The 25 Biggest Feuds in MMA History

There is little more compelling than the instigation, build-up to a frenzy and then climactic conclusion to an ugly, bitter feud.

You want politics? How about Andrew Jackson vs. John Adams and murder and adultery accusations back and forth in the presidential election of 1828.

Mainstream sports will give you something like Shaq vs. Kobe, two teammates whose talents and egos could not get along in the sandbox for very long after going to the limits together.

Pop culture will give you Batman vs The Joker, and I'm still terrified of Heath Ledger's portrayal in The Dark Knight. How about the Hatfields vs the McCoys?

Here are The 25 Biggest Feuds in MMA History

25. Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock

The real original feud in MMA was between Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock. I remember when tuning in to the first UFC event, the real feeling in the air was that the only real challenge to Royce Gracie winning the tournament handily was this Shooto fighter in Japan Ken Shamrock. 

Ken Shamrock claimed to not know who Gracie was, and that was his downfall, as he got gi-choked out early in the fight after he ended up in a roll with Royce.

The second one was called "The Superfight," and there was great buzz going into it. It fizzled in every way, as Ken took Gracie down immediately and lay in his guard for the entire fight, and it was declared a draw. The rules at the time did not allow for standing up a stalled fight.

The first real feud in the history of the UFC ended with Royce Gracie 1-0-1 vs. Ken Shamrock

24. UFC vs. John McCain

During the UFC's and MMA's initial struggle for acceptance in the 1990's, powerful Arizona senator John McCain was the leading critic of the sport. He went to some lengths to spread his disdain, and led many places and companies to ban the product.

It caused the UFC many headaches and sleepless nights, and when 1997 rolled around, they were forced into a last minute show pullout in New York, followed by McCain being responsible for banning them in more than two thirds of US states as well as vitrually all pay per view outlets.

Who do you guys think won this feud?

23. Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra

The feud between Matt Serra and Matt hughes didn't really start until after Hughes' dominant reign at welterweight and after Matt Serra won the Ultimate Fighter 4 season which was around 2007.

Once Serra won his title from St. Pierre, he started calling out Hughes, saying that he was disresepectful and bad for the sport. Hughes then got his chance at his air time when the two were rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 6 season. The feud gained steam during that show, and a fight was the end game.

The two finally actually faced eached other in the one and only fight in 2009, and Hughes, in my opinion, squeeked out a close decision. The fight could have gone either way, and it squashed the beef the two had for the time being.

I'd watch another one, as long as it happens soon.

22. The Shamrock Brothers

In a sordid tale of two troubled youths adopted by a fighter that become foster brothers and later bitter rivals, the story of Ken and Frank Shamrock is definitely part of mixed martial arts history.

Not only history but feud history as late in their time training together at the then famed Lions Den school of fighters the two top tier fighters had a parting of the ways in philosophy and power. Frank was forced to leave, and the bad blood has brewed ever since.

The rumours of these two fighting have continued right up until last year, and as both men are way in the twilight of their respective careers, this fight becomes less and less relevant every day.

I'd take Frank by the way. I like Ken better as a man, but Frank is a better fighter today.

21. UFC/Dana White vs. the Crazy Russians

Dana White has always had one base mission statement for the way he runs the UFC promotion. Bring the fans the fights they want to see. This statement can sometimes lead you into dealings with management groups and people who come with their own strict agenda.

These are the beginnings of the long standing feud between Dana White and the UFC against Fedor Emelianenko and his manager Vadim Finkelstein and his team, whom White has dubbed them The Crazy Russians.

For a span from 2000 to 2009, Fedor was widely considered the best fighter in the world, and many fans wanted to see him test himself against the best in the best in the heavyweight division of the UFC. The UFC and The Russians negotiated in what became a maddening, frustrating, public and sometimes ugly back and forth. The deal was never completed, and Fedor remained outside of the promotion with fans and pundits wondering what if?

Fedor has now lost three fights in a row in the last two years, and he in no longer in high fan demand. In the end, I can't help but feel that in hindsight there was no winner to this feud, and only Fedor and the fans lost in the end.

20. Ken Shamrock vs. Don Frye

Along with being involved in the first known feud in the UFC, I believe Ken Shamrock and this feud with Don Frye ended up being the beginning of the crossover of mixed martial arts and wrestling fans in North America and in Japan.

The feud saw some personal and harsh insults from Frye that were both stinging and comical at the same time. Frye also stated that if and when the two met, that Ken's father would corner him instead of his own son.

The feud was real and generated an unbelievable hype for their fight, which ended up happening at Price 19 in Japan. The fight was epic in every way, and that is why I feel that it propelled the sport.

The fight delivered heavy striking from both, with Frye landing and doing most of the damage on the feet. Shamrock however, brought out an arsenal of leg and ankle locks that he ripped and tore at Frye.

Frye admitted later that he was never the same after that fight. They gave everything in that war. It was the Bonnar-Griffin war before it happened.

The sport was gaining modest steam at the time on the backs of the video releases, and many people watched that fight and were treated to an all out, no holds barred war, but where both men survived and displayed mutual respect afterwards.

19. Tim Sylvia vs. Andre Arlovski

This feud was definitely born in the cage and when the two met for the first time at UFC 51, where Andre Arlovski upset a seemingly unstoppable Tim Sylvia with a first round submission to take his heavyweight title.

The rematch happened a year later at UFC 59, where Sylvia gained his revenge by knocking out Arlovski in the first round. The division was indeed thin at the time, and shortly after, feeling he still had something to prove, Sylvia challenged Arlovski to the rubber match.

Sylvia would take the rubber match with a lopsided decision win to stamp his place as the best heavyweight in the UFC.

Years later, these two would feud on a personal level when Sylvia began dating Arlovski's ex-girlfriend. This prompted a now infamous exchange of barbs.

18. Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg

Matt Hughes had a dominant championship run at welterweight from 2001 to 2006. During that time, he had two big rivals, BJ Penn and Frank Trigg. Penn was a silent opponent, Trigg a loudmouth opponent and thus made the Hughes-Trigg feud.

Trigg started this feud by beating Hughes' brother in a regional wrestling tournament and then running his mouth about it. It got under the champion's skin and the fight was quickly made.

Hughes beat Trigg quickly in the first fight with a first round rear-naked choke. The second one produced one of the most memorable fights in UFC history, as Trigg landed an illegal blow that went unseen by the referee. He pounced on Hughes took his back and slapped him in the very hold that Hughes beat him with in the first fight.

It looked to be the ironic end until Hughes broke the hold, picked Trigg up and carried him all the way across the cage before slamming him down violently, slapping on his own rear naked choke and winning again.

17. George St-Pierre vs. BJ Penn

As the UFC picked up steam to the mainstream, so did the feuds they generated with fans all over the world. None of this was more apparent than at UFC 58, when a "U.S.A. vs. Canada" card was promoted and pitted George St-Pierre against BJ Penn. Fans were immediately polarized to one side or the other of two of the sport's very best.

The first fight delivered on a tight, see-saw battle that saw Penn win the stand up exchnages and break GSP's nose in the first round. GSP then dug deep and brought out his wrestling arsenal to narrowly take the next two rounds and some say a controversial decision win. Neither fighter was a current champion at the time.

Three years later, the two both held different titles, and the UFC matched them up in what was an incredible superfight at the time. They had Penn come up to welterweight and challenge GSP for his title, while he currently held the lightweight title. It was champion vs champion, and the hype was enormous, with both fighters taking jabs at each other in the media.

The fight turned out to be a disappointing one-sided beating, as GSP was just too much for Penn, and he dominated him everywhere in the cage for four rounds before Penn's corner threw in the towel.

16. Takanori Gomi vs. Chute Box Fighters

Takanori Gomi engaged in a personal battle against the fighters of The Chute Box Academy school of martial arts that saw him fight and defeat three different Chute Box fighters under the Pride banner in a span of a year and a half.

It started with Jadson Costa, as Gomi knocked him out in the first round in early 2004, and then after a few fights, Chute Box teammate Luiz Azaredo was given a shot to avenge Costa's loss. He came out hard and fought well, but Gomi caught him with a piston like combination, knocking him out in the second round. Gomi continued to go at Azaredo even though the fighter was clearly knocked out and he had to be restrained by the referee and trainers. He later apologized for his actions.

The Chute Box team immediately asked for another shot, and matched Jean Silva against him on the very next event. This feud had real momentum, but Chute Box was desperate for a win. Silva lost via decision to make it a hat trick for Gomi, but the feud was not done.

This fight was not by design, as it happened in the second round of the Pide lightweight grand prix, but Azaredo got another shot at Gomi only to lose in a decision. It put an end to the feud once and for all with Takanori Gomi taking them all down.

There is no audio in this video, but you get the drift.

15. Rampage Jackson vs. Rashad Evans

Through a heated war of words and being opposite each other on The Ultimate Fighter Reality show, Rashad Evans became the biggest feud of 2010. They were both set to battle for a shot at the title, and they finally met at UFC 114. Rampage made matters worse by delaying the clash for five months when he took the role in The A-Team movie.

The fight itself turned out to be quite uneventful, and the feud was then seen as much hype for nothing as when these two got in there for the chance to finally lay haste to words, neither fighter engaged with the furry and confidence to match their words, and Evans took home a slight split decision.

The two fighters are still jockeying at the top of the division for that title shot, so this feud may not be over just yet.

14. Nick Diaz vs. Jason Miller

Jason Miller started his beef with Nick Diaz because he really didn't like the "thug" mentality that Diaz brings with him into the cage. Diaz was the first one to take a swipe at Miller in the infamous in-cage brawl after Miller called out Jake Shields.

Miller then escalated the beef by saying it was time for him to beat Diaz up for this thug mentality that he displays, and he wanted to be the one to "kick him in the face". Diaz responded like only he does with his normal language and vigour and the beef raged.

These two fighters have never met in the cage and usually compete in different weight classes so the likelihood of ever seeing this match is slim.

13. Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn

Matt Hughes and BJ Penn had a feud based not on words and hype, but on their respective fighting skills. Hughes was on his first dominant reign in the welterweight division when he first met up with Penn as Penn came up in weight to challenge Hughes for the title.

Many people thought Hughes would handle BJ easily, and he was wrong, as Penn took him out in the first round, stunning him with a punch from the top and submitting him with a rear naked choke. The feud was born, as you knew these two greats would meet again.

They did meet again over two years later in 2006, when Hughes put his title on the line again, but this time, he dominated Penn on the ground and gained a TKO victory to even the score at 1-1.

The rubber match did not come until just last year, where both fighters met for the first time, with neither holding the title. Penn stormed out a lnded a vicious right hand that dropped Hughes at 21 seconds of the first round.

12. Georges St-Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck

The first time these two fighters met, it was on the heels of George St-Pierre losing his welterweight title to Matt Serra in 2007 as he fought Josh Koscheck the next fight after. Many experts thought Koscheck, the NCAA wrestling standout, would be too much for GSP to handle. St-Pierre turned the table, however, and beat Koscheck at his own game, dominating him by stuffing all his takedowns and in turn taking him down in the process.

The rematch was set up and hyped with both fighters appearing opposite each other on The Ultimate Fighter reality show. Koscheck made it his number one priority to try and get under the skin of St-Pierre with jokes and verbal jabs, while GSP chose to ignore it and do his talking when the two met in the cage.

They fought again on December 12, 2010 in Montreal, and the fight was much the same as the first one, a dominant win for GSP. He broke Koscheck's orbital bone in the fight, and Koscheck has been out of action since.

11. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen

When you get a fight with Chael Sonnen, beef is coming whether you like it or not, and he will do the talking for both of you. Anderson Silva is a hard man to get into it with, simply because most times, he chooses to turn away from those types of things and just fight.

With Sonnen, you can ignore it, but he will fuel it enough for bnoth of you.

This beef started when the UFC needed to find someone who would engage with Silva both outside and inside the cage, and Sonnen was only too happy to oblige. Sonnen brutalized Silva verbally and generated an incredible amount of interest for this fight at a time when fans were very frustrated with Silva's string of performances. The only question left when these two met was, could Sonnen put his money where his mouth was?

Well, Sonnen came out and got in Silva's face and fought him hard for four and a half rounds and was surely on his way to a shocking, lopsided victory when Silva pulled out a last minute triangle submission. The fight delivered in every way for fans wanting to see Silva tested.

I would love to see a Silva vs. Sonnen II and everything that comes with it.

10. Kazushi Sakuraba vs. the Gracie Family of Fighters

The Gracie family is the first royal family of mixed martial arts fighters and are widely respected as pioneers in this sport. Kasushi Sakuraba has fought and defeated four memebers of the Gracie family and earned the nickname "The Gracie Hunter" in the process. He is also famous for his first match against Royce that lasted a marathon 90 minutes. Thus is the feud between Sakuraba and the Gracie family.

Sakuraba handed the Gracie family their first loss in decades when he beat Royler in 1999. It was a shock to the family and spawned a revenge feud. Sakuraba was then matched up against Royce in the 2000 openweight grand prix and defeated him via TKO corner stoppage at 15 minutes of the fight. Sakuraba brutalized Royce with leg kicks.

Renzo gracie was next a few months later, as Sakuraba defeated him with a kimura near the 10 minute mark, lifting his record to 3-0  vs. the family. Later that very year, Sakuraba defeated a fourth gracie when he beat Ryan in a 10 minute unanimous decision fight.

He remained the undefeated Gracie Hunter for many years before Royce beat him in a match in 2007, but later tested positive for steroids after that fight.

9. George St-Pierre vs. Matt Hughes

Greatness creates and fuels feuds and that brings us to George St-Pierre vs Matt Hughes. Hughes dominated the welterweight division of fighters for a span of five years between 2000 and 2005, and no one could consistently knock him off his perch.

Along came this young athlete GSP to signal a changing of the guard, and the feud was born.

The first time these two met GSP, was young, inexperienced and in awe of his opponent, and it showed, as Hughes beat him via armbar submission to retain his title, but you could tell that the two were destined to meet again. They did meet again two years later, when GSP won the title by TKO via a solid headkick and punches, ending Hughes' dominant reign.

The third time St-Pierre met Hughes it was just over a year later. This was the rubber match and would determine an interim champion while Matt Serra recovered from injury.

St. Pierre showed again that he was taking over with a dominant second round win over Hughes, ending a feud made out of greatness. 

8. Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir

Brock Lesnar entered the UFC with a 1-0 record in mixed martial arts and with an incredible amount of fan fare. He was one of the first major stars of the WWE to try his luck at MMA. His first opponent in the UFC was Frank Mir, a heavyweight submission specialist climbing his way back to the top of a division he once ruled.

Lesnar came out at Mir like a bull and was beating him up from top posture position, when his inexperience in the cage came back to bite him and he stood straight up in the midst of Mir's guard. Mir switched and grabbed a hold of Lesnar's ankle, wrapping it up and forcing the behemoth to the ground where he secured a heel hook and Lesnar was forced to tap out.

The war of words began, as Lesnar failed to give Mir any credit for the win and also complaining that Mir held on to his leg for a little too long after the ref has jumped in to stop it.

The rematch was inevitable, as many believed that Lesnar just needed some time and practice to be able to neutralize what Mir had done. The rematch happened a year and a half later at UFC 100, the most monumental card in the company's history to date. Lesnar put a brutal beating on Mir, and went on a famous tirade after, taunting him, taking the mic and insulting Mir and sponsors a like in true WWE heel fashion.

The rubber match looms and this feud is not over

7. Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture

Two of the greatest light heavyweights of all time Randy Couture and Chuck Liddelll gave us one of the most respectful and best feuds in the history of the sport with thier trilogy of fights between 2003 and 2006.

Randy shocked the seemingly unbeatable Liddell in thier first fight by beating him via third round TKO, winning the interim lightheavyweight title. It was a performance that stamped Randy's legend, as he was a heavy undergog in that fight.

The two met in a rematch a year later that saw a vengeful Liddell knock out Couture in the very first round. The rubber match was set.

Again with the title on the line, the two met at UFC 57, where Liddell again knocked Couture out in the second round via TKO punches, cementing his place on top in this feud.

6. Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock

This feud was a long time in the making, as Tito Ortiz had beaten a string of Lion's Den fighters in his career and Lion's Den king pin Ken Shamrock had always vowed revenge. Shamrock was considerably insulted by the disrespect Tito had shown his stable of fighters in victory and wanted his shot to make it right.

The two met for the first time in 2002, where they fought a tough fight and won via third round TKO corner stoppage. In the second, Tito stopped Ken quickly via TKO in the very first round. Their third and final match was hyped and set up by a stint as coached on The Ultimate Fighter reality show that saw these two trade insults daily, and almost coming to blows a few times during the taping of the show.

They fought the third time in 2006 at Ortiz vs Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter, and once again, this feud proved a little lopsided, as Tito put a ground and pound beating on the aging veteran.

This one was more about the mouths than the fights.

5. BJ Penn vs. Jens Pulver

The feud between the two greatest lightweight fighters in UFC histoy takes a top five spot, as BJ Penn and Jens Pulver engaged in two fight feuds that consumed both fighters.

They first met in 2002 with the lightweight title on the line, and the more experienced Pulver out fought Penn with his boxing skill and toughness and gained a majority decision. The two fighters then went on very different career paths as the loss ate away at the loser Penn

The two would get offered a rematch five years later with a stint as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter reality show as a back drop. It seemed Penn was looking more forward to this epic opportunity, and the outcome seemed a fore gone conclusion.

The two fought on the finale show in June 2007, and the hungrier Penn dominated Pulver, getting revenge with a rear naked choke submission win.

4. UFC vs. Pride

Sometimes a feud can be bigger than fighter vs. fighter. It can grow into camp vs. camp and even promotion vs. promotion. The UFC vs. Pride feud was spawned on envy and competition, and the fans insatiable need to see who is the best.

These two promotions ran side by side on opposite sides of the world for much of the late 90's and 2000's and all the best fighters in the world were either fighting for the UFC and fighting for Pride, but the feud lay in not being able to fight for both.

It created crazy fan animosity, as the questions were bantered about as to who has the best fighters in the world. The UFC had Frank Mir and Randy Couture, and Price had Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio Nogeura. Pride had Wanderlei Silva and Rampage Jackson and UFC had Chuck Liddell and Rich Franklin.

It was feud that maded the sport, and sometimes, I wish there was a rivalry like this again.

3. Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson

I love a feud where during the whole thing, you know that the guy running his mouth the most will get his ass handed to him in the end. GSP vs. Koscheck was one of these feuds for me, and so was Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson.

This is another feud that woud be stoked on the Ultimate Fighter, and Bisping provided most of the fuel with his mouth. I know it does not serve a purpose in today's UFC, but I love the guys who let their skills and not their mouths do the talking, and Henderson stuck by this to the end, taking silly verbal shots from Bisping in the process.

The only question heading into this fight was whether Bisping had bitten off more than he could chew in the legend Henderson. All believed he had.

It played out perfectly at UFC 100 when Henderson violently knocked out Bisping in the first round, and gave hm an extra little shot on his mouth for good measure.

2. Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz

In my opinion, Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell is the greatest fighter feud in the history of the sport, as it had everything that a good feud can offer. It involved the two top dogs and most relevant fighters of their time, it pitted a good guy vs. an evil guy and it had one of everybody's favorite sons Liddell against the man everyone loved to hate in Ortiz.

The hype and interest for this duo of fights was incredible, and the first fight happened on April 2, 2004 at UFC 47, where Liddell stopped Ortiz in the second round with a flurry of brutal punches that crumpled Ortiz to the canvass. The fans were crazy satisfied that Liddell retained his title.

The rematch happened two and a half years later, and the outcome was only slightly different, as Ortiz hung in a bit better but was knocked out again in the end, putting an undisputed end to the Tito and Chuch feud.

1. Tito Ortiz vs. Dana White

In one of the longest standing relationships and feuds in the history of the sport, we have Tito Ortiz, long standing poster boy for the UFC, and president Dana White. The history and relationship goes way back with these two, as White was Ortiz' manager when Tito first got into the business.

Ins and outs over the years saw a feud and tremendous bad blood brew between the two, including White calling Tito "one of the most dishonest people in the business" and for Tito to justify that he was only negotiating hard with White, something that he himself taught Tito how to do.

The feud reached a comical apex when rumours of a boxing match or actual fight bewtween the two began to surface. It spawned a crazy fan reaction and debate, whether this was something that could actually happen, an employee fighting with his boss?

The fight never materialized, and the feud has since fizzled, but you never know what is going to happen with these two volatile egos.