The Most Intense UFC Championship Fights Ever

If you want to watch real fighting, UFC is your best bet. The Ultimate Fighting Championship has been the world’s greatest showcase of mixed martial arts fighters for roughly three decades now. Rules are limited, fighters can use whichever style they please, and we see true displays of fighting ability as fighters go one on one with each other.

The fights are thrilling, more so than boxing or wrestling, and some can get remarkably intense. This is especially true in the high stakes championship fights in which the greatest fighters are pitted against each other for the top prizes. Read on for four of the greatest UFC Championship fights ever.

Brocks Lesnar vs. Frank Mir (UFC 100)

In 2009, UFC 100 brought forth one of the greatest fights ever in the UFC as Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir had a rematch for the championship. With a buyrate of 1.6 million, it was the most bought pay-per-view event in UFC’s history at that time, a record that lasted until UFC 202. At the Mandalay Bay set event, Lesnar won the fight one minute and 48 seconds into the second round.

This was an act of revenge for Lesnar, who succumbed to Mir’s jiu jitsu in their first fight, giving Lesnar his one loss professionally. Lesnar worked hard to make sure that outcome was not replicated, and he turned things around in their second match. Given Lesnar’s history in the WWE, he had built up a huge fanbase, and as he joined the UFC and became the Heavyweight Champion in a short time, he was able to open UFC up to a wider audience. 

Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture III (UFC 57)

If you made a list of the best MMA fighters in history, Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture III would be guaranteed to turn up, which is why whenever the two fought each other, UFC fans were in for a treat. Their UFC 43 fight saw Couture victorious with a third round technical knockout, thus winning the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. The rematch at UFC 52 saw Liddell get the other hand, with a first round knockout at 2:06.

Their third meeting at UFC 57 was much anticipated, and it did not disappoint. Fans of both fighters flocked to the fight with ear splittingly loud cheers for their favorites, and the fight was one of the most exciting the company had ever seen. Though Couture put up a strong fight, he was no match for Liddell, who scored a KO at 1:28 into the second round. This was the final match between the icons, with Liddell winning 2-1. 

Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald (UFC 189)

UFC 189 in 2015 saw one of the greatest fights ever as Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald duked it out. Rightfully named the fight of the year by numerous publications, both fighters displayed phenomenal technique as they went at each other. It lasted five rounds, with both men all bloodied up by the time they got to the fifth round. 

It was never clear who would be the winner as both of the fighters took serious beatings and seemed ready to collapse. Finally, one minute into the fifth round, Lawler brought MacDonald down with a TKO. The fight has since become a thing of UFC legend, with fans looking back on it as one of the best they have ever witnessed. 

Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez (UFC 205)

UFC 205 had the “biggest fight card” ever according to the company’s president Dana White, and the main event was Alvarez vs. McGregor. The two top notch MMA fighters headlined the Madison Square Garden event which was the first ever UFC event to happen in New York City, and with a gate of $17.7 million over 20,000 people in attendance, it was a record breaker all around, and that’s before you even get to the amazing fight itself. 

Few fighters rose as quickly and spectacularly as Conor McGregor did, and everybody was awed by his win over Jose Aldo, though the fight didn’t allow McGregor to show what he was really made of. The Eddie Alvarez match did, though, given Alvarez’ stature as one of MMA’s greats. Alvarez may have gotten cocky before the match, and the two verbally trashed each other beforehand, sending the excitement for the match even higher. McGregor delivered a TKO to Alverez three minutes and four seconds into the second round, and he thus became the first person in the UFC to hold two different division belts at once.