When it comes to listing fights, the biggest and best are on two very different levels.

All fights can turn out to be a fantastic or even classic match, whether it’s part of the preliminary or the main card, highly acclaimed and advertised or flying under the radar.

Larger fights, however, have a certain feeling, energy and buzz that builds into an undeniable ground wall that detonates when the fighters finally throw hands and feet. The fight does not even have to be a big one for it to be considered one of the biggest.

That said, DAZN News listed the biggest fights in MMA history, putting the figure at 15 in no particular order. Kneel on you.

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor; UFC 229 – October 6, 2018

McGregor had thrown a metal loading dock through a bus window at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in order to meet his bitter rival Nurmagomedov. That and lots of trash talk turned into frankly the biggest buzz for a fight that the mixed martial arts world has ever seen. And when it came to UFC 229 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the actual fight between Khabib and McGregor turned into a solid fight before Nurmagomedov eventually snatched a necklace that made the MMA sensation strike out in the fourth round as “The Eagle “retained its lightweight title. Recreational fireworks erupted between fighters’ camps thereafter, but by the time it was finally settled, the UFC had generated a record 2.4 million pay-per-view purchases for its biggest fight to date.

Ken Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz; UFC 40 – November 22, 2002

This rivalry had become bitter before these two were ever locked into the Octagon and MMA fans can thank the inflammatory exchanges between Ortiz and Shamrock’s Lion’s Den camp for that. When they finally collided, Ortiz took over their rival via the third round TKO (corner stop).

Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz; UFC 47 – April 2, 2004

Ortiz obviously found himself embroiled in heated feuds, right? His rivalry with Liddell was no different as each man planted his respective flag in the ground and proclaimed dominance. This time, however, Ortiz was at the short end thanks to a second-round KO from “The Ice Man”.

Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture 2; UFC 52 – April 16, 2005

Liddell suffered a scorching TKO loss in the third round against Couture at UFC 43 back in June 2003. “The Ice Man” won three of his next four, defeating Alistair Overeem, Ortiz and Vernon White before getting the chance to run back with Couture. It generated more than enough interest for Liddell to blow up Couture via a first-round KO in one of MMA’s greatest matches ever. Definitely had the great feeling.

Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 2; UFC 257 – January 24, 2021

When it comes to the biggest fights in MMA history, get used to seeing McGregor’s name. “Notorious” is a cash cow of mixed martial arts for a reason. And the build-up to McGregor-Poirier II in Abu Dhabi made it one of the largest to date as well. McGregor had produced a first-round pick by pasting Donald Cerrone the year before, while Poirier had bounced back from a loss to Nurmagomedov to defeat Dan Hooker by unanimous decision in June. Poirier had lost to McGregor via TKO in the first round (battle) already in September 2014 and was looking for revenge, while the Irish superstar aimed to regain his dominance and climb back to the top of the MMA mountain. It set the stage for what felt like a huge fight and that plot just burst into Poirier and shocked McGregor with a second-round TKO (stroke) that paved the way for a trilogy scrap as well.

Nate Diaz Vs. Conor McGregor 2; UFC 202 – August 20, 2016

You can not talk about McGregor revenge and not evoke Diaz-McGregor 2. Diaz had made a submission in the second round via rear naked choke just five months before McGregor’s UFC winning streak at seven, which caused the Irish superstar to drive back with urgency. . The first result, top-level trash talk and growing interest culminated in one of the UFC’s biggest matches ever – one that generated 1.6 million pay-per-view purchases just like McGregor-Poirier II.

Anderson Silva Vs. Chael Sonnen; UFC 117 – August 7, 2010

The son had promised to leave the UFC if he lost to Silva. It injected immediate intrigue into this fight and gave the middleweight title a sense of being big. Silva then took that feeling and a game effort from Sonnen and turned it into a submission in the fifth round (triangle alarm bar).

Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm; UFC 193 – November 15, 2015

Rousey had brutally destroyed all fighters with all but one (Miesha Tate) avoiding destruction from the first round that came into this fight. 12-0 Rousey also praised the bantamweight championship for women at the time. The structure of this fight was simple: Could Holm use his extensive boxing experience to not only survive Rousey but possibly beat her? Well, Holm answered with a resounding yes, when she landed strokes at will, before finishing Rousey with a nasty head kick that she never saw coming to win the shocking victory.

Ronda Rousey vs. Amanda Nunes; UFC 207 – December 30, 2016

Could Rousey bounce back from his first loss? Nunes made sure that the answer was no and did so in a brutal way with a first-round TKO (blow), which gave its own star power a sound barrier into the stratosphere.

Amanda Nunes vs. Cyborg; UFC 232 – December 29, 2018

Cyborg, the most destructive force in women’s MMA history, would really be an obstacle in Nune’s path was a consensus that went into this mega match. But Nunes had other ideas and used club rights from hell to get rid of Cyborg in an astonishing 51 seconds, letting the world know that there are levels to this and that her own power also has consequences.

Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir 2; UFC 100 – July 11, 2009

Lesnar switched from WWE to mixed martial arts and made his UFC debut in February 2008 with veteran Mir who only needed 90 seconds to put him on a knee brace. But “The Beast” got its MMA stocks under control to win victories over Heath Herring and Randy Couture to be crowned the new heavyweight champion. It paved the way for a Mir-Lesnar revenge at UFC 100 in Las Vegas. And the boy did not disappoint Brock. Lesnar calculated Mir enough to crack him and create a stop in the second round on strike for the big TKO. Big fight, bigger results.

Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo; UFC 194 – December 12, 2015

Check the facts – Aldo was an absolute monster, after collecting 18 straight victories – seven of them in the UFC – when he entered this featherweight championship game with McGregor. “Notorious” poured gasoline into the fire with colorful faceoffs with the Brazilian leading up to the fight. And then when it was time to be locked in the Octagon together, McGregor took a big fight and made sure that it ended with suitable explosive results when a sneaky left hand was used to sleep Aldo in 13 seconds.

Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier 2; UFC 214 – July 29, 2017

Jones vs. Cormier had all the ingredients to make it a bigger-than-life battle. The two light heavyweights had a distinct contempt for each other and it only increased with animated exchanges that built up to the match. Oh, yes, they are two of the best who have ever put on their UFC gloves and this was a revenge, as “DC” tried to avenge a unanimous decision defeat. All of this was combined into a damn battle that Jones won with a rather surgical performance only for the result to be later lifted thanks to Jones testing positive for a banned substance. Yet it is impossible to deny how great this struggle was and their rivalry as a whole.

Forrest Griffin Vs. Stephan Bonnar; Ultimate Fighter 1 Final – April 9, 2005

Situationally, Griffin vs Bonnar spoke for himself in terms of urgency and scope. The glove laid out for the match was simple – the winner gets a contract with the UFC. Not only did the fight deliver fireworks as Griffin beat Bonnar by a unanimous decision after three rounds, but the match triggered another season of “The Ultimate Fighter” that helped the UFC snowball into making MMA a thriving global sport.

Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal; UFC 251 – July 12, 2020

Do not dare to sleep on this welterweight championship race that Kamaru Usman is on. A driving force for that was his first match with Masvidal. Usman had just defeated Tyron Woodley to become the champion and made his first defense by delivering an astonishing TKO in the fifth round (stroke) of Colby Covington 2019. Then the pandemic struck and changed the world as we knew it, but Usman remained fearless. up a title defense against Gilbert Burns. But when Burns tested positive for covid-19, Masvidal took his place at short notice and the fans were immediately curious. Masvidal had just been crowned “BMF” the previous November and went on a winning streak in three matches, which generated glittering stops each time. The perfect storm and the captured audience due to the pandemic resulted in 1.3 million pay-per-view purchases, which put it up there with Lesnar-Mir, Eddie Alvarez-McGregor and McGregor-Diaz when it came to pure eyes that were transformed to purchase to combat. Of course, in his revenge, Usman Masvidal raised the bar a bit, but this big fight was the catalyst.