From UFC classics to a PRIDE FC gem, these rematches provided some of the most memorable action in the history of the sport.
When it comes to rematches in mixed martial arts, there seems to be little room for mediocrity whether we’re talking about the expectation or the result.
If the first fight captured our imaginations, then we as human beings tend to let expectations run wild when going into the second meeting. But as far as results go, MMA sequels seem to either continue to pile on the action atop the intrigue of the horror a la “Aliens,” or they just end up leaving us with that feeling we had when we walked out of “The Matrix Reloaded.”
That said, this sport has given us plenty of “Godfather 2” candidates over the years that are worth acknowledging.
So, with that in mind, I thought it would be fun to revisit some of the most memorable sequels in MMA by listing my top five rematches of all time.
As usual, these lists reflect my personal tastes and are not meant to serve as some ultimate authority. That said, I feel very strongly about not only my list but also my honorable mentions at the end – which are more than strong enough to serve as their own top five.
The MMA world already has said goodbye to many retiring fighters in 2023, from former UFC champions to icons of the sport.
MMA is a constantly evolving sport with a revolving door of athletes entering and exiting. Currently, fighters from the era who helped make the sport so popular are beginning to trickle away from competition and hang up their gloves in order to move on to the next chapter in life.
If there’s one thing that’s well known about combat sports retirements, though, it’s that they often don’t last long. The urge to compete, and perhaps more importantly get a payday, will continue to drive fighters back even well beyond their expiration dates.
2023 has seen an uptick in notable fighters announcing they are done with the sport, and we have a list of those who have opted to walk away this year (the list will update as new retirements are announced).
Ranking five “great” featherweight bouts is too general. This list is focused on the division’s all-time WARS.
The featherweight division, as defined by the unified rules of MMA via the Association of Boxing Commissions, constitutes of fighters who are between 135 and 145 pounds.
In Japan, organizations like Shooto were among the first to form a weight class for 145 pounders in the 1990s, which they classified as lightweight. The division not only gave a platform to smaller Japanese fighters but also featured international crossovers that helped build the names of Brazilians like Alexandre Franca Nogueira.
In North America, organizations like the WEC and King of the Cage were doing their part to help pioneer these lighter divisions in the early 2000s – though KOTC technically classified their featherweights as bantamweights due to their division structures.
The WEC, in particular, found some real success with its featherweight division thanks in large part to poster boy Urijah Faber, who would go on to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Aside from being a great face for the California-based promotion, Faber ended up putting on memorable performances with fighters like Jens Pulver and Mike Brown that helped build the division to what we see today in the UFC (who, of course, absorbed the WEC’s featherweight fighters back in 2010).
Limiting myself to five “great” featherweight fights is too general of a category for an already impossible ask, so I’m instead focusing on top five featherweight WARS.
Whether we’re talking about two-way technical affairs or barnyard brawls, only competitive, back-and-forth fights are eligible here. As usual, these lists reflect my personal tastes and biases and are not meant to serve as some ultimate authority. That said, I feel very strongly about not only my list but also my honorable mentions at the end.
Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique” live stream covering the biggest topics in combat sports, like BKFC 41, Nate Diaz and UFC 288.
Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Danny Segura and Dan Tom will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:
The UFC was in action this past Saturday, but so, too, was BKFC – and it made by far the bigger splash. BKFC 41 near Denver featured a main event of [autotag]Mike Perry[/autotag] vs. former UFC and Strikeforce champion [autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag], plus a co-main event of former UFC and Bellator champ [autotag]Eddie Alvarez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Chad Mendes[/autotag]. The card also featured Ben Rothwell, Bec Rawlings – and [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] was there as a fan, then faced off with Perry! What is happening here?! Was this the start of the BKFC takeover?
[autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] has been in the news. He turned himself in to police in New Orleans, was booked and released and now awaits the next process after an arrest that stemmed from footage of him choking a man unconscious. Diaz’s side said the man was a fellow fighter who came at Diaz, and Diaz merely acted in self defense. What are our thoughts on the scuffle.
Not to be forgotten, UFC Fight Night 223 went down in Las Vegas. It wasn’t a crazy card on paper, but in the main event, [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] planted his flag as a bantamweight title contender with a dominant fifth-round finish of Ricky Simon. What’s Yadong’s position in the division, and at 25, what’s his timeline for when he might fight for a UFC title?
The UFC’s middleweight title picture seemed clear enough: Ex-champ [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag] has been booked, and presumably the winner would be teed up for [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag]. But now Aeesanya, born in Africa, but living in New Zealand, has beef with Du Plessis, a South Africa native who still lives and trains there. Is Adsanya vs. Du Plessis the way to go now because of the heat it can pull from their new rivalry?
UFC 288 goes down Saturday in New Jersey, and while it won’t be in the running for the best numbered card of all time, it’s solid from top to bottom and the main event is loaded with intrigue. Bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] will put his title on the line against former two-division champ [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag], who is coming out of retirement. It’s tight with the oddsmakers, but who has more to gain or lose?
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch this week’s episode in the video above.
BKFC 41 was the focal point of the combat sports world on Saturday, and now it faces the challenge of trying to repeat that success.
I’m humble enough to admit I was among those skeptical about BKFC from the start. Shedding the gloves felt sideshow-ish at first, and it seemed like the promotion wouldn’t have the staying power to etch a footprint in the combat sports space.
Following Saturday’s BKFC 41 event at 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo., however, the future looks brighter than ever.
Although BKFC has had some memorable moments since its inception less than five years ago – from the gruesome war between Artem Lobov and Jason Knight to Paige VanZant’s appearances and more – the organization’s 41st event (a number many, including myself, thought it would never reach) was its most impactful to date.
A big debt of gratitude for the traction BKFC 41 received is owed to [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag], who to the surprise of many, pulled up ringside midway through the card and was the gravitational force we all know him to be. Fans and reporters in the venue posted videos of his every move, the broadcast panned to him at every opportunity, and the icing on the cake was his entry into the ring for an animated faceoff with [autotag]Mike Perry[/autotag].
Perry, for his part, is also the perfect face for BKFC. He was built for this style of combat sports, and showed it once again by rearranging former UFC champion Luke Rockhold’s teeth en route to a second-round TKO stoppage in the headlining act of the card.
Although the ending was unfortunate due to Rockhold’s cracked teeth, the booking with Perry was an A+ move by BKFC. Both men did their part in promoting the fight and drawing interest in the weeks leading up, and the BKFC brass put together an ideal undercard cast of MMA notables.
[lawrence-related id=2639023,2638459]
The epic brawl between former UFC champ [autotag]Eddie Alvarez[/autotag] and [autotag]Chad Mendes[/autotag] will go down among the wilder fights in company history, with both men dropping each other two times over the course of the five rounds. Then there was plenty of brutality on the undercard, too.
All in all, it’s hard for BKFC to ask for much more than it got Saturday. BKFC president David Feldman wasn’t lying at the post-fight news conference when he said the card was the focal point of the combat sports world, even if part of that was serendipitous with no Bellator or PFL and UFC putting on one of its weaker cards in recent memory – both on paper and in practice – with UFC Fight Night 223.
Scanning through Twitter and other social media platforms, I saw some people suggest BKFC could be legitimate and viable competition for UFC after the success of this event. We can shut that down right now. It’s not happening remotely close to anytime soon, at least, because BKFC simply doesn’t have the roster to consistently compete at the moment. That’s part of the growth process.
A big success for BKFC would be developing a home grown star. It has a handful of fighters on the roster who are becoming better known for their work in BKFC than MMA or boxing, but if someone can build roots in that world and break through, it could be a game changer.
BKFC 42 goes down in less than two weeks on May 12, and you’d really have to stretch to name a single fighter on the card that would be recognizable to the non-hardcore audience who turned into BKFC 41. There’s always going to be a group out there who will watch anything, but it’s the “casual” fans who saw the names Perry vs. Rockhold, Alvarez vs. Mendes, or saw a McGregor clip pop up and opted to check it out, that are the difference maker. That’s the group that needs its attention captured to make real inroads as a brand.
The coverage for every upcoming event on BKFC’s announced schedule will be nowhere equivalent to what it got this weekend, and rightfully so. Not just because the depth of the card don’t meet the standard of BKFC 41, but also because it will be swallowed up with the UFC’s stretch of 11 events over the next 12 weeks. And Bellator’s multiple cards. And the resumption of the PFL season in early June.
This night was a home run for BKFC, no question. The company currently has more positives going for it thank negatives, too. BKFC 41 had the fighter name value, solid production for the viewer and was paced well. The athletes seem to feel well taken care of at large from a financial perspective, as well.
Now BKFC faces the task of trying to put on events of this magnitude more frequently. Can it gobble up more notable fighters in the free agent market? And more importantly, can it keep those free agents around long enough to be useful chess pieces? That will be key in putting on more significant events and taking a bigger share of the limited combat sports pie.
Why former UFC standout Chad Mendes is walking away from combat sports after BKFC 41.
[autotag]Chad Mendes[/autotag]’s short career in bareknuckle boxing has come to an end.
The former UFC title challenger announced his retirement from the bareknuckle boxing world Saturday following his split decision loss to Eddie Alavarez in the co-main event of BKFC 41 in Broomfield, Colo. This venture down the bareknuckle boxing road was the latest chapter of Mendes’ fighting career. He retired from MMA in late 2018.
But now it looks like Mendes is done altogether with combat sports.
“I’ve been going back and forth with this,” Mendes told reporters at the BKFC 41 post-fight news conference when asked about his decision to retire. “Obviously I retired from the UFC back in 2018, and I was honestly done. I’ve been pouring my heart and soul into a few businesses and just spending the family quality time that I love doing.
“I had no desire (to fight), but something like this came up, and obviously the pay is really good, and it’s something that’s new, which kind of excited me, so I did it. I was done after that first one, but then they dangled somebody like this dude (Alvarez) in front of me, so I was like, ‘All right, I’ll do one more. This could be the retirement fight.'”
[lawrence-related id=2639091]
Mendes debuted in bareknuckle boxing in February 2022 with a TKO of Joshuah Alvarez at BKFC: KnuckleMania 2. The fight against Eddie Alvarez was Mendes’ second and now final bareknuckle boxing bout.
The 37-year-old still loves fighting, but has bigger priorities outside the ring.
“I just don’t need to be doing this sh*t anymore,” Mendes said. “It’s fun, but I feel like at this point I’m just being selfish. I’ve got a solid family that loves me, and I’ve got other things in the works that I pour my heart and soul into to be successful at. But man, that was one hell of a fight.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for BKFC 41.
Check out the live results for BKFC 41, headlined by Mike Perry vs. Luke Rockhold, as well as a preliminary card stream here.
BKFC 41 takes place Saturday at 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo. and some big names from the world of MMA will square off – without gloves.
The main card begins at 9 p.m. ET and is available for purchase on FITE TV. Three prelim bouts will be live-streamed for free, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
The event is headlined by former UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag] makes his bareknuckle debut as he battles fan-favorite [autotag]Mike Perry[/autotag].
In the co-main event, former UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Eddie Alvarez[/autotag] fights former UFC featherweight title challenger [autotag]Chad Mendes[/autotag].
BKFC champion [autotag]Christine Ferea[/autotag] puts her title on the line against former UFC and Bellator fighter [autotag]Bec Rawlings[/autotag]. Also, former UFC heavyweights [autotag]Ben Rothwell[/autotag] and [autotag]Josh Copeland[/autotag] throw down on the main card.
Check out the full results below, as well as a live and free stream of the prelims above.
Former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez won a very close battle against Chad Mendes in his bareknuckle debut at BKFC 41.
Former UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Eddie Alvarez[/autotag] has added a win in bareknuckle boxing to his lengthy combat sports resume.
In the co-main event of BKFC 41, Alvarez faced former UFC featherweight title challenger [autotag]Chad Mendes[/autotag] at 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo. The bout was contested at 165 pounds, and proved to be an intense bout that came down to the wire. When it was all said and done, Alvarez was declared the winner by split decision, earning two 47-46 scores, while one judge saw the fight for Mendes with the same score.
Both men darted in and out with quick punches to begin the fight. Mendes charged ahead with a left jab, and put a powerful right hand behind it. Alvarez waved his opponent in before putting punches of his own together. Mendes responded with a nice shot of his own. As the round came to an end, blood began to flow from a cut under Mendes’ right eye.
Early in the second, Mendes landed a hard left hook that sent Alvarez to the canvas. Alvarez quickly returned to his feet to face the mandatory 8 count by the referee. Mendes continued to win exchanges for the remainder of the round.
In the opening exchange of the third, Alvarez cracked Mendes with a punch, sending him to the mat. Mendes quickly popped up and appealed to the referee that he slipped, but it was ruled a knockdown. A few intense exchanges followed, but the story of this round was Alvarez evening the knockdown count.
Alvarez returned to his stool bloodied after a close fourth round. However, things got wild in the final frame.
Moving forward for the entire round, Alvarez swarmed Mendes with punches. Alvarez caught Mendes with a right uppercut followed by a left, causing Mendes to drop to the canvas. Mendes got up, and with just seconds left on the clock, Alvarez looked to finish the fight before the final bell. However, Mendes clipped Alvarez, knocking him off balance, creating a crazy scene in the final moments.
The fight would go to the scorecards, where two of the three ringside judges believed Alvarez did enough to win.
After the fight, Mendes announced his retirement from combat sports. The bout against Alvarez was his second in bareknuckle, following his debut victory over Joshuah Alvarez last February.
Check out these photos from former UFC and Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez’s split decision victory over Chad Mendes at BKFC 41.
Check out these photos from former UFC and Bellator champion [autotag]Eddie Alvarez[/autotag]’s split decision victory over [autotag]Chad Mendes[/autotag] at BKFC 41, which took place at 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo. (Photos courtesy of BKFC)
The combat sports world reacted to former UFC champ Eddie Alvarez’s thrilling win at BKFC 41 over Chad Mendes, who retired after.
[autotag]Eddie Alvarez[/autotag] added another layer to his decorated combat sports legacy on Saturday when he won his BKFC 41 debut against [autotag]Chad Mendes[/autotag].
The former UFC and Bellator champion Alvarez dove into the bare knuckle world and scored a split decision win over Mendes in the welterweight co-main event, which took place at 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colo.
After the fight, Mendes retired from combat sports officially.
Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Alvarez beating Mendes at BKFC 41.
