Sherdog’s Top 10: Best Title Fights

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9. Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg
UFC 52 “Couture vs. Liddell 2”
April 16, 2005 | Las Vegas
The first matchup between these two welterweights went down at UFC 45 and ended with Hughes sinking a rear-naked choke in the first round. Their rematch reached an all-too similar conclusion.

A little more than two years after their first encounter, their paths crossed again. The tension in the building was evident from the start. Trigg refused to turn and to face his opponent during Bruce Buffer’s introductions, and emotions boiled over when the two men were brought to the center of the cage by referee Mario Yamasaki. In an intense staredown, the competitors’ faces touched. Hughes shoved “Twinkle Toes,” and Trigg followed with an instigative kiss. Right off the bat, they tied up, with Trigg looking to work knees inside. Getting the better of the exchange, Trigg continued with the knees until one landed below the belt and went unseen by Yamasaki. As Hughes ran away in pain, Trigg dropped his opponent and went for the stoppage. The Xtreme Couture product assumed top position and pressed Hughes against the cage, causing the champion to wiggle into giving up his back.

Trigg worked for the rear-naked choke, but out of nowhere, Hughes shifted the momentum. He scooped up Trigg and, in a historic moment, carried him across the Octagon and slammed him to the mat. The crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena erupted. Hughes mounted, dished out some ground-and-pound, and ended the rematch with another rear-naked choke.

Number 8 » Jorge Santiago vs. Kazuo Misaki