Was Liddell vs Couture the most important UFC Title Fight Ever?
I recently spent some time at ufc.com and ended up making a full list of every title fight the UFC has had since the changing of the guard #1 started to take place. I counted 63 title fights.
For me this started when Randy Couture beat Kevin Randleman at UFC 28 to reclaim the heavyweight title. For some it might have happened when Tito Ortiz beat Wanderlei Silva at UFC 25. The changing of the guard was accelerated when Matt Hughes won the welterweight title for the first time at UFC 34 against Carlos Newton. At UFC 35 Jens Pulver beat BJ Penn which introduced us to the current lightweight champion.
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After looking at this list you can sense the second changing of the guard fully crystalizing. Tito Ortiz was defeated by Lyoto Machida at UFC 84, Matt Hughes was defeated by George St. Pierre at UFC 65, and Randy Couture and perhaps Chuck Liddell are in the final years of thier career. BJ Penn is another story as he has preserved his career by leaving the UFC from time to time and then coming back with long-time periods between his fights.
From here I would like to start a discussion on the top 7 most important title fights in UFC history. Again, I started this list with the previously mentioned fights. For those who want to talk about the OLD UFC (i.e., Gracie, Shamrock, Severn, etc.) perhaps you can start a separate list.
“Important” can mean several things from a historical perspective, a super fight, an epic battle, or some important intangible…There are other fights that can be considered in this list and I would encourage people to mention those.
Division: Welterweight
Fight: BJ Penn wins the UFC welterweight championship by submitting Matt Hughes at UFC 46.
Reason: historical perspective, two of this generation’s premier fighters, showcasing BJ Penn’s ability to dominate with ease.
Two of the great fighters in the UFC tangled for the first time. Matt Hughes had successfully defended his welterweight tile 6 times in the octagon. BJ Penn was looking to define himself. Matt Hughes looked uncomfortable from start to finish. And after getting chocked out via rear naked choke he looked like a man utterly confused. This fight was all Penn as Hughes did nothing in the fight which resembled fighting.
After the win BJ would go on to disappear from the UFC for a little over two years. He re emerged at UFC 58 to lose a split decision to George St. Pierre. Matt Hughes went on to win another 6 fights, including the rematch to Penn. This fight connected these two great fighters and I believe divided the history of the welterweight division into Pre Hughes vs. Penn and Post.
Check out the fight at http://www.myvideofight.com/video/ufc/ufc-46-matt-hughes-vs-bj-penn/index-2.html.
As Mike Goldberg so eloquently puts it “The reign of dominance has ended.” Matt didn’t listen to him too hard and for that the UFC is better off (I know there are a lot of Matt Hughes haters out there and I totally get it).
Thanks to My Videofight for housing this footage.
Division: Middleweight
Fight: Anderson Silva destroys Rich Franklin to become the UFC middleweight champion at UFC 64.
Reason: The world is introduced to Anderson Silva. Dominance is redefined.
Rich Franklin looked like he had never fought in the octagon before. He was simply embarrassed. And the world realized how truly dominant Anderson Silva was. This fight was a part of Silva’s current 7-0 run in the UFC. Franklin was granted a rematch and in hindsight there was no reason for it. Anderson took a little more time to finish this one but the damage was just as brutal.
Franklin has only lost one other fight, outside these two, and is a class act in the UFC. While he is not in the same conversation as the others mentioned in this article he is still one of UFC’s premier fighters.
Enjoy Silva make quick work of Franklin at
Thanks to MMA Root for housing this footage.
Division: Light Heavyweight
Fight: Randy Couture defeats Tito Ortiz at UFC 44
Reason: Historical perspective, two great warriors, and more Classic Couture G&P!
Leading up to this fight Couture was 1-2. The two losses were in the heavyweight division. He lost his title to Josh Barnett and then lost to Ricco Rodriguez in an attempt to claim the open title. He was forced to drop down to light heavyweight where he defeated Chuck Liddell in his first fight for the interim championship. Liddell had won 8 straight fights in the UFC at that point.
Couture made Ortiz look second rate, taking him down at will and employing his dominant ground & pound game. Ortiz had successfully defended his title 6 times. With this win Couture could lay claim to being champion at two different divisions and his legacy was guaranteed.
While Tito Ortiz went on to have a strong post-ex championship career I believe he never got over this loss, and along with his two losses to Liddell, defined his career.
For a good highlight real of the fight visit
Thanks to AOL for housing this footage.
Division: Welterweight
Fight: Georges St Pierre defeats Matt Hughes to become the UFC welterweight champion at UFC 65.
Reason: The changing of the guard; St. Pierre’s dominance is established.
Has anyone ever been ready for a rematch more then St. Pierre? This fight truly showed how Matt Hughes was becoming ineffective against a new bread of MMA fighters. The first round was classic with the two fighters high-fiving after Pierre landed a spinning back kick to Hughes’s mid-section. It also featured two inadvertent groin kicks delivered by St. Pierre. And the round ended in dominant fashion as St. Pierre delivered a superman punch sending Hughes to the canvas as the horn goes off.
The second round started with an entertaining leg sweep that sent Hughes to the canvas again, momentarily. He finishes the fight with a brutal leg kick to Matt’s head that sends him to the matt for the last time. St. Pierre is immediately on top of Hughes landing shot after shot until Big John McCarthy has to stop the fight. George’s victory: A thing of Beauty. Welcome to a new bread of MMA fighters.
Watch the fight in its entirely at http://www.mmatko.com/matt-hughes-vs-georges-st-pierre-2-fight-video-ufc-65/
Division: Light Heavyweight
Fight: Chuck Liddell takes over the championship defeating Randy Couture at UFC 52 and the 3rd installment at UFC 57, their final fight.
Reason: Self Explanatory
Mike Goldberg says, “This building is electric right now!” Classic Goldberg sets the stage for this rematch being between two future hall-of-famers. The fight only lasted 3 minutes and was marred by the thumb to the eye that Couture caught while he and Liddell were dirty boxing. Liddell goes on to finish the fight knocking Couture to the ground and striking him out.
In the third fight Randy again suffers misfortune by slipping and consequently eating a vicious punch by Liddell that, once again, sends him to the mat. These two fights solidified Liddell’s status at legendary. While these fights weren’t the most exciting their importance can’t be denied.
Division: Heavyweight
Fight: Liddell defends his title against Tito Ortiz at UFC 66
Reason: Epically-anticipated fight, Liddell shows his devastating power on the main stage, one of biggest pay per view draws in UFC history at the time.
This fight had all the makings. Liddell had beat Randy Couture back at UFC 52 to take over the lightweight title. He defended the title three times, beating Couture again at UFC 57 causing “The Natural” to announce his retirement. By the time this rematch with Ortiz had reached the main stage MMA fans, and America, was worked up into a frenzy to see the fight.
With a minute to go in the 1st round Liddell rocks Ortiz, send him to the mat, and beats on him until Tito is bloodied. Tito shows great heart in getting the fight back to its feet and finishing the round somewhat composed. Liddell gives Tito respect and Tito grins big realizing the enormity of the moment. The crowd is going crazy.
In the last minute of Round 2 Tito finally gets his wish and takes Chuck to the ground. It was short-lived. Toward the end of Round 3 Liddell gets his opportunity to end the fight as Tito decides to trade punches with him. Once again, Tito ends up on the canvas and Liddell delivers shots until Big John McCarthy does what he does best and stops the fight. Some might argue a bit prematurely yet the point is lost in the moment.
I believe this fight was the beginning of the end mentally for Tito Ortiz, in regards to career. Unfortunately for him his career may have been more defined by his losses then his wins.
Enjoy the fight one more time at http://www.nelsok.com/video/ufc_66___chuck_liddell_vs_tito_ortiz_2_video_clip.
So there you have it: The top 7 title fights in the history of the UFC. There are lots of other great title fights to choose from and these are the ones that I felt reflected the cream of the crop of the UFC’s 63 title fights (post changing of the 1st guard of course). While these may not be the most exciting fights from the group I consider them the most important.
I also believe it shows us what I would call “The Golden Age of the UFC” of UFC from the UFC 40’s to the UFC 60’s. However I will save that seed for another article.
I hope you enjoyed a trip down “memory octagon” as I had a lot of fun putting this article together. Let the debate begin for the most important title fight in UFC history.
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