UFC: 7 Fights That Changed the Sport Forever

The UFC has come a long way since its inception in 1993. First billed as a "no-holds barred" competition to decide the age-old question of which fighting style reigned supreme, now the sport boasts legions of loyal fans, hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue and a long-term network television deal.

The road wasn't always smooth. There were plenty of bumps, detours and roadblocks. But the wise business decisions made by the current owners, Zuffa, and most significantly, the superb battles put on by the fighters, have produced a mixed martial arts brand that has stood the test of time and prospered.

The future is bright indeed, and these seven fights are the reason why.

Royce Gracie vs. UFC 1

On Nov. 12, 1993 an unknown fellow by the name of Royce Gracie, undersized and seemingly outgunned, walked into McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colo. and proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was the single most effective fighting system in the world. 

His opponents, all with a distinct size advantage, were simply lost as Royce mounted and choked his way to a tournament victory—all in just under five minutes of total cage time.

In doing so, Royce not only spread the Gospel of Gracie Jiu Jitsu (the original intent of the tournament), but he also spawned a new sport, built a powerful brand and inspired a flock of combatants to what would become modern MMA.

Royce must be given his respect as the Triple OG of the UFC.

Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock I

There were some good rivalries before Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock—Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock, for instance—but there's no denying Tito/Ken was the first great rivalry in the UFC.

Spawned from Tito's antics after avenging a loss to Lion's Den fighter Guy Mezger (shown in the video above), their rivalry would produce three fights, all of which Tito dominated, but only one of which had any real significance—the first one, at UFC 40 in November of 2002.

It was one of the most anticipated fights in UFC history, and with that buzz came major media attention. The fight was covered by ESPN, and Tito and Ken had the opportunity to hype the fight even further by going on The Best Damn Sports Show Period and talking some great smack. At the time that sort of media attention was unheard of in MMA.

The UFC, recently purchased by Zuffa, was bleeding money, and its future appeared grim.

Famed referee "Big" John McCarthy recalled the ominous feeling of the time:

"

It was at UFC 40. When that show happened, I honestly felt like it was going to make it. Throughout the years, things were happening, and everything always looked bleak. It always looked like, this is it, this is going to be the last time. This is going to be the last year. But, when I was standing in the Octagon at UFC 40, I remember standing there before the Ortiz/Shamrock fight and looking around. The energy of that fight, it was phenomenal, and it was the first time I honestly said, it’s going to make it.

"

It may be sensationalist to imply this fight saved the UFC considering all the money they continued to lose over the next few years, but it definitely threw them a bit of a lifeline when it was desperately needed. The 150,000 pay-per-views it sold were more than the three previous events combined.

Tito absolutely decimated Shamrock, but that wasn't even the point of the night. The point was that there was solid interest in the sport; there was a broader fanbase. It just needed to be reached on a consistent basis.

Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture I

If Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock threw the UFC a lifeline, then Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture are the ones who jumped in and tried to pull it to safety.  

With the light-heavyweight champion, Tito Ortiz, decommissioned due to a dispute stemming from his refusal to fight his former friend and teammate, Chuck Liddell, the UFC decided to put together an interim title fight between Liddell and the former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Randy Couture, who had just departed the heavyweight division and the monsters who inhabited it after consecutive losses to Josh Barnett and Ricco Rodriguez.  

The fight took place at UFC 43 on June 6, 2003. Couture, approaching 40 at the time, would go on to upset Liddell via third-round TKO in a highly-spirited, back-and-forth affair. 

The pay-per-view sales were dismal, but this fight spawned what would become the UFC’s first great trilogy and introduced to the masses the two stars who would usher the UFC into the Common Era.

Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar I

Despite the sporadic success of a few events in the Zuffa era, by 2004, the UFC was in dire straits. They had burned through around $34 million since they purchased the brand in 2001, and Lorenzo Fertitta had told Dana White that if a decent offer came in, they intended to cut their losses and sell.  

But they had one last Hail Mary plan: a reality television show. The Fertittas, casino owners in Las Vegas, had been featured on another reality show, American Casino, and seeing the success of that strategy, sought to create their own television series, The Ultimate Fighter.  

They were turned down by nearly every network they pitched it to—all except Spike TV. Spike was reluctant, though, so the Fertittas offered to pay the production costs themselves—all $10 million of it. A deal was made, and the show aired in January of 2005. It was an instant success.  

There were many notable moments and fights in that first season, but none came even close to what would happen at The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale on April 9, 2005.  

The two light-heavyweight finalists, Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonner, went out and put on an insanely-entertaining slobber knocker of grit and determination. Basically, they beat the living crap out of each other for 15 glorious minutes.

The crowd was going wild, stomping on the bleachers and praising both warriors with numerous, well-deserved standing ovations. The fight pretty much defined everything that is great about combat sports.

At one point during the fight, Spike TV President Kevin Kay noticed a group of fans texting and asked what they were doing. They replied that they were telling their friends to turn on Spike to watch the awesome spectacle. 

The ratings climbed as the fight progressed, eventually topping out at 3.3 million, a staggering figure at the time.  

Dana White often calls it the “most important fight in UFC history.” Considering the amount of money they were in the red, if it wasn’t a smash hit, the company would have been put on the market. So Dana’s isn’t kidding. This was the indeed most important fight in UFC history.

Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre II

With fan interest in the UFC at an all-time high, it was time to get down to the business of creating and marketing the stars that would be the UFC’s bread and butter.

In the mid-2000’s, Matt Hughes was one of those stars.  

A bruising grappler, Hughes was a menacing presence. With the exception of a brief respite in 2004 where he was defeated by BJ Penn, Hughes was the welterweight champion from 2001 to 2006. He captured the title twice and defended it seven times—an accomplishment which still stands at No. 2 for the most title defenses in UFC history. 

He was, and by many still is, considered the best welterweight ever.  

But there was another fledgling star fighting his way up the mountain, a Canadian by the name of Georges St-Pierre. GSP had been running roughshod over the competition at 170 and earned a shot at Hughes at UFC 50.  

He would lose by armbar at the very last second of the first round to the more experienced champion, but even in defeat, he showed that he could contend with Hughes.  

GSP would get his shot at redemption at UFC 65 on Nov. 18, 2006. This time, he wasn’t so intimidated, and he demolished Hughes en route to a second round TKO.  

GSP was the new UFC welterweight champion, but more significantly, an unspoken passing of the torch had taken place. GSP would go on to become a dominant champion in his own right, and one of the top stars in the UFC.

Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz II

Throughout 2006, the UFC's pay-per-view sales saw astronomical growth. UFC 57 pulled in 410,000 buys. UFC 60 did 620,000. UFC 61 topped that with 775,000. It was quite clear that the sky was the limit for the newly-profitable promotion.

Then, at UFC 66 on Dec. 30, 2006, with the Chuck Liddell/Tito Ortiz rematch, the company soared to new heights, breaking the one million mark for the first time.

The fight itself was an exercise in futility. Just about everyone knew Chuck had Tito's number, and the only surprising thing about the contest was that it made it to the third round.

But the fight culminated a blockbuster year for the UFC in which their popularity soared. In just a couple of short years, they went from the brink of extinction to becoming the kings of pay-per-view, outselling boxing powerhouse HBO and equaling the WWE while putting on fewer events.

Chuck and Tito were two of the most recognizable stars in the UFC, and the sales figure they were responsible for was thought only possible for a super duo. Surely no one fighter could pull down numbers like that, until...

Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir II

...a 285-pound Viking behemoth came along.

Brock Lesnar, the former WWE star, had transitioned to MMA a year prior, and he took the sport by storm.

After losing in his inaugural Octagon appearance courtesy of a Frank Mir kneebar, Brock would go on to steamroll Heath Herring, and through his enormous size, personality and popularity, he was granted a title shot against Randy Couture.

Brock would defeat Couture by second-round TKO and become the UFC heavyweight champion in only his fourth MMA fight.

A rematch with Mir was set for the historical UFC 100, held on July 11, 2009 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

The second time around, Brock would decimate Mir, taking him down at will and pounding him into oblivion for a second-round TKO.

Prior to this monumental event, Brock had already proven himself a major draw, capable of pulling in the UFC's most coveted fans—the casual fans. But even Dana White couldn't have predicted that UFC 100 would pull in 1.6 million pay-per-view buys—a smashing record.

The event was a star-studded lineup, and the supporting cast undoubtedly accounted for many of those buys, but Brock would emerge as the top draw for the company for the duration of his tenure.

As a headliner, Brock would break the million mark four times, and his seven UFC fights totaled 6,845,000 pay per view buys for an average of just under 978,000 buys per event.

That is, simply put, staggering.

It's not all about numbers, though. Brock brought with him loads of fans, many of who will no doubt stay even though he's gone.

Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture—they all had that special something, that "X" factor that makes people stars. Brock had it too, only it was "XXX."