50 of the biggest dream UFC match-ups
15. Andrei Arlovski vs. Mirko Cro Cop
In the mid-2000s, Andrei Arlovski and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic were two of the most dangerous heavyweights in the sport. Arlovski at one point held the interim and full UFC heavyweight titles, while Filipovic challenged for both the interim and world PRIDE heavyweight titles and went on to win the promotion’s 2006 Openweight Grand Prix. But both were never really in the same promotion at the same time; when Filipovic came to the UFC for the first time, Arlovski was on his way out. Both men’s careers were never the same after 2007, but a 2006 Arlovski vs. a 2006 “Cro Cop” would result in a can’t-miss clash.
14. Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic
It’s been said before, and it will be said again: we know what Jon Jones can do at light heavyweight, so it’s desired to see how he’d do in the one weight class above his. And at heavyweight, Stipe Miocic recently dethroned Jones’ rival, Daniel Cormier, to win back the heavyweight title and further cement his status as one of the greatest heavyweights the UFC has ever seen. So, it’s only logical to dream about what would happen if Jones and Miocic — two of the UFC’s best ever — stepped into the Octagon together? If Cormier was able to stop Miocic and become a champ-champ, it’s very plausible Jones could do the same. And on the other hand, Miocic may be able to give Jones a new difficulty of test in opposition.
13. Tony Ferguson vs. Jens Pulver
There are plenty out there who aren’t afraid to say Tony Ferguson is one of the biggest tragedies of the sport today. Ferguson is currently riding a 12-fight win streak, a record for the UFC lightweight division, and he’s earned ten post-fight bonuses — half of those for Fight of the Night. And yet, the only gold he’s had is an interim title that he never defended and never got to turn into a world title thanks to a freak injury prior to UFC 223. Despite if you think Ferguson is an uncrowned lightweight champion or not, he’s undoubtedly one of the greatest 155-pound fighters of this generation, if not all time. So it’d fun to see Ferguson face Jens Pulver, considered to be one of the founding fathers and main influence of the UFC’s lightweight division. Pulver was the inaugural UFC lightweight champion and defended the title two times — a record that lasted for about a decade — before departing the UFC. With both men superb with boxing on the feet and wrestling and jiu-jitsu on the ground, this would be an extraordinary fun past vs. present encounter.
12. Conor McGregor vs. Chael Sonnen
Could anyone imagine the amount of trash talk that would go on between Conor McGregor and Chael Sonnen in pre-fight hype? The drawing power that McGregor has and Sonnen can WWE-style hype his way in would make his quite the underrated dream encounter. Heck, some might only want to see this happen just for the verbal exchanges. McGregor and Sonnen are two different fighters, however. One has taken everything and forced his way to the top of the MMA world; the other is one of MMA’s top images of “so close, yet so far.” Inside the Octagon, McGregor should have quicker and more powerful striking ability. Sonnen, however, has got a wrestling background, and McGregor has shown weakness in ground game. If Sonnen ever took a fight with “The Notorious One” and got the fight to the ground, things might get interesting.
11. Conor McGregor vs. Brock Lesnar
This piece’s intro did say weight classes may not necessarily matter, and it also didn’t say there had to be a realistic chance. It’s called “dream matches” after all. Anyways, Conor McGregor has all the showmanship and charisma in the world, and he can fight to back it up. Despite his trashing of WWE in 2017, McGregor seems like he could fit right into that picture. So why not a McGregor vs. Brock Lesnar fight? Heck, to connect the two even further, Lesnar was arguably the biggest draw the UFC had before McGregor arrived on the scene. The UFC 202 and UFC 229 cards the Irish superstar headlined broke UFC pay-per-view records. The star of the pay-per-view that previously held those buyrate records? Brock Lesnar for UFC 100. Needless to say, if an openweight fight between these two somehow headlined a UFC pay-per-view, the money would be flowing.