Main Event UFC Debutants

Every fighter in the UFC wants to see their name in lights and face on a poster, but for many it's a long road to the very top.

For the very few, though, they enter the organisation in the biggest way possible.

Below, we look at five fighters that main evented UFC cards in their very first fight.

1 - Kai Asakura

In 2024, the UFC flyweight division found itself in very familiar territory, with a champion so dominant he had ran out of contenders. Alexandre Pantoja had two title defences to his name, two wins over the #1 contender and three wins over the #2 contender, similar to when Demetrious Johnson found himself without a challenge after racking up 11 title defences.

Due to this, the UFC made the move to bring in former RIZIN bantamweight champion Kai Asakura. One of the biggest fighters in Japan known for his dangerous knee strikes and heavy hands, Asakura relinquished his bantamweight championship in RIZIN to sign with the UFC and join the flyweight division, 10lbs lighter than his usual level.

Asakura was initially scheduled to fight Alexandre Pantoja in the co-main event of UFC 310, but the fight was quickly upgraded to the main event after welterweight champion Belal Muhammad was forced to withdraw with an injury. The fight ended with Pantoja submitting Asakura in the second round to retain his title, but Asakura came out of the fight with praise due the intensity of his performance during the short bout.

2 - Alistair Overeem

Alistair Overeem entered the UFC with a big reputation; already a holding a 35-11 record upon his arrival, the Dutchman had won tournaments and titles across the MMA and kickboxing world in promotions such as Strikeforce and K1.

Beating all-time greats in the world of MMA such as Fabricio Werdum, Todd Duffe, and Vitor Belfort, Overeem was known as the baddest man to never step foot in the UFC.

So in his debut he was pitted against one of the biggest names in UFC history, former heavyweight champion, WWE and NFL superstar Brock Lesnar. Overeem would win the fight via a perfectly placed body kick and flurry of punches for a TKO victory in the first round.

Overeem would go on to spend 10 years with the UFC fighting for the title once and beating legends such as Junior Dos Santos, Andrei Arlovski, and Frank Mir before retiring from the sport in 2021.

3 - Ronda Rousey

When the UFC purchased Strikeforce in 2011, most of the fighters were absorbed into the UFC, included was their women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey who had a 6-0 record at the time, spookily winning every single one of her fights by armbar in the very first round.

The UFC immediately made Rousey the UFC women's bantamweight champion, and scheduled her in a main event bout against Liz Carmouche. Simultaneously making her the first ever women's UFC champion and women's main eventer ever.

The fight would end in classic Rousey fashion, beating Carmouche in the first round with her signature armbar. Rousey would go on to the defend the title five more times achieving a 12-0 record before being brutally knocked out by Holly Holm in 2015.

• The Greatest - UFC Champions: Ronda Rousey

4 - Anderson Silva

Anderson "The Spider" Silva entered the UFC with big fanfare earned from his time fighting across the world in several different promotions such as Cage Rage, Shooto and Pride FC. His unique fighting style enamoured the UFC causal and diehard fans alike. A mix of muay thai, taekwondo and capoeira, Silva would win fights with his precise striking, sharp movement and frustrating taunting.

Entering the UFC with a 16-4 record, The Spider was instantly matched up against strong competition. His opponent was a motivated Chris Leben coming off the back of a five-fight win streak. The UFC made the fight the main event of their fifth ever Fight Night card in order to take advantage of the hype surrounding Silva, and the Brazilian delivered knocking out Leben in just 49 seconds with a flurry of precise punches and a stiff knee to the head to finish him off.

Silva would go on to win the UFC middleweight championship in his very next fight, winning by TKO with a knee again. Anderson Silva then went on to defend his title 10 times and is now known as the greatest middleweight in the history of the UFC. He was inducted into the UFC hall of fame in July 2023 and ended his career with a record of 34-11.

• The Greatest - UFC Champions: Anderson Silva

5 - Dominick Cruz

In 2006, the UFC purchased the WEC. The promotion operated for four more years until in 2010 they were absorbed into the UFC. This move gained the UFC the flyweight, featherweight and bantamweight divisions gaining legendary fighters such as Demetrious Johnson, José Aldo and Dominick Cruz. Cruz arrived in the UFC as the WEC bantamweight champion and was immediately made the inaugural UFC bantamweight champion.

The champion arrived in the UFC with an almost perfect record of 17-1, so the UFC made the decision for his first title defence to reignite the rivalry with the only man ever to beat him, Urijah Faber. Cruz had lost a WEC title bout to Faber four years prior via submission in the first round, since that fight Cruz had been perfect but the UFC knew he would want to avenge the loss.

So at UFC 132, the two headlined the card in a rematch for the now UFC bantamweight title. Cruz would win the fight via unanimous decision winning the fight 50-45, 49-46 and 48-47, on the three judges' scorecards.

Cruz would go on to win four more fights in a row after this, defending and winning his title back after relinquishing it due to injury and would eventually lose the belt to Cody Garbrandt in 2016 after six years at the top of the mountain. The legendary fighter now has a record of 24-3 and has vowed to have one more fight in 2025 before hanging up his gloves.