10 Non UFC Fights Every Fan MUST See

Ever since Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar went toe to toe at the Ultimate Fighter Finale in 2005, the UFC has been the mecca of MMA.

Since that fight, the popularity of the UFC has grown to heights that many fans wouldn't have believed possible, and the stars of the UFC, ranging from Chuck Liddell and Matt Hughes to Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones, have become household names.

But while the popularity of the UFC has done nothing but grow over the years, other MMA promotions have struggled to find a niche and have basically been left being supported by hardcore fans, no matter how good the product they have brought to the table.

While there are literally millions of people who have watched the Griffin-Bonnar fight on numerous occasions, the vast majority of those same fans have never witnessed the greatness of Fedor Emelianenko or seen the insane action that organizations such as Pride, Strikeforce and WEC had in their prime.

The fights on this list highlight a few of the dozens of fights that are worth watching that weren't held under the UFC banner, and hopefully will find a way to avoid fading into obscurity as the UFC grows bigger by the day.

Shogun Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: Pride Critical Countdown 2005

Ask fans to name their favorite things about Pride FC and near the top of the list for almost everyone will be the Grand Prix tournaments.

While all of these tournaments gave us a ton of awesome matchups, the 2005 middleweight field in particular was stacked, and that tournament gave us a classic fight between Shogun Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

This tournament ended up being the catapult for Shogun’s career, but he almost didn’t even get out of the quarterfinals, as Nogueira took him to the limit in their bout.

This one featured back and forth action throughout, and the commentary actually added to the fight as Bas Rutten and Mauro Ranallo both put over the excellence of both competitors.

Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley: Strikeforce: Diaz vs Daley

After Paul Daley was booted from the UFC for his post fight punch that he threw at Josh Koscheck, he was one of the few highly ranked knockout artists without a solid promotion to call home.

That changed when he signed with Strikeforce and was quickly skyrocketed to the main event scene, where he was set to take on a highly favored Nick Diaz for the welterweight title.

The bout was billed as a guaranteed slugfest and it didn’t disappoint, as both Daley and Diaz rocked each other with punches on numerous occasions in the first round, culminating with Diaz putting Daley away with just seconds left in the round.

The fight ended up being called the round of the year by many MMA outlets, and it was one of the most exciting one-round fights in MMA history.

Mirko Cro Cop vs. Fedor Emelianenko: Pride Final Conflict 2005

As Mirko Cro Cop was adding to his now legendary highlight reel, fans everywhere clamored for a fight between the Croatian heavyweight and the most dominant fighter of the era, Fedor Emelianenko.

The hype for this bout was, to put it mildly, insane, and these two heavyweights delivered with three solid rounds of action.

The fight itself was an instant classic, but what truly made it memorable was that it was a fight that had an unbelievable amount of hype and actually delivered.

Wanderlei Silva vs. Rampage Jackson: Pride Final Conflict 2003 and Pride 28

The bouts between Wanderlei Silva and Rampage Jackson had in Pride are legendary, and to be completely honest, it was impossible to choose one over the other.

The rivalry is one of the best in the sports history, and the first two bouts of the trilogy ended up becoming two of the best bouts in Pride history.

With two knockout artists going head to head it was only a matter of time before either Rampage or “The Axe Murder” ended up face down on the canvas, and both times Silva ended up the victor.

These fights are too entertaining to rightfully describe, but seeing Rampage drop almost lifelessly to the mat (or between the ropes) is a sight that MMA fans needs to see.

Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung: WEC 48

A lot of fans saw this fight on Spike TV, as Zuffa used it to promote the WEC’s only foray onto PPV, but it was an instant Fight of the Year contender.

It may have been one of the sloppiest fights in recent memory, and the decision was criticized by many fans, but it still a fight worth watching if only for the unrelenting action.

Both fighters pushed the pace and smashed each other in the face over and over again, and if you’re trying to get a friend into the sport and just want to show them some senseless violence, this might be the way to go.

Nick Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi: Pride 33

Nick Diaz had already earned a solid fanbase due to his UFC run, but his career officially started to become legendary during his Pride 33 bout with Takanori Gomi.

As much as some fans hate this expression, Diaz and Gomi went to war in the first round and both ended up doing a lot of damage to each other on the feet, but the second round is when the action hit its peak.

Gomi took the fight to the mat and was looking to unleash some ground and pound, but Diaz locked in a rarely seen gogoplata and forced his Japanese counterpart to submit.

The win was the biggest of Diaz’s career to that point, and even though he ended up testing positive for marijuana in the post fight drug test and ended up having the result overturned to a no contest, the fight is still known as one of the best in Pride history.

Michael Chandler vs. Eddie Alvarez: Bellator 58

It was unfortunate that one of the best fights of 2011 happened to fall on the same night as one of the best UFC fights of all time.

Just hours before Dan Henderson and Shogun Rua went out and put on a fight round masterpiece, Michael Chandler and Eddie Alvarez put on a show for the fans at Bellator 58.

Chandler and Alvarez traded momentum and put on an action packed four rounds, with Chandler getting locked into a fight ending rear naked choke, upsetting the Bellator champion and top ranked lightweight.

As Alvarez was a top-five lightweight before the bout, it was a shocking win for Chandler, who was a little known prospect, and it signaled a changing of the guard in the Bellator organization.

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Kevin Randlemann: Pride Critical Countdown 2004

This one won’t take long for you to watch, but what it lacks in longevity it makes up for in pure awesomeness.

Watching Kevin Randleman slam Fedor to the mat will get any fan way too excited, and whether you love or hate the Russian fighter, his transition from the bottom to get into a dominant position is incredible.

A quick submission later, and Fedor has another victory to put on his resume that now is miles long, but coming back from getting suplexed pro wrestling style may be the most impressive feat he accomplished in his storied career.

Benson Henderson vs. Anthony Pettis: WEC 53

The final fight in WEC history ended up being its greatest, a feat that is incredible when you consider the history of the organization.

Benson Henderson went into the bout as the heavy favorite over then prospect Anthony Pettis, and with the MMA world watching, both fighters made sure it was a fight to remember.

Henderson and Pettis went back and forth for five solid rounds, highlighted by the now world famous “Showtime Kick” that Pettis landed in the fifth round and may have sealed the victory.

Henderson has since gone on to win the UFC's lightweight championship, and it looks like Pettis may be the first man in line when it comes time for him to defend his belt.

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Royce Gracie: Pride Grand Prix 2000

If you’re an MMA fan, this fight is one you must see.

It wasn’t the most action packed bout, but seeing Royce Gracie fight for a solid 90 minutes against the man known as the "Gracie Hunter" is something that has to be seen to be believed.

Gracie and Sakuraba battled for an unprecedented six 15-minute rounds before an exhausted Gracie could no longer continue and his corner threw in the towel.

The loss marked Gracie’s first in MMA competition, furthered the legend of Sakuraba, and is known as one of the most important in MMA history.