Top 5: UFC Men’s Bantamweight Title Fights of All-Time

A long-awaited showdown between the sport’s top two bantamweights at the time could not have been more closely contested. The oft-injured Dominick Cruz reclaimed the Ultimate Fighting Championship title he never lost with a split decision over T.J. Dillashaw in the UFC Fight Night 81 headliner on Jan. 17, 2016 at the TD Garden in Boston. Judges David Ginsberg and Tony Weeks scored it 48-47 and 49-46 for Cruz, while Sal D’Amato saw it 49-46 for Dillashaw.

Together, they produced a 25-minute display of marvelous technique and fortitude. Cruz shook off the rust from another extended injury-induced layoff—he had fought just once in the previous 1,569 days—and got down to business with surgical counterpunches and elusive movement. Dillashaw was left to throw single shots and whiffed often during many of the early exchanges, as the Alliance MMA cornerstone bobbed, weaved and circled out of danger. Cruz supplemented his work on the feet with takedowns in the second, third and fourth rounds, where he managed to ground a fighter who had never before been taken down in UFC competition.

Despite the difficulties Cruz presented for him, Dillashaw kept applying pressure. He shifted the momentum in his favor in the fourth round, where he connected with a crippling leg kick, delivered a takedown of his own and punished Cruz in the clinch. Dillashaw picked up where he left off in the fifth, as he followed a clean right hand upstairs with a partially blocked head kick. With Cruz compromised by an apparent foot injury, Dillashaw stayed busy down the stretch but failed to do enough to carry the scorecards.

Statistical data outlined the nip-tuck nature of their encounter. Cruz outlanded the Elevation Fight Team product 112-109 in significant strikes, while Dillashaw held a 130-122 edge in total strikes. Cruz connected at a significantly higher percentage in both categories and also held a 4-1 advantage in takedowns.

Nearly a decade later, it remains one of the greatest UFC bantamweight title fights of all-time. Here are four more to consider:

Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber

UFC 132
July 2, 2011 | Las Vegas
Cruz waited more than four years for another crack at “The California Kid” and made sure he did not let the opportunity pass him by. “The Dominator” bobbed, weaved, punched, kicked and wrestled his way to a unanimous decision over Faber, as he defended his bantamweight crown in the UFC 132 main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Scores were 50-45, 49-46 and 48-47 for Cruz, who avenged the only defeat of his career and cemented his place atop the 135-pound division. The Eric Del Fierro protege utilized all his tools against Faber, lateral movement chief among them. Cruz pressed forward relentlessly and landed brilliant multi-strike, multi-level combinations throughout the memorable encounter, tagging the Team Alpha Male patriarch with blows to the head, body and legs. More than one round was too close to call, as the evenly matched bantamweights went toe-to-toe with one another for 25 minutes. Faber found a home for his powerful straight right hand on several occasions and knocked the champion off-balance with it in the fourth round, sending him into scramble mode. Cruz recovered soon after, and the two resumed their duel in the center of the Octagon. The fifth round was arguably Cruz’s best. He backed up Faber with a textbook flying knee and scored with multiple takedowns. The challenger was quick to return to his feet each time, but Cruz often beat him to the punch and left him swinging at air.

T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao

UFC 173
May 24, 2014 | Las Vegas
Dillashaw shocked the combat sports world when he stopped the Brazilian on a fifth-round technical knockout to capture the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title in the UFC 173 headliner at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Barao succumbed to the blows 2:26 into Round 5, as he was beaten for the first time in more than nine years. Dillashaw pieced together a virtuoso performance over four-plus rounds. The Californian floored Barao with an overhand right roughly 90 seconds into the match and never looked back. From that point forward, the Nova Uniao standout was on his heels. He had no answer for Dillashaw’s lateral movement and multi-strike bursts, absorbing blows to the legs, body and head. A finalist on Season 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Dillashaw put his signature on the masterpiece in the fifth round. There, he rattled Barao with a savage head kick, swarmed with punches and dropped him with a left hook. An unanswered volley of punches and hammerfists brought it to a close before nearly 14,000 stunned fans.

Cody Garbrandt vs. Dominick Cruz

UFC 207
Dec. 30, 2016 | Las Vegas
Garbrandt cracked “The Dominator” code and laid claim to the undisputed bantamweight championship with a five-round unanimous decision in their UFC 207 co-main event at T-Mobile Arena. Scores were 48-46, 48-47 and 48-46. Cruz could not cope with the challenger’s speed, power and precision. Garbrandt attacked the legs early on and then went headhunting. He opened a horrendous gash on Cruz’s left eyebrow in the third round and floored him twice in the fourth, first with a clean right hook and later with a left. Needing a finish, Cruz spent the final five minutes trying to chase down the Uhrichsville, Ohio, native. His pursuit appeared to win him the round but failed to net the desired result. The loss was Cruz’s first in 3,569 days and closed the book on his 13-fight winning streak.

Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov

UFC 311
Jan. 18, 2025 | Inglewood, California
Dvalishvili wore down the previously unbeaten American Kickboxing Academy rep with his breakneck pace and retained his undisputed bantamweight championship with a unanimous decision in their five-round UFC 311 co-headliner at the Intuit Dome. Scores were 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46. Nurmagomedov established his superiority in the standup exchanges early on with sharp one-twos, clean counters and heavy body kicks; and through two rounds, everything appeared to be trending in his direction. However, Dvalishvili kept his foot on the gas, bullied his challenger onto the back foot, threatened with takedowns and fired away with winging power punches from both hands. Nurmagomedov showed signs of fatigue at the end of Round 3 and deteriorated further as time went on. Dvalishvili wobbled him with a one-two in the fourth round and dumped him to the canvas on multiple occasions in the fifth. Nurmagomedov seemed resigned to his fate as he returned to his corner once their 25 minutes were up.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo, UFC 251; Dominick Cruz vs. Demetrious Johnson, UFC Live 6; Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan, UFC 273; Henry Cejudo vs. Marlon Moraes, UFC 238; Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley, UFC 306; Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo, UFC 288