Fight Coverage
Eight Of The Biggest Moments From UFC's End-Of-Year Pay-Per-Views
We Dive Into The UFC FIGHT PASS Archives To Relive Eight Of The Best Moments From UFC's December Pay-per-view Events Down The Years
Everyone loves an end of year party, and the UFC’s December pay-per-view events have delivered some magic moments over the years.
Let’s jump back into our UFC Fight Pass-branded DeLorean to relive, in chronological order, eight of UFC.com’s favorites from the archives…
Order UFC 310: Pantoja vs Asakura
The Iceman Cometh
UFC 66: Liddell vs Ortiz 2, December 30, 2006
By the time 2006 had rolled around, the UFC was starting to gain some serious traction, and the rematch between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz was generating plenty of buzz among the growing UFC fanbase.
The first meeting ended in a second-round knockout victory for Liddell, and “The Iceman” used the momentum from that fight to eventually earn a shot at the UFC light heavyweight title, which he won with a first-round finish of Randy Couture at UFC 52.
Twenty months and three resounding title defenses later, Liddell and Ortiz rematched in what at the time was viewed as the biggest fight in UFC history.
Ortiz had rebounded with five straight wins, and back-to-back finishes over his other big rival, Ken Shamrock, put “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” in a confident, bullish mood heading into the rematch.
But, when the cage door closed and the action got underway, Liddell proved himself to be the better man once again. He dropped and cut Ortiz late in Round 1, but a gutsy second stanza from Tito kept things close heading into Round 3.
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Liddell wouldn’t be denied, however, and “The Iceman’s” heavy hands got the job done late in the round to retain his title and put the exclamation point on their rivalry.
The Demolition Man Levels Lesnar
UFC 141: Lesnar vs Overeem, December 30, 2011
It’s hard to explain today just how big a fight Brock Lesnar vs Alistair Overeem was back in December 2011. It was as big a non-title fight as you could book back then, and when the action got underway, Overeem delivered a performance worthy of the occasion.
The bout saw Lesnar return to action just nine months after undergoing surgery to remove 12 inches of his colon following complications with diverticulitis. But, despite looking in prime shape, even a repaired and recovered Lesnar could not stop the debuting Overeem, who delivered a near-flawless performance as he shut down, then finished, Lesnar in cold, clinical fashion.
Lesmar looked wary of Overeem’s striking power, while the big Dutchman made sure there was plenty of distance for Lesnar to cover if the former WWE star attempted a takedown. It meant that, when Lesnar shot in, “The Reem” had enough time to react and stuff the attempt.
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A small nick above his right eye aside, Lesnar barely troubled Overeem at all as the former Strikeforce and DREAM champion picked Lesnar apart from range with well-chosen shots.
And, after closing the distance, a big knee to the body started the sequence that saw Overeem finish the fight.
The knee to the body hurt Lesnar, then two punches to the head had Lesnar in trouble against the fence. A colossal body kick found its mark and folded up Lesnar before a flurry of follow-up shots forced referee Mario Yamasaki to step in and stop the fight.
It all took less than half a round, as Overeem announced his arrival in the UFC with a statement victory that stands the test of time as arguably his best performance inside the Octagon.
Gone in 13 Seconds
UFC 194: Aldo vs McGregor, December 12, 2015
Very rarely do elite athletes call their shot and get it so emphatically right on the big stage. Babe Ruth did it back in the 1932 World Series. “Broadway” Joe Namath did it at Super Bowl III in 1969, and in 2015 in the UFC, Conor McGregor did it at UFC 194.
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After an extended built-up that saw the bout pushed back from its original summer date at UFC 189, McGregor – then the interim featherweight champion – finally challenged Jose Aldo for the undisputed, unified 145-pound title.
By the time the cage door closed at the MGM Grand Garden in December 2015, Aldo was sick and tired of McGregor and his antics. They’d shared a promotional world tour that saw McGregor goading and jabbing at the champion at every stop, and for the relatively quiet Brazilian, having to deal with the Dubliner was just too much.
It meant that, when the action got underway, it felt like Aldo just wanted to take McGregor’s head clean off his shoulders. McGregor thought so, too, and told reporters in the lead-up to the fight that the champion would come forward and over-extend, leaving himself open for the counter shot McGregor had prepared for him.
And that’s exactly how it played out. After a very brief feeling-out period that lasted just a few seconds, Aldo surged forward, looking to connect with a huge hook. It wasn’t his usual, controlled approach. But it was exactly what McGregor had expected.
The Irishman slid back and connected perfectly with an immaculately-timed counter shot that knocked Aldo out before he even hit the canvas. It was all over, and the clock read just 13 seconds.
Everyone in the MGM Grand Garden was left totally gobsmacked. Everyone, that is, except “The Notorious” one, who captured the undisputed featherweight title and showed the world exactly why he called himself “Mystic Mac.”
The Lioness Reigns Supreme
UFC 207: Nunes vs Rousey, December 30, 2016
The build-up to UFC 205 in New York City was focused on Conor McGregor’s bid for two-division glory against then-lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez. But during the ceremonial weigh-ins, the UFC dropped a big surprise on the 15,000 fans in attendance at Madison Square Garden, as Ronda Rousey was returning to face off with women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 207.
As women’s MMA fights go, it was just about as big as you could get. Rousey was coming back to challenge for her old title after a year away from the sport, while Nunes was looking to prove her worth by retaining the title she won at UFC 200 earlier that year.
The fight lasted just 48 seconds, as Nunes’ striking proved just too powerful and too good for Rousey, who looked a shadow of the fighter who had ruled the women’s bantamweight division back in 2013 and 2014.
It proved to be the last time we’d see Rousey inside the Octagon, while Nunes went on to cement her legacy as the greatest female fighter to ever compete in the UFC.
The Predator Crushes The Reem
UFC 218: Holloway vs Aldo 2, December 2, 2017
Sometimes you’re the hammer, sometimes you’re the nail. And at UFC 218, six years on from his demolition of Brock Lesnar, Alistair Overeem found himself on the receiving end of one of the most devastating knockouts ever seen inside the UFC’s Octagon.
The man who delivered the now-famous shot was Francis Ngannou, who was on his meteoric rise up the UFC heavyweight division. Against Overeem he was expected to face a tricky veteran, who had abandoned his kickboxing style for a more pragmatic approach that saw him claim victories over former UFC champions Junior Dos Santos, Andrei Arlovski and Fabricio Werdum, among others.
But, while “The Reem” may have battled to the scorecards against Werdum in the his previous outing, Ngannou was in no mood to let the judges get involved, and, just 102 seconds into the bout, a sledgehammer of an uppercut threatened to take Overeem’s head clean off his shoulders as he knocked the former K-1 Grand Prix champion out cold with one humungous shot.
It was a truly terrifying knockout, and one that produced one of the great MMA photos. It also earned Ngannou his first UFC heavyweight title shot. That opportunity didn’t go his way as he was humbled by heavyweight great Stipe Miocic at UFC 220. But he made no mistake in the rematch as he went on to capture the biggest prize in the sport, the undisputed UFC heavyweight title, at UFC 260.
GOAT Versus GOAT
UFC 232: Jones vs Gustafsson 2, December 29, 2018
Who is the true GOAT of women’s MMA? That was the question the world wanted to see answered when Brazilian legends Amanda Nunes and Cris Cyborg went toe to toe for the undisputed UFC women’s featherweight title at UFC 232 at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
Both women possessed genuine fight-ending punch power, and both were still very much in their primes. But only one could emerge victorious, and in one of the wildest title fights in memory, both fighters opted to put the pedal to the metal from the bout’s opening second.
In a contest that lasted just 48 seconds, a total of 36 strikes were thrown, all significant, with Nunes connecting cleanly with more than a dozen of them as she blasted her way to an emphatic, violent knockout victory.
It cemented Nunes as the best female fighter of her generation, and the greatest female mixed martial artist of all time, as she took the spoils after the craziest firefight in women’s championship history.
The Nigerian Nightmare Before Christmas
UFC 245: Usman vs Covington, December 14, 2019
The rivalry between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington wasn’t just hot, it was red hot.
Usman was the established welterweight champion of the world. He was riding a 14-fight win streak and sitting at the top of the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings. But Covington was on a hot streak of his own, and was absolutely convinced that he had Usman’s number heading into their clash at UFC 245.
Unfortunately for “Chaos,” he ran into the one man in the welterweight division who had his number, as he was stopped in the last minute of the final round by a stubborn Usman, who simply refused to back down in arguably the biggest, best performance of his UFC career.
The build-up to the fight was tense, tetchy and at times threatened to step beyond the lines of decency as tempers flared in the lead-up to fight night.
But, when the action got underway, both men delivered an instant classic as they battled back and forth in a thrilling encounter that saw Usman claim a last-round, last-minute TKO victory as he left the Octagon with his title, and Covington departed with a broken jaw.
A look at the scorecards after the fight showed just how close the matchup was. The judges agreed on two of the four rounds – Covington unanimously took Round 1, while all three scorers gave Usman Round 3 – but the cards were all over the place, with Usman up by two rounds on one card, Covington up by two rounds on another, and the third having the fight level heading into the final round.
But Usman’s late flurry ensured there would be no scoring controversy, with his last-gasp TKO finish giving him the most satisfying victory of his title reign.
The pair would face off for a second time at UFC 268 in a fight that did go the distance. But, while it was competitive, it didn’t quite match the electricity of that first meeting, as Usman claimed the win again.
With both Usman and Covington looking to bounce back into championship contention in 2025, it’s not crazy to think their paths might cross again next year. Usman vs. Covington 3? Sign me up.
Pena's Pre-Christmas Miracle
UFC 269: Oliveira vs Poirier, December 11, 2021
The beauty of mixed martial arts is knowing that there are so many ways to win, or lose, a fight, and even the biggest underdogs can prevail, even in title fights.
The likes of Matt Serra and Michael Bisping have captured UFC championships despite entering the Octagon as significant underdogs. But in December 2021, Julianna Pena produced a championship performance to sit alongside those of Serra and Bisping.
Pena was a colossal underdog heading into her title challenge against women’s pound-for-pound great Amanda Nunes at UFC 269. Nunes had looked just about indestructible in her title reign and was riding a 12-fight win streak.
But “The Venezuelan Vixen” was adamant in her belief that she had the game to dethrone “The Lioness” and, in a performance full of tenacity and grit, she fought through adversity in the first round, and early in the second, to eventually turn the tide and finish the champion.
Full Fight | Julianna Peña vs Amanda Nunes 1
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Full Fight | Julianna Peña vs Amanda Nunes 1
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Pena opted to stand and trade with Nunes from the start of Round 2, a tactic most would have described a lunacy against a champion with fabled punching power.
But Pena hung tough in the pocket, happy to take shots to dish out some of her own. And, as the round wore on, the breakneck pace of the fight started to take its toll on the champion, and Pena saw her moment.
A great punch dropped Nunes, and Pena followed her to the mat, took her back, locked up a rear-naked choke and forced the tap.
It was a performance few outside of Pena’s inner circle thought possible. But Pena’s gritty, refuse-to-lose approach paid off as she proved herself right, and everyone else wrong, with one of the biggest shocks in title fight history.
