- 6 weeks ago
From legendary boxing matches to iconic UFC showdowns, these battles changed combat sports forever! Join us as we count down our picks for the greatest super fights in combat sports history. Our list spans from classic heavyweight showdowns to modern MMA spectacles that broke records and captured the world's attention.
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00:00So the stage is set. We're just about ready to begin. Round one, the heavyweight championship of the world at stake.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the biggest fights to have ever taken place in the world of combat sports.
00:15Many people expect Manny Pacquiao to have to force the fight, bring the fight to Floyd Mayweather.
00:22Number 20, Aaron Pryor vs. Alexis Arguello.
00:25The junior welterweight collision between champion Pryor and the rising lightweight king was a super fight in every sense of the term.
00:36Billed as the Battle of the Champions, Arguello was attempting to become the first four-fight world champion in boxing history, but in his path was a fellow future Hall of Famer.
00:46This fight had it all. Historical stakes, masterful technique, brutal violence, and a bizarre scene of controversy after round 13 when Pryor's corner appeared to switch his water bottle for one that his coach had seemingly tampered with.
00:59The knockout came in round 14, and it was one that proved that Pryor was a step too far for the smaller Arguello.
01:06I've never seen anything like that before.
01:10Just a tremendous victory. There is no taking anything away from either man, and you had to feel at some point somebody would fall.
01:24Number 19, Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm.
01:26At UFC 193, there was a clear favorite, and also a major underdog.
01:32Ronda Rousey was 12-0, and famous for her first-round knockouts.
01:37But Holly Holm was known for her extraordinary boxing skills, and it didn't take long for her to pepper the champ with jabs.
01:43In round 2, Holm rocked the entire UFC by picking apart the sport's biggest superstar, and finishing the job with a vicious kick to the neck.
01:52This bout wasn't necessarily billed as a super fight initially, but the shocking result essentially marked the beginning of the end for Ronda Rousey.
02:00Furthermore, it brought even more exposure to the massively growing UFC.
02:05Number 18, Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson.
02:08By the time Mike Tyson found his way into a fight with Lennox Lewis, his best days were behind him.
02:13But that did not stop him from cutting the promo of the century in the ring to call out the British champion.
02:19My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable, and I'm just ferocious.
02:23I want your heart, I want to eat his children. Praise be to Allah!
02:26Add in the insane brawl that Iron Mike kicked off when he came face-to-face with Lewis, and you have the ingredients for a major super fight.
02:34It was a huge mainstream spectacle, but Lewis was the better fighter at this point in their careers.
02:39And after weathering a first-round storm, he gradually took the fight over, battering the former heavyweight king before KOing him in round 8.
02:46This would be the final major fight of Mike Tyson's career, and his last crack at divisional gold.
03:00Number 17, Forrest Griffin vs. Stephen Bonner.
03:03Not many fights can be credited with saving an entire sport.
03:06And of course, MMA would still be around today, even if the Ultimate Fighter finalists Forrest Griffin and Stephen Bonner had never fought.
03:14But the UFC was thrown a lifeline when two little-known fighters on a struggling MMA reality show ended up producing a beautifully gritty contest.
03:23All of a sudden, word was spreading in real time, and the UFC literally earned a TV deal on the night itself due to these two warriors.
03:30Griffin won the fight, but in reality, there were no losers here.
03:34It was a desperately needed lifeline, and a springboard to greater things.
03:39Number 16, Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen won.
03:42Hindsight is 20-20, but when Chael Sonnen was initially announced as an opponent for the seemingly unbeatable UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva,
03:50everyone was pretty muted in their response.
03:53Little did we know that Chael was going to emerge as one of the greatest combat sports villains of his era during this fight's build-up.
03:59But talk is cheap, and on fight night, Chael turned in an insanely dominant performance through four and a half rounds,
04:05wrestling Silva into oblivion, making life utter hell for him.
04:09But the great champions always find a way to win, and in the dying embers of round five,
04:15Silva locked in a Hail Mary triangle choke to score the most unlikely comeback submission.
04:19If you didn't see this one live, you missed out.
04:22Number 15, Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin won.
04:26When people complain about modern greats ducking their contemporaries,
04:29they clearly are not talking about Saúl Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin.
04:33This is a fastball pitcher against a fastball hitter.
04:37Sure, Canelo is coasting in his career these days, but fighting Triple G when he did was a gutsy decision,
04:43and it very nearly cost him everything.
04:45The whole trilogy is worth a watch, but fight number one was the true superfight of the lot.
04:50Triple G's power, chin, and fight IQ were a match for Canelo's,
04:54and over the course of 12 thrilling rounds, these two masters turned in a bona fide classic.
04:59Golovkin should have won the decision, but corruption led to the fight being declared a draw.
05:03A three-way split. This is officially a draw.
05:10But hey, at least we got to see them throw down again.
05:13Number 14, Rocky Marciano vs. Jersey Joe Walcott won.
05:17There's nothing quite like a gritty comeback with high stakes.
05:20And for the famously durable and driven Rocky Marciano,
05:23the first of his two-fight series with the heavyweight champ Jersey Joe Walcott forced him to dig deeper than ever before.
05:29Marciano staggered with a short right.
05:35Down from a left hook.
05:38Walcott was the better pure boxer,
05:40and his control of range and technique led him to a comfortable lead on the scorecards coming into round 13.
05:45Rocky needed the KO, but up to that point, reaching Walcott was proving tough.
05:50But one punch can change everything.
05:52In one truly perfect moment of anticipation,
05:55Marciano dove in with a lethal right hook,
05:57timing it beautifully to put the champ out cold.
06:00And Rocky Marciano is the heavyweight champion of the world, Rocky Marciano.
06:07And the new heavyweight champion of the world, Rocky Marciano.
06:13Rocky went a flawless 49 wins in 49 fights before retiring.
06:19Number 13, Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
06:22If you're looking for the moment that Floyd Mayweather truly became the polarizing figure we now know him as,
06:28his clash with the great Oscar De La Hoya was it.
06:31Mayweather in the middle of the ring is quicker beating him to the punch.
06:36Oscar trying to figure out how to crowd him.
06:39Pretty Boy Floyd, as he called himself,
06:41stepped in there with the beloved De La Hoya and played the villain to perfection.
06:45He had no problems disrespecting Oscar at every opportunity.
06:48And on fight night, the stage was set for a real grudge match.
06:52Mayweather was pushed in this fight,
06:54but his slickness and insane fight IQ pulled him through, albeit narrowly.
06:58To the winner by split decision,
07:02and new WBC super worldweight champion of the world,
07:10Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather.
07:16And in that moment, after the biggest win of his life,
07:20he shed the Pretty Boy label for good,
07:22adopting the now iconic Money Mayweather moniker.
07:25Number 12, Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Jake LaMotta 6.
07:29Jake LaMotta fought Sugar Ray Robinson a total of six times,
07:32winning just one of them.
07:34That's how good Robinson was in his prime.
07:36The most famous bout they shared was fight number six.
07:39It's the sixth fight between Jake LaMotta
07:42in the black trunks and Sugar Ray Robinson in the white trunks.
07:45The St. Valentine's Day Massacre is just about as iconic as middleweight title fights come.
07:50The reason for the morbid name?
07:52Well, for as tough as LaMotta was,
07:54Sugar Ray put him through hell in those later rounds.
07:57Jake had his moments, but Robinson was too slick and too consistent.
08:01After round 10, LaMotta's legendary chin was really tested.
08:05Eventually, despite not slowing down,
08:07Robinson bludgeoned his way to a standing TKO win in round 13,
08:10becoming the middleweight king.
08:12It's all over!
08:14We have a brand new world middleweight champion to see!
08:17It's Sugar Ray Robinson!
08:19LaMotta would never compete for the belt again.
08:22Number 11, Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor.
08:26Nothing was off the table when McGregor took to the mic
08:28ahead of his UFC 229 clash with Nurmagomedov.
08:31He went after the Eagles' family,
08:33his team,
08:34his country,
08:35his religion,
08:36basically anything that would stick.
08:37By the time the event came around,
08:39it was on course to break every record in the book.
08:42Sure enough,
08:43Fight Night produced possibly the most memorable MMA spectacle we've ever seen.
08:48Khabib crushed McGregor over four rounds,
08:50proving his superiority in every aspect of the fight.
08:53But when he forced the Irishman to tap,
08:55his level head finally snapped.
08:57Nurmagomedov hopped over the cage
08:59and started the wildest post-fight brawl in UFC history.
09:02It was the biggest MMA event of all time by a long shot.
09:06Number 10, Arturo Gatti vs. Mickey Ward.
09:10Everybody's expected a good fight tonight.
09:12If you've seen The Fighter,
09:13you know that Mickey Ward has tons of heart.
09:16But what the film doesn't show you
09:17is the May 2002 match against Arturo Gatti.
09:21This was indeed a super fight,
09:22if only because the boxing world expected
09:24one of the most entertaining bouts of the year.
09:27For the first six rounds,
09:28they did not mess around.
09:30But the fight became something much more profound
09:32by the legendary ninth round,
09:34which is arguably the best three minutes of boxing history,
09:37and certainly of the early 21st century.
09:40This should be the round of the century.
09:42Each boxer showcased his extraordinary skill,
09:45along with something that can't be taught,
09:48heart inside the ring.
09:49Certainly they weren't the ultra-skilled stars
09:52who go on to the greatest success in the sport,
09:55but they were both entertaining fighters
09:57who were known to give the crowds their money's worth.
10:00Number 9, Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns.
10:02Two great fighters, great skills,
10:04should be a great fight.
10:06Coming less than a year after his infamous
10:08No Mass bout with Roberto Duran,
10:10Sugar Ray Leonard threw down for another iconic fight.
10:13For this unforgettable Las Vegas showdown,
10:16both fighters entered the ring
10:17with separate welterweight belts,
10:18but it was only Thomas Hearns
10:20that had never been beaten,
10:21at 32-0,
10:23and with 30 knockouts.
10:25Best punch of the fight for Thomas Hearns,
10:28that most lethal weapon is Big Wright.
10:30This bout was scheduled for 15 rounds,
10:32and by the 6th and 7th,
10:34it seemed like Sugar Ray had the upper hand.
10:37But the WBA champ Hearns came back with a fury,
10:40leading to an explosive conclusion,
10:42and a unification of the welterweight championships.
10:46And that's it!
10:47A 14th round knockout victory for Sugar Ray Leonard!
10:51Number 8, Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Meldrick Taylor.
10:55Promoted as Thunder meets Lightning,
10:57This bout featured a Mexican icon
10:59and an American star in the making.
11:01Both fighters were undefeated,
11:03but the 27-year-old Julio Cesar Chavez
11:06had the longest undefeated streak
11:08in about 80 years at 68-0,
11:11with 55 knockouts.
11:13Despite the odds,
11:14Taylor steamrolled Chavez for the majority of the fight,
11:17but didn't seal the deal.
11:19As a result,
11:20Chavez's experience and stamina came into play,
11:23and he countered.
11:24That is a tired Meldrick Taylor slipping to the canvas.
11:27By the 12th and final round,
11:29Taylor was on the verge of a major upset.
11:32Unbelievably, Chavez destroyed the dream.
11:35Or, as some have argued,
11:36it was referee Richard Steele
11:38who altered the course of boxing history.
11:41Unbelievable!
11:42Richard Steele stopped the fight
11:43with fewer than five seconds to go!
11:45Number 7, BJ Penn vs. Georges St-Pierre.
11:48Almost three years after
11:50their first memorable matchup at UFC 58,
11:53these two fighters squared off
11:54as champions of separate divisions.
11:56A UFC first.
11:58Georges St-Pierre was trending upwards
12:00with his welterweight dominance.
12:01Meanwhile, BJ Penn was hoping
12:03to redefine his career
12:04as the lightweight champ.
12:06The fight was notable for the massive hype,
12:08but it ultimately showcased
12:10GSP's overwhelming ground-and-pound assault,
12:13a technique that would lead
12:14to a round-four stoppage.
12:15Penn's camp later claimed
12:17that GSP had been greased
12:18with jelly in between rounds,
12:20which prompted a comedic admission
12:22from UFC's undisputed champ.
12:25Number 6, Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns.
12:28And here we go!
12:29Round 1!
12:31Known as The War,
12:33this all-time classic
12:34featured two pound-for-pound icons.
12:37Marvin Hagler entered the ring
12:38as the undisputed middleweight champ,
12:40and he quickly established dominance
12:42over his younger opponent in round 1,
12:44only to lose the momentum seconds later.
12:47Hearns hit him with an uppercut.
12:49Hagler, he's on the court!
12:50With the fast pace and effective blows,
12:52this superfight became
12:53an instant classic early on.
12:55Unsurprisingly,
12:56it was over by round 3,
12:59as Hagler's relentless assault
13:00was too much for Thomas the Hitman Hearns.
13:03In just 8 minutes,
13:05both fighters produced
13:06what is widely considered to be
13:07one of the best round-for-round fights
13:10of all time.
13:11He can continue!
13:12It's Hagler!
13:13Full of blood!
13:14Number 5.
13:15George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali
13:17From the exotic setting in Zaire
13:19to the three-day music festival
13:21during Fight Week,
13:22the rumble in the jungle
13:23was a cultural event
13:24that has no equal in the game.
13:26So far, Ali looks pretty impressive
13:28in round 1.
13:29The young and powerful George Foreman
13:31was expected to destroy
13:32the aging Muhammad Ali,
13:33just like he had done
13:34to his great rivals
13:35Joe Frazier and Ken Norton.
13:37But people ruled out Ali
13:39at their own peril,
13:40and on Fight Night,
13:41we were treated to one of the single
13:42greatest tactical performances
13:44of all time.
13:45Ali leaned on the ropes,
13:47ducking, defending,
13:48and wearing out the big man,
13:50taunting him all the while.
13:51Then, like a coiled spring,
13:53in round 8,
13:54he struck,
13:55KOing Big George
13:56and shocking the world.
13:57That's it!
13:58The fighting stop!
14:00A little lead!
14:01A dramatic,
14:02a strong knockout!
14:04Number 4.
14:05Floyd Mayweather Jr.
14:06vs. Conor McGregor
14:07It's time for
14:09Mayweather vs. McGregor!
14:13Known as the money fight,
14:15this bout initially seemed
14:17entirely one-sided,
14:18even after the results
14:19of UFC 205.
14:21Octagon champ
14:22Conor McGregor
14:23made his boxing debut,
14:25while boxing legend
14:26Floyd Mayweather Jr.
14:27hoped to cap off his career
14:28with a record-breaking
14:2950-0 mark.
14:31But, while fans and analysts
14:32expected big hype,
14:34which was absolutely delivered,
14:36what they didn't expect
14:37was a dramatic
14:3810-round fight.
14:40From round 1 onwards,
14:42McGregor showed his skill
14:43and incredible toughness,
14:45while Mayweather demonstrated
14:46why he is one of
14:47the all-time best.
14:49In the end,
14:49both fighters made huge money,
14:51and bolstered their reputations
14:53in their respective sports.
14:55And still undefeated,
14:57Floyd
14:58Manny
14:59Mayweather!
15:05Number 3,
15:05Manny Pacquiao vs.
15:07Floyd Mayweather Jr.
15:08Crowd is ready,
15:10a big roar
15:10breached the opening bell.
15:12For years,
15:13this was the boxing matchup
15:14that purists
15:15and casual fans alike
15:16wanted to see.
15:17By 2015,
15:18both Manny Pacquiao
15:20and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
15:21were arguably
15:22past their prime,
15:23yet the so-called
15:24fight of the century
15:25was indeed that,
15:27an undeniable superfight.
15:29It was a massive
15:30pop culture event
15:31that seemed worth the cost.
15:33But whereas Pacquiao
15:34was a knockout artist,
15:35Mayweather was
15:36the traditional
15:37defensive fighter.
15:38Now he's got Mayweather
15:39in the corner,
15:40and Mayweather grabs him.
15:41Over 12 rounds,
15:43the Pac-Man
15:43struggled to connect,
15:45and he re-aggravated
15:46a shoulder injury
15:47in round four,
15:48leading to a unanimous decision
15:50for Manny Mayweather
15:51to complement
15:52his big check.
15:53And still undefeated,
15:56Floyd,
15:58Manny,
15:59Mayweather.
16:06Number two,
16:06Mike Tyson
16:07versus Evander Holyfield.
16:09Introducing the one
16:10and only
16:11Iron,
16:13Mike Tyson.
16:15By the mid-90s,
16:17Tyson,
16:18the baddest man
16:18on the planet,
16:19had reached
16:20the pinnacle of boxing,
16:21but had also served
16:22three years in prison.
16:24Meanwhile,
16:25former champion
16:25Evander Holyfield
16:26hoped to regain
16:27his boxing mojo.
16:29For this superfight,
16:30legacies were on the line,
16:32along with boxing careers
16:33in general.
16:34Tyson was the
16:34overwhelming favorite,
16:36and many expected
16:37a violent conclusion.
16:39Yet Holyfield
16:40gave it his all
16:40over 10 rounds,
16:42making the fight
16:42an instant classic.
16:53Then came round 11,
16:55in which the real deal
16:57lived up to his nickname
16:58and reignited
16:59his already iconic career.
17:01I can't believe what I'm saying.
17:03It's the most unbelievable thing
17:05I've ever been privileged
17:06to witness.
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17:21This is the superfight
17:34to end all superfights.
17:36Not only did
17:37the fight of the century
17:38feature two legends
17:39in their prime,
17:40it also connected
17:41the world like never before.
17:43This was the first time
17:44two undefeated boxers
17:46threw down
17:47for the heavyweight title.
17:48At 31-0,
17:50Muhammad Ali was arguably
17:51the most famous athlete
17:52in the world.
17:53But Smokin' Joe Frazier
17:54was the one man
17:55that could silence
17:56his trash talk.
17:57And he did.
17:5915 brutal rounds later,
18:01Frazier received
18:02the unanimous decision.
18:04Ali won the rematch,
18:05however,
18:05and famously competed
18:07in another classic
18:08against George Foreman,
18:09the Rumble in the Jungle.
18:10Which of these fights
18:19was the most memorable?
18:20Let us know in the comments.
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