The Career-Defining Moment of Each UFC Champion

Whether it was after their title reign started or back when they were climbing the ranks, each UFC champion has had a moment that has made their career shine. 

It might be winning the belt, or a fight in which they climbed the ladder to get their shot at the belt, but each man now holding UFC gold has a story, a single impressive win that stands out from the rest.

It isn't certain whether these points will be trumped at some later point or if they have already reached their greatest moment.

As for now, here are the points that have highlighted each of the current UFC champions' careers so far.

Dominick Cruz: Getting Revenge Against Urijah Faber

It was the first time two men would fight for the UFC bantamweight title.  It was also Cruz's shot at redemption as he faced the only man to ever beat him.

In MMA, records aren't as important as they are in boxing.  A fighter can be 10-8, but if he is on a five fight winning streak, he is still considered a top fighter.

For a fighter like Cruz who has only lost once, it might have mattered a little more.

Getting a chance to beat the only man to defeat you is something that usually happens right after the loss, but Cruz had to wait four years for his second chance.  In that time he dropped to bantamweight, won a title and was given the inaugural UFC title for his weight class.

To not only defend his championship, and essentially be the first crowned UFC champion in the Octagon, but also pick apart the man who had submitted him years before, put Cruz on the map.

Many fans had thought that Faber would beat Cruz a second time and when Cruz easily beat him by unanimous decision, it put the current bantamweight champion on the map.

Jose Aldo: His Eight Second Knockout of Cub Swanson

Aldo's buzz started in his final fight before he would win the title from Mike Brown.  To gain a shot at the belt, Aldo had to go through tough Cub Swanson in an No. 1 contender match.

Both fighters had done well in the WEC and either one looked like they could be a threat to Mike Brown who was the champ at that time.

At the time, Aldo had considerable hype behind him thanks to his impressive KO of Rolando Perez.  It seemed like a knockout finish that Aldo wouldn't be able to top.

But he did.

At WEC 41 Aldo stepped into the cage and proceeded to not only get a shot at the title, but the single greatest highlight of his career.

With only eight seconds into the first round, Aldo was able to unleash two knees to the head of Swanson which knocked him out.

It is one of the most incredible knockouts of Aldo's career and the fastest.  After that fight, more fans jumped on board the Brazilian fighter's bandwagon and built up the hype surrounding him even more.

A hype that Aldo proved to be able to back up.

Frankie Edgar: His Second Fight with Gray Maynard

It may have been Edgar's most recent fight, but how could it not be his defining moment?

In what seemed like a repeat of their second encounter, Edgar was able to escape what might have been another loss or a draw by knocking the much stronger and larger Maynard out.

The stoppage wasn't remotely controversial and easily put an end to Edgar's rivalry with Maynard.  It was also the fight that finally shut down detractors of Edgar who had stated that Edgar should move down to featherweight.

Though featherweight might be a more ideal setting for the smaller Edgar, he proved that he was more than capable as a lightweight by beating every opponent set in front of him and knocking out the only man to ever beat him.

By doing that, Edgar, the quintessential little big man, defeated his toughest opponent.

The fans and journalists who wouldn't give him a chance finally had to accept Edgar was for real.

George St-Pierre: Dominating Jon Fitch

George St-Pierre has a few fights that could fit as his career-defining moment, though none of them have come recently.

St-Pierre had already established himself as a dominant champion.  Some fans believed that he was running out of challenges at welterweight, an argument that is still held today.  He had just come off his win against Matt Serra, whom he had originally lost the belt to in their first fight, and seemed to have cleared out most of the division.

However, a fight with Jon Fitch still remained.  Fitch was undefeated in the UFC and a decent wrestler who was known for not finishing fights, but dominating fights.  Some fans and journalists thought that Fitch might present a challenge for St-Pierre that hadn't been seen yet.

And it was a competitive fight.

For about one round.

After that St-Pierre steamrolled Fitch and started what would be an unquestioned title reign that is only second to one man.

Anderson Silva: Choking Dan Henderson out

It could be argued that Silva's second win against Rich Franklin is his defining moment, but in this writer's opinion it was the second round submission victory over Dan Henderson that pushed him to the next level.

Henderson might have been coming off a loss to Quinton Jackson, but he had just won the Pride middleweight championship before the promotion had collapsed.  Though he was beaten as a light heavyweight, he had still not been beaten at 185 since winning his belt.

The fight between him and Silva was marketed as a unification fight and it was.  The UFC had bought Pride fighting championship; they had dissolved the promotion and absorbed the fighters into their ranks.

Since Pride had been on par with the UFC in terms of quality fighters, a fight between Henderson and Silva was in order.  The fight between the two would determine who was the true middleweight king.

In the first round, it seemed like Henderson was going to prove that he was the better fighter.  Then Silva made a comeback in the second round and choked him out, proving that he was the best middleweight from either promotion.

Jon Jones: Defeating Quinton Jackson Definitively

A great case can be made for Jones' breakout moment being his fight with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, but even after the fight, there were fans who made it about Rua's layoff instead of Jones' dominant performance.

The same couldn't be said when he dominated Jackson at UFC 135.  Jackson had competed within the last half year and had made sure to keep himself in shape.  The old excuses of cage rust and trouble making weight couldn't be found and many were anticipating a great fight in which the victor would either prove that he was the phenom people made him out to be, or a rejuvenated veteran.

Instead, it turned out to be something fans have seen in every Jones outing.  A one-sided beating with the young champion being on the giving end.

During the fight he seemed to have Jackson off-balance both emotionally and mentally, keeping it that way until he sunk in a choke and got the Pride veteran to tap.

After that fight, it is a little harder to not believe the hype about the young UFC light heavyweight champion.

Junior Dos Santos: Quickly Disposing of Cain Velasquez

Even if it hadn't been his fight for the title, it was career-defining in so many other ways.

It was the first MMA fight on FOX television.

It was the first time a UFC title fight had been shown on network TV.

It was the first time in many years any combat sport had been put on FOX network at prime time.

It also didn't hurt that he was fighting a great champion in Cain Velasquez.

It also didn't hurt that he took him out in just 64 seconds.

No matter how long Dos Santos' reign ends up being, it may be impossible to top this fight.

Then again, each man on this list is a champion because they pushed past what most people expect to become the best.  

They may be able to do something even greater than the things mentioned so far.

And when they do, hopefully we'll be watching.