UFC Best Ever Series: The 10 Best Fights in UFC History
- Zak Drapeau
- 4 hours ago
- 7 min read
by Zak Drapeau
Sportz Nation - 2/18/2026
10. Justin Gaethje
vs Michael Chandler
All Out War. Some of the fights on this list had incredible builds, some had titles on the line and some had crazy finishes. This fight had none of the above but did have 2 of the most competitive rounds I've ever seen.
For the first two rounds, this fight in 2021 had slams, knockdowns and the crowd going wild from start to finish. Chandler proved he is one of the most exciting fighters in the sport and Gaethje proved he's one of the best at the same time in what also turned out to be the Card of the Year most in part due to this fight.
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9. Khamzat Chimaev
vs Gilbert Burns
This fight had everything that Chandler v Gaethje had but with Chimaev's reputation as undefeated, (and in hindsight the current Champion) on the line.)
3 fights of striking and knockdowns between two incredible grapplers was NOT what we thought would happen but hey, we'll take it.
Chimaev looked human for the first time in his career when Gilbert Burns dropped him twice but then dominated the 3rd round to take the win, all of this after the 1st round was a slugfest and one of the closest single rounds of the entire year of 2022.
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8. Dan Henderson
vs Shogun Rua
So far we are 3/3 in slugfests on this list and this may be the best fight you've never heard of. Obviously Dan Henderson and Shogun Rua are two absolute legends of the sport that have fought but when they got together for the first time in the UFC, history was made.
After losing the first three rounds in an ultra-competitive brawl, Shogun lands a nasty uppercut that completely shifts momentum. Rua would go on to have a masterclass of boxing and takedowns to end the fight as everyone in San Jose that night in 2011 had no idea who won.
Ultimately, Hendo did enough in the first 3 rounds to take home the win but after everything that happened in the back half of the fight it could have gone either way and neither man was a loser that night.
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7. Alexander Volkanovski
vs Islam Makhachev
This is the only fight on this list that I will stand ten toes down and say the judges got this fight wrong. Whether you agree with me or not, this fight was an instant classic and anyone watching was on their toes and cheering ESPECIALLY in the 5th round.
It is hard to properly state how important this fight was when it went down to us that were in the thick of it. Makhachev was #2 in the world and Volkanovski was #1 and trying to become a champ-champ. Then the fight turned out to be a barnburner with Volk being able to defend Islam's takedowns much better than any of us thought.
Volk out struck Islam 164-95. Makhachev controlled the grappling 4 takedowns to 0 and 7:37 control time to Volk's just under 3 minutes. Then Volk would knock down Islam in the 5th for the Russian's first time in 15 fights and the decision was upon us and impossible to predict.
I think Volk should have got the victory but in the end, anyone who watched the fight took home that distinction and as of writing this is the best fight of the last 3 years.
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6. Robbie Lawler
vs Carlos Condit
One thing we'll find on this list is that Robbie Lawler is a savage. Only 6 months after a fight we'll see later in this list, Robbie Lawler defended his title against Carlos Condit in one of the bloodiest wars in UFC history.
The images of this fight alone make it Top-10 and then when you know the hype around Lawler in this time as the UFC's Welterweight champion and Condit's reputation as a brawler, it's clear this fight belongs in the upper echelon.
Lawler would eventually land over 170 strikes to Condit's 92 including a 5th round that made this fight go from great to elite because of the beatings they both took. Lawler's hand would get raised by Split Decision and cement this fight in UFC's history books.
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5. Jon Jones
vs Alexander Gustafsson
The first fight on this list that is actually in the UFC's Hall of Fame, this is the epic fight that was never even suppose to be close. Heading into this fight, Alex Gustafsson was a problem and a stylistic match for his opponent, but Jon Jones was already among the names for the Greatest Ever back in 2013 at only 26 years old.
Joe Rogan's famous calls of "Jones may have to knock him out to win this fight" and "that may be the greatest title fight in the history of the light heavyweight division" tell you everything you need to know for those of us that remember this fight. In the closest fight to this day in Jon Jones' historical career, this fight was not only close but saw the challenger turn tricks on the GOAT with spinning elbows and takedowns, he being the first man to ever take down Jones.
Ultimately, Jones would wake up and clear the Swede in the 4th and 5th rounds to walk away with a decision, but everything from Gustafsson winning the fight early to the blood shed to us not knowing if Jones unbeaten streak was coming to an end made this fight the peak of exciting from start to finish.
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4. Conor McGregor
vs Nate Diaz 2
A truly amazing fight with one of the best rivalries and backstories leading into it at the perfect era for the sport made this fight the perfect storm for fans.
Conor was one of the most popular athletes in the world at this time and had just lost his first fight of his career to Nate Diaz on short notice 6 months earlier. In the lead up to their ultimate rematch, sh*t was talked, lines were crossed and blood was boiled to a height we'd rarely seen before and again, right in the middle of McGregor's popularity and the UFC bubble in 2016.
Then the fight happened and became an instant classic. From Conor knocking down Nate to Nate taking down Conor again. There was blood, there were middle fingers and there was an instant feeling throughout that we were watching history. Conor won by Majority decision in a still controversial decision but both men were instantly shot to superstardom in a fight that helped the UFC as a whole as much as either of the fighters.
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3. Forrest Griffin
vs Stephan Bonnar
And speaking of helping the UFC as a whole...
This fight is the most important fight in the promotion's history and as told by Dana White, "Saved the UFC." The finale of the inaugural Ultimate Fighter scene that was so savagely spectacular they decided to give both men contracts.
Looking back on this brawl, it was clear they had nothing to lose while the promotion had EVERYTHING to lose. Griffin and Bonnar just went at each other in senseless exchanges of haymakers and crosses. Both men bled, both men dropped and both were laying down exhausted after the fight,
In the end, Forrest Griffin emerged the winner which often isn't remembered. This fight is remembered of being historic in the purest sense when the sport was on it's death bed and for that is historic. Although two fights were just better pure and simple.
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2. Weili Zhang
vs Joanna Jedrzejczyk
This fight and the fight I chose for #1 could easily be scene as 1a. and 1b. Joanna and Weili went out and had bar none, the greatest Woman's fight in not only UFC history, but in any promotions history of Woman's combat.
5 rounds of kickboxing we'd never seen in Woman's combat for the Strawweight title might have been good enough to end up on this list by itself. However, the story of the new girl battling one of the sports' greatest ever, mixed with the savagery of the shots landed in what would be the most combined strikes in a UFC fight for over 2 years at it's time, (351) and of course Joanna's iconic hematoma, made this fight famous.
If I had to pick a reason this fight doesn't top the list it would be the slight factor that it ended in decision rather than a finish but we're splitting hairs here and no matter man or woman, these two had one of the greatest fights of all time.
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1. Robbie Lawler
vs Rory Macdonald 2
It was always gonna be Lawler vs Macdonald 2. It just has to be and If you don't agree with me, go back and watch the stare off between the two and tell me you don't get goosebumps.
This fight came 2 years after the pairs' first fight ended in a 3-round split decision and would now be a 5-round Championship war. Robbie Lawler was in the midst of his historic run with the likes of Hendricks, Condit, Woodley and Koscheck but the pairs' second encounter would blow them out of the water.
There is something to be said about a great fight that comes after a parade of storyline like a McGregor-Diaz 2 or a fight that means so much to the sprot like Griffin-Bonnar.
Pure and simple, this was the most exciting and competitive fight in UFC history and for that reason makes it the best ever. The perfect boxing battle between two guys willing to die for the belt. Lawler's busted lip and Macdonald's broken nose were the perfect example. As both men swung bombs, it would be Macdonald pinching his broken nose that would cause him to finally fall to the pressure and give Lawler his signature win in what can only be claimed to be one of the greatest fights in history, and the single best in the UFC's.
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-Z.D. (@DrapeauZak on Twitter)
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