5 times that the UFC fed aging legends to rising stars

Paddy Pimblett took on Tony Ferguson in the UFC’s latest attempt to make a new star off the back of an aging legend.

The UFC is no stranger to this approach, as the promotion has always looked to its older fighters to “put over” its younger ones, usually in violent fashion.

Sometimes this approach has worked perfectly, while other times, it hasn’t paid off. Whether it works for ‘The Baddy’ this weekend remains to be seen, of course.

Here are five times that the UFC fed aging legends to rising stars.

#5. Israel Adesanya vs. Anderson Silva – UFC 244 (2019)

Israel Adesanya was already considered one of the UFC’s fastest-rising stars by the time 2019 rolled around, as he’d beaten four fighters in a row and climbed into the top 10 at 185 pounds.

However, despite his huge levels of charisma and fighting ability practically guaranteeing his future as a superstar, the promotion still decided to match him with former middleweight champ Anderson Silva in the headliner of UFC 244.

The booking always seemed harsh to ‘The Spider’, who hadn’t fought in a year and had won just one bout – a controversial decision over Derek Brunson – in the six years leading to the fight.

In the end, ‘The Last Stylebender’ seemed almost subdued in the bout, seemingly not wanting to really hurt Silva, who he idolized years before during the Brazilian’s run as champion.

Sure, he won a comfortable decision, but Silva fought relatively well too, making for a surprisingly fun three-round bout overall.

Did the approach really work? Not exactly, as Adesanya was on his way to stardom anyway and the clash didn’t produce a highlight reel moment, but it still stands as a prime example of the UFC’s use of its legends.

#4. Petr Yan vs. Urijah Faber – UFC 245 (2019)

When Urijah Faber hung up his gloves in 2016 following a win over Brad Pickett, it seemed like the perfect way to go.

After all, ‘The California Kid’ was clearly past his best, and very few fighters get to leave the octagon off the back of a win. Given that the fight took place in Sacramento, it was practically a storybook ending.

However, three years later, Faber was back, apparently believing that he could still compete with the UFC’s best 135lbers.

His return bout went exceptionally well, as he took out rising star Ricky Simon via TKO in just 46 seconds. However, that win did not mean that he was ready to make another run at the top.

The matchmakers didn’t see it that way, though. They paired ‘The California Kid’ with the division’s hottest up-and-comer, Petr Yan, in a bout that always seemed dangerous for him.

Sure enough, Yan, who had already reeled off five straight wins in the octagon, destroyed Faber when they faced off.

‘No Mercy’ lived up to his nickname, scoring multiple knockdowns of the veteran before finally putting him away with a brutal head kick early in the third round.

The win propelled Yan to stardom, as he won the vacant bantamweight title in his next fight. However, it was still a largely cruel and unnecessary piece of matchmaking and, unsurprisingly, Faber never fought again.

#3. Dominick Reyes vs. Chris Weidman – UFC on ESPN 6 (2019)

Few fighters enjoyed as rapid a rise up the ladder as Chris Weidman did. ‘The All-American’ debuted in the UFC in early 2011, and by the summer of 2013 he’d won seven straight bouts, culminating in his middleweight title victory over the legendary Anderson Silva.

However, Weidman’s downfall was just as swift. After losing his title to Luke Rockhold in late 2015, he won just one of his next three bouts, and spent plenty of time on the shelf with injuries.

By late 2019, ‘The All-American’ hadn’t fought in nearly a year when it was announced that he’d be returning to action.

This time, though, Weidman was coming back at 205 pounds. It seemed like a good move for him, particularly as a number of observers felt that the cut he was making to 185lbs was causing some of his problems.

Rather than easing him in gently, though, the UFC instead matched Weidman with the division’s fastest-rising star, Dominick Reyes. The fight sounded horrible for Weidman from the off, and indeed, he didn’t even last two minutes before Reyes knocked him senseless.

It was a big win for ‘The Devastator’, who went onto fight for the light heavyweight title in his next bout. However, for Weidman, it was a nightmare, and he ended up on the shelf for almost another year afterwards.

#2. Yair Rodriguez vs. B.J. Penn – UFC Fight Night 103 (2017)

Plenty of UFC legends could be said to have stuck around for too long before retiring, but B.J. Penn stands out more than most.

The former lightweight and welterweight champion initially retired in 2012, but he made an ill-advised return in 2014 and subsequently lost a horrible fight against old rival Frankie Edgar.

That should’ve been that for ‘The Prodigy’, but at the end of 2016, the UFC announced that the Hawaiian was again planning a comeback at the start of the next year.

Rather than match him with a fellow ageing legend, though, the promotion instead decided to use his star status to build up hot prospect Yair Rodriguez. Most fans were utterly horrified with the booking, simply not wanting to see Penn take another one-sided beating, but that didn’t deter Dana White and company.

In the end, ‘The Prodigy’ was basically a sitting duck for ‘El Pantera’. The Mexican sniped at him with a seemingly never-ending barrage of flashy strikes, and when the bout was called off early in the second round, it felt merciful.

Rodriguez didn’t even gain much from the win in the end, as he lost his next fight to Edgar and took a while to rebuild himself. Penn, meanwhile, ended up fighting another three times before his eventual departure in 2019.

Unsurprisingly, he failed to win any of those bouts.

#1. Rich Franklin vs. Ken Shamrock – TUF 1 Finale (2005)

Back in 2002, the UFC put together a huge fight between then-light heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz and pioneering legend Ken Shamrock, allowing the rivals to settle a feud that dated back to the late 1990s.

The fight proved to be a huge success for the promotion, and arguably saved it from bankruptcy. However, at the time, many fans believed Shamrock stood a chance against Ortiz, and only saw differently when ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ dominated him.

Three years later, though, it was painfully clear that ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Man’ was way past his prime, even if he’d picked up a win after his loss to Ortiz.

That’s why most fans were baffled when the matchmakers decided to pair him with hot prospect Rich Franklin in the headliner of their first-ever TUF Finale.

Dana White and company were clearly hoping to launch Franklin into stardom, but matching him with the rapidly ageing Shamrock just seemed cruel.

Unsurprisingly, the fight was one-sided. After escaping a leglock attempt, ‘Ace’ dropped the legend with what looked like a glancing punch, and quickly finished him off with a barrage on the ground.

Franklin did become the star that the promotion hoped he would shortly after, but whether he gained a lot from his win over Shamrock remains debatable.