Classic Fight Breakdowns

Pereira reclaimed the LHW title in a 1-round revenge KO. Restored the post-Jones LHW era.

Jones's first HW title defense. Miocic's last fight.

First Topuria title defense. Holloway's second consecutive FW title-shot loss.

Dvalishvili's relentless wrestling pace dismantled O'Malley at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Du Plessis's first defense. Adesanya's third MW loss since 2022.

The "point at the canvas" KO that became the iconic 2024 moment.

Ended Volkanovski's featherweight reign. Topuria became the youngest FW champion since Aldo.

South Africa's first UFC champion. Highly contested decision.

Pereira's title-winning finish; established the post-Jones LHW era.

Aspinall won the interim HW title in 70 seconds, setting up the never-realized Jones unification.

Rematch KO on short notice. Settled the LW title dispute with a clean finish.

Ended Sterling's 3-defense BW title reign. O'Malley's coronation as a marketable champion.

Revenge KO. Adesanya solved the Pereira puzzle and reclaimed the MW title.

Jones won the vacant HW title in his HW debut. Became a 2-division champion.

Ended Shevchenko's 7-defense flyweight title reign. First Mexican-born female UFC champion.

Champ-vs-champ at the lightweight title. Volkanovski's first career loss on the scorecards.

Pereira's title-winning KO, continuing their kickboxing-and-MMA rivalry.

One of the great come-from-behind title finishes. Edwards was losing on all three cards.

Trilogy closer that settled the Holloway-Volkanovski rivalry definitively in Volkanovski's favor.

The first full-capacity UFC card since COVID. One of the most decisive title KOs in women's MMA.

Usman's right-hand KO showcased the striking development under Trevor Wittman.

Khabib's retirement fight. Final bout of the 29-0 career.

The most-debated Jones decision. Many observers had Reyes winning the first 3 rounds.

Featherweight title change. Holloway's reign ended; Volkanovski era began.

Title unification — the largest-attended UFC event ever at the time. Adesanya's coronation.

Lightweight title unification in Abu Dhabi. Khabib's first title defense after the McGregor bout.

2.4M PPV buys (UFC record at the time). The post-fight brawl.

Ended Johnson's record 11-defense flyweight title reign.

Cormier's simultaneous LHW + HW title win. The most decisive heavyweight title change.

Team Alpha Male's answer to Cruz after years of losses. Garbrandt outpointed Cruz at his own game.

McGregor became the first UFC fighter to simultaneously hold two division titles.

McGregor's first UFC loss. The short-notice replacement that produced the trilogy.

Fastest title-fight finish in UFC history at the time. McGregor's coronation moment.

The KO that ended Rousey's 12-fight unbeaten run and the first Rousey era.

First Jones-DC fight; one of the most-anticipated LHW title fights of the decade.

The most competitive fight of Jones's career. Many neutral observers had Gustafsson winning.

Pettis's revenge for the WEC loss; took the UFC LW title in round 1.

Ended Silva's 16-fight UFC win streak and 7-year title reign.

Reclaiming the title; the dominant heavyweight performance of the 2010s.

Universally cited as one of the greatest fights in MMA history.

One of the greatest comeback finishes in title-fight history.

Ended Fedor's 10-year unbeaten streak. The end of the PRIDE-era heavyweight king.

The moment women's MMA crossed into mainstream broadcast.

Heavyweight title unification on the UFC's 100th event. 1.6M PPV buys.

Ended Liddell's career and the Iceman era. Liddell retired afterward.

Couture, 43, returned from retirement to dominate champion Sylvia and reclaim the HW title.

Generational handoff at welterweight. GSP's first UFC title.

Trilogy-closing finish that confirmed Liddell as the dominant LHW of the mid-2000s.

Iconic comeback — Hughes survived a low blow and near-finish to carry Trigg across the cage and submit him.

The fight that saved the UFC. The Spike TV broadcast partnership followed within a week.