5 best heavyweight title fights in UFC history

#4. Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin – UFC 116

Brock Lesnar pulled off a miraculous comeback in his 2010 heavyweight title fight with Shane Carwin

Brock Lesnar’s reign as UFC heavyweight champion actually didn’t last that long – from November 2008 to October 2010. However, it was certainly one of the more dramatic in the promotion’s history, with a number of wild title bouts.

The best amongst them was almost certainly his clash with interim champion Shane Carwin at UFC 116. At the time, Lesnar had not fought for almost a year following a bout with diverticulitis. Carwin, meanwhile, had been destroying everyone in his path, including former UFC champion Frank Mir.

The big question was whether Lesnar could take a punch from Carwin, who appeared to hit as hard as any fighter in the promotion’s history. Early on, at least, it looked like he definitely couldn’t.

Carwin caught him with a heavy uppercut in the first round and then opened up with a flurry, forcing Lesnar back and then down to the ground, where he covered up under more fire. As Carwin continued to bomb Lesnar, the fight looked all but over. Somehow, ‘The Beast Incarnate’ did just enough to survive the round.

Incredibly, despite being completely dominant, when the two men headed back to their corners, it was clear what was about to happen. Lesnar looked bloodied, but still seemed fresh, while Carwin looked completely out of gas.

Sure enough, once the second round began, Lesnar shot in, tackled the exhausted Carwin to the ground and slapped on an arm triangle choke to submit him.

The fight not only proved that ‘The Beast Incarnate’ was the real deal as heavyweight champion, but his comeback was also classed amongst the best in UFC history. The dramatic fight instantly took its spot amongst the best the promotion had ever put on, too.

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#3. Randy Couture vs. Ricco Rodriguez – UFC 39

Randy Couture's heavyweight title bout with Ricco Rodriguez saw a number of dramatic twists and turns

Josh Barnett was stripped of the UFC heavyweight title following a positive steroid test in 2002. The promotion wasted little time in putting together a battle for the vacant UFC belt between former champion Randy Couture and top contender Ricco Rodriguez.

Both men were no strangers to putting on barnburners. When they faced off, they ended up producing an instant UFC classic with more ebbs and flows than most title fights inside the octagon.

Early on, it looked like despite giving up a lot of size to ‘Ricco Suave’, Couture’s wrestling ability would give him the edge. He was able to plant Rodriguez on his back on numerous occasions in the first and second rounds and punished him with elbows and punches from the top.

When Rodriguez was taken down and cried out in pain in the latter part of the second, the fight looked all but over. ‘The Natural’ clearly smelt blood and flurried on the larger man to finish him. However, Rodriguez was just about able to survive.

In the third round, though, despite Couture starting well again, Rodriguez was able to get to his feet and surprise ‘The Natural’ with a takedown of his own. From there, the tide began to turn.

‘Ricco Suave’ began to weigh heavily on the smaller man, breaking him down with ground-and-pound. In the fourth round, he was even able to mount Couture at one point to punish him further.

At that point, the fight only appeared to be going one way. When Rodriguez took Couture down again in the fifth, he landed a stiff elbow directly to the eye socket. ‘The Natural’ was renowned as a tough fighter, but even he couldn’t take such a vicious blow and ended up verbally tapping out.

Rodriguez’s UFC title reign lasted just one more fight, as he dropped the belt to Tim Sylvia in his first defense, but this title bout remains an underrated classic that newer fans ought to check out if they haven’t seen it.