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#2 Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture – UFC 43, UFC 52, UFC 57
The UFC’s first epic trilogy was arguably the series of fights that brought the promotion out of its so-called ‘Dark Ages’ and allowed it to become the juggernaut that it is today.
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Incredibly, the first fight between Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture – at UFC 43 in 2003 – was never supposed to happen. Couture was only inserted into the bout, which became for the first interim UFC light-heavyweight title, when Tito Ortiz decided to sit out rather than face former training partner Liddell.
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Of course, the rest is history. Couture destroyed Liddell – outboxing him on the feet before smashing him to pieces on the ground – and then defeated Ortiz in turn to become the first UFC fighter to hold titles in two weight classes.
The second fight had a lot more hype behind it. This time, the UFC used its first season of The Ultimate Fighter – a surprise reality TV hit – to build to the fight. It took place at UFC 52 with Couture’s UFC light-heavyweight title on the line.
By the time the fight came around, Couture and Liddell were the UFC’s biggest superstars – and Liddell became the poster-boy of the promotion when he avenged his earlier loss with a brutal counterpunch knockout in the first round.
It was clear that the fans wanted more, though – so the UFC unsurprisingly booked a rubber match for UFC 57.
This time, the fight lasted a little longer, and Couture even managed to land a takedown on Liddell at one point. But in the end, the result was the same – the Iceman capitalized on a slip from Couture and knocked him silly in the second round.
Sure, the quality of the fights between Couture and Liddell weren’t as good as those in some of the UFC’s other trilogies, but its overall importance to the UFC means it’s impossible not to score this one highly.
#1 Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier – UFC 226, UFC 241, UFC 252
The most recent epic trilogy to take place inside the octagon came between legends Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier. The two fought for the UFC heavyweight title on three occasions – once in 2018, once in 2019 and once in 2020. All three fights were fantastic, and like all good trilogies, neither was the same after all was said and done.
UFC 226 saw their first meeting. At that point Cormier was the reigning UFC light-heavyweight champion, meaning their clash was a rare champion vs. champion fight.
Despite most fans favoring Miocic – who had made three successful defenses of his UFC heavyweight crown – it was DC who came out on top, catching the champion with a brutal right hand on his way out of the clinch.
Miocic went down and out, and Cormier entered UFC history as one of the promotion’s few double champions.
If that fight had a dramatic ending, their rematch at UFC 241 stood as one of the most dramatic heavyweight clashes in UFC history, period.
The two men went toe-to-toe for four rounds, both taking an insane level of punishment before Miocic’s body work paid off, allowing him to stop Cormier, becoming the first man to do so and reclaiming his title in the process.
The fight was so good that it was a no-brainer for the UFC to book a third bout. And somehow, that third bout lived up to the lofty standards of the second, with Miocic and Cormier swinging everything they had at one another before Miocic had his hand raised, edging a tight decision.
Cormier would retire from MMA following the loss, while Miocic – who absorbed a ridiculous amount of damage across the three fights – was subsequently knocked out by Francis Ngannou in his next UFC appearance.
Overall, the sheer quality of the final two fights between the two – they’re amongst the best heavyweight fights in UFC history – means that Miocic vs. Cormier stands as the UFC’s greatest-ever trilogy.
