5 most heated rivalries in UFC history

#4. Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier - UFC light heavyweight division

The rivalry between future UFC Hall of Famers Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier was incredibly unique. The duo have locked horns twice, with Jones emerging victorious on both occasions. However, Cormier has always held the moral high ground as both their bouts have been marred by controversy.

After their first fight at UFC 182, where Jones secured a unanimous decision win, the light heavyweight champ was stripped after a hit-and-run incident. He was subsequently forced to endure a stint on the sidelines.

Cormier fought for the vacant title against Anthony Johnson soon after, winning via submission to become the light heavyweight champion. Jones returned to action a year after his suspension with an interim title-winning performance against Ovince Saint Preux, setting up a title unification bout with 'DC'.

Going into their highly-anticipated rematch, the bad blood between the light heavyweight duo was incredibly high. During their pre-fight press obligations, both fighters repeatedly chastised one another. Jones incessantly devalued Cormier's championship credentials while 'DC' ridiculed his bitter rival's character and troubles outside the cage.

Watch a compilation of all the trash talk between Cormier and Jones below:

At UFC 214, they locked horns at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Jones came away with a sensational TKO victory on the night after catching Cormier with a thunderous head-kick in the third round. While both fighters showed some sportsmanship inside the octagon moments after the fight, things turned sour a week later.

Jones tested positive for a banned substance. Cormier was reinstated as the UFC light heavyweight champion and went on to defend the belt one more time before going on to win the heavyweight strap. Meanwhile, Jones was forced into another hiatus from the sport and reclaimed his belt with a KO victory over Alexander Gustafsson upon his return.

In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan following the win over Gustaffson, Jones said:

"Man, I know there a guy who's been calling himself champ-champ [referring to Daniel Cormier]. I mean, what [kind of] guy just gives up his belt because somebody else made it home. Daddy's home, 'DC'. Prove to the fans you're a champ-champ. Come get a taste. I'm here. Get your belt back. I'll be right here."

Watch Jon Jones' post-fight interview with Joe Rogan at UFC 232 below:

Daniel Cormier never returned to the 205 lbs division. Following the conclusion of his iconic trilogy with former heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic, 'DC' retired from MMA. Jon Jones, on the other hand, continued to rule over the light heavyweight division after his two-fight series with Cormier. He vacated the belt in 2020 and has been eyeing the heavyweight title ever since.

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#3. TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt - UFC bantamweight division

The rivalry between TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt has to be one of the ugliest yet entertaining feuds MMA fans have ever seen. Their long-running conflict involves every ingredient worthy of a Hollywood screenplay - bad blood, personal history, a scandal, two championship bouts and two knockouts.

Dillashaw and Garbrandt were teammates at Team Alpha Male, a Sacramento-based gym founded by MMA legend Urijah Faber. While the gym enjoyed success, its fighters consistently fell short in championship bouts. Faber himself endured a disappointing defeat to then-bantamweight champion Renan Barao in 2014.

One of the team's coaches, former UFC fighter Duane Ludwig, had a strong relationship with Dillashaw at the time. However, Ludwig revealed his desire to leave the California-based gym and return to his home state of Colorado. This coincided with Dillashaw's incredible championship-winning performance against Barao in 2015.

After Dillashaw defended his title in a rematch against Barao, he left Team Alpha Male and moved to Colorado to train with Ludwig full-time. This obviously caused a rift between the bantamweight champ and his former team. This was around the time that Team Alpha Male's latest export, Cody Garbrandt, enjoyed a scintillating run up the rankings at 135 lbs.

Dillashaw lost the bantamweight title to Dominick Cruz in 2016. This was when numerous sources, including his former coach Urijah Faber, accused him of using PEDs. Of course, he denied the allegations at the time. Subsequently, Garbarndt earned a championship opportunity and dethroned Cruz to become the new king of the bantamweights.

In 2017, TJ Dillashaw was booked to face his former teammate Cody Garbrandt for the bantamweight title. The trash talk between the duo was constant, with Dillashaw even claiming that he used to make Garbrandt cry during their old training sessions together. They even served as opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter, which further added fuel to the fire.

The duo locked horns in the main event of UFC 217, one of the promotion's biggest events ever. Dillashaw secured a TKO victory on the night and followed it up with a KO win in the rematch. Following his two losses to Dillashaw, Garbrandt has never quite looked the same. Since the second defeat to his former teammate, 'No Love' has won just one fight.

While retrospectively looking at this rivalry, there's an important caveat to consider. Dillashaw popped for PEDs following his loss to Henry Cejudo in 2019 and was subsequently handed a two-year ban from the octagon. Interestingly, as mentioned earlier, Urijah Faber was accusing his former pupil of using banned substances long before the Cejudo fight, calling into question whether he was clean in the bouts against Garbrandt as well.

Today, they find themselves on opposite ends of the pecking order in the bantamweight division. Dillashaw is arguably one win away from a title shot, while Garbrandt has dropped out of the 135 lbs rankings altogether. At the peak of their intense rivalry, nothing was quite as dramatic as their long-running feud.