What fight do you think was/is the pinnacle matchup of MMA at the time?

[Jihad-MMA]

We need to have exciting 185 to 205ers mixed up:
Ankalaev, Chimaev, Aliskerov, DDP vs Poatan, Izzy, Shara, Jiri, Jan, Walker, Hill, Rakic, Strickland.

Both technical striking and grappling clinic can be made out of these match-ups mixing them together.

 

[2004 account]

For me nothing tops how special Fedor vs cro cop felt


It felt like i was witnessing history being made and loved how Fedor got revenge for his bro Alex.

 

[IneedSometop]

GSP vs Matt Hughes II/III
Penn vs GSP II
Jones vs Cormier I
Jones vs Shogun
Aldo vs Conor
Cruz vs Dillashaw
Cejudo vs Dillashaw

The best all round MMA skill I’ve seen displayed from both fighters in a bout was Islam vs Volk I

 

[TempleoftheDog]

Machida vs Silva 13-0, 13-0
Evans vs Machida 13-0-1, 14-0
Joanna vs KK 12-0, 10-0
Ronda vs Holly 12-0, 9-0

 

[wufabufa]

Chuck Rampage II

 

[Gref]

GOATED
BLESSED

Watch after every WMMA fight.

 

[stav]

I'm not talking about a stylistic matchup or how the fight actually played out per se. I'm talking about the matchup on paper going into the fight: 2 fighters squaring off who are both at the tops of their game/the sport at that particular time. Gotta be one of these right?

Fedor vs Big Nog - Pride 23
-Fedor was 13-1. Big nog was 19-1. Big YES

Fedor vs Cro Cop - Pride Final Conflict
-Fedor was 22-1. Cro Cop was 16-2. Big YES

Jones vs Gustafsson 1 - UFC 165
-Jones was 19-0. Gustafsson was 16-1. Not really. Gus did not match up well with JJ from a skill set point of view even though he won the first fight imo which was crazy.

Machida vs Rua I & II - UFC 104 & 113.
-Machida was 16-0 (16-1). Rua was 18-3 (19-4). Yes

Conor vs Aldo - UFC 194
-Conor was 19-1. Aldo was 25-1 Yes

Cormier vs Jones I - UFC 182
-Cormier was 15-0. Jones was 20-1. Yes

Islam vs Volk I - UFC 284
-Islam was 23-1. Volk was 25-1. Not for me

What are some others?

GSP vs Hughes 1 and 2.
- Goat 1 vs Goat 2 (BJ might have something to say about that of course haha)


GSP vs Bj Pen

Silva vs Hendo.
- Hendo was the uncrowned MW champ in many (if not most) fans' minds A stylistic nightmare for Silva

So many to pick from but those stand out to me

 

[BOTTICELLI]

The fight that never happenned

Randy vs Fedor - would have been the biggest of all time

 

[2004 account]

Pride was the best

 

[Xanzito]

GOATED
BLESSED

Watch after every WMMA fight.

Good palate cleanser.

 

[SouthVanMMA]

BJ vs GSP

 

[Gregoire1]

Jones vs DC 1

 

[Davidjacksonjones]

CM Punk vs Micky Gall
Battle of undefeated legends

 

[HHJ]

Besides Fedor DA GAWD vs Croatian Sensation, I say GSP vs Penn II

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

Cain/JDS 1 has to be up there.

 

[HatKick]

Ngannou vs. Gane was supposed to be like that but Gane turned out to be much more one-dimensional than most people expected and Ngannou fought with a bum knee. Probably the biggest let-down ever for me.

Conversely, Islam vs. Volk 1 looked like a bit of a squash match for Islam but turned out to be one of the most technical well-rounded MMA fights in a long time.

Adesanya vs. Pereira 1 deserves a mention too eventhough it was mostly a kickboxing match with MMA gloves. But two of the most accomplished strikers to ever enter the octagon in an entertaining back and forth fight with a 5th round stoppage? Doesn't get much bigger than that.

 

[Chael_Sonnen]

I think there's an argument to be made that Volk Islam 1 was the highest level / level of display of skills we have ever seen to date. So that's my pick.

 

[Nintendo 64]

Honorable mention: Ngannou-Lewis was hyped to be two planets colliding in a supernova. Turned out to be a live disconnected controller meme.

 

[ferrisjso]

Jones v Gus I was the best fight on that list but it wasn't desired and was actually Jones's worst performing PPV. People wanted the Machida rematch and were mad they didn't get it.

 

[Choco]

The fight that never happenned

Randy vs Fedor - would have been the biggest of all time

Only a cut from an accdental headbutt denied us that ifght

But Randy lost too oftern to make that fight "the biggest of all time", even retrospectively.. He couldn't hack it in Japan (Misha, Reem's bro, Enson...), lost the bellt he was gifted aganist Rizzo back to back, back to back losses to Chuck... His spectacular fight against Gonzaga can't blind us.