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When it comes to the UFC and its big events, most of the spotlight tends to shine on the headline bout and the fighters involved in it. Naturally, they tend to be the biggest stars and the most highly ranked, too.
Over the years, though, there have been numerous times when an undercard fighter was able to steal the spotlight, usually allowing them to become a major star in the process.
Sometimes these undercard fighters were able to do this by putting on an exciting show. Other times, they simply showed far more charisma than the fighters above them in the headliners.
Here are five times that an undercard fighter stole the spotlight at a UFC event.
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Note: for the purpose of this article, no fighters involved in a co-headline bout have been named.
#5. Adrian Yanez vs. Tony Kelley – UFC on ESPN 37
The most recent example of a single undercard fighter totally stealing the spotlight at a UFC show came in June, as Adrian Yanez turned the lights out on Tony Kelley in his home state of Texas.
One of the hottest prospects in the bantamweight division, Yanez came into the fight clearly fired up. Not only because he was fighting at home, but also because Kelley had talked plenty of trash leading into the fight, angering him.
At any rate, it didn’t take Yanez long at all to dispatch his foe. He decked him just after the midway point of the first round and quickly put him out cold with a series of follow-up punches.
More remarkably, though, while the event that the fight took place on wasn’t filled with big names, it was one of 2022’s most exciting shows. Dana White and company handed out a total of eleven $50k bonuses, including one that went to Yanez.
The headline bout between Josh Emmett and Calvin Kattar was one of 2022’s best fights. Even so, the morning after the show, Yanez was the fighter that most fans were talking about, showing just how well he did to steal the spotlight.
#4. Joaquin Buckley vs. Impa Kasanganay – UFC Fight Night 179
Naturally, if an undercard fighter manages to score a highlight reel knockout at a UFC show, they’ve always got the chance to steal the spotlight from the athletes competing in the headline bouts. That was certainly the case for Joaquin Buckley in 2020.
When he stepped into the octagon for the second time to take on Impa Kasanganay at Fight Night 179, nobody was giving him much notice at all.
Not only had ‘New Mansa’ lost his debut in the promotion, but he was also competing on the preliminary card. The main card featured a number of hot prospects, as well as a headliner between Cory Sandhagen and Marlon Moraes.
Sandhagen used a spinning wheel kick to take out Moraes in that bout. Usually, a knockout like that would’ve been a sensation. This time, though, it paled in comparison to the one Buckley unleashed against Kasanganay.
‘New Mansa’ threw a body kick that was caught, but before his opponent could react, he leapt into the air and caught him on the temple with a spinning heel kick, knocking him senseless immediately.
Buckley’s knockout not only stole the spotlight, but it also went viral across the internet, turning him into an overnight star in the process, even if he’s not quite lived up to the hype since.
#3. Jorge Masvidal vs. Ben Askren – UFC 239
UFC 239 was undoubtedly one of the biggest and most stacked events of 2019, featuring two title bouts at the top of the card, one of which saw one of the promotion’s biggest stars – Jon Jones – in action.
However, when the event was said and done, the only fighter anyone was talking about was Jorge Masvidal. Sure, ‘Gamebred’ had some of the spotlight on him coming into the event thanks to the fact that he was faced with a bitter rival in Ben Askren, but afterwards, his star power increased massively.
That was because, incredibly, the Cuban-American fighter managed to unleash a record-setting knockout on ‘Funky’, turning out the former Bellator champion’s lights in just five seconds with a flying knee.
Remarkably, the knockout would’ve taken even less time had Masvidal not decided to land a couple of needless follow-up strikes. Of course, that wouldn’t have been befitting of his villainous ‘Street Jesus’ character.
At any rate, Jones’ win over Thiago Santos, and even Amanda Nunes’ wild head kick knockout of Holly Holm in the event’s co-headliner, paled in comparison to Masvidal’s record-setting stoppage, meaning ‘Gamebred’ stole the spotlight entirely.
#2. Diego Sanchez vs. Gilbert Melendez – UFC 166
UFC 166 is usually remembered as one of the greatest events in the promotion’s history, with numerous highlight reel finishes leading to a tremendous headliner between heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and his longtime rival Junior dos Santos.
However, while the likes of Velasquez, John Dodson, Tony Ferguson and Gabriel Gonzaga scored big-time finishes at the event, the fighter who stole the show didn’t even win his bout.
That fighter was longtime veteran Diego Sanchez, who embarked on one of the wildest brawls in UFC history with the far higher-ranked Gilbert Melendez.
Sure, ‘El Nino’ landed the bigger strikes and claimed a clear-cut unanimous decision, but it was ‘The Nightmare’ who made the fight a classic. He constantly pushed forward and winged crazy punches at his foe, even dropping him in the third round to almost pull off a miracle win.
When the bout was over, the crowd in Houston gave both men a standing ovation. When the event was over, even Joe Rogan wasn’t talking about Velasquez or dos Santos. He couldn’t help but be awed by Sanchez’s performance, as even in losing, he increased his star power to its highest point in many years.
Unfortunately, ‘The Nightmare’ couldn’t really capitalize on his resurgent popularity and ended up losing his next bout. Regardless, the fact that he’d stolen the spotlight at an all-time great show was a huge achievement in its own right.
#1. Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier – UFC 178
The greatest example of a single undercard fighter stealing the spotlight at a huge UFC event remains Conor McGregor, as he proved his star power once and for all in his first bout with Dustin Poirier.
In fact, McGregor was so successful at making UFC 178 all about him that he has never appeared in anything but a headline bout in the years that have followed.
The event was headlined by a flyweight title bout between champion Demetrious Johnson and contender Chris Cariaso. To be fair, it was the kind of headliner that was always going to be ripe to be overshadowed, due to the lack of star power from both men.
However, given that the event also featured a lightweight clash between Donald Cerrone and Eddie Alvarez, as well as other big stars like Yoel Romero, Dominick Cruz and Cat Zingano, it should’ve been difficult for ‘The Notorious’ to hog the limelight, particularly as there was a chance of him losing to Poirier.
McGregor didn’t care about any of that, though, and after seemingly getting into Poirier’s head prior to the fight, he sparked him out with a single left hand to the temple early in the first round.
The crowd in Las Vegas were blown away by the performance, turning ‘The Notorious’ into a true superstar. Even though the event turned out to be a classic in its own right, the next day, the only name on the lips of the fans was McGregor.
Less than a year later, he claimed his first title in the octagon and never looked back until he became the promotion’s greatest-ever star.
