The pair of Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz fights that happened in 2016 are largely considered two of the most exciting fights in UFC history.
The combination of the men’s skills, their personalities, and the way in which they interacted all laid the path to create exceptional bouts. Add into that the stories surrounding the fights — Diaz coming in on short notice to surprise McGregor with a second round finish, only for McGregor to isolate himself from media and return to gain revenge in a five round war — and you have mixed martial arts history.
According to the UFC, they’re the two greatest fights ever. In celebration of the company’s 25th anniversary, the UFC has been looking at the top 25 fights to have occurred within it’s famed cage, and have announced the full bracket, which is now open to fan voting.
McGregor vs. Diaz II finds itself seeded as number 1, while McGregor vs. Diaz I comes in at number 2.
The bracket is SET! How would you grade our list? Love it? Hate it?
Voting on the first round opens TOMORROW!!! #UFC25Years pic.twitter.com/LNrxLd2KTT
— UFC (@ufc) March 21, 2018
The full list of seeding is as follows:
- Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz II
- Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz I
- Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua vs. Dan Henderson I
- Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald II
- Frankie Edgar vs. Grey Maynard II
- Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva
- Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson
- Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen I
- Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg II
- Mark Hunt vs. Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva I
- Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn II
- Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar I
- Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit
- Eddie Alvarez vs. Justin Gaethje
- Diego Sanchez vs. Gilbert Melendez
- Forrest Griffin vs. Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson
- Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
- Cub Swanson vs. Doo-Ho Choi
- Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin
- Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Claudia Gadelha 2
- ‘Korean Zombie’ Chan Sung Jung vs. Dustin Poirier
- Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche
- Georges St-Pierre vs. BJ Penn
- Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Johnson
- Pat Barry vs. Cheick Kongo