Top Five MMA Title Fights in Recent Memory

In the past few weeks the UFC has put on three title fights. All garnered each champion a good deal of criticism for not putting forth enough effort to finish the fight.

A five round fight can be the most dramatic in the sport, but it can also be the most drawn out and time-consuming. If a three round fight lacks the fireworks, at least it is over quickly.

Since fighting for a title is supposed to be the pinnacle of the sport, one would hope that the fighters would give it everything they have. This is not always the case, as we have seen of late, but when it is, it reminds us all why we watch the sport.

A championship changing hands is what's highlighted in the history books. A dominant champion putting it all on the line to cement a legacy is what inspires the sport for years to come.

Here are five championships that should be remembered long past the careers of those who participated; five examples of two warriors that left it all in the cage for at least one night.

"Rampage" Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin

In the summer of 2008, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion. Coming off the two highest profile wins of his career—one against Chuck Liddell (to win the belt) and one against Pride champion Dan Henderson—Jackson was clearly an American star with a growing fanbase.

The previous year, most considered Mauricio "Shogun" Rua to be the top light heavyweight in the sport. His entrance to the UFC's ranks was highly anticipated and his domination of their division was practically assumed.

Enter Forrest Griffin.

Griffin was the supposed sacrificial lamb for the debut of Shogun. Not only did nobody give Griffin a chance in this fight, but many feared for his health.

Well to make a long story short, Griffin finished Shogun in the third round, shocking everyone including himself. It was one of the biggest upsets the sport had ever seen and Griffin was now in the upper echelon of the division.

The UFC quickly capitalized on the loud personalities of their champion and new contender by casting them as opposing coaches on their hit reality series, The Ultimate Fighter. Both coaches were set to battle it out for the title at the conclusion of the season.

Going into the fight Forrest was, yet again, a giant underdog. This was seen as a relatively easy defense for Rampage, as he had just beaten two of the best in the sport. Like Forrest had done multiple times in the past, he planned to make the most of his opportunity.

The first round saw both fighters feeling each other out, with Griffin concentrating on landing his leg kicks and Jackson utilizing his boxing. Griffin was temporarily dazed by an uppercut, but managed to survive the rest of the round.

In the second round Griffin's leg kicks damaged Jackson's leg and dropped him to the ground. Griffin would punish him on the ground for the entire round in what many scored a 10-8 round.

Miraculously, Jackson regained the strength in his leg and fought on. The two traded blows for the remainder of the fight, and by the end, nobody was sure of the winner.

The decision was unanimous for Forrest Griffin and after another upset win, he was awarded the belt. It would be one of the more controversial decisions of the year, but no matter how you scored it, you could not doubt the heart of both fighters.

Josh Thompson vs. Gilbert Melendez 2

In 2004, Josh Thompson was one of the best lightweights in the UFC, but after a devastating KO at the hands of Yves Edwards, and the UFC's lack of attention to the division, Thompson took his business elsewhere.

He then divided his time between fighting for Pride in Japan, and Strikeforce in his native San Jose. Thompson won six of his seven fights before being offered a shot at Strikeforce lightweight champion, Gilbert Melendez, in 2008.

Melendez had won the title off of Clay Guida (who had given Thompson his only loss in those seven fights) and had held the title for two years.

Despite being a heavy favorite, Melendez lost every single round to Thompson after being out wrestled for most of the fight. Thompson was now Strikeforce's lightweight champion.

After nearly a year of failed attempts to set up a rematch—due to injuries to their champion—Strikeforce created an interim belt, which Melendez and Rodrigo Damm would compete for.

Melendez went on to knock out Damm in the second round. Melendez would then defend his interim title (and avenge his only other loss) against Mitsuhiro Ishida, after Thompson was again forced to pull out of a rematch.

In December of 2009, after more than a year out of the ring, Thompson was able to give Melendez his rematch. It was the former and interim champion, against the real current champion.

Immediately after the bell, the two met in the middle of the cage and began trading shots. Melendez kept himself more reserved than the first fight, and in turn was not setting himself up to be taken down repeatedly like before.

The two brawled for five furious rounds with Melendez getting the better of the punching exchanges. Each round was close, but Melendez was announced the winner and was once again the Strikeforce lightweight champion.

After 10 rounds, the two are 1-1 against each other. It was an epic second fight and one can only imagine how intense another five rounds would be. After all, it would be the first 15 round (or 11 round) trilogy in MMA.

Uriah Faber vs. Jens Pulver

In the summer of 2008, Uriah Faber was the featherweight champion and was quickly running through all contenders the WEC had to offer. He had won the title two years earlier and defended it four times.

Simultaneously, Jens Pulver had just made his WEC 145 pound debut, winning by choke against Cub Swanson early in the first round.

Pulver was the very first UFC lightweight champion and was still the only person to beat B.J. Penn at lightweight. He was also coming off a successful coaching stint on the reality television show, The Ultimate Fighter.

He was by far the biggest name Faber could meet, and with Pulver's successful recent debut, the fight was an assumption.

The match was set for Faber's hometown, but that didn't mean there was a lack of fan support for Pulver. He has always been a fan favorite and will likely remain to be.

Most figured that if the fight stayed standing then Pulver had a huge advantage, since we had never seen Faber's chin or boxing skills truly tested. If the fight went to the ground, most gave it to Faber.

From the opening bell, Faber came out firing impressive right hands that commentator Frank Mir compared to Bernard Hopkins. Pulver was caught off guard by the weapon that had not yet been seen from Faber.

Pulver took many right hands flush, but never took a backwards step. The fight remained on the feet with Faber getting the better of the action, but every spectator was fully aware that one punch from Pulver could have ended the fight.

For five rounds Pulver took an onslaught of punishment. He continually moved forward and landed his shots as well, but Faber showed he did have the chin for this kind of war.

It was a dramatic passing of the torch, and after five rounds, Faber had added the name of an all-time great to his resume. Pulver had proven once again why he was so beloved by the fans of this sport; he gave it everything he had and never gave up.

It was a dramatic 25 minutes that earned both fighters acclaim for their performance. However, it would be short-lived, as Faber would lose his title in his very next defense and Pulver would lose his next four fights.

Uriah Faber has a chance to reclaim that magic later this month, when he takes on current champ, Jose Aldo.

Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar

After a defense of his title in the summer of 2007, Randy Couture had made it clear that the only fight for him was with Fedor Emelianenko. With the UFC's inability to sign Emelianenko, Randy was left with few options if he truly wanted the fight. Citing additional reasons, he attempted to leave the organization to pursue the Russian.

He would soon find that easier said than done as the UFC's legal team kept him in a bind and out of the cage.

During this time, the UFC heavyweight division was finding new faces to replace the defecting Couture. Brock Lesnar was showing himself to be a potential star in the division, along with Pride legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and former UFC champ Frank Mir.

In the absence of their true champion, the UFC had made Nogueira their interim champion. A fine replacement he would be, but it lacked the lineal connection. Fans would always be able to say that Randy was still the champion because he never lost the title in the cage.

After over a year out of action, Randy surrendered his escape and signed a new contract with the UFC. Now it was a matter of how to handle his return, since Nogueira and Mir were already set to fight for the interim title.

The UFC set up a four-man tournament, with both titles on opposite sides of the bracket, to crown one legitimate champion. Couture was to make his return against the towering Brock Lesnar.

It was the bigger, stronger contender against the experienced, cagey champion. There was no mistake who the fans were rooting for.

Lesnar had already begun making himself the heel of the division. After demolishing Heath Herring for 15 minutes, Lesnar would push Herring and make disrespectful gestures at the bloodied opponent.

Couture was always the epitome of class and respect.

In the first round, Couture attempted his standard game plan of pressuring Lesnar to the cage. He even lifted him off the ground at one point, but the takedown was quickly reversed. It was clear that the strength of Couture did not match with the oversized Lesnar.

In the second round, Couture began to use his footwork and head movement to outbox Lesnar. Catching him repeatedly and even cutting his eye, Randy was looking to outclass the newcomer.

However, with a man as big and powerful as Brock, it only takes one hit to start the downfall.

Brock first caught Randy with a knee that clearly dazed him. A moment later a right hand hit Randy behind his ear and to the ground he went. Lesnar was not going to let him off the hook. He held the champion down and fired more hammerfists than I could count, until the ref stopped the fight.

Lesnar was now the lineal UFC heavyweight champion in only his fourth fight. He would go on to destroy Frank Mir to unify the titles, and would signal a new era of the heavyweight division; an era of bigger, more athletic, and more skilled heavyweights.

This fight was a necessity for the history of the division. If it weren't for this fight, critics would always point to the fact that Randy never lost his title. It was a dramatic stoppage, and a clear changing of the guard.

Gina Carano vs. Cristiane Santos

After just a few fights in the sport, the easy on the eyes Gina Carano was deemed the face of women's MMA. Undefeated and charismatic, she was an instant star.

Carano then built on her star status by appearing as "Crush" in the remake of The American Gladiators, along with other movies and television shows.

While Carano was enjoying her time in the limelight, a new force was making her American debut in the EliteXC promotion.

Cristiane Santos, better known as "Cyborg", caught the attention of all spectators in July of 2008, when she destroyed Shayna Bazler by TKO. Three months later she beat Yoko Takahashi by unanimous decision. On the same card—EliteXC: Heat—Carano beat Kelly Kobold by unanimous decision.

It was now clear that EliteXC had the top two female fighters at 140 pounds, if not pound-for-pound. The audience was clamoring for the two to meet.

However, after EliteXC: Heat, the promotion folded and began to auction their assets. The fighters under their contract were left idle, waiting for a new home to present itself.

After purchasing a number of their fighter contracts, along with other assets, San Jose based promotion, Strikeforce, became that home.

Strikeforce soon announced that Carano vs. Cyborg would headline an upcoming event, and would be for their newly created women's championship. It would be the first time two women would headline an MMA card consisting of men. It was also the first time they would fight five-minute rounds, instead of three.

Some advertised the fight as "Beauty vs. the Beast" due to Carano's model-like features and Cyborg's hard physique. The betting lines were near even, with Carano being a very slight favorite.

Amidst the sounds of a loud pro-Carano crowd, Cyborg wasted no time at the opening bell and pressured Carano to the cage with punches. After a few sloppy takedown attempts, Carano found herself on top and landed a flurry of punches, but the fight quickly went back to the feet.

On the feet, it was technique against strength and aggression, and technique was buckling. Cyborg began to maul Carano no matter where the fight took place.

With about 10 seconds left, Cyborg unleashed a barrage of punches, causing Carano to cover up with no response. The fight was called off with one second left in the first round. Cyborg was the first 145 pound women's champion.

Since the epic fight, Carano has not yet fought again. Cyborg has cemented her status with a tough defense of her title over Marloes Coenen.

The fight will be forever remembered as the first two mainstream faces of women's MMA meeting to determine a queen.