MMA’s Most Legendary Feuds That Went Beyond the Octagon

As much as we love the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA), there are bound to be rivalries. It is based on rivalry, self-esteem, and arrogance, and sometimes athletes who have opposite temperaments or fighting techniques meet in ways that extend beyond the Octagon. Some of these rivalries have escalated to hatred-filled feuds, characterized by verbal attacks, psychological warfare, and, in some instances, physical confrontations that extend to the streets, the gym, or even the social media platforms.

While many fighters take their frustrations to the cage, there are some that have had animosity that has spilled over well past the final buzzer. These are the rivalries that fans cared about that defined fighters’ careers and occasionally even the course of MMA history. It is high time to discuss some of the toughest rivalries in MMA that did not end inside the cage.

Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier

The animosity between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier can be considered one of the most tense and long-standing in the history of the UFC. This fight that wanted to be a light heavyweight championship bout soon became much more than that and turned into a bitter, long-lasting rivalry that played out over the course of two legendary fights. The rivalry between them started in 2014 when they both fought for the first time at UFC 182.

Jones and Cormier had bitter words for each other during their press conferences, and the two fighters came to blows at a media event. Jones accused Cormier of being a ‘fake champion’ because of his Olympic wrestling background, while Cormier accused Jones of being a bad person on and off the cage, including criminal charges and steroid use. It was a genuine hatred, and they soon let it out by turning into a verbal battle.

In the first bout in the Octagon, Jones defeated Gustafsson by unanimous decision, but their rivalry began when Jones lost the title because of legal troubles. Cormier won the belt while it was vacant, and many fans as well as fighters regarded him as a ‘paper champion’ until he defeated Jones. The second fight was held at UFC 214 in 2017, and Jones knocked out Cormier with a head kick, but the victory was changed because Jones took steroids. Thus, the constant soap opera aspect of this particular rivalry—both in and out of the cage—helped to make this one of the most compelling stories in the annals of the sport.

Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell

Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell are two of the earlier UFC fighters, and their fight was instrumental in bringing the sport into the limelight in the mid 2000s. The hatred that fueled their rivalry was not just professional, but both men have shared training camps with each other and actually have been friends.

Ortiz, the brash light heavyweight champion, did not want to fight Liddell, saying they were related. Liddell, on the other hand, was of the opinion that Ortiz was avoiding him because he knew that Liddell would be the winner. Their rivalry boiled over at UFC 47 in 2004, when Liddell KO’d Ortiz in the second round, thus shutting up his opponent and becoming the most dreaded fighter in the division.

The two would later fight again in UFC 66 in 2006, in which Liddell would again knock down Ortiz in the third round to retain his light heavyweight belt. Although the rivalry was one-sided, fans were entertained, and the hatred between Ortiz and Liddell became a significant plot in the initial years of the UFC. But little did fans know that the two legends would meet for one last time in 2018 under Golden Boy Promotions, with Ortiz emerging as the winner of the trilogy fight, albeit in what can be described as a fight that happened in the twilight of both fighters’ careers.

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor

McGregor is not a stranger to rivalry, but the rivalry with Khabib Nurmagomedov was something that the public had never seen before. When two of the most famous UFC fighters agreed to fight each other, the fight was about culture, ego, and fighting style, but it became one of the biggest rivalries in the UFC history.

The hatred between McGregor and Khabib was taken to the next level before their fight at UFC 229 in October of 2018. The marketing genius who likes to take to social media and brag, McGregor used the abuser’s language to disrespect Khabib, his religion, his family, and his country, Dagestan. The rivalry only intensified with the incident in which McGregor attacked Khabib’s bus in Brooklyn and threw a dolly through the window.

The fight itself was one of the greatest in the history of UFC: Khabib was dominating McGregor and eventually submitted him in the fourth round. But the melee that occurred after the fight, where Khabib jumped over the cage to attack McGregor’s team, escalated the rivalry into a complete catastrophe. The two camps fought, and the brawl extended to the crowd, and in that regard, the fight was suspended and both fighters were fined.

After the fight, bitterness between McGregor’s and Khabib’s teams remained; the fighters themselves continued to insult each other on social networks. As Khabib retired without a loss, the sour taste of this rivalry is still felt to this date in the MMA fraternity.

Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate

The battles between Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate were one of the first to become popular in the category of women’s MMA. The fact that Rousey is the brash and confident Olympic judo medalist who had no problem telling anyone who would listen that she was the ‘baddest woman on the planet’ while Tate, the far more reserved but no less tough wrestler, actually seemed to despise Rousey only added to the appeal of their rivalry.

It started in Strikeforce, where Rousey beat Tate to the women’s bantamweight title through armbar submission in 2012. The two faced each other again in the UFC, and their rivalry was further fueled when they were made coaches of opposing teams in the Ultimate Fighter season 18. Rousey humiliating Tate during the show and Tate’s desire to get back at Rousey paved the way to their second fight in UFC 168 in 2013.

Again, Rousey dominated Tate and won by submission in the third round through the armbar. Although she suffered a defeat in both bouts, Tate continued to be a nuisance for Rousey and was not shy of uttering some harsh words against her in interviews and adding to the feud. Although Rousey quit the sport after two consecutive losses, Tate became one of Rousey’s fiercest competitors after she defeated Holly Holm to capture the bantamweight championship in 2016.

Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva

Chael Sonnen has been one of the best at this, and his feud with Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva, the greatest middleweight of all time, is a perfect example. Before the fight at UFC 117 in 2010, Sonnen did not spare Silva from verbal tirades that had never been seen in the MMA world. Sonnen analyzed Silva’s abilities, ridiculed him for being Brazilian, and even insulted his wife and children, thus trying to break the champion mentally.

What made this rivalry even more interesting was the fact that Sonnen was very close to proving all the trash talk he made. In the fight Sonnen was able to take Silva down for more than four and a half rounds and was able to beat him with his wrestling and ground and pound. But Silva made one of the best comebacks in the history of MMA and won by triangle armbar in the last round of the fight.

The second fight was at UFC 148 held in July 2012, and Sonnen continued with his vile remarks while Silva vowed to punish him. Despite Silva KO Sonnen in the second round, this was one of the most entertaining rivalries in UFC history due to Sonnen’s skills in selling the fight and Silva’s perfect poker face when responding to such challenges.

Tito Ortiz confronts Dana White.

Not all legendary MMA feuds are between fighters—some of them are between the fighters and the UFC’s president, Dana White, and no feud between White and a fighter was more famous than his rivalry with Tito Ortiz. Ortiz was one of the UFC’s original superstars, but he constantly clashed with White over the course of his career.

The two started feuding over contract issues, with Ortiz often complaining about the UFC’s remuneration system and even alleging that White does not respect him as a fighter. The rivalry between the two was at its peak in 2007, when Ortiz and White decided to end it by organizing a boxing fight between them. The fight never materialized, but the rivalry went on, with Ortiz always looking for a chance to get a dig at White in interviews.

After Ortiz went to another organization in MMA, the bitter feeling between him and White did not end. It appeared that the rivalry between Ortiz and the UFC had ended in 2012 when the fighter left the organization; still, their confrontation is one of the most colorful fighter-promoter conflicts in the history of the sport.

Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor has had more than one messy fight with other fighters in his career, but his biggest beef was with Nate Diaz. The two fighters have faced each other only in the Octagon a couple of times, but their rivalry, as well as hatred, started a long time ago.

Their rivalry started in 2016 when McGregor was scheduled to fight with Rafael Dos Anjos for the lightweight championship, but Dos Anjos had to withdraw from the bout due to an injury. Diaz entered the equation at the last minute, and the promotion to the fight was full of animosity and verbal aggression. McGregor insulted Diaz, calling him a ‘cholo gangster’ and boasting that he would knock him out.

But no one expected Diaz to submit McGregor in the second round of their fight at UFC 196, thereby beating McGregor for the first time in the UFC. Their second bout at UFC 202 later in the year was a five-round fight that was considered one of the greatest in UFC history, with McGregor winning via a majority decision.

Despite the second fight between McGregor and Diaz, the hatred has not faded off yet. They both have spoken about the possibility of doing a third fight, and this is one of the most interesting and most anticipated rivalries in MMA.

Conclusion

MMA is a sport of competition, but sometimes the competition between fighters turns personal, and the hatred between them extends to the real world. Some of the most famous rivalries in MMA history include Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier, Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, among other rivalries that have defined the sport. While some of these rivalries fade with time, others are still an open sore, making fans wait for the next episode of such epic rivalry.