Ranking the 10 title unification bouts in UFC history

Max Holloway and Jose Aldo at UFC 212. (Jason Silva, USA TODAY Sports)

With then-UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor seeking another belt, Jose Aldo got a chance to reclaim part of his throne.

Aldo defeated Frankie Edgar to win the interim featherweight title at UFC 200 and was later promoted to undisputed champ when McGregor failed to defend his belt for almost a year.

The streaking Max Holloway claimed the interim featherweight title by stopping Anthony Pettis in Round 3 at UFC 206, extending his winning streak to 10 straight.

That set him up in a title unification bout with Aldo at UFC 212, where Holloway was able to withstand Aldo’s early barrage and turn the volume up until finishing him in the third round to win the undisputed title.

Randy Couture continued to prove that age is just a number.

Couture, the interim light heavyweight champion, faced champ Tito Ortiz in the main event of UFC 44, where both men were coming off big wins.

Ortiz notched his fifth title defense when he stopped Ken Shamrock at UFC 40, and Couture had finished Chuck Liddell at UFC 43 to win the interim title.

For five rounds, Couture ended up dominating Ortiz, who had no answer for his wrestling.

Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit at UFC 154 (USA TODAY Sports).

Though Georges St-Pierre would face a bit of adversity, he was able to put together another fine performance.

Welterweight champion St-Pierre faced interim champ Carlos Condit at UFC 154 where he looked to notch his seventh title defense at home.

Condit won the interim title by edging out Nick Diaz at UFC 143 in one of the most memorable battles.

A dangerous striker, Condit was able to wobble and drop St-Pierre with a head kick, almost stunning the dominant champ. But St-Pierre was able to survive, using his wrestling to control the rest of the fight.

Fabricio Wedrum and Cain Velasquez at UFC 188. (Associated Press)

Fabricio Werdum might have the most underrated Brazilian jiu-jitsu in all of MMA.

Having already submitted the likes of Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Werdum was able to show off his striking when he knocked out Mark Hunt at UFC 180 to win the interim heavyweight title.

That set him up with heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez at UFC 188, who many at the time considered as the greatest heavyweight of all time.

Werdum would shock the world once again, outlasting Velasquez’s great cardio and submitting him in the third round to win the undisputed title.

Brock Lesnar at UFC 116. (Getty Images)

Brock Lesnar had a lot of big and dramatic moments in his brief UFC career.

After unifying the belts with Frank Mir at UFC 100, UFC heavyweight champion Lesnar would find himself in another title unification bout when he faced interim champ Shane Carwin at UFC 116.

Right off the bat, Lesnar was dropped and in all sorts of trouble. He somehow managed to weather the storm, mounting one of the biggest comebacks in UFC history by turning things around and submitting Carwin in Round 2.

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier at UFC 242. (Per Haljestam, USA TODAY Sports)

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has been nothing short of dominant in every one of his performances.

It was no different when he was matched up with interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier at UFC 242, where he was able to use his suffocating grappling to control Poirier for multiple rounds, before submitting him in Round 3.

Though he got caught in a guillotine choke that looked deep, Nurmagomedov was in cruise control for the whole fight.

Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker at UFC 243. (USA TODAY Sports

Israel Adesanya followed one of his most thrilling battles with a masterclass at UFC 243.

After outlasting Kelvin Gastelum to win the interim middleweight title at UFC 236, Adesanya was matched up with UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.

But this would be a much cleaner performance for Adesanya, who was able to use his pinpoint counter striking to stop the charging Whittaker in Round 2.

Georges St-Pierre got revenge on Matt Serra at UFC 83. (Getty Images)

Georges St-Pierre was on the receiving end of arguably the biggest upset in UFC history when he was knocked out by Matt Serra.

After winning Season 4 of the “Ultimate Fighter,” Serra was awarded a title shot and shocked the world by taking out UFC welterweight champion St-Pierre in the first round at UFC 69.

Two wins later, which included a submission of Matt Hughes to win the interim title, St-Pierre got to exact his revenge by stopping Serra in dominant fashion when they rematched at UFC 83, leaving no doubt.

Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir at UFC 100. (Associated Press)

Frank Mir made Brock Lesnar’s UFC debut a rude awakening when he submitted him in the first round at UFC 81.

However, Lesnar would rebound and go on to win the UFC heavyweight title just two fights later by stopping Randy Couture at UFC 91.

After defeating Lesnar the first time, Mir won the interim heavyweight title by taking out Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92, setting up the rematch with Lesnar.

The WWE superstar emerged as one of the biggest draws in the company, making the rematch with Mir one of the most highly anticipated fights in the promotion’s history.

But things would go a lot differently in their second fight, as Lesnar was able to batter Mir on the ground, earning the second-round finish at UFC 100.

Conor McGregor finishes Jose Aldo at UFC 194. (Gary A. Vasquez, USA TODAY Sports)

Conor McGregor had one of the most remarkable rises in UFC history.

The brash, young Irishman took out contender after contender, including a stoppage win over Chad Mendes at UFC 189 to win the interim featherweight title.

But that would set him up with arguably the greatest featherweight champion of all time Jose Aldo, who hadn’t lost in 10 years.

McGregor possesses incredible power in his left hand, but no one would have ever imagined what was going to happen when the two met at UFC 194.

Just 13 seconds in, McGregor clipped a rushing Aldo with a beautifully timed counter left that knocked him out cold, the fastest knockout in a UFC championship fight.