Top 5: UFC Welterweight Title Fights of All-Time

It was a blood-and-guts war for the ages. Robbie Lawler retained the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title when he put away Rory MacDonald with punches in the fifth round of their unforgettable UFC 189 co-main event on July 11, 2015 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Lawler closed out the Canadian 60 seconds into Round 5, bringing a decisive conclusion to their instant classic.

MacDonald forced the American Top Team standout to rally to keep his championship. He withstood a ghoulish onslaught from Lawler in the second round, where the “Ruthless” champion left his face mangled with a seemingly endless volley of punches down the pike. Straight lefts followed digging jabs, as Lawler slammed one fist after another into the Tristar Gym rep’s face. MacDonald shifted the momentum in a blink, as he wrapped a head kick around his opponent’s defenses. Lawler staggered and absorbed a barrage of punches, standing elbows and knees from the challenger but refused to wilt. Round 4 provided more of the same from the two welterweights, who stood and traded. MacDonald seemed to get the better of the exchanges, especially early in the frame, and split his counterpart’s upper lip with a beautifully executed elbow. However, the damage to his own face left him increasingly vulnerable. Less than a minute into the fifth round, Lawler sent a straight left crashing directly into MacDonald’s nose. He crumbled to his back in visible distress, and Lawler finished him with follow-up punches.

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

Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg

UFC 52
April 16, 2005 | Las Vegas

Genuine bad blood existed between Hughes and Trigg ahead of their rematch at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Hughes had submitted “Twinkle Toes” with a rear-naked choke two years earlier, so an undercurrent of revenge was present; and Trigg nearly tapped into it. After a groin strike to Hughes went unseen by the referee, Trigg bludgeoned him with hard punches in a bid to finish. Hughes absorbed a volley of unanswered shots, with the possibility of a massive upset growing more likely with each passing second. Trigg even threatened with a rear-naked choke, but his rival stayed calm in the midst of significant adversity and soon recovered from the foul. Trigg failed to secure the choke, surrendered position and provided Hughes with an avenue through which to escape. He rose to his feet, scooped up a stunned Trigg and carried him across the Octagon before slamming him to the canvas. A crowd of 14,562 roared with deafening approval. It remains one of the most iconic moments in Ultimate Fighting Championship history. From there, Hughes blasted Trigg with punches and elbows, applied the rear-naked choke and forced the tapout 4:05 into the first round.

Georges St. Pierre vs. Johny Hendricks

UFC 167
Nov. 16, 2013 | Las Vegas

St. Pierre kept a tenuous hold on the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight crown with a controversial and highly debated split decision over the Oklahoman in their five-round headliner at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. All three cageside judges turned in 48-47 scorecards: Glenn Trowbridge for Hendricks, Sal D’Amato and Tony Weeks for St. Pierre. Hendricks landed the more impactful blows and exacted more of a physical toll during the 25-minute encounter, his heavy hands leaving the revered champion battered, bloodied and bruised. “Bigg Rigg” utilized brutal knee strikes to the thigh from the clinch, mixing in takedowns at various points. He had St. Pierre in serious trouble in Round 2, where he staggered him with a left uppercut and followed up with more powerful strikes to the head. St. Pierre did his best work in the third and fifth rounds, as the longtime Firas Zahabi protege chipped away with his trademark jab and twice took down the two-time NCAA national champion wrestler. Still, in the eyes of many observers, the performance did not warrant a victory on the scorecards. St. Pierre vacated the championship soon after and never again competed at 170 pounds.

Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson

UFC 205
Nov. 12, 2016 | New York

Scores were left unsettled in their five-round co-feature at Madison Square Garden, where Woodley fought “Wonderboy” to a majority draw and retained the undisputed UFC welterweight championship. Judges Derek Cleary and Douglas Crosby struck matching 47-47 scorecards, while the aforementioned Trowbridge saw it 48-47 for Woodley. The margins were razor thin. Operating in the shadows of the Conor McGregor-Eddie Alvarez main event, Woodley cut the challenger across the bridge of the nose with an elbow strike in the first round and nearly finished him in the fourth, where he battered the South Carolinian with a pair of crushing right hands and did enough damage to earn a 10-8 score from Cleary. Thompson controlled the action from distance in the second, third and fifth rounds but failed to force a changing of the guard in the welterweight division.

Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington

UFC 245
Dec. 14, 2019 | Las Vegas

Usman maintained his stranglehold on the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title when he buried the polarizing challenger with punches in the fifth round of their headliner at T-Mobile Arena. Covington succumbed to blows 4:10 into Round 5, as he tasted defeat for the first time in more than four years. Usman had to work hard to defend the mountain. Covington raced out to a strong start behind volume punching combinations, often punctuated by powerful rolling overhand lefts. Usman answered by going to the body and began to turn the tide in Round 3, where he withstood an inadvertent eye poke and connected with a devastating right hand. They went to the fifth round with the outcome still in doubt. In the closing minute, Usman dropped the American Top Team export with another straight right, denied a desperation takedown and closed the door with a burst of unanswered hammerfists.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit, UFC 195; Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Serra, UFC 69; Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler, UFC 171; Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre, UFC 65; Matt Hughes vs. B.J. Penn, UFC 46; Carlos Newton vs. Matt Hughes, UFC 34; Georges St. Pierre vs. Carlos Condit, UFC 154; Matt Hughes vs. B.J. Penn, UFC 63; Robbie Lawler vs. Johny Hendricks, UFC 181; Matt Hughes vs. Carlos Newton, UFC 38; Georges St. Pierre vs. B.J. Penn, UFC 94; Matt Hughes vs. Hayato Sakurai, UFC 36; Pat Miletich vs. Andre Pederneiras, UFC 21; Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck, UFC 124; Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards, UFC 278; Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena, UFC 315