Sanchez vs. Ellenberger and the Best Non-Pay-Per-View MMA Main Events

Every now and then, someone will get excited when they learn I have a side gig writing about MMA. In those cases, the usual reaction is, "So you get to really follow the sport!"

"Well, how do you mean?"

"You get to order all the pay-per-views."

"Right. But you do know it's on regular TV, too, right? And now, that's not just occasionally, but fairly often?"

"WHA!?!?!"

The free TV cards (and I'm lumping Showtime and HDNet in with that) may not always be gangbusters. But more often than not, they're pretty damn good, especially considering the entrance fee. That will continue tonight with UFC on FX 2, which will feature a fight between welterweight contenders Thiago Alves and Martin Kampmann.

This list of the best non-PPV main events is further proof you don't have to shell out $49.99 every month to follow MMA. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

25. Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock 3

Oct. 6, 2006
Spike TV 

Not because it was a great fight (it wasn't) but because that was a lot of wattage for cable TV, especially in those days.

Ortiz TKO'd his longtime rival in the first round, prompting the 42-year-old Shamrock to retire in the ring afterward.

24. Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis

Jan. 28, 2012
FOX

In one of the most important non-title fights ever to air on free TV, Evans outmuscled Davis to win a convincing—if uninspiring—decision victory, which earned him a shot at light heavyweight champ Jon Jones.

(Photo h/t: Detroit Free Press)

23. Eddie Alvarez vs. Pat Curran

April 2, 2011
MTV2

At Bellator 39, Alvarez used every trick in his elite boxing game to defend his lightweight title by unanimous decision over a very game (and perhaps underestimated) Curran. It was the first time either man fought in the championship rounds, and it ended with Alvarez's seventh consecutive victory. 

22. Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann

April 1, 2009
Spike TV

After an action-packed fight, Kampmann won a split decision over the future champ in Condit's UFC debut. It's still Condit's only loss in the Octagon. 

21. Joachim Hansen vs. Shinya Aoki 2

July 21, 2008
HDNet 

At DREAM 5, in the final round of the promotion's lightweight tourney, Hansen avenged a loss in their first meeting, knocking out Aoki in the first round to capture the lightweight belt. 

20. Jon Jones vs. Vladimir Matyushenko

August 1, 2010
Versus

The future champ made short work of the grizzled veteran, putting the veteran grappler in a crucifix position and pounding him out with elbows in the first round. 

19. Hector Lombard vs. Alexander Shlemenko

August 12, 2010
FOX Sports Net 

When Shlemenko stood up to Lombard's standup bullying, Lombard went to Plan B (takedowns) to defend his middleweight title by decision. Not quite the unmitigated slugfest people were expecting, but still a good showing for Shango.

18. Junior Dos Santos vs. Cain Velasqez

Nov. 12, 2011
FOX 

Gone in 60 seconds. Well, 64, anyway.

Dos Santos hammered the previously undefeated Velasquez to capture the heavyweight title at UFC on FOX 1. It was a terrific knockout, but happened so suddenly it was almost anticlimactic.

17. Kenny Florian vs. Joe Lauzon

April 2, 2008
Spike TV

Lauzon turned heads by hanging with the highly-regarded contender, but Florian was too much for young J-Lau and finished him in the second round.

The contest, which headlined a UFC Fight Night card that also featured Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard 1, took Fight of the Night honors. 

16. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson

July 30, 2011
Showtime

Hendo dropped an H-bomb (well, sort of...it was a left this time) on Fedor that sent the Russian legend to his third straight defeat. Not long afterward, Strikeforce released Emelianenko. 

15. Jon Jones vs. Brandon Vera

March 21, 2010
Versus

Jones, an early headliner for the UFC on Versus series, earned Knockout of the Night in defeating the more veteran Vera by face-breaking. 

14. Joachim Hansen vs. Shinya Aoki 3

Oct. 6, 2009
HDNet

At DREAM 11, Aoki took the rubber match with Hansen, along with lightweight belt, which he has yet to give back. 

13. Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Ellenberger

Feb. 15, 2012
Fuel TV

You can tell how stacked this list is when this recent gem barely cracks the top 15.

Sanchez showed his characteristic heart in mounting a final-round comeback that nearly stole the fight, but in the end Ellenberger's hand was raised following the Fight of the Night-winning performance. 

12. Urijah Faber vs. Mike Brown 2

June 7, 2009
Versus

In their first meeting, Brown shocked Faber with a first-round knockout to win the WEC featherweight title. The rematch was a five-round slugfest that saw Faber battle through a broken hand but fall short of reclaiming the belt.

11. B.J. Penn vs. Jens Pulver 2

June 23, 2007
Spike TV

By the time The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale rolled around, there was plenty of bad blood between these team coaches and elite lightweights. In his return to 155 pounds, Penn submitted Pulver in the second round to avenge a 2002 loss to "Lil Evil."

10. Diego Sanchez vs. Martin Kampmann

March 3, 2011
Versus

Kampmann battered Sanchez early, but this time Diego's comeback worked, and he took the unanimous decision and a Fight of the Night bonus despite being a bloody mess. 

9. Nick Diaz vs. K.J. Noons 2

October 9, 2010
Showtime 

In an absolute standup barn-burner, Diaz outboxed the former pro boxer and avenged a previous loss in the Strikeforce promotion.

8. Toby Imada vs. Jorge Masvidal

May 1, 2009
ESPN Deportes 

The main event of Bellator 5 featured a semifinal match in the promotion's lightweight tourney. In the third round, Imada, who was likely losing on the scorecards up to that point, pulled an inverted triangle choke that remains one of the best in-cage submissions in MMA history, at least as far as I'm concerned.

7. Jose Aldo vs. Mike Brown

November 18, 2009
Versus

It was Aldo's star-making turn as an MMA fighter when he knocked out Brown in the second round to capture the featherweight belt.  

6. Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry

June 26, 2011
Versus

Kongo salvaged a win and reinvigorated his career when he fought through a wobbling Barry attack to knock out the heavyweight. A good number of fans and pundits view it as one of the greatest comebacks in MMA. 

5. Miguel Torres vs. Takeya Mizugaki

April 5, 2009
Versus

In front of a friendly Chicago crowd at WEC 40, Torres defended his bantamweight belt in a back-and-forth slugfest that went the distance. Mizugaki turned in a tremendous effort, especially considering he took the fight on short notice. 

4. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum

June 26, 2010
Showtime

The submission heard 'round the world. 

3. Anthony Pettis vs. Benson Henderson

Dec. 16, 2010
Versus

It was the final fight in WEC history, and it was for the lightweight title (arguably the WEC's most prestigious belt).

Most observers remember Pettis' "showtime kick"—and understandably so, as that was freaking amazing. But it overshadowed an evenly-matched five-round war, which Pettis eventually won by decision to take the belt from Bendo. 

2. Clay Guida vs. Diego Sanchez

June 20, 2009
Spike

Not only one of the best non-PPV fights, but one of the best fights ever. The first round, in which the two essentially just went toe to toe in the center of the cage, might get my pick for the best single round.

Sanchez—possibly the MVP of non-PPV main events—pulled out a split-decision victory. 

1. Forrest Griffin-Stephan Bonnar 1

April 9, 2005
Spike TV 

OK, so it was technically the co-main event. But when you're talking about Griffin-Bonnar 1, it's OK to bend the rules a little.

The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale fight is still one of the best, and most important, fights in the history of MMA for making water-cooler conversation.