5 times an undercard fight completely overshadowed a UFC main event

#2 Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock overshadowed Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski – UFC 61

Tim Sylvia's third fight with Andrei Arlovski was overshadowed by Tito Ortiz's rematch with Ken Shamrock

Tito Ortiz’s rivalry with Ken Shamrock arguably kept the UFC afloat during its most difficult period. When the promotion was looking for another boost despite booming buy-rates in 2006, they turned back to it.

Ortiz and Shamrock took their feud onto the third season of The Ultimate Fighter, where they served as coaches, and their long-awaited rematch was booked at UFC 61 that summer.

However, the non-title fight would not serve as UFC 61’s main event. Instead, the marquee was handed to heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, who was booked to defend his title against the man he’d taken it from three months earlier – Andrei Arlovski.

Given that their first two fights had been dramatic clashes with wild finishes, it’d be a lie to claim that UFC fans weren’t looking forward to this battle of the Titans, but compared to Ortiz vs. Shamrock? It was honestly no contest.

UFC 61 took place 14 years ago today. Though it was not the main event, the highly anticipated rematch between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock made this a blockbuster event. The PPV did 775k buys which was a UFC record at the time. pic.twitter.com/dMsHn3QA8x

— MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) July 9, 2020

Tito Ortiz and ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Man’ dominated the build to the event, and observers would’ve been forgiven for forgetting all about the UFC heavyweight title bout.

In the end, though, UFC 61’s viewers were disappointed as both fights turned out to be damp squibs. Ortiz vs. Shamrock ended in controversy with a perceived early stoppage. Fans expecting Sylvia and Arlovski to save the show were disappointed when they produced a horrifically dull fight.

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#1 Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier overshadowed Demetrious Johnson vs. Chris Cariaso – UFC 178

Conor McGregor's first fight with Dustin Poirier totally overshadowed UFC 178's main event

Conor McGregor is undoubtedly the biggest star in UFC history, and at this stage, it’d be unthinkable for ‘Notorious’ to fight in anything but a big-time pay-per-view main event.

However, during his rise to fame – from his UFC debut in 2013 to his first UFC featherweight title win in 2015 – it only made sense that McGregor was treated like any other rising star and was positioned on the undercard of UFC events.

But after he headlined UFC Fight Night in Dublin in 2014, it was clear that the promotion had something special on their hands.

It was made clearer when his fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 178 overshadowed the show’s main event of Demetrious Johnson vs. Chris Cariaso for the UFC flyweight title and the co-main event between Donald Cerrone and Eddie Alvarez.

Dear #Vegas, @thenotoriousmma and friends are taking over the city tonight. You've been warned 😉 #ufc178 https://t.co/O6kaB4s6qi

— UFC (@ufc) September 28, 2014

UFC 178 turned out to be an all-time classic show with countless great fights, but there was no doubt who the fans in attendance were there to see. This was the UFC’s first real McGregor-driven pay-per-view, and ‘The Notorious’ delivered the goods, knocking Poirier out in the first round.

The fact that UFC 178’s buy-rate almost doubled that of the previous Johnson-headlined show tells the story. Following this, McGregor has exclusively fought in main events.