'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQX/2gAIAQEAAAAAbn//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAE/9oACAECEAAAAC//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/9oACAEDEAAAAH//xAAmEAAAAgYLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADBAABAgYHEQUSExQVIiNUYWKy/9oACAEBAAE/AA4svRi5oldgC4YKi4umJ3V6zMr4QWLL62jdWhyMp7hP/8QAGBEAAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIBBCH/2gAIAQIBAT8Ae08af//EABYRAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIABP/aAAgBAwEBPwA5yr//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Next weekend sees a major pay-per-view take place in the form of UFC 272. In the main event, former friends and training partners Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal are set to go to war.
Colby Covington’s clash with Jorge Masvidal will not be the first time a major UFC pay-per-view would be headlined by a battle between former teammates.
Trending
In fact, some of the previous examples of clashes between former training partners are amongst the biggest fights in the history of the promotion. That’s usually due to the personal beef that tends to erupt.
So with the latest major clash between former friends set to go down next week, here are five times former teammates headlined UFC shows against one another:
#5. Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane – UFC 270
The most recent example of two former teammates clashing in the main event of a major pay-per-view came in January at UFC 270. There, Francis Ngannou defended his heavyweight title against interim champion Ciryl Gane.
‘The Predator’ and ‘Bon Gamin’ had famously trained together for many years at Paris’ MMA Factory gym. In fact, when Gane entered the octagon for the first time in 2019, many fans were quick to label him the ‘new Ngannou’ after witnessing his striking power.
In truth, Gane’s style would quickly prove to be a more technical one than Ngannou’s. The Frenchman prefers to use combinations and footwork more than the haymakers preferred by ‘The Predator’.
However, the differences in style didn’t stop the two former training partners from climbing to the top of the heavyweight division. When Gane beat Derrick Lewis to capture the interim title in mid-2021, it put him on a collision course with his former teammate.
Before their clash, Gane’s camp decided to release some sparring footage that appeared to show the former getting the better of Ngannou, who departed the MMA Factory in 2018.
However, as it turned out, ‘Bon Gamin’ was largely unable to impose his striking on the champion. Ngannou shocked fans by unleashing a powerful wrestling game to grind out a win over his former teammate.
The fight didn’t quite provide the fireworks that some might’ve hoped for. However, it was a great example of a clash between two former teammates that didn’t go quite how many expected it to.
#4. Georges St-Pierre vs. Carlos Condit – UFC 154
Usually, when two teammates face off in the octagon, there’s serious bad blood between them. However, that wasn’t the case in the welterweight title bout between champion Georges St-Pierre and interim titleholder Carlos Condit at UFC 154.
It’s probably fair to say that the two men were never purported to be close friends. That’s because despite training together with Greg Jackson’s team in Albuquerque, New Mexico, GSP’s primary training camp was at the Tri-Star Gym in Montreal.
However, they’d definitely been sparring for many years by the time Condit was offered a shot at St-Pierre’s title in late 2011. Interestingly, it was a shot that he’d been after for a long time. Condit had even stated so in a 2010 interview despite affirming his respect for the Canadian.
That initial booking fell through due to an injury to St-Pierre. However, after ‘The Natural Born Killer’ beat Nick Diaz for an interim title, the UFC immediately booked a unification bout. Both GSP and Condit were perfectly happy to run with it.
One reason for this cordial nature was the attitude of Jackson, who decided to step back from the fight altogether, refusing to corner either of his students. Given what’d happened when two Jackson-trained fighters – Rashad Evans and Jon Jones – had faced off before, that made perfect sense.
In the end, St-Pierre was able to just about edge Condit out in an epic clash despite suffering a bad knockdown in the third round. The two men continued to spar together at Jackson’s camp till GSP’s retirement in 2013.
#3. TJ Dillashaw vs. Cody Garbrandt – UFC 227
When it comes to former teammates having bad blood with one another before clashing in the UFC, it’s difficult to top TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt.
The two bantamweights had been close friends and training partners at Team Alpha Male. However, by the time they squared off in the octagon, any notion of friendship between the two was well and truly dead.
Interestingly, both men had entered the world of MMA as proteges of Urijah Faber. However, Dillashaw climbed to the top first, beating Renan Barao to win the UFC Bantamweight title in 2014.
However, on winning the title, Dillashaw chose to exit Team Alpha Male. He instead hooked up with the team’s former striking coach, Duane Ludwig, permanently.
While Faber and company initially seemed fine with that, it didn’t take long for the bad blood to begin to flow. That was particularly the case after Garbrandt surged up the rankings in 2016, and captured the title from Dominick Cruz, who’d unseated Dillashaw earlier that year.
With Dillashaw then positioned as the top contender, nasty stories quickly began to leak out from Team Alpha Male suggesting that their former fighter had injured teammates in training, and accused him of using PEDs.
Naturally, that turned his rivalry with ‘No Love’ into one of the biggest feuds in the promotion. After Dillashaw knocked Garbrandt out to regain the gold in late 2017, it came as no surprise to see the UFC book a rematch in the headline slot of a major pay-per-view.
UFC 227 quickly became one of 2018’s must-see events. However, despite largely being seen as the ‘good guy’ in the feud, things didn’t go so well for Garbrandt. He suffered another knockout loss, and hasn’t really been the same since then.
#2. Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz – UFC 47 & UFC 66
One of the feuds that helped to build the UFC into the juggernaut it is today is Chuck Liddell’s rivalry with Tito Ortiz. That produced two best-selling pay-per-view events, beginning when the two fighters trained together after arriving in the promotion in the late 1990s.
It was Ortiz who reached the top of the mountain first, winning the vacant UFC light heavyweight title by beating Wanderlei Silva in 2000. While ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ became the promotion’s new poster boy, Liddell began to cut a swathe through the division in his own right.
Suddenly, all the talk began to center around when ‘The Iceman’ would get his shot. That angered Ortiz, who claimed he’d made a ‘pact’ with his friend never to fight.
That, apparently, was news to Liddell, who seemed more than happy to fight Ortiz. Immediately, rumours began to swirl around that the reason for the differing stances of the two was that ‘The Iceman’ had always gotten the better of Ortiz in their sparring sessions.
Ironically, by the time the two friends-turned-rivals finally faced off for the first time, neither man held the title. Ortiz had lost it to Randy Couture seven months earlier.
Things quickly got worse for ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’. Liddell knocked him out in the second round of their meeting, apparently proving those stories about their sparring sessions correct.
Two and a half years later, the rivals met for a second time, this time with Liddell holding the title and Ortiz acting as challenger. The show ended up setting the UFC’s pay-per-view buyrate record – drawing a million buys. Once again, ‘The Iceman’ came out on top, winning again by TKO.
#1. Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans – UFC 145
Tito Ortiz’s feud with Chuck Liddell became incredibly bitter, and led to two best-selling pay-per-view events. However, the most infamous example of two teammates facing off in a UFC headliner remains Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans.
In this instance, the promotion itself was somewhat to blame for the rivalry exploding. Essentially, in 2009, Evans – then the UFC light heavyweight champion – had brought Jones to his training camp, headed by Greg Jackson, with the idea being he’d make a great sparring partner.
However, as Jones began to climb his way to the top, Evans lost his title to Lyoto Machida, who in turn, lost it to Mauricio Rua. By early 2011, Evans had moved back into a position to challenge Rua and attempt to regain his crown. However, when he blew out his knee, the UFC decided to offer Jones the chance to step in and replace him.
‘Bones’ went on to destroy Rua, claiming the title in the process – and naturally, that put him on a collision course with Evans. The real twist, though, was to follow. When it became clear that the two were destined to fight, Jackson’s loyalties were naturally split. However, rather than side with his veteran fighter in Evans, he instead chose to train Jones for the fight, essentially forcing ‘Suga’ to leave the camp altogether.
After much controversy and a delayed build, the teammates-turned-rivals finally faced off in the main event of UFC 145. While Evans was the clear fan favourite, Jones was able to outfight him, claiming a unanimous decision win.
Despite such an acrimonious split, though, this story at least ended happily. In 2019 – seven years after their bout – it was revealed that Jones and Evans had firmly buried the hatchet, ending their bitter rivalry in a genuinely respectful way.
