The 10 Greatest Feuds in UFC and MMA History

For some people MMA competition is enough. Two tough guys, one cage, something has to give.

But for many, dare I suggest most, simply inserting two people into the UFC Octagon is not, in and of itself, particularly compelling. We've seen it—dozens, hundreds, even thousands of times.

It takes more than just organizing an athletic contest to get our attention. We need context, story or high stakes. Is a championship on the line? Is this a battle between two distinct styles?

Best of all, though? Are they getting it on because they don't, gulp, get along?

Modern MMA turns 21 this year. It's old enough to have a bit of an established history, old enough for us to draw some sweeping conclusions and make some broad generalizations. Here's one—the most successful fights at the box office are contests built on pure and unadulterated hatred.

When two fighters legitimately don't get along, MMA fans turn into vampires in a mad hunt for blood. From the earliest days, starting with Ken Shamrock storming out of a 1996 press conference prior to his fight with Dan Severn at UFC 6, bad blood has equaled big bucks.  

What follows are the 10 most intense feuds in the history of this great sport. These are the few and the proud who have either delivered in the cage, amused us in the buildup or made promoters rich.

Have more to add? Please let me know in the comments.

10. Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Naoya Ogawa

Date

December 31, 2005

Event

Pride Shockwave 2005

Result

Hidehiko Yoshida defeated Naoya Ogawa by armbar (Round 1).

Analysis

The two judo champions had met once before on the mats, in the 1994 All-Japan Judo Championships. In that bout the much smaller Yoshida dispatched the big heavyweight on his way to winning the open weight title as a middleweight. It was one of the most memorable matches in the modern history of Japanese judo.

Ogawa had won five tournaments in a row and seemed unbeatable, making Yoshida's victory all the more improbable. Alongside his world and Olympic gold medals, it was the greatest achievement of Yoshida's glorious career. 

Japanese sports fans, of course, knew all about this history. When the two met a second time, more than a decade later, there was considerable mainstream interest. The result was a massive television rating and equally massive $2 million paydays for both men.

9. Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra

Date

May 23, 2009

Event

UFC 98

Result

Matt Hughes beat Matt Serra by unanimous decision.

Analysis

It's little wonder the two men didn't get along when they crossed paths during the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter. They were, in many ways, a textbook training tool to teach kids the word "opposites."

One is a country boy from Illinois; the other a loud mouth from New York. One a wrestler; the other a jiu- jitsu player. And one was a champion; the other a talented fighter who never quite put it together. 

Also? Hughes, according to Serra, is "a d--k of a person."

When most people see oil and water refusing to mix, they agree it would be best for them to go their separate ways. That was not so for producers at Spike and fight promoters at the UFC. Instead, they brought the two men together and forced them into close proximity as coaches on Season 6 of The Ultimate Fighter.

The two, as expected, were natural rivals. It was a tense season, and expectations were high for their eventual collision in the Octagon. Unfortunately, fans would have to wait some time for the payoff to weeks of bad blood.

A Serra back injury delayed the bout more than a year. But, in the end, that just showed the power of this feud. It sparked something in fans' imaginations. When they finally met in the middle, it was still a fight people cared about. That's special.

8. The Gracies vs. Kazushi Sakuraba

Date

1999-2000

Event

Pride 8-Pride 12

Result

Kazushi Sakuraba beat Royler, Royce, Renzo and Ryan Gracie.

Analysis

Rorion Gracie was one of the original founders of the UFC. His brother Royce was the first UFC champion. Across the Pacific, another brother, Rickson, helped spread the family art in Japan, winning two tournaments of his own.

Simply put, the Gracies are MMA royalty. You can forgive early fans for considering them unbeatable—no one, after all, managed the task—no one but Kazushi Sakuraba.

The Japanese wrestler, continuing a longstanding battle, took his own brand of submission grappling into the Pride ring against the recognized masters of the mat. And, time and again, he walked away with his hand raised. 

In the end, Sakuraba had himself a new nickname—"Gracie Hunter." More importantly, Pride Fighting Championship had a bona fide native star to propel the sport straight into the mainstream.

7. Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans

Date

April 21, 2012

Event

UFC 145

Result

Jon Jones beat Rashad Evans by unanimous decision

Analysis

The most Shakespearean of all MMA feuds, this one has a little bit of everything—betrayal, jealousy, hatred and revenge.

The men started as training partners at Jackson-Winkeljohn's in New Mexico. Evans took the promising young Jones under his wing, and the two seemed to be fast friends.

This idyllic world exploded when Jones told the world he would be happy to fight his teammate, a violation of the Greg Jackson rules of engagement. For years members of Jackson's team refused to compete against each other. Jones, it seemed, was rewriting the protocol.

In the end, spurned, Evans left the coach he had helped make famous, going out on his own to form the Blackzilians in Florida. When the two met in Atlanta, both men had plenty to prove.

The trash talk was plentiful, brutal and real. Jones, however, had the last laugh—he dominated Evans on his way to an easy decision win.

6. Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell

Marlene Karas/Associated Press

Date

April 2, 2004; December 30, 2006

Event

UFC 47; UFC 66

Result

Chuck Liddell won both fights by knockout.

Analysis

The two men had plenty in common as they both rose to MMA fame. Both were California boys, both were standout amateur wrestlers and both were managed by future UFC president Dana White. 

It was Tito Ortiz, of course, who broke out as one of the early superstars of the Zuffa era. He was the face of the UFC and a box-office sensation. Liddell took a little longer to catch on, eventually forcing the world to take note with a string of impressive wins.

Despite Ortiz's star status, Liddell and White believed "the Iceman" was the better fighter. He was certainly the easier for White to deal with. Both the UFC's president and its top contender at light heavyweight wanted a shot at their former friend in the worst way.

Instead, Ortiz held out, looking to get paid if he was going to risk his position against a former training partner. Things got ugly, to the point, more than a decade later, the grudge remains. Ortiz mocked Liddell's pot belly. Chuck called Tito a chicken.

Then, finally, they settled it with their fists. Liddell won convincingly, but once was not enough. The two met a second time in the post-Ultimate Fighter boom, becoming the first UFC fighters to earn more than a million pay-per-view buys.

5. Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate

Date

March 3, 2012; December 28, 2013

Event

Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Tate; UFC 168

Result

Ronda Rousey won both fights with her signature armbar.

Analysis

This feud began, as most MMA feuds do, as a marketing tool. But, in time, the antipathy between the two women was as real as it gets. 

It's hard to believe, considering Rousey's current status as MMA's "it girl," that the feud between these two women started with the idea Rousey hadn't earned a shot at the top of the women's bantamweight ladder. Dropping from 145, the former Judo bronze medalist was seen as too unproven and too untested, to jump immediately into title contention against Tate.

But even then her star potential was obvious. And she proved critics wrong in the cage, ravaging Miesha Tate, both verbally and physically on her way to winning Strikeforce gold. Tate, refusing to yield, allowed her arm to be destroyed rather than concede immediately.

The two would meet again at UFC 168 in the most compelling women's MMA bout to date. Tate had shifted perception remarkably when the two were rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter. Rousey, by the time it was all said and done, emerged the villain. Tate, coming off as reasonable, competent and confident, was the hero. 

"It's not a joke. It's not an act," Tate told me before the fight. "It's not like when the cameras turn off we're buddy-buddy, and she's respectful. No. She's flipping me off whether there are cameras there or not."

It didn't much matter when the two hit the cage. Rousey was again the better fighter and in athletics, ultimately, that's really all that matters.

4. Ken Shamrock vs. Don Frye

Credit: Jonathan Snowden screenshot

Date

February 4, 2002

Event

Pride 19

Result

Don Frye beat Ken Shamrock by split decision.

Analysis

When Pride looked to conquer the American market, the biggest fight it had for American fans was Ken Shamrock vs. Don Frye. The two men, both UFC standouts in the sports' formative years, were also veterans of professional wrestling. If anyone would be able to make a splash, it would be these two founts of charisma.

Somewhere along the way, however, the fight promotion got a little too personal. Frye turned the talk toward Shamrock's family, angering a man who was once considered the world's most dangerous human being. The Los Angeles press conference devolved into a spectacle. Water and bodies flew—and, yet, somehow the fight topped even the build.

It was a closely fought bout that saw Frye survive Shamrock's signature leglocks to win a split decision. It was an amazing display of grit but one that came with a cost—Frye's long-term health.

"Painkillers are real easy to get addicted to," Frye told me in an interview for my book The MMA Encyclopedia. "Mostly because you only start taking them because you really need them. Then one day you're howling at the moon and telling yourself that you're not the kind of person who does drugs, even if you're spending most of your day high on pharmaceutical-grade opiates."

3. Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir

Date

February 2, 2008; July 11, 2009

Event

UFC 81; UFC 100

Result

Frank Mir beat Brock Lesnar by submission; Lesnar beat Mir by TKO.

Analysis

No one knew exactly what to expect from Brock Lesnar in his Octagon debut at UFC 81. Sure, he had a stellar amateur pedigree. But that college success was nearly a decade in the rearview mirror. He'd spent the last several years prior to joining the fight circuit in the wacky world of professional wrestling.

Was it enough to wreck his body and dull his competitive instincts?

It turned out the answer was a definitive "no." Though Mir pulled out a submission win with a kneebar, it was only after Lesnar wowed the world with his quickness, strength and savagery. He was clearly a champion in the making.

Losing doesn't sit well with Lesnar, and he didn't believe in moral victories. To make things worse, Mir was vocally dismissive of Lesnar's chances in a rematch. That infuriated Lesnar, who demanded a second shot at Mir and got it—at UFC 100, still the biggest event in the history of mixed martial arts.

Lesnar dominated the return bout and then went on a memorable post-fight rant, taunting Mir and even taking some shots at the UFC's beer sponsor, Bud Light.  

"To have to wait 17 months to get revenge on this man. And to have to listen to him talk about what he was going to do to me," Lesnar told the press after the fight. "The icing on the cake was having to be pulled off by the referee."

2. Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva

Date

August 7, 2010; July 7, 2012

Event

UFC 117; UFC 148

Result

Anderson Silva beat Chael Sonnen via final-round submission and by TKO.

Analysis

Sonnen was a journeyman on a hot streak, yet another amateur wrestler in a sport full of them, bound to be forgotten like so many before him. He was a good fighter.

There are a lot of good fighters.

Late in his career, however, Sonnen found his true calling. Hearkening back to his days as a pro wrestling fan, Sonnen channeled the greats of that industry. And, much like professional wrestlers in the 1980s, his consistent target was the champion—the great Anderson Silva.

Despite his considerable skill, Silva had not really clicked with fans at the box office. His pay-per-views were often supplemented with major supporting acts, his artistry in the cage not quite enough to resonate with fans. Sonnen changed all that.

His trash talk, often vile, gave their fight stakes beyond deciding who the better fighter was. Incredibly, Sonnen nearly proved himself the better man that night, beating Silva for four rounds before falling victim to a final-round submission. It was the greatest finish in MMA history, a reminder captured for all time of what it means to be a champion.

Sonnen, however, was fueled by synthetic testosterone in that fight. Suspended and disgraced, he fought his way back into contention. Once again his patter invigorated the fight promotion. Although he didn't manage to win, Sonnen did manage to excite the fanbase. UFC 148 sold nearly a million pay-per-views, making it one of the top 10 box-office performers in UFC history, according to MMAPayout.com.

The Lion's Den vs. Tito Ortiz

Date

May 30, 1997- October 10,2006

Events

UFC 13; UFC 19; UFC 40; UFC 61; UFC: Ortiz vs. Shamrock

Result

Guy Mezger beat Ortiz via submission and lost via TKO. Ortiz beat Ken Shamrock by TKO three times.

Analysis

It started with a screen-printed t-shirt (reading "Gay Mezger is My B---h" for the record) and ended with an embrace. 

In between?

Five fights, two middle fingers and a lot of entertained fans.

Although Shamrock's protege Mezger beat Ortiz at UFC 13, in a way it was almost unfair. The younger Ortiz was untested and unschooled. Mezger was already a veteran of the sport.

By the time they met almost two years later, things were quite different. Ortiz was a man, now grown up, not a college kid, and proceeded to wipe the mat with Mezger. When the fight was done, he shot a double bird at Shamrock in the corner and put on the infamous t-shirt.

A livid Shamrock, enormous and enraged, leaned over the cage screaming. "Tito," he said. "Don't let me catch you wearing that t-shirt." The two camps were separated, and security managed to keep them apart backstage and prevent a full-scale brawl from breaking out. 

MMA fans were enthralled. More than three years later, after Shamrock's jaunt in the WWE was over, it was still the most anticipated fight in all of MMA. It set a new standard for pay-per-views, tripling what some contemporary shows were doing for the new UFC owners.

In 2006 it was still a hot ticket. As coaches on The Ultimate Fighter, Ortiz and Shamrock set ratings records for the reality show. Then, after a controversial stoppage in the first round of their PPV rematch, they drew an unheard of 4.3 rating for their October 10 fight on Spike.

"When those numbers hit for Shamrock-Ortiz, it was, like, 'We have to pay attention, and this is clearly getting a loyal young 18-34,'" Spike president Kevin Kay told Sherdog. "I think that was the beginning of more mainstream advertisers coming in to Spike and coming to the mixed martial arts."