10 of the Best Brawls in MMA History

Joined once more by Zane Simon from Bloody Elbow, we bring you 10 of the best brawls that have ever blessed the cage (or ring). 

I'm more of a grappling fan than a striking fan, but even I won't deny that little else can replicate the anticipation and excitement generated by all-out brawls in MMA. They have you on the edge of your seat the whole time.

The best brawls come from fairly matched opponents; while lopsided matchmaking may deliver highlight-reel knockouts, they're not satisfying. Watching two evenly matched elite strikers try to outwit each other with their fists and footwork is to witness the combat sports equivalent of a masterpiece. As MMA has evolved and refined itself over the years, we've seen the cream of the crop of brawls get honed to a new level as well.

What constitutes "best" is subjective; our main criteria were relevance and degree of technicality or sheer insanity. The other criterion was that the fight wasn't Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama. This is a list of the best brawls...aside from that one.

Really, there were so many possibilities, we can't include them all, even with an honorable mentions slide. Tell us in the comments what's missing!

Honorable Mentions

Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar

So many good fights. Here's an incomplete list of honorable mentions in chronological order:

• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Bob Sapp, 2002
• Fedor Emelianenko vs. Mirko Filipovic, 2005
• Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar 1, 2005
• Dan Henderson vs. Wanderlei Silva 2, 2007
• Nick Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi, 2007
• Donald Cerrone vs. Rob McCullough, 2008
• Eddie Alvarez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri, 2008
• Jorge Santiago vs. Kazuo Misaki 2, 2010
• Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung, 2010
• Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley, 2011
• Gilbert Melendez vs. Josh Thomson 2, 2012
• Dennis Bermudez vs. Matt Grice, 2013
• Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez, 2013
• John Lineker vs. Francisco Rivera, 2015

Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann, 2013

Zane Simon

At one point, Wanderlei Silva was a constant purveyor of high-octane violence. By the time he fought Brian Stann, it seemed like he was grappling with being a glass cannon and often working against his instincts to try to stay conscious.

Something about this fight clicked, though. Maybe it’s because it was in Japan, where Wandy did all his best work, or maybe it’s because Stann was just the right kind of fighter to give him a perfect firefight, but these two put on a show. Both fighters were rocked multiple times, showed great heart and fought hard for almost 10 minutes. It may not be the most technical bout on this list, but it was one of the most purely action-packed.

Sydnie Jones

You do have to hand it to them—this fight was bonkers. In the first round, they went from cautious circling for the first 30 seconds to a wild, swinging exchange that was long on brute force and short on technique and strategy.

Whenever they were striking, that’s how it was—all or nothing and desperately trying for a finish. Both fighters ate some serious strikes. Both hit the mat a few times. But it was a sneaky right from Silva that ended the fight, dropping Stann after following up with a left. Despite its relative brevity to the other fights on this list, Silva vs. Stann was an incredible and incredibly entertaining brawl.

Michael Chandler vs. Eddie Alvarez 1, 2011

Zane Simon

Sometimes, two fighters are just made to fight each other. Alvarez’s style just seemed to play right into everything Chandler did well while still allowing Alvarez to work. Each round became its own miniature fight where one fighter’s specific skills carried the day.

In one round, Alvarez’s in and out boxing allowed him to land all the best shots, while in another Chandler’s top-control grappling gave him the clear advantage. In another, Alvarez was wobbled and desperate to stay alive. And then for Chandler to finally and firmly take it over with a late submission to become the new champ, it gave this bout the feel of an all-time great fight.

Sydnie Jones

Longtime fans of Alvarez know he delivers the violence. And he did in this fight as well, after recovering from a rough start. As Simon said, each round was so different; you couldn’t predict what was going to happen. We got to see the top game of both fighters, who kept a fast pace and seemed primed for violence. But it was when Chandler rocked Alvarez with a windmilling right, got Alvarez to the mat and sunk in a rear-naked choke that brought a definitive end to the action.

It was an exciting fight, and the taut pacing and near nonstop action made this a worthy addition to the list.

You can view the full fight here.

Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson, 2013

Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Jon Jones kicks Alexander Gustafsson.

Zane Simon

Hilariously billed as Tall vs. Tall, this actually did seem to come down to a battle in which Jones struggled against an opponent with the same height and something approximating his same reach advantage. The fight showed that while Jones is a fantastic fighter, he really wasn’t ready for someone who could string together solid boxing combinations at range. Add in that Gustafsson was able to surprise Jones with his wrestling game a few times, and this became a fantastic pitched battle.

The fact that Jones won it (arguably) stands as a testament to his own diversity and ability to dig deep late in fights to find offense that his opponent can’t match.

Sydnie Jones

Jones was taken down for the first time in the UFC in this fight. Is it a coincidence that shortly thereafter Gustafsson got poked in the eye? Who can say? In any case, Jones was confronted with challenges he hadn’t faced before in the cage: an opponent with a similar reach who could take him down. And, as Zane said, Gustafsson’s boxing combinations threw Jones of.

Watching him adapt while getting both brows split open and eating huge strikes was riveting. By the fifth round, he looked exhausted and was moving slow, while Gustafsson was still lively and active...and still, Bones put Gustafsson into more danger more often. After getting the unanimous decision, Jones said he had been “sloppy.”

Seeing him at his best should be incredible, if this fight was any indication.

Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio Shogun Rua 1, 2011

Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Rua prepares to ground and pound Henderson.

Zane Simon

Like a couple of other fights on this list, one of the things that made Henderson vs. Shogun 1 so great is that it was really fairly unexpected. This was Henderson fresh off his KO win over Fedor Emelianenko, so everyone knew he was still fully capable of brutality; and while it was fresh off Rua’s KO win over Forrest Griffin, it just didn’t feel like we were headed for an all-time great fight. It felt like we were headed toward a brutal KO for someone.

But, put two iron-jawed power punchers together in a cage with miles of experience under their belts and you get something magical. They went after each other hammer and tongs to deliver an all-time great fight, one that neither has matched since.

Sydnie Jones

Following a strong early showing by Henderson, with a mean-looking front choke attempt and a flurry of strikes against the cage, it looked like Shogun was in trouble. But he recovered, and what ensued was a crazy back-and-forth battle that showcased the striking and wrestling of both fighters.

The blitzkrieg from Henderson looked like enough to drop any fighter, but Rua didn’t even seem rocked—at least, not until the third round, when a huge right from Henderson sent him to the mat. Rua struggled to survive, diving into deep half while Henderson rained hammer fists and elbows onto him.

There were a few times the ref could have justifiably stopped the fight during the action, but he didn’t, and Shogun turned deep half guard into a heel hook attempt. The danger Shogun was in elevated the fight to a brutal race to a finish, which never came. Instead, we were treated to an action-filled slugfest between two of the toughest light heavyweights, punctuated by takedowns, heel hook attempts and even a crucifix, that had Rua dominating an exhausted Henderson by the end.

Mauricio Shogun Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, 2005

Zane Simon

Long enough ago it practically belongs to a different generation of fighting, Shogun vs. Lil’ Nog is Pride’s all-time great technical brawl. A fight in which two highly talented, tough, and diversely skilled fighters threw everything they had at each other.

It’s a fight where the winner and loser could be lost to history, and all that would stand is a memory of a great, great scrap. It pitted a prime Shogun with all his tools at his disposal against a young (but still old0looking) Lil’ Nog, who had carved a spot as one of the best boxers in the sport at a time when few people threw more than two punches in a stretch.

Sydnie Jones

This represents a different generation of fighting, when it was still chill to knee/kick/whatever the head of a downed opponent. With so many options, these technicians were free to use whatever weapons in their arsenals seemed best suited to the task at hand.

The result was an exciting three rounds of varied striking, punctuated by high-level grappling setups, mostly from Lil' Nog. Shogun’s defense was strong enough that each setup ended with him punching Lil' Nog for his trouble. Rua's performance earned him the unanimous decision.

Antonio Bigfoot Silva vs. Mark Hunt 1, 2013

Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Mark Hunt lands a left on Antonio Silva.

Zane Simon

This was kind of like Stann vs. Wanderlei, but at heavyweight, which made it that much more ridiculous. Bigfoot may be a ghost of himself these days, but at his peak, in the right kind of battle, he was a fearsome fighter.

Basically, if you couldn’t down a prime Antonio Silva, you were unlikely to beat him. He was too tough, big and diverse.

Takedowns were never Mark Hunt’s game—just good old-fashioned power kickboxing. So, put the best version of one of the hardest-headed, biggest punchers in a fight with a piece of Easter Island statuary with fists, and you get an all-time great slobberknocker in a division that rarely sees more than five minutes of hard fighting.

Sydnie Jones

Clash of the titans! Hunt, who’s famous for his pain tolerance and lumbering resolve, absorbed some low kicks to his front leg that hurt him enough that he had to limp. When he got tired of Silva’s striking, Hunt threw him to the mat like it was nothing.

Hunt also dropped Silva in the third, but, somehow, it wasn’t enough to knock him out cold. Since that’s usually what happens, Hunt was slow to try to finish the fight with ground-and-pound. Maybe that gave Silva time to recover enough that he survived the rest of the fight.

That might have been a pivotal moment that ultimately led to this crazy fight being declared a draw. It was so bloody that by the end, Hunt’s bleached blond hair was pink with his own blood and Silva wore a mask of red from a cut on his forehead.

Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler 1, 2014

Zane Simon

The first meeting between Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler for the vacant welterweight title was not expected to be quite as amazing as it was. Both men had strong reputations as great fighters, and Hendricks had just found some of the best form of his career against Georges St-Pierre.

But we weren’t sure how Hendricks’ chin would hold out against Lawler's power or how well Lawler would fare against Hendricks' wrestling. But a lack of a punishing top game from Hendricks and a real love of pocket brawling from Lawler made this mostly a stand-up war of attrition where both men fired away.

There were constant momentum swings, and too many big shots landed to count. The fight was decided on the thinnest of margins.

Sydnie Jones

Lawler opened strong, driving Hendricks to the cage and wailing on him. Hendricks, short for the division, didn’t let his reach disadvantage slow him. He gamely engaged in striking exchanges with Lawler, rocking him more than once and never looking too worse for the wear.

Lawler, in typical Lawler fashion, seemed energized by the back and forth, despite Hendricks’s power. He took the third and fourth rounds, but the fifth went to Hendricks following a striking blitz and a convincing takedown. He kept Lawler on the ground against the cage until the bell, and while close, the fight went to Bigg Rigg via unanimous decision.

Despite losing, Lawler’s stock continued to rise with this fight; it was his fourth since his return to the UFC, and his renaissance was something of a surprise. We didn’t know it at the time, but this presaged his future rise to the top, where he faced Hendricks again, this time taking the title with a split-decision win.

Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit, 2016

Zane Simon

Is Robbie Lawler really on this list three times? Maybe... His UFC title run has been a revelation, and it’s worth noting that, win or lose, his fight with Carlos Condit is probably the best, most entertaining fight he’s had so far. And that’s with his KO of MacDonald included.

This fight featured two of the best strikers in the world making continual adjustments to their games, round after round, minute by minute. They were trying to find the openings in each other’s styles and the opportunities to land fight-ending offense. Both men got rocked, and both got dropped.

Condit delivered an impossible pace and variety of strikes, and Lawler responded with perfectly placed power and aggression. This was an all-time great brawl.

Sydnie Jones

Although this fight is barely one month old, it, like so many of Lawler's recent fights, it went down immediately as one of the best MMA fights of all time. Perhaps there's recency bias, but two expert strikers with two of the best chins in MMA going at it in a title fight meant they gave us a highly technical, exciting fight that just didn't stop.

The entire fifth round was a high-volume, mutual beatdown. Watching these two throw everything they had at each other and stay standing to the end was unreal. 

Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes 2, 2014

Zane Simon

After Jose Aldo knocked out Chad Mendes in their first bout, Mendes went out and got a lot better. He improved his striking and smoothed his combination work. He integrated it even better with his wrestling and melded his wrestling with his grappling. He became a force at featherweight.

And then he fought Jose Aldo again. And this time, he matched the former champ early and often, strike for strike, technique for technique, power for power. It forced one of the best fights out of the champion that fans had seen in ages. A fight where he actually had to dig deep, where he had to work hard to make his opponent respect and fear him, instead of starting with those already in place.

And he did it. He responded when Mendes dropped him by coming back and putting Mendes on his ass. He responded when Mendes rocked him by hurting the challenger badly enough that he stopped coming forward. It was a fantastic performance made better because it showed fans that, in the right fight, Aldo could still be an electrifying champ, and not just a winning one.

Sydnie Jones

Aldo was on fire in this fight, and seeing him in top form is always breathtaking. Mendes set the tone and pace by coming in aggressive and fast. Aldo stepped his game up accordingly; Mendes refused to let him coast to an easy win.

Both are fast, strong grapplers and powerful strikers. Everything we got to see in this fight was stunning, from Aldo’s lethal precision to Mendes’ lightning-fast reversals. For all of Mendes’ offense and his success in getting Aldo to the mat, the champ rebounded quickly and never seemed to be in much danger. But Mendes forced the relentless pace right up through the end of the fifth round, which Aldo finished with two sharp body kicks.

This fight left us with five rounds of some of the most beautiful and probably the fastest striking MMA has ever seen.

Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald 2, 2015

Zane Simon

It’s kind of amazing just how omnipresent Lawler has become in terms of all-time great action fights. His run as a UFC champion and contender has built a legacy that seems light-years away from his Strikeforce days.

This fight with Rory MacDonald is a big part of that, as Lawler was coming off fights with Johny Hendricks that were decisive. MacDonald pushed Lawler to the brink, taking over large stretches of the action with his pinpoint range game. But as Lawler started to adjust, his power shots did some serious damage. When Lawler started to turn it up late, MacDonald was right there to meet him, but his face wasn’t.

Sydnie Jones

It was Lawler’s recent fights that inspired this slideshow, and this, his first title defense, may be the best fight of 2015. The two spent the first round-and-a-half stalking each other like suspicious cats, but once they picked up speed, Lawler mostly won the vicious exchanges, while MacDonald’s face got bloodier and bloodier.

Toward the end of the third, the Canadian seemed to be on the verge of finishing Lawler, backing him up against the cage and throwing a knee. But Lawler recovered enough to finish out the round, and that’s when this fight really entered into best-brawl territory. Even after taking a beatdown for three rounds, MacDonald could still be lethal on a dime.

Lawler’s capacity to take punishment meant the fight wasn’t even close to being over. Going into the fifth round, blood continuously streamed from MacDonald’s nose, while Lawler’s top lip was badly split open. Somehow, despite his face, Lawler seemed as fresh as a daisy, and at 57 seconds into the fifth, he threw an overhand left that didn’t look exceptionally hard. For a split second, MacDonald didn’t react. Then he slowly collapsed backward, covering his head and going into the fetal position, until referee John McCarthy stepped in a moment later.

Lawler had crushed MacDonald’s nose to the point he couldn’t go on. Afterward, UFC President Dana White said someone asked MacDonald what year it was and he couldn’t tell them. It was an astounding effort from both fighters and an elite striking exhibition that instantly went down in MMA history as one of the best fights ever.