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#2 Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg, UFC 52
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This was the fight that put Matt Hughes over as a true UFC superstar, and it’s also UFC President Dana White’s favorite of all time. Welterweight champion Hughes and challenger Trigg had engaged in a war of words prior to this fight, but when it came down to it, it looked like it would be Trigg who would come out on top.
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He landed a low blow to Hughes early in the fight that went unnoticed by referee Mario Yamasaki, and then dropped the champion with a follow-up combination. With Hughes on Dream Street, Trigg dropped into full mount and pounded away before taking Hughes’s back. A rear naked choke followed and Hughes’s face began to turn purple, but somehow the champion fought out of the hold and found himself on top.
From there he scooped Trigg up into the air and delivered a running bodyslam, before mounting the challenger to return the favour. And when Trigg turned his back, Hughes succeeded where his opponent had failed, locking up a fight-ending rear naked choke and forcing Trigg to submit. It was an incredible comeback from one of the greatest champions in UFC history, and remains on the UFC’s opening highlight reel to this day.
