What fight do you think was/is the pinnacle matchup of MMA at the time?

[toasty]

I'm not talking about a stylistic matchup or how the fight actually played out per se. I'm talking about the matchup on paper going into the fight: 2 fighters squaring off who are both at the tops of their game/the sport at that particular time. Gotta be one of these right?

Fedor vs Big Nog - Pride 23
-Fedor was 13-1. Big nog was 19-1.

Fedor vs Cro Cop - Pride Final Conflict
-Fedor was 22-1. Cro Cop was 16-2.

Jones vs Gustafsson 1 - UFC 165
-Jones was 19-0. Gustafsson was 16-1.

Machida vs Rua I & II - UFC 104 & 113.
-Machida was 16-0 (16-1). Rua was 18-3 (19-4).

Conor vs Aldo - UFC 194
-Conor was 19-1. Aldo was 25-1

Cormier vs Jones I - UFC 182
-Cormier was 15-0. Jones was 20-1.

Islam vs Volk I - UFC 284
-Islam was 23-1. Volk was 25-1.

What are some others?

For me the most anticipated fight ever was Chuck Vs Rampage in Pride. the cross promotional aspect of it just raised the stakes. It's certainly not the prettiest display of technical skill or all around mma game but just sitting there going holy fuck are the stakes high for this one it would be that fight... Kind of like a Marvel Vs DC Crossover but in real life..........

Good question Mr. Dux You get a free drink

 

[Hotora86]

I'm not talking about a stylistic matchup or how the fight actually played out per se. I'm talking about the matchup on paper going into the fight: 2 fighters squaring off who are both at the tops of their game/the sport at that particular time. Gotta be one of these right?

Fedor vs Big Nog - Pride 23
-Fedor was 13-1. Big nog was 19-1.

Fedor vs Cro Cop - Pride Final Conflict
-Fedor was 22-1. Cro Cop was 16-2.

Jones vs Gustafsson 1 - UFC 165
-Jones was 19-0. Gustafsson was 16-1.

Machida vs Rua I & II - UFC 104 & 113.
-Machida was 16-0 (16-1). Rua was 18-3 (19-4).

Conor vs Aldo - UFC 194
-Conor was 19-1. Aldo was 25-1

Cormier vs Jones I - UFC 182
-Cormier was 15-0. Jones was 20-1.

Islam vs Volk I - UFC 284
-Islam was 23-1. Volk was 25-1.

What are some others?

Machida vs Evans for the LHW belt !!!
15-0 vs 13-0 !

 

[Goodfella86]

Fedor/Crocop was the most anticipated fight on Sherdog, imo. I'm not sure what the Sherdog User Population was back then, but it was all about Fedor vs. Crocop for a few years.