2007 with a pretty gaudy record. He was 8-0, and held wins over the likes of Rich Franklin and Stephan Bonnar.

However, he also carried with him a reputation for being somewhat of a dull fighter, which only continued when he opened his UFC ledger with three straight decision victories.

Things changed for ‘The Dragon’ in late 2007. Firstly, he defeated hot prospect Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, submitting him with an arm triangle to pick up his first UFC finish.

And then, he completely whitewashed former UFC champion Tito Ortiz in what was his biggest spotlight to that point, cementing himself as a potential star with the promotion.

One more win – a knockout of Thiago Silva – earned Machida a UFC light heavyweight title shot and, fascinatingly, the title fight pitted him against a fellow undefeated fighter in Rashad Evans – the first time in UFC history that two undefeated fighters had squared off for a title.

Eleven years ago today, @lyotomachidafw knocked out Rashad Evans at UFC 98 to become light heavyweight champion.@joerogan famously dubbed the victory the beginning of "The Machida Era" 🐉 pic.twitter.com/wA4KE5GFjJ

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 23, 2020

And in a battle that matched Evans’ speed and explosiveness with Machida’s incredible timing and accuracy, it was ‘The Dragon’ who won out, as he knocked out ‘Suga’ in the second round to claim UFC gold in his 15th career win.

Of course, every fighter has to lose at some point, and Machida would suffer his first career defeat in his second title defense. But he still stands as one of the few fighters to ride an undefeated streak all the way to a UFC title.