UFC 127 Fight Card: The 10 Best UFC Fight Cards Contested on Foreign Soil
Over the recent years, the UFC has expanded its global presence and it appears that it will continue to do so.
In 2010, the organization had seven events outside of the United States of America. Recently, Dana White announced the company's intentions to hold a season of The Ultimate Fighter in the Philippines, possibly in 2011.
The UFC's next international event, UFC 127, will be held in Sydney, Australia on Saturday, February 26, 2011. With a former UFC champion and several other contenders on the card, this event promises to be one of the best ever to be held on foreign soil.
With that in mind, here are the 10 best events that were held outside of the United States in UFC history.
10. UFC 29: Defense of the Belts
1 of 10The final event before Zuffa purchased the organization, UFC 29 was held in Tokyo, Japan on December 16, 2000. The event was also the last time the UFC has visited Japan, though a return in 2011 could be a possibility.
This event saw five UFC champions (Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell, Evan Tanner, Tito Ortiz and Pat Miletich) compete.
Aside from Hughes, who was submitted by Dennis Hallman for the second time in his career, all of the then-current or eventual champions won their fights.
Of the seven fights on the card, only Chuck Liddell's fight with Jeff Monson went to a decision.
Furthermore, only one other fight even made it to the second round, so the event was full of exciting finishes.
If the financially troubled SEG ownership group were able to put on a solid show in Japan, imagine the spectacle that the UFC could become in Japan under Zuffa's direction.
It seems inevitable that the UFC will return to the land of the rising sun, but we shall see if the return event can measure up to UFC 29.
9. UFC Brazil: Ultimate Brazil (UFC 17.5)
2 of 10The first and only UFC event to be held in Brazil, UFC 17.5 featured some of the biggest names in the organization's history.
Two championship fights took place at UFC 17.5. The first championship fight saw Pat Miletich become the inaugural UFC Lightweight Champion, while the second allowed Frank Shamrock to retain his UFC Middleweight Championship with a win over John Lober.
Also, Pedro Rizzo and Wanderlei Silva made their UFC debuts at the event. Rizzo was successful in knocking out Tank Abbott, but Silva was quickly finished by Vitor Belfort.
The UFC plans to return to Brazil in August 2011 and will once again showcase some of the best fighters in the world.
A rematch between Belfort and Silva has even been rumored for the card.
8. UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson
3 of 10Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson headlined what turned out to be an excellent event at UFC 93 in Dublin, Ireland.
In addition to the closely contested main event, UFC 93 featured a fight between PRIDE Grand Prix and UFC champions Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Mark Coleman.
On the preliminary card, Dennis Siver executed a spinning back kick that led to a memorable finish. Also on the undercard, John Hathaway won in his UFC debut with a first round technical knockout.
Four fighters were awarded bonuses for Fight of the Night, which is usually a sign of a successful card.
Rua and Coleman were rewarded for their bout that nearly went the distance, while Chris Lytle and Marcus Davis were also given the honor for their fight that ended in split decision in Davis' favor.
7. UFC 70: Nations Collide
4 of 10Although this event held in Manchester, England, did hold fights with several notable fighters, it was the way UFC 70 ended that earned the card this spot on the list.
Heading into the main event, all the talk was about Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and his patented head kicks.
Ironically, Gabriel Gonzaga ended up knocking Filipovic out with a head kick of his own in one of the great upsets in MMA history.
Top heavyweights squared off in the co-main event with Andrei Arlovski defeating Fabricio Werdum.
Michael Bisping, Lyoto Machida and Cheick Kongo also competed and won at the event.
6. UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez
5 of 10The UFC's first event in Australia, UFC 110 did not disappoint the Aussie crowd. The event saw three PRIDE greats enter the Octagon and three rising contenders earn big wins.
Although Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was knocked out by Cain Velasquez, fellow PRIDE fighters Wanderlei Silva and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic came away with victories at UFC 110.
Velasquez's win earned him a shot at the UFC Heavyweight Championship, which he would end up winning.
UFC 110 also provided Ryan Bader and George Sotiropoulos with a platform to showcase themselves as contenders.
Sotiropoulos earned a decision win over Joe Stevenson, while Bader knocked out Keith Jardine.
Popular fighters Chris Lytle and Stephan Bonnar were even included on the preliminary card, but Bonnar's fight ended in somewhat controversial fashion, as he lost due to a doctor's stoppage because of a cut.
5. UFC 112: Invincible
6 of 10In terms of offering pure talent, UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi was certainly one of the greatest foreign-held events in UFC history. However, Anderson Silva's lackluster performance in the main event severely tarnished the way this event will be remembered.
Still, UFC 112 featured three great UFC champions (Matt Hughes, B.J. Penn and Silva), Renzo Gracie, and a rising star in Phil Davis.
Also, Frankie Edgar's win over Penn will go down as one of the biggest upsets in MMA history.
4. UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2
7 of 10Although the card was somewhat top-heavy, UFC 113 delivered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The event gave us a new champion and a new top contender, and marked the end of the road for one of the biggest draws in UFC history.
After a controversial decision in their first fight, a rematch was announced between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.
With a devastating knockout at UFC 113, Rua made sure the rematch didn't go to a decision again.
Josh Koscheck's win over Paul Daley earned him a title shot against Georges St. Pierre and a spot as a coach on "The Ultimate Fighter." After the third round ended, Daley threw a punch at Koscheck, which led to the UFC releasing Daley from the organization.
Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson also fought for the last time in the UFC at this event. After Ferguson was finished in the second round by Matt Mitrione, he was cut from the promotion and appears to have called it quits on his MMA career.
3. UFC 124: St. Pierre vs. Koscheck 2
8 of 10An event that also took place in Montreal, UFC 124 drew some criticism prior to the fights for its lackluster co-main event, a fight between Stefan Struve and Sean McCorkle.
Although the card may have been short on star power outside of the main event, UFC 124 was full of star-quality performances.
In the headline fight, Georges St. Pierre completely dominated Josh Koscheck to extend his streak of consecutive title defenses.
As a result of their inclusion on "The Ultimate Fighter," this main event was very highly anticipated despite the fact that St. Pierre had already defeated Koscheck earlier in their careers.
With his submission win over BJJ ace Charles Oliveira, Jim Miller showed why he could contend for the lightweight title in the near future.
Meanwhile, Thiago Alves also re-established himself as a contender with his win over John Howard at UFC 124.
Like any great event, UFC 124 included a significant upset in Mac Danzig's knockout of Joe Stevenson. That lackluster co-main event didn't turn out so bad either, as Struve recovered from a slow start to finish McCorkle.
2. UFC 83: Serra vs. St. Pierre 2
9 of 10An event that will always be remembered as the one that Georges St. Pierre reclaimed the undisputed UFC Welterweight Championship, UFC 83 was one of the best events ever held outside of the United States. It was also the third consecutive event on this list to be held in Montreal.
In addition to St. Pierre avenging his loss to Matt Serra, UFC 83 saw popular middleweights Rich Franklin and Michael Bisping pick up victories.
Demian Maia added a highlight reel submission with his mounted triangle on Ed Herman.
The embarrassment that was the fight between Kalib Starnes and Nate Quarry put a damper on the event at the time, but you have to admit that it provided some comedic relief looking back on it today.
UFC 83 also marked the debut of future UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez.
1. UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion
10 of 10London, England was home to UFC 75 and the best UFC event to ever be held on foreign soil. From start to finish, it was an event to remember.
Dennis Siver and Thiago Silva contributed to the three straight knockouts that began UFC 75.
Then, Houston Alexander added a devastating finish of his own against Alessio Sakara to start off the main card.
Additionally, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic lost to Cheick Kongo and Michael Bisping won in controversial fashion over Matt Hamill before the main event took place.
In that fight, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson defeated Dan Henderson in a fight that merged the UFC and Pride Light Heavyweight Championships.
Sean Smith has been a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA since October 2010. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @BR_Sean_Smith
