5 UFC fighters who defied their age to pull off a big victory feat. Randy Couture and Jared Cannonier

Traditionally, MMA is a young man's game, with athletes usually peaking between the age of 25 and 35. However, the UFC has seen some fighters defy this trend.

Over the years, a number of fighters in the UFC have been able to pull off stirring victories despite being considered "old men" by many observers.

Naturally, many of these fighters, some of whom won titles after their 40th birthday, became legends of the octagon.

Here are five UFC fighters who defied their age to pull off a big victory.

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#5. Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory Rodrigues - UFC Fight Night 251

The most recent entry into this list came this past weekend, as Jared Cannonier rolled back the years with an excellent win over the dangerous Gregory Rodrigues.

Sure, 'The Killa Gorilla' won't be moving back into middleweight title contention with his victory, but the fact is that coming into the bout, he'd basically been written off.

It was easy to see why. Cannonier is set to turn 41 next month, and his last two fights had seen him suffer serious beatings at the hands of Caio Borralho and Nassourdine Imavov.

Basically, Cannonier's durability looked shot, he seemed to have slowed down dramatically, and for the want of a better term, he looked old in the octagon.

Many UFC fans, in fact, bemoaned his position in the headline bout of this weekend's Fight Night event altogether.

However, 'The Killa Gorilla' proved his doubters wrong with a stirring performance. Not only did he survive two knockdowns from 'Robocop' in the first round, but he forced his younger foe to tire out and then dispatched him via TKO in the fourth.

The win has cemented Cannonier as one of the middleweight division's premier gatekeepers right now, something that's very impressive given his advanced age.

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#4. Yoel Romero vs. Luke Rockhold - UFC 221

One of the rare fighters in modern UFC history to start his MMA career after his 30th birthday, Yoel Romero was always a freak of sorts.

A ridiculously talented athlete, 'The Soldier of God' was an Olympic silver medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling, meaning that he had a very strong base for MMA.

However, given that he'd won that medal in 2000 and didn't debut in the UFC until 2013, it would've been easy to suspect he'd simply made the switch too late.

That wasn't the case, though. The Cuban spent the next few years tearing through the middleweight division, beating the likes of Lyoto Machida, Ronaldo Souza and Chris Weidman.

However, he came up short in a title fight against Robert Whittaker in the summer of 2017, and as he'd turned 40 years old earlier that year, it was easy to believe he was beginning to slow down.

When he found himself in an interim title bout with former champ Luke Rockhold in early 2018, then, few fans expected him to win.

Not only had he not fought since the Whittaker loss, but he also accepted the fight on relatively late notice and ended up missing weight, meaning he couldn't actually win the title.

When it came to fight time, though, Romero proved he had plenty left in the tank. After struggling somewhat in the first two rounds, he eventually found his range in the third, and knocked Rockhold out with a clean left hand.

While the win did turn out to be Romero's final one in the octagon, the fact that he did it at the age of 40 - and continued to compete for the title until he departed the promotion at the age of 43 - is remarkable.

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#3. Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic - UFC 226

One of just four fighters to hold UFC titles simultaneously in two different weight classes, Daniel Cormier is widely recognised as an all-time great of the octagon.

Due to this success, then, it's strangely easy to overlook that he pulled off his biggest accomplishments in the twilight of his career, when realistically, he should've been way past his athletic prime.

'DC' didn't actually debut in the octagon until April 2013, a month after his 34th birthday. At that age, most fighters would be beginning to slow down already.

Cormier was an outlier, though, and tore his way into contention for the light-heavyweight title by 2015, finally claiming the vacant title that summer.

When he dropped it to his great rival Jon Jones in a unification bout in 2017, however, it would've been easy for 'DC' to walk away. After all, at that stage he was 38 years old.

Before he had a chance to make that decision, though, something incredible happened. Jones tested positive for banned substances, and the 205-pound title was returned to Cormier.

After one more successful defense, then, Cormier found himself lined up against heavyweight kingpin Stipe Miocic in a champion vs. champion showdown.

Few fans were giving Cormier a shot. Not only was he far smaller than Miocic, but he was also older, and didn't hold his usual huge wrestling advantage.

Remarkably, 'DC' proved all of his doubters wrong. While he wasn't as big as Miocic, he proved to be much quicker - and that speed allowed him to land a huge combination exiting a clinch in the first round, scoring a thunderous knockout.

The fact that Cormier had become a simultaneous double champion was a huge feat in its own right, but the fact that he did it just eight months before his 40th birthday made it truly phenomenal.

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#2. Glover Teixeira vs. Jan Blachowicz - UFC 267

The oldest fighter to win a UFC title for the first time is Glover Teixeira. The Brazilian veteran had been written off on multiple occasions before he finally claimed the light-heavyweight title in 2022, at the grand old age of 42.

Quite how Teixeira got to the top is a remarkable and pretty unique story in itself. The Brazilian started his MMA career back in 2002, but for various reasons, did not make his octagon debut until a decade later.

At that stage, Teixeira was 32 years old, and in his physical prime, he destroyed top fighters like Rampage Jackson and Ryan Bader to climb swiftly into contention.

When he was well beaten by Jon Jones in a 2014 title bout, though, it felt like the Brazilian had hit his ceiling.

Over the next few years, Teixeira floated around near the top of the division, winning some big fights but losing a handful, too.

When he was defeated by Corey Anderson in the summer of 2018, though, it felt like his time as a top light-heavyweight was probably over. Teixeira looked glacial in the fight, and turned 39 a few months later.

Rather than walk away, though, Teixeira kept at it, and while some of his wins were unconvincing, by mid-2020 he suddenly found himself on a four-fight win streak - his best since 2013.

Another victory over top contender Thiago Santos earned him a title shot in 2021, and in a thrilling and gutsy performance just two days after his 42nd birthday, he submitted Jan Blachowicz to achieve his dream of being a champion.

The win remains one of the most stirring in UFC history, and while his reign didn't last long, the fact that he got there at all was an amazing accomplishment.

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#1. Randy Couture vs. Tim Sylvia - UFC 68

The gold standard for an older fighter producing a remarkable victory in the octagon remains the legendary Randy Couture.

'The Natural' became the oldest champion in UFC history in March 2007, dethroning Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight title at the ripe old age of 43.

It wasn't the first time that Couture had defied both the odds and his age. In 2003, the year that he turned 40, 'The Natural' defeated both Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz to become the undisputed light-heavyweight champion.

That was nothing compared to the miracle he pulled off four years later, though. By 2007, not only was Couture older, but he'd also lost twice by knockout to Liddell, and had hung up his gloves after his final loss in February 2006.

'The Natural' was then inducted into the UFC's Hall of Fame and seemed settled in his new role as a color commentator.

When Sylvia - who stood at 6ft 8in, weighed 265 pounds and boasted a record of 23-2 - needed a contender, then, it seemed ludicrous that Couture could take the fight, let alone win.

Literally everyone wrote 'The Natural' off, but once again, the veteran proved his critics wrong. He stunned Sylvia by knocking him down in the first round, and then completely dominated him over five rounds to claim the title.

His post-fight proclaimation of "not bad for an old man" instantly entered into UFC lore, and Couture's status as one of the sport's greatest-ever legends was set.

To claim a title at the age of 43 was unheard of, and unsurprisingly, to date it's never happened again.