5 times when a co-main event outshone the headliner in recent UFC history

#2. Michel Pereira vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio – UFC Fight Night 206

Michel Pereira vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio didn't struggle to steal the spotlight at UFC Fight Night 206

This past weekend’s UFC Fight Night show was headlined by a bantamweight bout between highly-ranked contenders Holly Holm and Ketlen Vieira, but despite much more being at stake in that fight than in the co-main event, it’s safe to say that it was thoroughly outshone.

That’s because the co-headliner saw welterweight action heroes Michel Pereira and Santiago Ponzinibbio go to war for three rounds. While the expected finish didn’t come, the fight certainly lived up to the lofty expectations around it going in.

The two men went to war from the off, essentially going strike-for-strike with Pereira seemingly landing the slightly harder blows, wobbling ‘Gente Boa’ in the first round. Ponzinibbio, meanwhile, appeared to have the edge in terms of volume.

It came as no surprise when the fight went to a split decision, then, and in the end, ‘Demolidor’ was able to secure the biggest victory of his UFC career thus far.

More importantly, though, the fight between Holm and Vieira turned out to be a disappointing one, and was in fact one of the dullest main events in recent memory, with little in the way of significant action throughout the bout’s five rounds.

Nobody was shocked when Pereira vs. Ponzinibbio won the event’s Fight of the Night bonus. Unsurprisingly, Pereira is the man who’s gotten the most attention coming out of the event thus far.

---

#1. Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena – UFC 269

Julianna Pena's upset of Amanda Nunes would've outshone any fight at UFC 269

UFC 269 was built as one of 2021’s biggest events, largely thanks to a marquee main event that saw Charles Oliveira defend his lightweight title against Dustin Poirier, who was riding the crest of a wave thanks to his two victories over the promotion’s biggest star, Conor McGregor.

Unlike some of the other headline bouts that were overshadowed on this list, it’s safe to say that Oliveira and Poirier delivered the goods inside the octagon. The two men went toe-to-toe and exchanged some huge shots before ‘Do Bronx’ eventually managed to take Poirier’s back, securing a rear-naked choke to win via submission.

However, despite putting on a great show, the two lightweights still managed to get outshone by the co-headliner. That’s because that fight saw genuine history made, as the consensus greatest female fighter in MMA history was finally beaten after going seven years without a loss.

The fight in question was, of course, Amanda Nunes’ bantamweight title clash with Julianna Pena. Literally nobody was giving ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ a chance in this one, particularly as she’d only won one of her last two fights prior to her title shot.

However, when it came down to it, Pena had a gameplan, standing with Nunes and consistently landing jabs on her while also making ‘The Lioness’ miss her haymakers, tiring her out.

By midway through the second round, it was clear who was on top, but it was still a huge shock to see Pena secure a fight-ending choke, pulling off one of the greatest upsets in MMA history in the process.

Sure, Oliveira vs. Poirier was great, but after a history-making moment like that, any headline bout would’ve been outshone.