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In the world of the UFC, and in MMA in general, it’s near-impossible for a fighter to remain undefeated. That gets even trickier the closer a fighter gets to a UFC title, with the path to a shot at the gold often filled with dangerous opponents.
This weekend sees Ciryl Gane fight for the interim UFC heavyweight title, and if he wins, he’ll become one of the few fighters to claim UFC gold with an undefeated record.
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However, Gane won’t be the first to pull off such a monumental feat, as a select handful of UFC stars have managed it previously.
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With this in mind, here are five fighters who were still undefeated when they won UFC gold.
#5. Cain Velasquez – Former UFC heavyweight champion
Few fighters were able to live up to their hype quite like Cain Velasquez, who was being talked up by his teammates as a future UFC champion before he’d even made his UFC debut.
The Arizona-based heavyweight had a strong background in collegiate wrestling, where he’d been a renowned Division I All-American, and fighting out of the famed American Kickboxing Academy then allowed him to develop a terrifying all-round game.
Velasquez debuted in the UFC after just two professional fights, and instantly looked like the real deal in early squash wins over Brad Morris, Jake O’Brien and Denis Stojnic.
After just a year on the UFC’s roster, Velasquez broke into contention for the UFC heavyweight title by easily defeating Cheick Kongo and Ben Rothwell. He knocked out the legendary Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to seal a shot at the gold.
And in what was one of the biggest UFC fights of all time, Velasquez then dismantled champion Brock Lesnar to claim the UFC heavyweight title in just his ninth professional fight overall. Not only was he still undefeated, but he honestly hadn’t even been truly tested.
Velasquez was never able to really assert his dominance after winning the title, largely due to a string of injuries, but there’s probably a fair argument that in his prime, he was the best heavyweight that the UFC has ever seen.
#4. Rashad Evans – Former UFC light heavyweight champion
When he debuted in the UFC in 2005, coming off what was a relatively disappointing second season of TUF, it seemed hard to imagine Rashad Evans winning UFC gold despite his undefeated record.
But Evans clearly had a lot of natural talent that could be unlocked, and slowly but surely, it began to shine through as he made his way up the ladder at 205 pounds.
‘Suga’ started his UFC career with some largely dull wins, but rose to prominence when he knocked out Jason Lambert and Sean Salmon to take his overall record to 10-0.
And after narrowly avoiding a first defeat at the hands of Tito Ortiz – the fight went to a draw due to Ortiz having a point deducted – Evans then beat Michael Bisping before taking a year away from the UFC.
When he returned, he looked much improved, particularly in his striking game, and stunned everyone by violently knocking out legendary former champion Chuck Liddell before unseating Forrest Griffin for the UFC light heavyweight title.
The win made Evans one of the UFC’s rare undefeated champions, with an impressive record of 13-0-1. Incredibly, though, 'Suga' would suffer his first career defeat in his first title defense – to a fellow undefeated fighter.
#3. Lyoto Machida – Former UFC light heavyweight champion
Lyoto Machida arrived in the UFC in 2007 with a pretty gaudy record. He was 8-0, and held wins over the likes of Rich Franklin and Stephan Bonnar.
However, he also carried with him a reputation for being somewhat of a dull fighter, which only continued when he opened his UFC ledger with three straight decision victories.
Things changed for ‘The Dragon’ in late 2007. Firstly, he defeated hot prospect Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, submitting him with an arm triangle to pick up his first UFC finish.
And then, he completely whitewashed former UFC champion Tito Ortiz in what was his biggest spotlight to that point, cementing himself as a potential star with the promotion.
One more win – a knockout of Thiago Silva – earned Machida a UFC light heavyweight title shot and, fascinatingly, the title fight pitted him against a fellow undefeated fighter in Rashad Evans – the first time in UFC history that two undefeated fighters had squared off for a title.
And in a battle that matched Evans’ speed and explosiveness with Machida’s incredible timing and accuracy, it was ‘The Dragon’ who won out, as he knocked out ‘Suga’ in the second round to claim UFC gold in his 15th career win.
Of course, every fighter has to lose at some point, and Machida would suffer his first career defeat in his second title defense. But he still stands as one of the few fighters to ride an undefeated streak all the way to a UFC title.
#2. Israel Adesanya – UFC middleweight champion
Few fighters have had a quicker rise up the ranks in the UFC than Israel Adesanya. ‘The Last Stylebender’ debuted as an undefeated prospect in early 2018, and by the end of 2019, he’d captured the UFC middleweight title without losing a fight.
Adesanya came into the UFC off the back of a lengthy kickboxing career, and brought an impressive record of 11-0 to the octagon, although he hadn’t really fought anyone that was noteworthy.
But after he dispatched of Rob Wilkinson, Marvin Vettori, Brad Tavares and Derek Brunson, it was immediately clear that the New Zealand-based fighter was for real.
Just a year after debuting in the UFC, he defeated legendary former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and followed that by beating Kelvin Gastelum for the interim UFC middleweight title. That was enough to earn him a shot at then-champ Robert Whittaker.
And despite Whittaker having far more top-level experience, Adesanya used his pinpoint, sniper-like striking skills to pick him apart en route to a second round knockout win, making him an undefeated UFC champion.
Technically speaking, Adesanya is still undefeated – at middleweight, at least. ‘The Last Stylebender’ suffered a defeat at the hands of UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz this year, ruining his undefeated record, but he has still not tasted a loss at 185 pounds.
#1. Khabib Nurmagomedov – Former UFC lightweight champion
Great fighters like Jon Jones, Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre suffered defeats before they were able to claim UFC gold, while, as we’ve seen, fighters who were undefeated when they won a title weren’t able to remain that way for too long after.
That’s why former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is such a special case, and why ‘The Eagle’ is up there with the greatest fighters of all time.
The Dagestan native took his record to 26-0 when he defeated Al Iaquinta to claim the vacant UFC lightweight title at UFC 223 in 2018.
And unlike his contemporaries, he then retained that undefeated record when he successfully defended his title three times, beating Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje before retiring in 2020.
Already 16-0 when he first entered the octagon back in 2012, there’s probably an argument to suggest that nobody even came close to handing Khabib a career defeat. Essentially, every fighter he faced was whitewashed.
Every fighter usually has to lose at some point, especially in the UFC, but the fact that ‘The Eagle’ was able to win a UFC title and avoid any kind of defeat sets him apart as truly one of a kind.
