10 Memorable Moments from the UFC's Past Januarys

The UFC will bring two big free events to the masses in 2013, and we will undoubtedly be given more astonishing moments that will stick with us for a long time.

January events are stuck between the New Year's and Super Bowl cards that are so highly touted, but still find a way to deliver big.

UFC 18 was the first ever event to kick off the new year for the UFC. Bas Rutten TKO'd Tsuyoshi Kosaka, Tito Ortiz stopped Jerry Bohlander, Evan Tanner debuted, and Pat Miletich defended his UFC Lightweight Championship.

Since that event in 1999, the UFC has given us many more moments as the calendar turned to a new year.

Here are 10 memorable moments from past Januarys.

UFC 35: Jens Pulver Defeats BJ Penn

The UFC Lightweight Championship was on the line and everyone believed "The Prodigy" would take care of business and get the title off of Pulver's waist.

That did not happen.

Pulver hung tough and gave Penn a fight. A great fight.

Penn and Pulver went at it for 25 minutes, and the fight had to go to the judge's scorecards. Pulver shocked the MMA scene by pulling off the upset with a majority-decision victory.

Pulver would leave the UFC shortly after and vacate the belt, but Penn would still not have that piece of gold around his waist for another six years. The loss stuck with Penn and he finally got to settle the score when they became coaches on The Ultimate Fighter and fought at the finale in 2007.

UFC 46: BJ Penn Shocks Matt Hughes

BJ Penn stepped up to take on the best welterweight in the world, UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes.

Like Hughes, many believed Penn was too small to be moving up against Hughes. He would have no chance against the powerhouse wrestler.

Penn proved the doubters wrong. Emphatically.

The Hawaiian quickly had Hughes on his back and hurt him with a punch. That allowed Penn to use his jiu-jitsu to get the back of Hughes and sink in the rear-naked choke for the finish. Penn won his first UFC championship.

It is still one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.

UFC 46: Vitor Belfort Slices Randy Couture's Eyelid

UFC 46 had one more memorable moment to give us, and it was an unfortunate injury in the night's main event.

The UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout had to be stopped at just 49 seconds. A punch from Belfort had glanced Couture and the glove sliced his eyelid.

It was a freak accident and accounts for Belfort's only non-tournament title victory.

The two would meet in a rematch a few months later and Couture would regain the title by punishing Belfort. However, we will all remember the randomness and visual of the injury at UFC 46.

Ultimate Fight Night 3: Duane Ludwig's Quick KO

Duane Ludwig was on the undercard fighting Jonathan Goulet, but they found the time to squeeze in his performance on the televised card.

They didn't need much time.

The fight started, and before you could blink your eyes, it was over. Ludwig earned an 11-second knockout officially, but it was quicker than that. Most feel that it should be the record holder for fastest knockout in UFC history.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission still has the KO down as 11 seconds, but UFC President Dana White did some work and showed via a video blog that the KO should be just over six seconds. That would make it the fastest in company history.

Ultimate Fight Night: Rashad Evans' Highlight-Reel Head Kick

When you finish your opponent with a mesmerizing knockout, people tend to forget you lost the first round of the fight. Ask Rashad Evans.

He got off to a slow start against former Ohio State University wrestler Sean Salmon, but came back strong in the second. He outclassed the UFC newcomer and finished him off with a sickening head kick that can be seen in his highlight-reel today.

Salmon was out before he hit the mat. His fall would have been comical if it had not been scary.

His body was stiff and toes curled from the impact of Evans' shin. Prior to the KO, Evans was still seen as a grinding wrestler, but the knockout put him on the map as a finisher.

UFC 80: BJ Penn Makes a Bloody Mess of Joe Stevenson

BJ Penn finally had a chance to get the UFC Lightweight Championship around his waist at UFC 80. The vacant strap was up for grabs as he met Joe Stevenson in Newcastle, England.

If fans were hoping for a competitive fight, they left disappointed. Penn mauled Stevenson.

Penn opened him up and the crimson flowed freely. Spurts shot out of Stevenson's head as Penn rained down blows. It was a mess inside the Octagon.

Finally, Penn was able to sink in the rear-naked choke and finish him off mercifully. After a long wait, Penn was able to wear lightweight gold in the UFC. The choke and title presentation are still overshadowed by Stevenson's crimson-covered face.

UFC 94

Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn were set to meet for a second time inside the Octagon. The lightweight champion was moving up to challenge for welterweight gold, and the atmosphere was electric.

The fight itself would not give us too many memorable moments, but the electricity of the event and two other future stars would.

Lyoto Machida finished off Thiago Silva in the co-main event of the evening. Machida didn't need to be elusive any more as he tripped Silva down and nailed him with a follow-up shot that turned his lights off.

Another memorable moment from the event was the German suplex from Jon Jones on Stephan Bonnar. Jones was a relative unknown during that bout, but the move excited everyone and really introduced us to a growing athlete who would continue to put us in awe.

UFC 94 is one of the few events in UFC history to have a special aura surrounding it.

UFC 125: Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard Throw Down

Frankie Edgar was coming off two wins over BJ Penn, and he would get the chance to avenge the lone loss on his record against Gray Maynard at UFC 125.

Maynard controlled their first encounter, and many saw the second bout being as uneventful as the first. They were dead wrong.

The title fight was a Fight of the Year candidate.

Maynard nearly finished Edgar in the first round. He battered the champion. The round could have even been given the lopsided score of 10-7 it was so bad, and everyone thought it was all over. Edgar had different ideas.

The champion somehow stormed back. He mixed up his game and started to find openings on a tired Maynard. It was astonishing to watch. Edgar not only survived the first-round onslaught, but came back to win rounds.

The scorecards were read and each man had taken one, but the final was a 47-47 card that meant the bout was a draw. The instant classic would have a rematch that was nearly a mirror image.

UFC 142: Edson Barboza Has Knockout of 2012

The focus of the evening was on the two main events. Vitor Belfort was taking on Anthony Johnson who missed weight once again, and Jose Aldo was set to defend his featherweight  title against Chad Mendes.

Both fights were finished, and both fights were outshone by the opening fight of the PPV.

Edson Barboza landed a spinning roundhouse kick on Terry Etim, but it didn't connect fully. The kick got a great reaction from the crowd and a lot of "What if that actually connected flush" questions were being asked.

Barboza answered that in the final round at UFC 142.

He landed the kick flush and Etim fell like a tree. Stiff. We were only two weeks in to the new year and had already been graced with the Knockout of the Year. Nothing came close the rest of the year.

UFC on FOX: Chael Sonnen's Post-Fight Promo

Chael Sonnen was on a mission to get a rematch with Anderson Silva, and at UFC on FOX, he was in a title eliminator against Michael Bisping.

Sonnen got the nod on the judge's scorecards and the post-fight interview was set.

Live on network television the fans were being treated to Sonnen's genius on the mic.

"Are you not mesmerized?"

Yes, we were.

The comical post-fight promo was the beginning of the UFC 148 build-up. Sonnen took care of Bisping and would start compiling his promos against Silva the rest of the way. The road to the biggest rematch in company history was on.