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This weekend sees UFC 266 go down from Las Vegas. In the main event, TUF 29 coaches Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega will battle for the UFC featherweight title.
Over the years, we’ve seen numerous historic battles between TUF coaches in the UFC. So fans will hope Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega lives up to the hype.
Sure, there have also been TUF coaches’ fights that disappointed, and others that never took place. But a great deal of them have been stone-cold classics that are still fondly remembered even today.
On that note, here are the five most memorable battles between TUF coaches in UFC history.
#5: Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell – UFC 52
The first fight between TUF coaches came way back in 2005 at the end of the inaugural season of the reality show.
Given the juggernaut-like rise of the UFC in the years that have followed, it’s difficult to really explain the importance of the fight between UFC light-heavyweight champion Randy Couture and challenger Chuck Liddell today.
The truth, though, is that the UFC had plenty riding on the clash, which main-evented UFC 52. Sure, the TUF Finale a week prior was a big hit with fans, thanks to the wild clash between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar. But had UFC 52 flopped as a pay-per-view, the UFC would likely have been in trouble.
Thankfully, that wasn’t the case. While Couture and Liddell’s fight didn’t last long – just over two minutes – it was still a highly memorable fight that made a major impact.
The fight took place entirely standing, and saw Liddell knock Couture out with a brutal right-hand counterpunch as ‘The Natural’ attempted to swarm him.
The win turned ‘The Iceman’ into the UFC’s new poster boy, a spot he enjoyed for the next few years. In the process, he opened the eyes of a whole new audience to the wonders and sudden violence that MMA could provide.
UFC 52 was a big hit on pay-per-view, drawing 280K buys – a UFC record at the time. From there, the only way was up for the promotion. There have been better TUF coaches’ fights in the years that have followed, but few made the impact that this one did.
#4: Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Claudia Gadelha – TUF 23 Finale
For a long time. the UFC strawweight title fight between TUF 23 coaches Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha was probably the greatest women’s fight in UFC history. That has arguably been surpassed in recent years, though.
The two women were bitter rivals, and their dislike shone throughout their stint as TUF coaches. That made the 23rd season one of the more watchable in the latter years of the reality show. The two women promised a war, and when they got into the octagon, they delivered.
Coming into the fight, the general consensus was that the champion Jedrzejczyk would have a big advantage standing. That was because she had beaten Gadelha previously, largely by using her kickboxing. However, fans were stunned when ‘Claudinha’ dropped the Polish fighter with a short right hand in the opening exchanges, giving her a huge early advantage.
From there, the two women went toe-to-toe for most of the five-round clash, with Gadelha largely dominating the first and second rounds. However, her cardio began to fail her as the fight ticked on, allowing the champion a way back into the fight. As the Brazilian slowed, Jedrzejczyk seemed to get stronger, with her nasty combination striking hurting the challenger on numerous occasions.
Although she couldn’t put Gadelha away, once the fight ended, there was no question that Jedrzejczyk was the clear winner. She retained her title via unanimous decision. But nobody had pushed her quite like ‘Claudinha’ as the two TUF coaches settled their rivalry with a stone-cold classic fight.
#3: Justin Gaethje vs. Eddie Alvarez – UFC 218
The bloom was largely off the TUF by the time the 26th season of the reality show took place in 2017. Despite that season seeing the inaugural UFC women’s flyweight champion crowned, the truth is that few UFC fans outside real hardcores cared all that much.
However, the fight between coaches Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje was a highly anticipated one. Despite not having a bitter rivalry per se, the two lightweight contenders had built reputations as being two of the most exciting fighters in UFC history. That promised a throwdown for the ages. And at UFC 218, the two fighters didn’t disappoint.
The excellent wrestling prowess of both fighters essentially cancelled the prospect of takedowns. The fight largely took place almost entirely standing, and saw both men take some huge strikes.
Gaethje arguably came out strongest early on, landing some heavy leg kicks in an attempt to chop Alvarez down. But it quickly became clear that ‘The Underground King’ was the slightly cleaner boxer. He landed the heavier punches to the head, but also began to work Gaethje’s body, something that paid off rich dividends.
Once the fight ticked into the third round, both men had eaten up plenty of damage. ‘The Highlight’ was beginning to show signs that Alvarez’s body work had taken its toll. He slowed down dramatically, and despite hurting Alvarez with an uppercut, he ate a nasty knee that sent him crashing to the ground.
Alvarez followed up with some punches on the mat, and with Gaethje not really defending, the fight was stopped there. However, this was one of those rare fights where neither man really felt like a loser. Alvarez and Gaethje had promised to put on a classic war, and they delivered, making TUF 26 well worth it in the end.
#2: Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate – UFC 168
It seems incredible now, but bitter UFC bantamweight rivals Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate were never supposed to coach TUF 18 against one another. Instead, Rousey’s rival coach was set to be Cat Zingano.
But when ‘Alpha’ blew out her knee, the UFC slotted Tate into Zingano's spot, ensuring a far more dramatic season of the reality show that only cemented Rousey and Tate’s bitter feud even further. When the two coaches met at UFC 168 with Rousey’s UFC bantamweight title on the line, fireworks were always going to ensue.
Sure, the fight was largely one-sided in Rousey’s favor. But by taking her to the third round, Tate pushed ‘Rowdy’ like nobody had done before, turning her into a lifelong fan-favorite in the process.
The story of the fight was essentially that while Rousey’s judo would allow her to throw ‘Cupcake’ to the ground seemingly at will, Tate had scouted her submission game so well that it became difficult for ‘Rowdy’ to find a finish.
By the end of the second round, despite narrowly escaping multiple submission attempts and suffering some facial damage from strikes, Tate was still hanging in there. If anything, it felt like she might be gaining a psychological edge.
But Rousey showed her class in the third round by tripping Tate again. and this time she sunk in an armbar that finally forced ‘Cupcake’ to give up the ghost and tap out.
Incredibly, though, despite putting on a truly great fight, the rivalry between the TUF coaches remained unsettled when Rousey refused a handshake from Tate. It was an unsportsmanlike moment that took away some of the champion’s shine, but somehow, it made this clash of UFC legends even more memorable.
#1: Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping – UFC 100
TUF has seen plenty of intense coaching rivalries over the years. But one of the most bitter feuds was on view in the ninth season when middleweights Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping led Team USA and Team UK into battle against one another.
The two contenders despised each other from the off, with the loud, trash-talking Bisping rubbing the more stoic Henderson up the wrong way throughout the season.
When Team UK got the better of their American counterparts – with British fighters winning both the welterweight and middleweight TUF tournaments – it was down to ‘Hendo’ to gain some pride back by beating Bisping at UFC 100.
Naturally, ‘The Count’ came in confidently, feeling that he could wear the older Henderson down with his volume-based combination striking. However, unfortunately for him, he hadn’t counted on the brutal power of Henderson’s punches.
After a back-and-forth first round that saw both men get a decent number of shots in, the second round quickly ended when Henderson waylaid Bisping with a crushing overhand right. He then knocked Bisping senseless with a flying forearm smash when he was grounded.
Bisping was left unconscious for what felt like an age. While he came round and was perfectly okay, the knockout instantly went viral and sparked countless memes, most of them pro-American and highly anti-British.
The punch turned Henderson into an all-time UFC fan favourite, and is usually seen on any UFC highlight reel even today. While Bisping would go onto hold the UFC middleweight title and defeat Henderson in a 2016 rematch, the knockout probably still haunts him to this day. That makes this fight the most memorable battle of TUF coaches in UFC history.
