Rivals don’t need to be enemies – but it certainly helps. Just before a long-awaited grudge match between Bellator stars Paul Daley and Michael Page gets settled at Bellator 216 on Saturday, we take a look at 23 of the greatest MMA rivalries of all time (in chronological order).
Ken Shamrock vs. Royce Gracie
Of all the entrants in the first UFC tournament, Ken Shamrock was best poised to take down the son of jiu-jitsu royalty. But like the others who took on the 27-year-old Royce Gracie that night in 1993, Shamrock wasn’t quite ready and soon found himself tapping the canvas. That move cemented the octagon’s first star rivalry.
Ken Shamrock vs. Dan Severn
Grapplers still trumped brawlers in the UFC’s no holds barred days, and Dan Severn’s tap to Shamrock at UFC 6 sparked a rivalry of early octagon stars. At UFC 9, they wound up setting another MMA standard: Grudge matches that are DOA on arrival.
Ken Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz
You could hardly script a better clash of characters than the brash, young Tito Ortiz against the old lion Shamrock, whose outburst on a celebrating Ortiz became the highlight reel for a grudge the UFC took to the bank on three occasions.
Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell
The matchup of star light heavyweights was another anchor for the UFC as it climbed out of debt and into living rooms across the world. In their first meeting, Randy Couture’s ground-and-pound was the perfect foil to Liddell’s heavy hands. Then “The Iceman” found his sprawl and twice put Couture out.
Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton Jackson
PRIDE was known for its bigger than life show, but there were no extra fireworks needed when these two got in the ring. A prime Wanderlei Silva gave Quinton Jackson the two biggest beatdowns of his career, but “Rampage” got two back in the UFC and Bellator.
Matt Hughes vs. B.J. Penn
No one had dominated in the octagon like Matt Hughes. Then this scrappy Hawaiian jiu-jitsu guy named B.J. Penn came along and turned the welterweight order on its head. It took Hughes two years to avenge the loss. But time had caught up to him four years later, giving Penn the trilogy edge.
Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz
Before “The Ultimate Fighter” brought MMA into mainstream consciousness, this was the fight everyone wanted to see. Coming off a spanking loss to Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz minted Chuck Liddell as a star and drove the UFC to seven figures in a rematch. A trilogy way past its expiration date earned Ortiz revenge, but effectively ended Liddell’s career.
Georges St-Pierre vs. Matt Hughes
Hughes was the most dominant force in the welterweight division. The first time he met Georges St-Pierre, his veteran instincts won the day. But when St-Pierre came around a second time, there was nothing Hughes could do that he couldn’t do better. And by the trilogy, “Rush” was in a category all his own.
Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra
Put an outspoken New Yorker in the same room as a good ol’ country boy, and there’s going to be some culture clash. Competitively, Matt Serra didn’t have much for Hughes. But in the verbal department, he regularly got the ex-champ’s goat and made “The Ultimate Fighter 6” worth watching.
Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber
This matchup didn’t look like a battle for the ages when a prime Urijah Faber tapped Dominick Cruz in under 2 minutes. Nobody knew the depth of the obsession that turned Cruz from an also-ran into the world’s top bantamweight. By the time they reunited in the cage, Faber had fallen behind, never to catch up.
Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson
Michael Bisping’s fondness for “taking the piss” grinded on old Dan Henderson’s gears over a season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” But rather than get in the brash Brit’s face, he let the tension simmer – until he released it with a right hand that removed “The Count” from consciousness. Seven years later, Bisping would earn a unanimous decision over Henderson – the final win of his career – to defend the middleweight title.
Quinton Jackson vs. Rashad Evans
If you’re bored, go back and watch these two face off in the hallway of the “TUF” training facility. Watching Jackson and Rashad Evans get up in each other’s grill, it’s one of those genuine moments that make the tired reality thing worth it. And for the UFC, 10 weeks of back-and-forth between the opposing coaches was #worthit when pay-per-view receipts were counted.
Patricio Freire vs. Daniel Straus
Along with Pat Curran, Patricio Freire and Daniel Straus were the standout talents in the Bellator featherweight division. And because there weren’t a whole lot of viable contenders after Curran’s dropoff, they kept fighting. And fighting. Straus was the only person to interrupt Freire’s first reign as champ, and Freire took back the belt he holds today.
Michael Chandler vs. Eddie Alvarez
Eddie Alvarez was the first out-of-the-box star in Bellator. So when Michael Chandler sunk a rear-naked choke to capture the lightweight title, it was a big deal. Chandler took over as the face of 155, but Alvarez got revenge two years later in a “Fight of the Year” candidate.
Rashad Evans vs. Jon Jones
The first chapter on UFC teammate drama in the modern age. Once a training partner, Jon Jones turned foe to Evans when he welcomed a fight. And when Jones got the title shot Evans couldn’t take, the path to a showdown – and a passing of the torch – was set.
Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen
It wasn’t like the UFC was full of nice guys before Chael Sonnen walked along. But he perfected the bad guy routine, or at least gave the most faithful rendering of old pro-wrestling tropes, by swatting at the sacred cow that was Anderson Silva. Add in a knuckle-biter finish, a testosterone scandal and a comeback, and you have a classic.
Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate
Before women’s MMA hit the big time and the UFC promoted four divisions, there were these two, Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate fighting it out for supremacy in the now-defunct Strikeforce. Nothing would stand in the way of the juggernaut that was Rousey, who put Tate in one of the nastiest armbars ever witnessed before getting a tap. A turn on “TUF” rekindled that poison magic for a rematch that cemented Rousey’s reign as UFC champ.
Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier
The grudge for the modern light heavyweight era. There is no hyperbole when Jones and Daniel Cormier face off. They’re two of the best in the world, and they really hate each other – just ask ex-UFC PR chief Dave Sholler, who once had the unenviable task of trying to keep them separated before all hell broke lose in the lobby of the MGM Grand. Jones still reigns supreme after two fights, but the asterisk beside his second win guarantees a trilogy. Can’t wait.
Claudia Gadelha vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
You needed security every time these two got within arm’s length of each other. Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s preternatural confidence drove Claudia Gadelha crazy, and 10 weeks on “TUF” only intensified the bad blood between the veteran strawweights.
Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo
Conor McGregor added a page to the script Sonnen ran against Silva, and he performed it even better. Insult a Brazilian hero, pursue him relentlessly and steal his belt under his nose. Before McGregor went low as he could go against Floyd Mayweather, he perfected his mental warfare against Jose Aldo, who was so bent on revenge he made a critical mistake when they finally got in the cage.
T.J. Dillashaw vs. Cody Garbrandt
The second of the great teammate sagas. T.J. Dillashaw’s exit from Team Alpha Male was messy from the start, and a series of public interviews just threw gas onto the fire. Of course, UFC sought to capitalize with “TUF,” where Cody Garbrandt’s unflinching loyalty reared its head in physical clashes on set. Dillashaw ultimately had the last laugh with back-to-back knockouts.
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor
You know you’ve hit the next level in rivalry when state athletic commissions start coming after your words. No one could have anticipated how far this one went off the rails. But McGregor proved that there was no ceiling – or window – that would stand in his way of turning Khabib Nurmagomedov into a mortal enemy. It was more than fighter vs. fighter – it was nationality, religion and family all on the line, with nothing less than the supremacy of the lightweight division at stake. Nurmagomedov internalized all that energy and channeled it into a first-round submission, again exposing McGregor’s paltry defense on the mat. But we haven’t seen the last of this one. And they’re going to need an army of security the next time out.
Michael Page vs. Paul Daley
For two years, these guys have circled each other. One of the brightest talents to emerge in the Bellator welterweight division, “Venom” Page seeks to validate his meteoric rise with a win over an established veteran. There’s no better candidate than Daley, a fellow Brit who’s been knocking out opponents for over a decade. Like any veteran who’s not the belle of the ball, Daley is a bit salty at all the attention bestowed on what he considers a novelty act.
The fight Saturday isn’t just about the future of the welterweight division – it’s for supremacy in the U.K.
