Top 5: UFC Heavyweight Title Fights of All-Time

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It was the kind of grueling battle that forever changes men.

Randy Couture retained the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title with a five-round unanimous decision over Pedro Rizzo in the UFC 31 main event on May 4, 2001 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey. All three cageside judges turned in scorecards for “The Natural,” whose hall-of-fame resume had begun to take shape.

Rizzo utilized intermittent punching combinations, uppercuts with ill intent and a series of devastating leg kicks in an attempt to keep three-time NCAA All-American wrestler at bay. Despite mounting fatigue and the damage he accrued, Couture was relentless. He delivered takedowns in the first, third and fourth rounds, consolidating them with crushing top control and heavy ground-and-pound. By the time it was over, Couture had outlanded Rizzo 147-76 in total strikes, exacting the majority of his toll on the mat and inside repeated clinches. It marked the second of three failed title bids for Rizzo, who went on to lose his rematch with the American in far more decisive fashion six months later.

The first encounter between Couture and Rizzo ranks as one of the five best UFC heavyweight title fights of all-time. Here are four more worthy of consideration:

Maurice Smith vs. Mark Coleman
UFC 14
July 27, 1997 | Birmingham, Alabama
Few outside Smith’s inner circle gave the accomplished kickboxer a chance against “The Hammer” inside the Boutwell Auditorium. An NCAA national champion wrestler at Ohio State University, Coleman represented the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, before transitioning to mixed martial arts. He won his first six fights, all of them finishes, and became the first heavyweight champion in UFC history when he submitted Dan Severn in February 1997. Smith surprised onlookers by limiting the “Godfather of Ground-and-Pound” to two takedowns in their 21-minute encounter, foiling his plans with an effective sprawl and an active guard that eventually ran the Fremont, Ohio, native’s gas tank dry. He outstruck Coleman by a wide margin on the feet and wrecked his lead leg with kicks—he was 20-for-20 on low kicks—on his way to a unanimous decision.

Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin
UFC 116
July 3, 2010 | Las Vegas
Lesnar unified the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title with a dramatic, come-from-behind submission of the previously unbeaten Colorado native. The former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar weathered a violent barrage from the hulking Carwin in the first round, scored with a takedown in the second and trapped him in an arm-triangle choke that ended their encounter at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The white flag was raised 2:19 into Round 2. Carwin—who had finished each of his first 12 opponents in the first round—had the champion in serious trouble inside the first five minutes, as he buckled him with a right hand, stuffed his first takedown attempt and had him reeling with a left uppercut. Lesnar, in his first appearance since an intestinal disorder nearly forced him to retire, went down against the cage and absorbed heavy ground-and-pound from Carwin, who let loose with heavy rights and lefts from the top. Lesnar defended well, but Round 1 clearly came down in his counterpart’s favor. However, he knew Carwin was emptying his gas tank. Slowed by visible fatigue, the Grudge Training Center rep lacked the steam he needed to finish what he started. Treading water as the second period opened, Carwin winked at the two-time NCAA All-American wrestler but soon found himself on his back in the center of the Octagon. Lesnar set up the choke, moved to mount and tightened the submission from the side. Carwin defended at first, but Lesnar squeezed his massive arms around his neck and prompted the tapout.

Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier
UFC 241
Aug. 17, 2019 | Las Vegas
Miocic reclaimed the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title and did so in exhilarating fashion, as he avenged one of his three career defeats and put away the American Kickboxing Academy captain with punches in the fourth round of the UFC 241 headliner at the Honda Center. Referee Herb Dean waved it off 4:09 into Round 4. Cormier built what appeared to be a commanding lead across the first 15-plus minutes. He used his fast hands to string together crisp combinations and pile up points against Miocic. Cormier outlanded the challenger by double-digit margins in the first (71-9), second (59-48) and third rounds (69-40). However, the dynamics of the fight changed dramatically in the fourth, where Miocic turned his attention away from the head and focused on the champion’s midsection. He connected with 14 body blows, many of them left hooks, in a little more than four minutes and set the stage for the finish.

Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez
UFC 188
June 13, 2015 | Mexico City
Werdum took his place among the all-time greats when he submitted the two-time NCAA All-American wrestler with a third-round guillotine choke and captured the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight crown at Mexico City Arena. The end came 2:13 into Round 3. Velasquez for the first time in his career appeared to run out of gas. He brought the fight to the Brazilian in the first round, where he attacked with punches in the clinch, leg kicks and a pair of takedowns. Werdum did not flinch, and he turned the tide in Round 2. There, he shredded Velasquez with punching combinations, a stinging jab and knees from the clinch. Accuracy and output were keys. Afterward, the American Kickboxing Academy stalwart returned to his corner with cuts above both eyes, his breathing labored. A little less than midway through the third round, Werdum snatched the guillotine on an attempted takedown, fell to his back and finished it.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir, UFC 100; Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva, UFC 160; Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane, UFC 260; Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos, UFC 166; Randy Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga, UFC 74; Randy Couture vs. Pedro Rizzo, UFC 34; Randy Couture vs. Kevin Randleman, UFC 28; Stipe Miocic vs. Junior Dos Santos, UFC 211; Mark Coleman vs. Dan Severn, UFC 12; Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Couture, UFC 91; Josh Barnett vs. Randy Couture, UFC 36; Junior Dos Santos vs. Frank Mir, UFC 146; Maurice Smith vs. David “Tank” Abbott, UFC 15