50 of the biggest dream UFC match-ups

40. Renan Barao vs. Dominick Cruz

Mark this one under “fights that got away.” When Dominick Cruz brought the bantamweight championship over to the UFC from the WEC, there was a feeling he would control the division for the near future. But unfortunately for Cruz, after defenses against Urijah Faber and Demetrious Johnson, he went through two ACL surgeries. During his absence, Renan Barao picked up the interim title in a bout with Faber and defended it against Michael McDonald and Eddie Wineland — ranking above Cruz in the pound-for-pound ranks in the process. It all led to a scheduled unification bout at UFC 169, but Cruz suffered a torn groin and ultimately forfeited the championship, as Barao finally became the full-time 135-pound champ. Despite a late 2014-2016 comeback that saw him briefly regain the title, Cruz has suffered more injuries and his active future remains uncertain. Meanwhile, Barao has fallen off with four straight losses and losses in seven of his last 10 — plus missing weight in back-to-back fights. If these two had faced off in their primes and that UFC 169 bout took place, it would have been a war worth watching.

39.  Jon Jones vs. Randy Couture

Whenever Jon Jones has been active during this decade, he has constantly been ranked as one of the best (if not the top) pound-for-pound fighters in the world. He’s long had a hold of the UFC’s light heavyweight division, and plenty desire to see what he could do at heavyweight. So imagine a matchup between Jones and Randy Couture, who spent time atop both divisions in the 2000s. In fact, had UFC pound-for-pound rankings existed then, maybe Couture would have spent time at the top of that board too. And that all makes a Jones vs. Couture comparison all the more interesting.

38. Francis Ngannou vs. Brock Lesnar

If you are a fan of heavyweights and a fan of knockouts, try to offer up an explanation of how you wouldn’t want to see Francis Ngannou vs. a Brock Lesnar in his prime. Ngannou has the hardest punch in the promotion and can end a fight just like that. Lesnar, meanwhile, is a beast who can fire off a big shot or slam an opponent right down and dominate on the ground. This one would be a barnburner.

37.  Jon Jones vs. Tito Ortiz

At UFC 128 in March 2011, a 23-year-old Jon Jones finished Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to become the UFC light heavyweight champion. And despite interruptions in his career thanks to self-inflicted legal and drug trouble, Jones has dominated the 205-pound scene since, surviving every opponent that sought to challenge him and rising to be arguably the pound-for-pound best fighter in the 2010s. And would it not be cool if a prime Jones ever faced a prime Tito Ortiz — the man who was arguably the face of light heavyweight before it was even named such. Despite losing his first shot at the then-UFC middleweight title to Frank Shamrock in 1999’s Fight of the Year, Ortiz won the title at UFC 25 against Wanderlei Silva and retained the belt five times against the likes of Yuki Kondo, Evan Tanner and Ken Shamrock before dropping it to Randy Couture.

36. TJ Dillashaw vs. Miguel Torres

In 2014, TJ Dillashaw pulled off one of MMA’s biggest upsets when he stopped Renan Barao to become the UFC bantamweight champion. And in the time between then and his 2019 suspension, Dillashaw continued to build upon his legacy and arguably became the greatest 135-pond fighter in MMA history. But before him, and before the bantamweights even came into the UFC, there was Miguel Torres. Debuting in 2000, Torres won 20 fights in a row before his first defeat. He then won another 17 in a row and won the WEC bantamweight title at WEC 32, defending it three times before an upset loss at the hands of Brian Bowles. Torres didn’t have the most memorable UFC run, going 2-2 with losses to Demetrious Johnson and Michael McDonald, but he was certainly one of the men responsible for raising the popularity and prestige for future guys like Dillashaw. A prime Dillashaw vs. a prime Torres might tell us just who exactly is the greatest bantamweight in the sport’s history.