MMA
Officially a draw, but the Mexican champion is the winner! Recap the top 5 UFC title fights that ended in a draw
A specific UFC Noche tournament held on Mexican Independence Day produced a title fight that ended in an unusual draw. In this article, we take a look back in time and recall which title fights within the world’s most famous MMA organization ended in a draw.
A specific UFC Noche tournament held on Mexican Independence Day produced a title fight that ended in an unusual draw. In this article, we take a look back in time and recall which title fights within the world’s most famous MMA organization ended in a draw.
Over the weekend, another UFC gala took place, this time in a somewhat specific guise called UFC Noche. And the highlight of the evening was no less specific, as it featured a rematch of the flyweight title fight between champion Alexa Grasso and challenger Valentina Shevchenko.
The thrilling five-round battle delivered everything a proper title fight should have. A mad war spilled over from one side to the other, and at the end of the bout everyone eagerly awaited the verdict of the scoring judges.
Then when it was the turn of the winner to be announced, the hands of both fighters were raised simultaneously. The draw meant that Mexican beauty Alexa Grasso remained the champion.
Draws in mixed martial arts matches tend to be rare, especially when it is the main event of the night and even a title bout. So let’s take a look at the history of the organization and recall the five most famous title fights that ended in a draw.
#5 B.J. Penn vs. Caol Uno – UFC Lightweight Title (2003)
The first UFC title fight to end in a draw in the modern era was B.J. Penn’s clash with Caol Uno in 2003. The bout was to crown a new lightweight champion after previous titleholder Jens Pulver left the organization following a dispute over his contract.
In the eyes of many fans, the fight likely ended one-sidedly in Penn’s favor. After all, the legendary ‘The Prodigy’ destroyed Uno in just 11 seconds during their first clash in 2001. However, Uno was wary of Penn’s brutal punching power and fought with a much more cautious and measured approach the second time around. As a result, the bout seemed much more evenly matched and went to the scoring judges.
He dominated his Japanese opponent in the first, third and fourth rounds, especially on the ground. It was also expected that he was likely to take the next two rounds for himself due to his sharper punches, however the judges saw it as a draw. The result caused great uproar and untold damage to the division as it was once again left without a champion. A year later, the organization put the division on ice and did not return until early 2006.
#4 Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard – UFC Lightweight Title (2011)
If the first UFC lightweight title fight, which ended in a draw, was a disappointment, the second almost exceeded everyone’s expectations. When Frankie Edgar defended his title against Gray Maynard in the headliner of UFC 125 in 2011, no one expected what would happen that night.
After all, these two men had faced each other back in April 2008, when Maynard took the victory in a very boring fight on points. Four years passed and a rematch took place that shocked everyone. In the very first round, Edgar survived a series of lethal punches and it was a miracle that he continued the fight.
But a completely different fighter came out for the second round, landing several hard punches and tormenting his opponent on the ground. From then on, the remaining three rounds produced a riveting brawl in which both opponents had their moments, but the fight eventually came down to the judges scoring again.
They announced a verdict that awarded the championship belt to neither fighter. However, this time the draw was merely the logical outcome of the course of the match and the professional public rather gave the verdict in favour of the winner. UFC promoter Dana White thus staged a rematch later that year, in which Edgar won after a fourth-round KO.
#3 Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson – UFC Welterweight Title (2016)
When New York’s Madison Square Garden hosted UFC 205 in 2016, all attention was directed towards the main draw of the tournament when Conor McGregor knocked out Eddie Alvarez in the second round. From a sporting perspective, however, it was the welterweight title main event, in which Tyron Woodley defended his belt for the first time, that stole the show.
He was opposed by Stephen Thompson, who certainly didn’t give his skin cheaply. The first three rounds showed the cards clearly dealt. Woodley dominated the first act on the ground, while Wonderboy dominated the next two rounds standing.
Then in the fourth round, Woodley surprised his opponent with a crushing right hand that sent Thompson to the floor. Moments later, the champion deployed a tight guillotine that brought the fight to a possible end, but Wonderboy escaped the grave digger’s shovel and surprisingly dismantled his opponent from distance in the fifth round.
Thompson won three rounds, but the judges unanimously awarded the fourth round to Woodley by a 10-8 score, and so even here the judges’ “split draw” verdict was taken as a fair result given the events of the fight. Here, too, UFC management staged an immediate rematch, in which Woodley already dominated and retained his division title.
#2 Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno – UFC Flyweight Title (2020)
It seems crazy to think about it now, but if Deiveson Figueiredo had simply avoided too many fouls in his first clash with Brandon Moreno, it likely wouldn’t have come to their fourth flyweight title fight in early 2023. After all, at the time of their first clash in December 2020, literally no one was giving Moreno a chance to dethrone the dominant Brazilian from the UFC flyweight throne.
Figueiredo won the vacant flyweight title by defeating Joseph Benavidez in aggressive fashion that summer and needed less than two minutes to finish Alex Perez in his first defense.
The defense was so easy for the Brazilian that he agreed to face Moreno in his second defense just three weeks later. Did he underestimate his opponent? Moreno was a decent fighter with a three-fight win streak in the UFC, but there was no indication that he could take the title from the Brazilian.
Despite clearly losing the first two rounds, the Mexican challenger kept the pressure on the Brazilian champion, and when Figuereido got knocked down in the third round for a punch to the groin, Moreno got back into the fight.
He then showed tremendous heart in the last two rounds and he and the Brazilian put on one of the most beautiful fights of the year. The two then went on to steal victories for each other in back-to-back fights, and in January in Rio, Brazil, in the main preliminary bout of UFC 283, Moreno dominated their fourth fight and became the winner of one of the most famous rivalries in UFC history.
#1 Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev – UFC welterweight title (2022)
Last year, then-champion Jiri Prochazka was set to make his first title defense at UFC 282. However, the Czech samurai was seriously injured just weeks before the bout and UFC management had to find a replacement.
Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev faced off for the vacant title. Although the fight was supposed to determine the champion of the division, both fighters were ultimately out of shape and the title shot was far from their grasp, unlike in previous cases.
The fight itself wasn’t terrible, as was later reported, it just didn’t live up to expectations. While Ankalaev narrowly dominated the first round, the Pole kicked his opponent’s leg in the second and third rounds and it looked like a clear victory for him.
But the Dagestani came back from the dead and dominated the last two rounds with his wrestling. The judges eventually called the fight a draw, but it was more of a loss for both fighters. In fact, Dana White called their match “horrible” and arranged another title bout during the match, in which neither opponent made an appearance.
Source: UFC, Twitter
