(Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
No. 7 UFC 34: High Voltage (Nov. 2, 2001)
This fight card featured several future MMA legends including Randy Couture, Josh Barnett, Pedro Rizzo, Matt Hughes, B.J Penn, Evan Tanner, and the list just goes on and on.
The main event of the night featured a heavyweight title bout between Randy Couture and Pedro Rizzo in a rematch from their previous bout from UFC 31. Couture was dominant in the rematch finishing Rizzo in the third round to retain the heavyweight championship.
The highlight of the night was Matt Hughes winning the welterweight championship for the very first time against Carlos Newton. Newton had Hughes in a triangle choke but the powerful wrestler hoisted Newton up and slammed him on his head knocking him unconscious.
Hughes would go on to become the most dominant welterweight champion of all time defending the title five times and then winning it back to defend it six more times.
No. 6 UFC 81: Breaking Point (Feb. 2, 2008)
The mainstream media went crazy when it was announced that former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar would be signing a contract with the UFC after just one professional MMA bout. Not one to give anyone an easy fight Dana White announced that Lesnar would take on former UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir in his UFC debut in the co-main event of UFC 81.
Even people who had no idea what MMA was were interested in seeing what Lesnar could do in the Octagon. When the fight started, Lesnar came out like a raging bull, taking Mir down instantly and pounding on him recklessly with hammer fists. Mir managed to survive the onslaught and lock on a heel hook forcing the inexperienced Lesnar to tap out.
This fight was significant for two reasons. Firstly, it proved that even though he lost, Lesnar has a lot of potential and a very bright future in the UFC. It also proved that Mir still has the heart and the determination to be an elite fighter in the UFC’s heavyweight division.
The main event of the night featured an interim heavyweight championship bout between former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia and former PRIDE heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera.
Casual fans who have never heard of Noguiera before witnessed first hand why he is truly a legend. Sylvia pounded on Noguiera early on and seemed like he was well on his way to winning a decision victory.
Noguiera took everything Sylvia threw at him and came back in the third round, submitting Sylvia with a guillotine choke to win the interim championship. Vintage Noguiera.
No. 5 UFC 40: Vendetta (Nov. 22, 2002)
UFC 40 contained one of the most important and most anticipated fights in UFC history, a UFC light heavyweight championship bout between bitter rivals Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock.
Shamrock, a legendary fighter from the UFC’s early years, was returning to the UFC for the first time since 1996. The trash talking between Shamrock and Ortiz was legendary, but the fight itself was very one-sided, with Ortiz beating Shamrock down and making him quit in the third round.
UFC 40 also featured a welterweight title bout between Matt Hughes and Gil Castillo. Tank Abbott also provided an interview in the octagon after Dana White had announced Abbott would return to the octagon on a three-fight deal.
The buy rate for UFC 40 was approximately four times larger than the buy rates of the previous UFC events. After initially losing a lot of money, UFC 40 showed Zuffa that it was possible to make money with the UFC. UFC 40 was a near sellout of 13,022 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena for a gate of $1.54 million, a UFC record at that point in time.
UFC 40 also gained mainstream exposure for mixed martial arts for the first time since entering the dark ages of MMA. Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz both appeared on The Best Damn Sports Show Period and engaged in trash talk on live television. Shamrock and Ortiz's fight also gained mainstream media attention from massive media outlets such as ESPN and USA Today, something that was unfathomable for mixed martial arts at that point in time.
No. 4 UFC 1: The Beginning (Nov. 12, 1993)
UFC 1 was the night it all began, and the night Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was introduced to the United States.
In the beginning, the sport had very few rules, didn’t have any weight classes or rounds, and there weren’t any judges. The event was more of a spectacle than a sport.
Fighters would have to fight several times in the night, as opposed to modern-day MMA, where a fighter is only required to fight once.
UFC 1 used an eight-man tournament format with the winner receiving $50,000. Royce Gracie won the tournament, opening the eyes of several thousand people watching at home defeating much larger opponents with choke holds and submissions.
The sport has come a long way since its early days and is becoming one of the most popular sports in the world. Without UFC 1, MMA would not be around and would not have evolved to where it is today.
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