Israel Adesanya ran through Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 in what arguably was one of the best performances by a title challenger in UFC history.
He joined a list of many fighters who have put on dominant performances to dethrone the champions and win titles for the first time. What entails a dominant championship-winning performance? For starters, it requires leaving no doubt who the better fighter was.
Here’s a list of 13 of the most dominant first-time title challenge performances in UFC history, starting with the most recent.
Welcome to the “Stylebender” era
There was no doubt when Israel Adesanya (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) entered the scene, he had the potential to become a star. The former kickboxer possessed the style, the swag and the technique – and lived up to every bit of his potential.
The Nigeria-born undefeated fighter fought seven times in less than two years in the UFC en route to a dominant second-round TKO over Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 in front of a record-breaking crowd in Melbourne, Australia. He unified the middleweight titles and even put on a show in his walkout entrance, too.
The “Nigerian Nightmare” continues to dominate
Kamaru Usman(15-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC) never has lost since entering the UFC, and even took the hard route to get there. He won Season 21 of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2015, using his dominant grappling to take the crown.
He continued to do that throughout his UFC career, and no one has yet had an answer for his wrestling. After winning his first nine fights in the promotion, he challenged then-welterweight champion Tyron Woodley at UFC 235. He took him down on numerous occasions and controlled him over the course of five rounds to win a dominant unanimous decision.
He is set to make his first title defense at UFC 245 when he takes on rival Colby Covington in the main event on Dec.14.
A new women’s MMA “GOAT”
For years, Cris Cyborg was widely considered the greatest female fighter of all time. But when Amanda Nunes captured the women’s bantamweight title and successfully defended it three times, she decided to take on the unstoppable force.
Nunes moved up a weight class to challenge Cyborg at UFC 232 with the women’s featherweight title on the line. Very few wanted to fight Cyborg since she was tearing right through all competition.
But Nunes had no fear and beat Cyborg at her own game. She tagged her early on numerous occasions, and put her to sleep with a massive overhand right to become the first woman to hold two UFC titles at the same time.
“Thug Rose! Thug Rose!”
Nobody expected Rose Namajunas (8-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) to do what she did when she ran through then-strawweight queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217. Since winning the 115-pound title, most challengers posed little to no threat to Jedrzejczyk during her title run. She successfully defended her belt five times.
Namajunas, who already had lost twice in her UFC career, looked like just another challenger. Jedrzejczyk was up to her usual pre-fight antics and many thought she had Namajunas shook.
But they were terribly mistaken. Not only did Namajunas stand and trade with Jedrzejczyk, she danced in and out and beat her to the punch. She dropped her multiple times, then delivered the final blow about three minutes into the first round and was crowned the new strawweight champion.
If anyone thought that win was a fluke, Namajunas went five rounds with Jedrzejczyk at UFC 223 to win a unanimous decision in the rematch, leaving no doubt.
“No Love” rising to the occasion
Cody Garbrandt (11-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) had one of the fastest rises in the history of the UFC. He took out everyone the UFC put in front of him, and was fast-tracked to a title shot against one of the greatest, if not the greatest, bantamweights of all time, Dominick Cruz.
Many believed it was too soon for the young Garbrandt, who had not yet faced anyone of Cruz’s caliber. The evasive Cruz, who possesses some of the best footwork in the game, was confident he would dance around Garbrandt and make him swing at the air.
But “No Love” was the one who put on a clinic at UFC 207. He taunted Cruz and showboated, swinging big shots. He dropped Cruz on several occasions and had him dazed and confused. What was even more impressive was that Garbrandt proved he could go five rounds, and showed off his wrestling game as well by sprawling and stuffing Cruz’s takedown attempts. He won a unanimous decision to take the bantamweight title.
Champ-Champ
Conor McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) became the first fighter in UFC history to hold two belts simultaneously, when he put on a striking clinic vs. Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in Nov. 2016. McGregor timed every counter perfectly, continuously tagging Alvarez, and dropping him several times. Alvarez had no answer to “The Notorious” who put on one of the most polished performances of his career, in a flawless victory.
He drilled Alvarez to the canvas in the second round, and was crowned the lightweight champion in New York City, and no one shines brighter under the lights than McGregor. He entered the fight as featherweight champion, the title he captured when he knocked out longtime featherweight king Jose Aldo, in just seven seconds at UFC 194.
The “Champ Champ” became somewhat of McGregor’s trademark, as many others went on to attempt capturing two belts at the same time. Yup, McGregor is a trendsetter.
Arguably the biggest upset in UFC history
Holly Holm (12-5 MMA, 5-5 UFC) shocked the world in front of a then-record crowd at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia, when she dethroned bantamweight queen Ronda Rousey. At that point, Rousey was so dominant that UFC president Dana White said she could beat undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather in a fight.
Holm had a lackluster split decision win over Raquel Pennington in her UFC debut, followed by a unanimous decision win over Marion Reneau. Basically, the former boxing champion looked like she wasn’t that much of a threat in MMA.
But in her biggest and toughest challenge yet, Holm showed zero intimidation or fear. A cool, calm and collected Holm let Rousey lunge in and countered her effectively on just about every exchange, bloodying her up. Rousey was missing so badly that she even lost her footing. Holm eventually dropped Rousey with a left hand, then surprised her with a head kick on her way up to knock her out cold. Holm’s upset turned the MMA world upside down, shocking the world to win the women’s 135-pound title.
Bow down to the strawweight queen
Joanna Jedrzejczyk(16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) is one of the biggest stars in the sport, and it all started when she tore apart Carla Esparza at UFC 185. Esparza won Season 20 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which introduced the 115-pound title. But Jedrzejczyk took it all away when she overwhelmed her with a barrage of strikes for a second-round TKO.
Jedrzejczyk defended her title five times, the most title defenses in UFC women’s strawweight history.
“Killashaw” dethroning a king
After Uriah Faber suffered a knockout loss to Renan Barao at UFC 169 and failed to capture the bantamweight title, he got on the mic and campaigned for his star student, T.J. Dillashaw (16-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) to get the next shot. At that point, Dillashaw was on the rise, but hadn’t had a marquee moment in his career yet.
So when he stepped into the cage with Barao at UFC 173 in 2014, few gave him a chance. Barao was undefeated for an incredible nine years and won more than 30 straight fights. He was regarded by man as the sport’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter.
Dillashaw dominated Barao and displayed incredible footwork and his Bang muay Thai striking to become a revelation. He battered and bloodied Barao and dropped him in the first round, and it only got worse from there.
Dillashaw outstruck Barao the rest of the way and delivered the final blow in the fifth round in a flawless victory. The two rematched a year later, and Dillashaw put the nail in the coffin with another dominant performance and finish. It was that moment that Dillashaw became a star and one of the greatest bantamweight fighters in the history of the sport.
Cain Velasquez: Leaving no doubt
Cain Velasquez (14-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC), who many believe is the most talented heavyweight in the history of the sport, saw his undefeated record come crashing down in 2011 when Junior Dos Santos landed a massive overhand right to take him out in a little more than a minute.
But Velasquez rebounded with a knockout of Antonio Silva in his next fight and got a rematch with Dos Santos, one of the best heavyweights in the sport. Velasquez was on a mission at UFC 155 and won one of the most lopsided beatings in heavyweight history. Dos Santos was too tough for his own good, but Velasquez poured it on from the start and never took his foot off the gas pedal.
They faced off for a third time at UFC 166 in 2013, and Velasquez did more of the same and finished Dos Santos. The chapter was closed, and no more questions were asked.
Passing of the torch
Jon Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) may just be the greatest talent the sport has ever seen. Absent a disqualification loss on his record against Matt Hamill, a fight he was dominating, he has never lost.
He became the youngest champion in UFC history at only 23 when he beat down legend Mauricio Rua at UFC 128. Jones picked “Shogun” apart and finished him in the third round. Since then, he has taken out legends like Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort and arch-rival Daniel Cormier, as well as rising starts like Thiago Santos.
Jones arguably is the greatest fighter of all time and continues to build an undeniable resume.
This isn’t pro wrestling
When WWE superstar Brock Lesnar entered the scene, he found quick success. But he proved he’s not just a character. After dropping his UFC debut, he became all the hype and took out Randy Couture in the second round at UFC 91 to become heavyweight champion.
A couple of title defenses later, he met the undefeated and no-nonsense Cain Velasquez at UFC 121. Velasquez showed Lesnar there are levels to MMA and beat him down to take the title.
Ironically, Velasquez now is part of the WWE roster and will be rematching Lesnar at WWE “Crown Jewel,” set to take place in Saudi Arabia on Oct. 31. Nearly a decade later, the two will meet again. Funny how it all panned out, huh?
Enter the Matrix
There’s nothing quite like watching Anderson Silva (34-10 MMA, 17-6 UFC) fight. He was the second longest reigning UFC champion in history (after Demetrious Johnson) and was must-see TV. Kicks, knees, elbows, punches – he could do it all. He could win by submission or knockout, and often made opponents look silly in the process. Fighters were intimidated before they even got in the cage with him.
A true showman, Silva feared no man, ducking and dodging while throwing pinpoint accurate strikes to take out the majority of his foes. Silva received a title shot in only his second UFC fight agaoinst Rich Franklin at UFC 64 in 2006 for the middleweight title.
It was the start of a special era when Silva starched Franklin with a devastating knee in the first round in an effortless victory. He went on to defend his title 10 times, becoming one of the greatest fighters of all time.
