UFC 100 Ranks Atop the Top 10 UFC Events of the Decade

In the past decade, we have seen the sport of mixed martial arts grow from a barbaric spectacle to the fastest growing sport in the entire world. While there is a lot more to MMA than just the UFC, the fact remains that without the UFC, MMA would not be where it is today.

The UFC has put on some of the greatest fight-cards in the history of the sport throughout the past ten years. Without further ado, let’s look back at the top ten greatest numbered UFC events of the decade as we head into 2010.

10. UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz II (12/30/2006)

UFC 66 featured a highly anticipated rematch for the Light-Heavyweight championship between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. “The Iceman” stopped Ortiz in their first encounter, so “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” was out for revenge and motivated to not only punish Liddell, but reclaim his title in the process. 

Once again, things didn’t go Ortiz’s way and he was finished off in the third round from Liddell’s relentless striking offense. The co-main event saw a surprising upset as Keith Jardine knocked out Forrest Griffin in the first round of their 205-pound clash.

At the time, the event was estimated to be the UFC's biggest pay-per-view success with just over 1 million buys.

9. UFC 94: St. Pierre vs. Penn II (1/31/2009)

Taking place on the weekend of Super Bowl XLIII, UFC 94 featured a stacked fight card, headlined by a super-fight for the Welterweight title between Welterweight champ, Georges St. Pierre and Lightweight champ, B.J Penn.

The bout was heavily promoted, featuring a publicity tour to Canada and Hawaii, as well as the introduction of UFC Primetime, a preview show that cost $1.7 million to produce. St. Pierre dominated Penn for four rounds, overwhelming “The Prodigy” with a powerful wrestling base forcing a corner stoppage at the end of the fourth round.

The co-main event of the evening was a battle between two undefeated light-heavyweight contenders in Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva. Machida silenced his critics, displaying brutal knockout power with a first round stoppage over Silva. With the victory, “The Dragon” became the next challenger for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.

8. UFC 79: Nemesis (12/29/2007)

The UFC closed out 2007 with a monster-card, featuring two huge main events and a solid undercard.

UFC 79 was the night the long-awaited Pride vs. UFC co-main event between Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva finally took place. Despite being a few years late, Liddell and Silva went to war for three full-rounds, with “The Iceman” earning the nod from the judges.

The other main event was a rubber match for the interim-Welterweight title between Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre. Both Hughes and St. Pierre shared one victory each over the other heading into the bout so it was a significant fight for both men.

St. Pierre completely man-handled Hughes, taking the former champ down with an excellent judo throw before transitioning into an arm-bar to force Hughes to verbally submit thus claiming the interim championship.

7. UFC 49: Unfinished Business (8/21/2004)

Back at UFC 46, Randy Couture lost his Light-Heavyweight championship in under a minute to Vitor Belfort due to a cut. When the two met for the third time at UFC 49, Couture had unfinished business to settle with the new champion. The result saw Couture and Belfort fight a very exciting fight, with Couture controlling the action and finishing in the third round to reclaim his 205-pound strap.

Also on the card, eventual Light-Heavyweight champ and UFC hall of famer Chuck Liddell put on a striking clinic against Vernon “Tiger” White. Plus, David Terrell knocked out Matt Lindland in just 24 seconds and Joe Riggs submitted Joe Doerkson in an entertaining co-main event.

6. UFC 47: It’s on! (4/2/2004)

The original meeting between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz may go down in history as the most anticipated fight of all time. After months of hype and accusations of Ortiz ducking “The Iceman”, the two finally threw down at UFC 47 in a headliner that certainly didn’t disappoint.

After an intense striking exchange in the first round, Liddell dropped Ortiz like a sack of bricks in the second to secure the knockout victory. Speaking of knockouts, Welterweight contender, Nick Diaz surprised everyone in attendance by out-striking Robbie Lawler and knocking him out in the second round.

Other highlights from the event include, Andrei Arlovski’s third straight TKO victory over Wesley “Cabbage” Correira and Genki Sudo’s submission victory over a debuting Mike Brown, the very same Brown who would go on to become WEC Featherweight champion just four years later.

5. UFC 34: High Voltage (11/2/2001)

UFC 34 featured an abundance of future UFC champions and legends of the sport. The main event of the evening, saw then-Heavyweight champion, Randy Couture defeat Pedro Rizzo for the second time in a row with an impressive TKO victory in the third round.

Meanwhile, further down on the card, Josh Barnett—the man who would dethrone Couture in his very next fight—brutalized Bobby Hoffman into a second round submission from strikes to earn a shot at the title.

However, the most historical moments of the night came from Matt Hughes and B.J Penn.

Penn destroyed Caul Uno in eleven seconds and Hughes defeated Newton to claim the UFC Welterweight championship, slamming his way out of a Newton-triangle choke while knocking “The Ronin” out at the same time.

4. UFC 31: Locked and Loaded (5/4/2001)

UFC 31 was the second event promoted under Zuffa and it was the first that established the weight-classes that are still used in the UFC today. The card was stacked from top to bottom and provided the fans with a night of exciting MMA action.

The featured contest pitted Heavyweight champion Randy Couture against Pedro Rizzo for the first time ever. It was a classic 25-minute battle with Couture earning the unanimous decision victory in an exciting fight to successfully defend his title.

In the co-main event, Carlos Newton claimed Pat Miletich’s Welterweight championship with an unusual, head-lock submission maneuver in the third round. Chuck Liddell officially became a fan favorite with his 78-second knockout over Kevin “The Monster” Randleman.

Plus, B.J Penn out-boxed, boxer, Joey Gilbert and Shonie Carter scored a highlight reel knockout over Matt Serra via spinning back-fist.

3. UFC 52: Couture vs. Liddell II (4/16/2005)

After coaching against each other on the original season of The Ultimate Fighter, Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell met again at UFC 52 for the Light-Heavyweight championship.

At the time, it was the highest-grossing UFC event ever at the live gate, with $2,575,450 in ticket sales and it was also the night that Dan “The Beast” Severn was inducted into the hall of fame.

Liddell knocked Couture out with his trademark, overhand right to claim the Light-Heavyweight title that he would go on to hold for the next two years.

Liddell vs. Couture wasn’t the only rematch on the card as heated rivals, Matt Hughes and Frank Trigg fought once again for the Welterweight title in the co-main event.

A groin shot left Hughes open and Trigg immediately began pouncing on him and nearly finishing him with a rear naked choke.  Hughes weathered the storm, and came back with one of his patented slams before finishing Trigg with a rear naked choke of his own in a pivotal moment that will forever be remembered in MMA history.

2. UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 (12/27/2008)

The Ultimate 2008 was a card that looked amazing on paper and delivered inside the octagon.

The event promoted three huge main events including a trilogy bout between PRIDE rivals, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Wanderlei Silva. Silva had destroyed Jackson in the first two outings in PRIDE but “Rampage” avenged both of those losses, after a left-hook landed flush putting “The Axe-Murderer” to sleep.

The second headliner was an interim-Heavyweight title bout between Ultimate Fighter season eight coaches, Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Most expected a very technical chess-match between the two Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts but Mir shocked the world, displaying an improved stand-up game to become the first fighter to ever finish “Minotauro” in a fight.

The third and final featured contest was a Light-Heavyweight title fight between TUF season one winner, Forrest Griffin and TUF season two winner, Rashad Evans. Evans claimed the championship in the third round in a bout that earned “fight of the night” honors.

1. UFC 100: Making History (7/11/2009)

UFC 100 was hyped as the biggest event in the sixteen year history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It was a pivotal moment for not just the organization, but for the sport of MMA as a whole. At the end of the night, fans were left with a feeling of satisfaction that they had just witnessed history being made.

There were several question marks surrounding Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar heading into his UFC 100 rematch with Frank Mir.

However, Lesnar silenced his critics with an absolute mauling of Mir to prove that he’s both a UFC champion and one of the pound-for-pound most dangerous athletes in the sport today.

Another dominant champion prevailed in the co-main event as Welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre tossed Thiago Alves around the octagon like a child for five-whole rounds to score the judge’s decision. Also, Dan Henderson shut the mouth of rival coach from season nine of the Ultimate Fighter, Michael Bisping with a devastating second round knockout.

UFC 100 now ranks as the second-largest gate in UFC history and fell just $268,810 short of UFC 66's record $5,397,300 gate.