The UFC originally started because they wanted to see which martial art would win against one another. Essentially trying to put on the best fights they possibly can at the time. What about the fights that happened before their prime though? What if we had got to see Fedor Emelianenko fight Daniel Cormier in their primes? Although that fight never happened, today we will take a look at fights that happened way before they should have.
Dustin Poirier Vs. Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor defeated Dustin Poirier at UFC 178 on September 27th, 2014. The fight took place at featherweight and Poirier moved to lightweight immediately following his loss to McGregor. Since he moved to lightweight he has gone 9-2-1. With wins over top guys in that division such as Eddie Alverez, Anthony Pettis, and Justin Gaethje. This fight is a little different than the rest on the list because this rematch could become a reality in the near future. Poirier is coming off a loss to the champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and McGregor has just recently returned to the UFC and beat Donald Cerrone. At this time these men are two of the best lightweights in the world and it would surely be a more contested fight than their first fight.
Ryan Bader Vs. Jon Jones
Jon Jones defeated Ryan Bader at UFC 126 on February 5th, 2011. Since then, besides some legal issues, Jones has continued his dominance in the light heavyweight division. So much so that he still holds the UFC’s light heavyweight title to this day. Bader, on the other hand, is 11-1-1 since 2014. Dominating Bellator‘s light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions with wins over Fedor Emelianenko, Ovince Saint Preux, Matt Mitrione, King Mo, and Phil Davis. Although the UFC and Bellator can’t seem to come to an agreement as far as cross-promoting, this would be the time to make this super fight. When the original fight happened, Bader wasn’t nearly as dominant as he is now.
Geoff Neal Vs. Kevin Holland
Believe it or not UFC Middleweight, Kevin Holland defeated UFC welterweight, Geoff Neal, via TKO prior to either man making it to the UFC. The fight took place at Xtreme Knockout 34 in Dallas, Texas on January 28th, 2017. Since making it to the UFC, Neal is 5-0 with four out of his five wins via finish. Holland is 3-2 since making it to the UFC only losing to Thiago Santos and Brendan Allen. Although it seems that this fight “shouldn’t” happen in the UFC because these men are in different weight classes, it would have been more exciting seeing this fight in the UFC instead of before these men got their shot.
Gegard Mousasi Vs. Mark Hunt
Taking place at Dream 9 on May 26th, 2009 this fight between Gegard Mousasi and Mark Hunt took place way before either man entered their prime. Another fight that fans would much rather have watched in the UFC. Mousasi won the fight against Hunt via armbar submission. Later in his career, Mousasi went 9-3 in the UFC before being released and signing with Bellator. It only took him two fights in Bellator to capture the middleweight title. While Hunt never really had a great career, it still would have been better to see his knockout power against Mousasi sometime after 2012 in the UFC. Mousasi has only been knocked out once in his career to date and Hunt retired with ten out of his 13 wins coming by way of knockout.
These are just a few fights that we believe happened before they should have. Can you think of any others? Let us know in the comments down below.
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