This weekend the UFC will hit Dallas, Texas for the first time ever for UFC 103. The card is stacked from top to bottom and headlined by a 195-pound catch-weight bout between former champions Rich Franklin and Vitor Belfort.
The only thing missing from this explosive card is a five-round title fight which was missing from the last UFC event as well. Fans will have to wait until UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun to see a championship contested in the Octagon.
With the UFC’s new business strategy of stringing together more cards in a year it is becoming difficult to set up title fights to headline each event. However this isn’t a bad thing at all because as proven in past events a headliner does not need to be a championship bout in order to produce fireworks.
In fact let’s take a look at the ten greatest non-title UFC Pay-Per-View main events of all time.
10. UFC 96: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Keith Jardine (3/1/2009)
Eight months prior to this fight Jackson lost his Light Heavyweight strap in a five-round war to Ultimate Fighter winner Forrest Griffin at UFC 86. Suddenly the scariest man in the 205-pound division didn’t seem so terrifying anymore.
Then Jackson took on arch rival Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92 and knocked ‘The Axe Murderer’ out with a crushing left hook in the first round. The Mike Tyson of the MMA world was back and ready to reclaim his championship.
But before challenging for the title Jackson would first have to get through top Light Heavyweight contender “The Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine at UFC 96.
Heading into this fight most expected an easy victory for Jackson but Jardine proved the naysayers wrong standing toe-to-toe with Jackson for three full rounds in a back and forth battle.
The end result saw Jackson winning the judge’s decision unanimously but it was later revealed afterward that had Jardine not been dropped in the final seconds of the third round he would have won the fight.
9. UFC 93: Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson (1/17/2009)
For years fans would talk about what would happen if Franklin were to take on Henderson so when the opportunity presented itself UFC matchmaker Joe Silva was quick to sign the matchup as the headliner for the UFC’s very first event in beautiful Dublin, Ireland.
The Irish fans were treated to an entertaining battle which saw Henderson winning the judge’s decision and also earning a spot as a coach for Team USA on season nine of The Ultimate Fighter alongside Team U.K’s Michael Bisping.
The Dublin fans went absolutely crazy during this fight and throughout the entire event. Ireland MMA is on the rise, there is a huge fan base out there that is constantly growing larger every day. UFC President Dana White was so impressed with the passion from the crowd that he promised there would be many more events in Dublin in the future.
8. UFC 85: Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves (6/7/2008)
When two main events fell out due to injury the UFC called former Welterweight champion Hughes up on short notice to battle rising prospect Alves in London, England.
Hughes was just five months removed from screaming uncle at the hands of current 170-pound champ Georges St. Pierre and was looking to work his way back into the mix. Alves on the other-hand, although a tough prospect was relatively unknown by casual fans at the time. He was on a five-fight win streak and coming off an impressive knockout over Karo Parisyan.
Due to a sprained ankle injury Alves failed to make weight but Hughes agreed to proceed with the fight at a catch-weight of 175-pounds. However come fight time Alves was clearly well over 190 and looked like a Brazilian version of The Incredible Hulk compared to Hughes.
Alves knocked the former champion out with a flying knee that was heard around the world just one minute into the second round. The Pitbull went from relatively unknown to top welterweight contender in just one night.
7. UFC 76: Chuck Liddell vs. Keith Jardine (9/22/2007)
After losing his Light Heavyweight title to Jackson by way of a brutal first round knockout Liddell was looking to rebound against Jardine. Funnily enough Jardine was also coming off a crushing first round knockout at the hands of then-UFC newcomer Houston Alexander.
This may have been the first and only time you will see two fighters headline a UFC event after being finished early in their last bout. This was supposed to be the fight to get The Iceman back on track, an early Christmas present in the form of an easy victory but things didn’t go as planned.
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