Notching the No. 1 slot is T.J. Dillashaw’s unforgettable win over Renan Barao back at UFC 173.
Some performances are so amazing that they can shift the trajectory of an entire sport, and this is one of them.
Despite only having five weeks’ notice and closing north of a 6-1 underdog, Dillashaw was able to snap Barao’s 32-fight winning streak and take his bantamweight title in the process.
TJ Dillawshaw vs Renan Barão (UFC 173)
Renan had a 32 winning streak prior to facing Dillashaw
TJ replaced Raphael Assuncao and took the fight on 5 Weeks Notice
Complete domination from TJ from the 1st to the 5th round when he finished Barão
Renan was never the same again.. pic.twitter.com/ZpI2BTv35N
— Veluta (@VelutaMMA) December 22, 2023
Utilizing the shifting muay Thay style of his coach, Duane Ludwig, Dillashaw’s performance seemingly inspired everyone to start shifting their stance and trying to mix more southpaw looks into their styles.
On the back of said style, both Dillashaw and Ludwig (who already was in the UFC record books for having the fastest knockout for a time) were able to catapult their careers to a new level off of this wave that ended up helping the sport evolve as a whole.
*Honorable mentions: Alexander Volkanovski def. Max Holloway at UFC 276, Randy Couture def. Vitor Belfort at UFC 15, Georges St-Pierre def. Josh Koscheck at UFC 124, Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, Joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Carla Esparza at UFC 185, B.J. Penn def. Diego Sanchez at UFC 107, Jon Jones def. Mauricio Rua at UFC 128, Sean Strickland def. Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, Weili Zhang def. Amanda Lemos at 292, Conor McGregor def. Jose Aldo at UFC 194
For a deeper dive into this topic, feel free to check out Dan Tom’s episode on the subject via The Protect Ya’ Neck Podcast.
This story originally appeared on MMA Junkie