UFC 244: 4 historic UFC fights that could've been for a 'BMF Title'

This weekend will see MMA bad boys Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal face off in a Welterweight fight in the main event of UFC 244 – with the UFC’s inaugural ‘BMF’ title on the line. And of course, if you know anything about the personalities of Diaz and Masvidal, you don’t need me to tell you what those three letters stand for.

The fight will be the first time that the UFC has awarded a title outside of their usual World titles in each different weight class, and while detractors will probably claim that the whole thing is a gimmick, the idea that Masvidal or Diaz – neither of whom is recognised as the best 170lber in the world right now – could be considered the UFC’s ‘BMF’ is certainly understandable.

Diaz vs. Masvidal isn’t the only fight that could’ve been considered for this kind of title, though. Rewind a few years and you’ll find plenty of historic UFC fights that could well have seen this title decided. Here are 4 of the best.

#1 Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem – UFC 141, 30th December 2011

Brock Lesnar's fight with Alistair Overeem was a true clash of the titans

The UFC Heavyweight title had actually been on the line in a fight between champion Cain Velasquez and challenger Junior Dos Santos a few weeks before fellow Heavyweights Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem faced off inside the Octagon, but had the UFC put a ‘BMF’ title on the line for this clash of the titans, few could’ve argued.

Lesnar might’ve suffered a major beatdown at the hands of Velasquez a year prior, but he was still at his intimidating best in 2011 and after time off due to a diverticulitis issue, was looking to prove he was still “the baddest man on the planet”.

Overeem meanwhile was the UFC’s latest big acquisition; the Dutchman hadn’t lost in years, had steamrolled everyone he’d faced in StrikeForce, DREAM and K-1 and had been nicknamed ‘Ubereem’ for his insanely muscular physique.

Essentially, these two behemoths facing off inside the Octagon looked more like a fight from a movie or a video game than real life. The UFC bought into it too, displaying the height and weight of the fighters on the event poster rather than the usual numbers of wins or knockouts.

In the end, Overeem came out on top in the battle of the giants; his striking was too powerful for Lesnar to handle, and he kneed and kicked the former Heavyweight champion in his most vulnerable area – the body – until he couldn’t take any more. While the Dutchman didn’t become the world’s best Heavyweight with the win, for a time at least he was certainly the most feared.

#2 Wanderlei Silva vs. Chuck Liddell – UFC 79, 29th December 2007

Chuck Liddell's war with Wanderlei Silva lived up to all the hype

It’s fair to say that we got the long-awaited fight between Wanderlei Silva and Chuck Liddell a little too late; had the UFC been able to book it a year beforehand, both men would’ve been coming into the fight on seriously long winning streaks, Silva as the PRIDE Middleweight champion and Liddell as the UFC Light-Heavyweight champion. Simply put, it could’ve been the biggest fight in MMA history to that point.

As it was – with Liddell coming off back-to-back losses and Silva’s last fight being a knockout loss – neither man came in holding a title, nor was either considered the best 205lber in the world. But that didn’t stop it from being a hugely anticipated encounter – and a definite candidate for a historical fight worthy of deciding a ‘BMF’ title.

There were few fighters in the world – if any – who were more intimidating than Silva and Liddell at the time, and with 37 knockouts between them, the idea that the fight could last the distance seemed ridiculous. The two men showed more aggression in their pre-fight staredown than many fighters showed in the Octagon itself.

Curiously enough, the fight did last for three rounds, with Liddell eventually being awarded the win via unanimous decision. But the fight certainly lived up to all of the pre-fight hype, with both men exchanging furiously from start to finish, neither willing to back down in some of the most jaw-dropping trades that the UFC had ever seen.

And despite winning the fight – and being recognised once again as arguably the baddest Light-Heavyweight on the planet – Liddell went on to lose his next three fights before his 2010 retirement, showing the cost of the fight to his career overall.

#3 Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit – UFC 195, 2nd January 2016

Robbie Lawler's fight with Carlos Condit was a war for the ages

The first fight on this list that actually had one of the regular UFC titles on the line – in this case, the Welterweight crown was up for grabs – the 2016 clash between Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit would definitely have suited a ‘BMF’ title too.

In the years prior to this fight, Lawler had been involved in three all-time classics, fighting Johny Hendricks (on two occasions) and Rory MacDonald in jaw-dropping brawls, and in the latter two fights it’d been ‘Ruthless Robbie’ with his hand raised.

Condit meanwhile had garnered a reputation for being one of the most aggressive fighters in MMA history ever since his WEC run of 2007-08, and his nickname ‘The Natural Born Killer’ couldn’t have been better suited to him.

Neither man had the attitude of a Masvidal or Diaz outside the cage – both Lawler and Condit were recognised as “nice guys” – but inside the cage both had the ability to flip a switch and become very scary indeed.

In this fight, the switch was flipped for both men, and we were treated to one of the greatest wars in UFC history. Condit drew first blood – knocking Lawler down with a left hand in the first round – but the Ruthless One evened the score in the second by sending Condit to the mat with a crushing right hook.

The subsequent rounds were simply too wild to call, with both men throwing everything they had at one another, exchanging huge shots with neither showing any quarter. By the end of the fifth round, Lawler was practically knocking Condit around the Octagon with his punches, but just couldn’t put him away.

The fight ended with both men slumped across the fence of the cage, simply exhausted with nothing left to give. Lawler was awarded a decision victory, retaining his Welterweight title, but had a ‘BMF’ title been on the line, you could’ve given it to either fighter and not been wrong.

#4 Nick Diaz vs. Diego Sanchez – Ultimate Fighter II Finale, 5th November 2005

Diego Sanchez's fight with Nick Diaz was filled with bad blood

Back in 2005, neither Nick Diaz nor Diego Sanchez had quite reached the fame and notoriety they would in later years; Diaz only had five UFC fights to his name, and while Sanchez had gained a following due to his victory on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, his true worth as an elite-level fighter was still largely unknown.

Still, the two men definitely had the attitude to be considered the UFC’s ‘BMF’, and when they were matched together on the Finale show of the second season of TUF, it felt like fireworks were guaranteed to ensue.

Even before they entered the Octagon, you could tell this was a truly bitter rivalry between two young prospects that genuinely disliked each other. Sanchez’s pre-fight talk spoke of “elbows dropping and bones breaking”, and Diaz’s hatred of his opponent extended to throwing a shoe at him during the backstage warm-up for the fight.

The pre-fight staredown was as intense as it got; the two men went nose-to-nose with neither man giving an inch, and the clash itself turned out to live up to all the hype. This wasn’t a wild trade of strikes like Lawler/Condit or Silva/Liddell, either – this was a high-paced grappling match between two mat wizards.

In the end it was Sanchez’s superior takedowns and top control that won the fight, as he continually tackled Diaz and sliced him up with elbows – although Diaz cut him open in the third round with a vicious upkick to even the score somewhat.

And while ‘The Nightmare’ came away with his hand raised, affirming his status as one of the Welterweight division’s baddest men, Diaz’s attitude was pure ‘BMF’ too – he stated that despite losing the fight, he still had no respect for his opponent.