Alistair Oveerem looks for his fourth straight win Sunday when he takes on Andrei Arlovski in the main event of UFC Fight Night 87. A victory for “The Reem” would likely propel him into a heavyweight title shot, while Arlovski aims for redemption after coming off a first round TKO loss to Stipe Miocic. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this matchup is that the heavyweight pair are teammates at the prestigious Jackson/Winkeljohn camp in Albuquerque,
This isn’t the first time teammates or former training partners have squared off against each other inside the cage.
With that in mind, ahead of Sunday’s heavyweight showdown, here’s a look back at some notable teammate vs. teammate matchups.
Andrei Arlovski vs. Travis Browne (UFC 187 – May. 23 2015)
Sunday’s matchup against Overeem isn’t the first time Arlovski has gone to battle against a teammate. Last May he squared off with former training partner Browne at UFC 187. Browne had already switched camps from Jackson/Winkeljohn over to the Glendale Fight Club in California. These two ended up putting on one of the best single-round fights in UFC history.
RESULT: Arlovski def. Browne by TKO (punches) at 4:41, RD. 1
Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans (UFC 145 – Apr. 21, 2012)
Probably the most well documented case of a teammate leaving a camp due to another teammate earning a title shot. Evans left his long time gym (Jackson/Winkeljohn) for greener pastures with the Blackzilians in Florida. Back in 2011, Evans was slated to face then 205-pound champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128 but had to bow out due to a knee injury. After Jon Jones defeated Ryan Bader at UFC 126, “Bones” was granted a title shot as a replacement for Evans and the TUF 2 winner packed his bags for Florida. Jones ended up beating Rua then defending it against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida. His third title defence pitted him against Evans.
RESULT: Jones def. Evans by unanimous decision to retain light-heavyweight title
Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz (UFC 47: It’s On! – Apr. 2, 2004)
While Liddell claims he was never Ortiz’s friend or serious training partner, these two both were managed by UFC president Dana White early in their careers. Nevertheless, this light-heavyweight showdown had massive anticipation and Liddell handed Ortiz the first knockout loss of his career. They would rematch in 2006 at UFC 66 with Liddell once again knocking out the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy.”
RESULT: Liddell def. Ortiz by TKO (Punches) at 0:38, RD. 2
Eduardo Dantas vs. Marcos Galvao (Bellator 89 – Feb. 14, 2013)
Nova Uniao training partners were forced to face each other for the Bellator bantamweight championship in 2013 as Dantas took on Galvao. Dantas was 24 at the time and knocked out his Brazilian mentor in the second round to defend his title for the very first time. After the bout, an emotional Dantas broke into tears seeing Galvao on laid out on the canvas.
RESULT: Dantas def. Galvao by TKO at 3:01, RD. 2 to retain Bellator bantamweight title)
Matt Hughes vs. Joe Riggs (UFC 56: Full Force – Nov. 19, 2005)
Riggs ended up getting a short notice title shot against then UFC welterweight champion Hughes due to a serious injury to contender Karo Parisyan. While it didn’t appear that Hughes and Riggs trained together specifically, they did share the same nutritionist/trainer Billy Rush which ended up playing a factor in the fight. Rush’s allegiance was to the champ, so Riggs wasn’t able to use his weight cutting services like he had in the past. As a result, “Diesel” missed weight by three pounds and turned this championship matchup into a catchweight bout. Hughes finished Riggs in the first round by submission. After the loss, Riggs went 2-2 in his next four bouts and was released from the UFC.
RESULT: Hughes def. Riggs by submission at 3:28, RD. 1.
Donald Cerrone vs. Melvin Guillard (UFC 150 – Aug. 11, 2012)
Close friends and former training partners at Jackson/Winkeljohn, Cerrone and Guillard both looked to propel themselves up the lightweight ladder as they battled at UFC 150. To the surprise of many, Cerrone became the first person to knockout Guillard in his career and notched back-to-back victories in the process.
RESULT: Cerrone def. Guillard by KO at 1:16, RD. 1.
Melvin Guillard vs. Michael Johnson (UFC Fight Night 37 – Mar. 8, 2014)
Guillard had a brief stint with the Blackzilians after he left Jackson/Winkeljohn and later in his career faced off against former teammate Johnson at UFC Fight Night 37. What looked like a matchup full of fireworks on paper turned out to be a lacklustre affair as Johnson outpointed “The Young Assassin” over three rounds to take home a decision. That ended up being Guillard’s last fight in the UFC as he was released shortly after the loss.
RESULT: Johnson def. Guillard by unanimous decision
Tyson Griffin vs. Evan Dunham (UFC 115 – June 12, 2010)
In a lightweight matchup, Griffin faced off with fight Xtreme Couture teammate Dunham at UFC 115. Dunham ended up winning the matchup by controversial split decision, which at the time improved his record to 11-0. Dunham ended up losing a controversial split decision of his own against Sean Sherk in his next bout, while Griffin lost three of his next four bouts before his UFC release.
RESULT: Dunham def. Griffin by split decision
Lyoto Machida vs. Mark Munoz (UFC Fight Night 30 – Oct. 26, 2013)
Back in 2013, Munoz was slated to take on Michael Bisping at UFC Fight Night 30 in Manchester, England. Unfortunately Bisping had to bow out due to injury, so Munoz instead fought his Black House teammate Machida. The Brazilian made his middleweight debut a memorable one by knocking out Munoz with a kick in the first round.
RESULT: Machida def. Munoz by KO at 3:10, RD.1.
Any notable teammate matchups that I missed? Hit me up on Twitter @LynchOnSports.