Fave Five: UFC Fights

Over the course of the last two years, I have found a great interest in the UFC and MMA. I used to be apathetic towards the continually growing sport and now I can't get enough of it.

In the two years since watching my first UFC pay-per-view, I have see a lot of fights which. In that time, I have witnessed some of the most brutal knockouts, technical submissions and all out wars between the fighters in the UFC.

Here are just a few of my favorites.

UFC 76: Liddell vs Jardine

"The Iceman" Chuck Liddell was coming off of his loss UFC Light Heavyweight championship to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine was coming off of a first round knockout loss to Houston Alexander.

Both men had something to prove, though Jardine needed it more. That need became apparent once the fight got underway.

From the start, Jardine didn't seem to want to back down from Liddell, despite Liddell's infamous right hand. The first round belonged to Liddell based on effective striking and aggression, but it was only the first round.

Over the course of the second and third rounds, Keith Jardine unleashed a bevy of leg and body kicks that Liddell did not check. But the end of the second round Liddell's leg and body were welted and raw.

Not to mention Jardine's leg was showing signs of damage from dealing kicks to Liddell.

Jardine continued with his kicks and Liddell struggled to answer at any point. Liddell dropped to the mat after a right from Jardine caught him in the jaw at the start of the second round, but he shot right back up.

That was the trend of the fight. Jardine surprised Liddell and Liddell had no answer.

At the end of the fight, Liddell raised his arms in victory and was met by boos from the crowd. The fight went to the judges scorecards and they scored the fight 29-28 Jardine, 29-28 Liddell and 29-28 Jardine, giving the victory to "The Dean of Mean" via split decision.

No matter the controversy of split decisions, Jardine's unorthodox and awkward dissection of Liddell stands out as one of the best fights I have ever watched.

UFC 83: Serra vs St. Pierre 2

Matt "The Terror" Serra was the Welterweight champion and already held a victory over the challenger Georges "Rush" St-Pierre.

In the second match, St-Pierre came into the fight as the Interim Welterweight champion, and the fight would make the winner the Undisputed Welterweight champion.

Serra made a number of comments about St-Pierre's French-Canadian heritage, supposedly in retaliation for comments St-Pierre made on a radio show after the fight.

Despite the mutual respect shown at the close of the first meeting, there was no hiding the animosity that had sprouted in the weeks and months after that first meeting.

Serra made light of the outcome of their first meeting, saying that he wasn't the one that got beat down, and paid for it in the second meeting.

St-Pierre opened up with an unexpected take down on Serra and asserted control for the rest of the fight. He imposed his every will on Serra, giving him no space to breathe or mount any offense.

The first and second rounds were controlled entirely by St-Pierre. There was very little action in the stand up since St-Pierre took every opportunity to make it a ground battle.

The second round was highlighted by St-Pierre's ground control. Serra had no chance to strike or gain any advantage over the apparently superior challenger.

Serra was face down on his knees, attempting to cover up from St-Pierre's strikes. St-Pierre rained down punches to Serra's face and repeatedly rammed knees into his body.

With 17 seconds left in the round, referee Yves Lavigne called the fight to a stop, declaring the winner by TKO and Undisputed Welterweight champion of the world, Georges "Rush" St-Pierre.

St-Pierre has lost only twice in his career and has exacted convincing revenge on both men to have beaten him. Both fights were for the title, and both fights featured a ruthless and seemingly unstoppable Georges St-Pierre.

UFC 91: Hazelett vs McCrory

If you don't know who Dustin Hazelett is, I recommend searching form him on Youtube.

Hazelett is one of the most exciting fighters in the Welterweight divison not named Georges St-Pierre. He is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and is one of the few active users of the Rubber Guard.

He is probably best known for his flying armbar against Josh Burkman (pictured), but his career is full of highlight reel submissions.

At UFC 91, he faced another young fighter in Tamdan McCrory. McCrory was primarily a striker and served as polar opposite to Hazelett's submission centric style.

McCrory intended to end the fight with strikes or knees, or maybe even utilize his wrestling skills to ground and pound Hazelett, but once the fight went to the ground it was over.

McCrory intended to ground and pound Hazelett, but upon falling into Hazeletts' guard he had put himself into a compromising position. Hazelett took control of McCrory's arm and proceeded to attempt an omoplata, which McCrory avoided.

Then Hazelett turned McCrory just enough to sink in a reverse armbar. The submission came at 3:59 of the first round and earned Hazelett Submission of the Night honors.

UFC 77: Silva vs Franklin 2

Anderson "The Spider" Silva had established himself as being in a class unto himself in the Middleweight division.

He had decimated Rich "Ace" Franklin to win the title and run through the best the division had to offer since stepping foot in the octagon.

Franklin looked bad in their first match up, clearly overwhelmed by Silva's Muy Thai striking. He didn't make it past the first round in his first match with Silva.

He didn't make it past the second round in their second meeting.

Franklin looked much more confident in the octagon with Silva, a noted difference from the first fight and he pressed the action a little. Silva evade many of Franklin's strikes but didn't take any damage.

Franklin was able to avoid Silva's initial attempts at the Muy Thai clinch and took Silva down midway through the first round. The fight looked like it was going to be a completely different story.

Until 4:30 of the first round.

Franklin landed a punch or two, which only seemed to incite Silva and force the champ into action. Silva connected on a couple of strikes and a knee to the body and the two clinched against the cage.

The two exchanged strikes and then Silva did his best impression of Muhammad Ali and dropped his hands while dodging everything Franklin threw his way. with just five seconds left in the first round, Silva landed a right hook that sent Franklin crumbling to the mat.

The first round ended with Franklin trying to recover from being rocked and nearly knocked out. Franklin's corner woke him up for the second round, and he came out swinging without any sign of being tired or shaken by the near knockout.

Around a minute into the second round, Silva turned up the heat and landed a long string of strikes to Franklin's head, body and legs that put the challenger off balance and ultimately spelled the end of the fight.

A final right knee is what sent Franklin to the mat for the end of the fight.

It may have been another dominant performance by Silva, but it showed exactly why everyone should fear him.

UFC 100: Henderson vs Bisping

Dan "Hendo" Henderson and Michael "The Count" Bisping grew to hate each other over the course of their time as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter. The season was centered around a USA vs England battle, which Bisping's team won handily.

Despite the outcome of the show, Henderson still had some unfinished business with the opposing coach Bisping.

Words were traded over the course of the show and neither man made any attempt to keep their disdain for one another a secret. It created a mutual hatred and made for an even better storyline heading into the monumental UFC 100 pay-per-view.

From the start of the fight it appeared as though Henderson was going to press the action while Bisping circled and picked his shots when he could.

Henderson was clearly looking to load up on his big right hand, and for some odd reason Bisping kept circling to Henderson's right.

The first round was highlighted by a couple of good shots landed by Henderson and Bisping landing a number of seemingly inconsequential strikes, that had him ahead on the scorecard.

Henderson was just biding his time.

During the break between rounds, Bisping's corner was shouting at him to stop circling to Henderson's right as it was leaving him open to the power of the American.

The shouting didn't stop once the second round got underway, but Bisping didn't seem to want to listen.

Henderson continued to stalk Bisping and found himself on the receiving end of a couple of knees and jabs from the dancing Bisping. Henderson didn't change his strategy at all and it eventually paid off.

Bisping continued to move to Henderson's right and Henderson started leading his right hands with leg kicks to catch Bisping off guard. After a few leg kicks and jabs, Henderson's patience was rewarded.

With a single leg kick to a deep step Henderson had Bisping on the move again. Bisping moved to his left and found himself on he receiving end of a monstrous right hand from Dan Henderson which instantly knocked him out.

Not satisfied with just knocking him out, Henderson dropped another shot on Bisping's unconscious body before the referee could jump in to stop the fight.

Dan Henderson earned Knockout of the Night honors for the fight and a potential rematch with Middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

Hon. Mention: UFC Brazil: Belfort vs Silva

Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva's first appearance in the UFC did not go as well as the rest of his career thereafter. His opponent at UFC Brazil: Ultimate Brazil was a fellow Brazilian Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort.

Belfort had just lost to Randy "The Natural" Couture and was looking for redemption. Silva was known for ending fights early and violently, which explains his nickname.

Both men had their fair share of reputation as dangerous strikers and this fight proved who was the better man at the time.

Both men met in the center of the octagon and traded a couple of strikes, but Belfort caught Silva with a shot that sent him backwards into the cage. Belfort rushed at his wounded opponent and unleashed a flurry of punches that sent Silva to the mat.

The fight lasted all of 44 seconds.

Both men went on to have great careers and could potentially meet up again, as both are currently with the UFC today.

Belfort was recently re-signed by the UFC after a time spent in Pride, Cage Rage, Affliction and a single venture into professional boxing. His first fight back will be against Rich Franklin.