10 Best Goku Fights In Dragon Ball History (2024)

Dragon Ball is a series well known for featuring some incredible fight scenes, and that's something that has applied throughout Dragon Ball history. Many of the best fights are those which star Goku, putting his amazing skills and training to work as he's pushed to ever-greater heights.

Of course, Goku's best fights aren't determined strictly by his power level. Often, Goku's best fights occur when he's slightly outmatched by his opponent, forcing him to evolve his technique (and sometimes even his form) in order to win. Goku has gone up against many powerful enemies like this over the years, and it always results in a jaw-dropping battle. Here are 10 of the greatest battles which Goku has taken part in throughout Dragon Ball's history.

10 King Piccolo Pushed Goku to the Limit

First Appearance: Dragon Ball, "Enter King Piccolo"

King Piccolo was one of Goku's earliest adversaries, and one of the first to pose a real threat to the continued existence of planet Earth. King Piccolo used the Dragon Balls to wish himself younger, then killed Shenron, ensuring that the Dragon Balls couldn't be used to revive Goku if he fell. This gave the Goku vs. King Piccolo fight a real sense of stakes, as one wrong move could easily lead to the destruction of the world. King Piccolo possessed a wide range of powers that made him very dangerous, and his connection to Kami also posed a major problem when fighting him.

Goku ultimately defeated King Piccolo after having his potential unlocked by the Ultra Divine Water, as well as a near-death boost to his powers. Goku burst through King Piccolo's chest, killing him, but not before he could give birth to one last egg, containing Piccolo Jr.

9 Goku Needed Divine Power to Face Beerus

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z Battle of Gods

Beerus is the God of Destruction, so his visit to Earth was cause for great alarm. He wanted to battle a being known as the Super Saiyan God, but unfortunately, Goku and friends had no idea who or what that was. After figuring it out, Goku ascends to a new level of power, gaining red hair that looked more like his standard haircut than Super Saiyan. He faced off with Beerus all the way up at the edge of space, and Goku held his own remarkably well with this new power.

Ultimately, however, the Super Saiyan God power just couldn't hold out against Beerus. Goku collapsed out of exhaustion, making Beerus the winner of this fight. However, Beerus was impressed enough by Goku's performance to spare the Earth, and looked forward to seeing where Goku's power would develop next.

8 Golden Frieza Saw Goku Reach New Levels of Power

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F'

Frieza's dramatic return saw the villain attain a new level of power, making him a far more dangerous threat than he had been in the past. In this battle, Goku demonstrates the Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan (better known simply as "Super Saiyan Blue") form for the first time, a divinely empowered version of the standard Super Saiyan. Frieza, not to be outdone, uses his own new transformation, Golden Frieza. Goku maintains the upper hand throughout most of this fight, but is taken out by one of Frieza's minions with a cheap shot.

Vegeta turns out unable to handle Frieza in time, and Frieza destroys the Earth. Fortunately, Whis is present and able to roll back time, giving Goku a chance to deliver one last fatal blow to Frieza before he can blow up the planet again, settling their fight for good.

7 Goku's First Fight with Vegeta Set the Bar

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, "Gohan's Rage"

Goku's climactic battle with Vegeta in the Saiyan Saga proved that Saiyans were not to be trifled with, showcasing Vegeta's abilities and mastery of them. Goku has to pull out a lot of his tricks to win this fight, including the Kaioken, as well as the first combat appearance of the Spirit Bomb technique, something that would go on to become an incredibly iconic part of Goku's repertoire. Vegeta vs. Goku proved to be a very even match at this early stage, just as they will continue to be throughout the series. Vegeta doesn't hold back, activating his Great Ape form and thrashing Goku.

Goku does have some help from Gohan and Krillin throughout this fight, but this is the origin of Goku and Vegeta's long-running rivalry. Vegeta, of course, barely survives this fight and escapes back into space, a long road to redemption still lying ahead of him.

6 Hit Killed Goku... Temporarily

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Super, "The Matches Begin! We're All Off to the 'Planet with No Name!'"

After first meeting Hit in the Tournament of Destroyers, Goku hired the Universe 6 assassin secretly, putting out a hit on himself in order to fight him at his full strength. As it turns out, Hit is a very different kind of opponent when fighting to kill, forcing Goku to use some unorthodox moves to keep ahead of him. Hit manages to even kill Goku by targeting his heart, but Goku set up a scheme to revive himself with a ki blast, cheating death for the moment. It's an uphill battle for Goku even after being revived, as he struggled to even land a blow on Hit.

Once the fight really gets going, however, it's a beautiful exchange of blows. Hit and Goku are both having a great time as their abilities are pushed to the limit, and Hit begins to develop an appreciation of martial arts.

5 Broly's Unlimited Power Was a Match for Goku

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Super: Broly

Broly wielded the undeniable power of the Legendary Super Saiyan, making him an incredibly dangerous opponent for Goku and Vegeta both. While Goku lets Vegeta have first crack at Broly, he soon becomes impatient and joins in the fight when Vegeta is knocked away. Goku fights Broly at various stages of power, first using Super Saiyan and then escalating from there. Broly destroys the very land that they're fighting upon, turning into a hellscape of magma. Goku slowly gains the edge on Broly as he reaches Super Saiyan Blue, but the battle is far from over.

Goku and Vegeta are eventually able to flee when Broly's attention turns to Frieza, giving them a chance to fuse into Gogeta. Gogeta's power is more than a match for Broly, and they nearly kill him before Cheelai and Lemo wish to have Broly sent back to his home planet of Vampa.

4 Goku Takes On Buu

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, "Buu is Hatched!"

The Buu Saga of Dragon Ball Z gets pretty bleak. The Earth is destroyed, and all but four earthlings are dead, and that includes the dog. It's all up to Goku and Vegeta to defeat Buu, and they've certainly got their hands full. Goku ends up using almost every trick he's learned in his battle with Buu, culminating in the greatest Spirit Bomb of all time, powered up by the revived population of Earth, as urged by Mr. Satan. Goku, with his energy restored by the Namekian Dragon Balls, is able to drive the Spirit Bomb into its target, despite Buu resisting, and ultimately destroying him.

It makes for a fantastic final battle in the series, and provided the capstone to classic Dragon Ball Z.

3 Goku and Vegeta's Rematch is Their Greatest Fight

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, "Gohan's Rage"

Fans love to see Goku and Vegeta fight, and there's no battle between the two of them that's more epic or iconic than Goku vs. Majin Vegeta at the start of the Buu Saga. Seeking a return to his evil roots, Vegeta agrees to become Babidi's servant in exchange for being more powerful, becoming a Majin. Goku can't understand why his now-friend would do such a thing, and their battle is, in its own way, heartbreaking. Vegeta even begins to realize what a mistake he's made and turns the last of his power against Buu.

The fight itself is a brutal one, with Goku and Vegeta both using whatever is at their disposal in order to win. This isn't just a rematch; it's Vegeta's inferiority complex coming out in full force, making it a very personal fight.

2 Jiren Pushed Goku to His Greatest Heights To Date

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Super, "The Universes Go Into Action--Each With Their Own Motives"

Jiren was the top competitor in the Tournament of Power, so strong that few of the other contenders would even look his way, each hoping someone else would eliminate him. Goku fights Jiren a few times over the course of the Tournament of Power, and does better and better each time. Jiren is such a difficult opponent that Goku begins to reach a new level of power, unlocking Ultra Instinct Sign, and eventually the full Ultra Instinct ability. Jiren proved his reputation was no joke, delivering powerful attacks that smacked Goku into the floor of the tournament space.

Jiren ultimately wasn't defeated by Goku alone, but with help from Android 17 and Frieza, proving that teamwork is essential to victory, since Jiren wasn't exactly working well with his own teammates.

1 Goku's Greatest Battle Saw Him Attain Super Saiyan

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, "Brood of Evil"

When it comes to Goku's greatest battles, there's really only one that can stand at the top, and that has to be the most exciting moment in Dragon Ball history. Pushed to his limits by the evil Frieza, who has once again killed his good friend Krillin, Goku manages to finally obtain the Super Saiyan state spoken of in legend. Frieza is stunned, unable to believe what he's seeing. Goku outmaneuvers Frieza, watching as Frieza's energy levels drop throughout their battle. Frieza is so distracted by losing that he fires off an attack which ultimately hits himself, cutting him in half.

Goku takes pity on his enemy, but Frieza merely uses the energy Goku gives him for one last attack, prompting a furious Goku to retaliate with full force, obliterating Frieza. The moment of Goku's ascension to Super Saiyan is so exciting that it automatically places this battle as the best of Dragon Ball, even if it's a bit slow-paced by modern standards.

Dragon Ball

From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku's never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.

Created by

Akira Toriyama

First Film

Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies

Latest Film

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

First TV Show

Dragon Ball (1986)

Latest TV Show

Super Dragon Ball Heroes

First Episode Air Date

April 26, 1989

Latest Episode

2019-10-05

Cast

Sean Schemmel , Laura Bailey , Brian Drummond , Christopher Sabat , Scott McNeil

Current Series

Dragon Ball Super

Video Game(s)

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 , Dragon Ball FighterZ , Dragon Ball: The Breakers , Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission , Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z , Dragon Ball Xenoverse , Dragon Ball Z Kakarot

Summary

From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku's never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.