Power Ranking the 25 Best Free Events in UFC History

MMA fans love the UFC, and they love it even more when it's free on TV.

For over six years, they have been broadcasting fights live on Spike before spreading out and moving onto other television networks like Versus and now Fox.

With the help of the Ultimate Fighter, the UFC have become a household name, and it's the free events that really pushed the brand over the top and into the mainstream.

From the Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale and Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar to major championship bouts like Quinton Jackson vs. Dan Henderson at UFC 75, they have showcased just about everything in terms of excitement and relevancy on free TV.

These are the 25 best free events the UFC has ever done.

No. 25: Ultimate Fight Night 8

Long before Rashad Evans would become the UFC light heavyweight champion, he showcased his ever-improving skills on the feet when he knocked out Sean Salmon with a headkick in the second round of their fight at Ultimate Fight Night 8.

Also on the main card, Hermes Franca surprisingly knocks out Spencher Fisher for the first and only time in his career.

Heavyweight fighter Jake O'Brien made a statement in ruining the UFC debut of Pride veteran Heath Herring by winning a unanimous decision.

No. 24: UFC 89

The UFC traveled to Birmingham England for UFC 89, and they brought a fan-friendly card headlined by middleweights Michael Bisping and Chris Leben.

Bisping out-pointed Leben to win a clear-cut decision in one of his most impressive performances to date.

The most memorable fight on the card was a welterweight bout between Paul Taylor and Chris Lytle. Both slugged it out in a brawl that saw Lytle win a close unanimous decision that some thought Taylor should have won.

Other main card results include Luiz Cane stopping Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Marcus Davis submitting Paul Kelly and Keith Jardine defeating Brandon Vera by split-decision.

No. 23: Ultimate Fight Night 21

Pride superstar Takanori Gomi made his UFC debut versus Kenny Florian at Ultimate Fight Night 21, but the Japanese fighter didn't find much success in getting submitted by his much more versatile and submission savvy opponent in the final round.

Roy "Big Country" Nelson battled a 6'11" giant in Stefan "Skyscraper" Struve in a heavyweight bout to determine the next best contender in the division. Nelson overcame the height disadvantage and won by TKO 39 seconds into the bout.

Other results include Jorge Rivera stopping Nate Quarry and Ross Pearson defeating Dennis Siver by unanimous decision in the fight of the night.

No. 22: Ultimate Fighter Heavyweights Finale

For a card that featured two future UFC champions, looking back on it now really puts the significance of these fights into perspective.

Jon Jones would receive the only loss of his career after he was disqualified for throwing "12-to-6" elbows on his opponent Matt Hamill.

Frankie Edgar had trouble against his opponent, Matt Veach, early, but he overcame adversity and submitted him in the second round.

Both Jones and Edgar would go on to win UFC championship belts.

Other fights include Marcus Jones vs. Matt Mitrione, Kimbo Slice vs. Houston Alexander and Roy Nelson vs. Brendan Schaub.

No. 21: UFC Live Jones vs. Matyushenko

During the second UFC show to be broadcast on Versus, Jon Jones took a step up in competition in fighting former UFC light heavyweight title challenger and MMA veteran Vladimir Matyushenko.

Jones had no trouble in stopping Matyushenko in the very first round and would go on to eventually win the UFC light heavyweight championship two fights later.

One of the best knockouts of the year occurred in the fight between Takanori Gomi and Tyson Griffin. Gomi finished off his opponent with a right hand in the first round and is the only one to ever stop him in a fight.

Also, John Howard lost a unanimous decision to hard-punching Jake Ellenberger, and Yushin Okami defeated Mark Munoz by split-decision.

No. 20: Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale

This was a very intriguing card which featured many prospects in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions.

TUF "bad boy" Junie Browning fought Dave Kaplan in the opener. Wilson Gouveia and Anthony Johnson earned brutal knockouts over their opponents.

Ryan Bader fought Vinny Magalhães and knocked him out in the very first round.

Efrain Escudero defeated Phillipe Nover by unanimous decision in the main event.

No. 19: UFC Live Kongo vs. Barry

Originally, this event was supposed to be headlined by a welterweight matchup between Nate Marquardt and Rick Story. Unfortunately, Marquardt was not allowed to fight due to not passing his pre-fight medicals.

A heavyweight matchup between Cheick Kongo and Pat Barry was moved up to the main event, and it provided more than enough action inside one of the best rounds ever to take place inside the Octagon.

After being dropped twice and appearing to be on his way out, Kongo landed a devastating uppercut to put his opponent to sleep. Many consider it to be the greatest comeback ever.

Before the main event, Charlie Brenneman upset Rick Story and Matt Mitrione knocked out Christian Morecraft to improve their statuses in their respective weight classes.

No. 18: Ultimate Fight Night 19

It was tough to pick one standout fight on this card because of the entertaining bouts it provided throughout.

First, Nate Quarry and Tim Credeur showcased their chins in a slugfest for three rounds. Quarry walked away with a unanimous decision, but Credeur had picked up a lot of fans for his effort.

Before the main event between Nate Diaz and Melvin Guillard, welterweights Carlos Condit and Jake Ellenberger battled in a very competitive fight for three rounds. Condit was awarded a very controversial split-decision despite almost being stopped several times in the first round.

Gray Maynard defeated Roger Huerta in the co-main event by split-decision.

In the main event, Diaz made a statement by getting up from being knocked down to submit Guillard in the second round.

No. 17: Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale

This card is most remembered for its fight of the year candidate between Kendall Grove and Ed Herman. It was a back-and-forth war and was the grappling version of Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar.

As a result of both fighters' standout performances, they were both awarded UFC contracts even though Grove was given the decision. It was the last time Dana White ever issued two contracts out to two finalists in one fight.

Michael Bisping also made his UFC debut versus the very tough Josh Haynes. He defeated Haynes in the second round by TKO.

Other results include Keith Jardine defeating Wilson Gouveia by decision and Kenny Florian submitting Sam Stout.

No. 16: UFC Live Sanchez vs. Kampmann

This was a good event to be the first showcased in 3D, and the main event between Diego Sanchez and Martin Kampmann certainly delivered the goods in terms of action.

With his face bloodied, bruised and broken, Sanchez won a hard-fought unanimous decision in one of the best fights in 2011. It earned both fighters a special $160,000 fight of the night bonus.

Other standout performances on the card include Brian Bowles submitting Damacio Page for the second time as well as Chris Weidman making his UFC debut and defeating Alessio Sakara by unanimous decision.

Last but not least, Mark Munoz put C.B. Dollaway away 54 seconds into the first round.

No. 15: UFC Live Vera vs. Jones

The UFC hoped to put on a great show for their debut on Versus, and the card headlined by light heavyweights Jon Jones and Brandon Vera certainly delivered.

In what was supposed to be his biggest test yet, Jones walked through the former heavyweight and stopped him with an elbow in the first round of their fight.

Junior dos Santos continued his ascension up the heavyweight rankings when he knocked out Gabriel Gonzaga in the first round of their fight.

Alessio Sakara and Cheick Kongo also picked up victories in their fights.

No. 14: Ultimate Fight Night 14

UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva made his UFC light heavyweight debut at this event, and he took on a former HW fighter in James "Sandman" Irvin.

Silva made it look easy by knocking Irvin out a minute into the fight with a nasty right hand to the chin. The damage was done, and Irvin received a gruesome gash on his face.

Future champions Cain Velasquez and Frankie Edgar were also featured on the card and had no trouble in getting past their opposition.

The undercard featured one of the best knockouts and comebacks of the year when Rory Markham knocked out Brodie Farber with a headkick.

Other main card results include Brandon Vera defeating Reese Andy and C.B. Dollaway submitting Jesse Taylor.

No. 13: Ultimate Fight Night 6

Diego Sanchez and Karo Parisyan put on the 2006 fight of the year in the main event.

Sanchez defeated Parisyan by unanimous decision after three rounds of intense grappling and battling for control. One of the more memorable highlights from the fight includes Parisyan getting his tooth knocked out by a knee from Sanchez.

Also on the card, Chris Leben showcased his power in knocking out Jorge Santiago in the opening seconds of the second round in their fight.

Josh Koscheck defeated Jonathan Goulet by submission due to strikes in their matchup.

No. 12: Ultimate Fight Night 11

Kenny Florian stepped in for Spencer Fisher to take on Din Thomas in the main event of Ultimate Fight Night 11. Florian won the fight by submitting Thomas in the very first round.

Chris Leben made a comeback in more ways than one when he rebounded from two back-to-back losses and a near knockout to knock out Terry Martin in the third round of their fight.

Nate Quarry and Pete Sell also fought for the second time and put on a very memorable war before Quarry stopped Sell in the third round.

This was a very entertaining card all-around.

No. 11: Ultimate Fight Night 10

In a rematch of a fight from UFC 58, Spencer Fisher got revenge in defeating Sam Stout in another stand-up war at Ultimate Fight Night 10.

Fisher came out looking like the loser, but he had done enough to win a unanimous decision after three rounds.

Jon Fitch gets a comeback submission victory over Roan Carneiro in the co-main event and continues to build his extensive win streak in the UFC's welterweight division.

Dynamite-puncher Drew McFedries blasted away Jordan Radev 33 seconds into the first round of their middleweight bout.

No. 10: UFC 70

3.5 million people tuned in for the main event at UFC 70, and it turned out to be one of the most memorable moments in UFC history.

Gabriel Gonzaga stunned the MMA world when he knocked out one of Pride's most marketable and exciting fighters in Mirko "Cro Cop" Flipovic with a headkick in the very first round.

In the co-main event, Andrei Arlovski had no problem in getting past Fabricio Werdum to win a decision.

In the fight of the night, Michael Bisping stopped Elvis Sinosic in the second round.

No. 9: Ultimate Fight Night 5

Anderson Silva introduced himself to the UFC world on this card after stopping an unstoppable force in Chris Leben in just 49 seconds of the very first round.

It would be the fight that started the record-breaking run of the current UFC middleweight champion, and it is arguably his most memorable performance.

Other main card bouts include Stephan Bonnar vs. Rashad Evans, Jorge Gurgel vs. Mark Hominick and Jonathan Goulet vs. Luke Cummo.

Goulet, Hominick and Evans all earned hard-fought decision victories to even out a very exciting and defining card.

No. 8: UFC Live Hardy vs. Lytle

Before Chris Lytle's fight with Dan Hardy, Lytle announced it would be his final fight in a 12-year career of over 50 fights.

He went out fighting in the same way he had done so many times before and submitted Hardy in the third round. He was awarded a fight of the night bonus and a submission of the night bonus for his effort and went out on a high note unlike many fighters do.

Also, WEC lightweights Ben Henderson and Donald Cerrone made big statements in their fights by defeating Jim Miller and Charles Oliveira in main card bouts.

No. 7: UFC 95

Diego Sanchez made his lightweight debut at UFC 95 and made a successful entrance into the stacked division after defeating Joe Stevenson in the fight of the night.

The other bouts from the main card all had memorable finishes, including Paulo Thiago's knockout of Josh Koscheck as well as Nate Marquardt's Street Fighter combination to finish off Wilson Gouveia.

In the co-main event, Dan Hardy knocked out Rory Markham in the first round.

Demian Maia opened up the card and showcased his BJJ black belt skills by submitting Chael Sonnen in the first round.

No. 6: UFC Fight for the Troops 1

For the first UFC Fight for the Troops card, they went to the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina and brought a stacked card full of exciting matchups.

In the main event, Josh Koscheck earned a highlight reel knockout of Yoshiyuki Yoshida in the very first round.

Other memorable finishes include Mike Swick stopping Jonathan Goulet 33 seconds into their fight as well as Steve Cantwell's infamous armbar of Razak Al-Hassan.

Jim Miller and Matt Wiman also fought each other in a lightweight matchup that saw Miller winning a decision after three rounds.

Ben Saunders' brutal knee-assault of Brandon Wolff also made its appearance on the broadcast.

No. 5: The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale

This card featured two of the best fights of 2008.

Before Roger Huerta and Clay Guida battled it out in the main event, Jon Koppenhaver and Jared Rollins fought in a grudge match that lived up to the hype and more. Both showed why mixed martial arts is so compelling, exchanging fists and elbows over three rounds before Koppenhaver eventually stopped his bloodied opponent in the final round.

Huerta was all but out in his fight with Guida before he pulled off one of the best comebacks you will ever see. He rocked Guida with a knee and finished him off with a rear-naked choke in the third round.

Other bouts include Ben Saunders vs. Dan Barrera, George Sotiropoulos vs. Billy Miles and Mac Danzig vs. Tommy Speer.

No. 4: The Ultimate Fighter Finale U.S. vs. U.K

Even though four of the five main card bouts went to decision, they were all very entertaining and featured many of the top challengers in each division.

The main event between Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida was 2009's fight of the year, and it was one of the best fights in the history of the Ultimate Fighter finales. Sanchez won a split-decision in a bloody, hard-fought fight between two of the most determined fighters in the UFC.

Chris Lytle and Kevin Burns also fought over three rounds in a bloody war with the majority of the fight taking place on the feet.

Three fight of the night bonuses were given out for this event.

Other fights include Nate Diaz vs. Joe Stevenson, Andre Winner vs. Ross Pearson and DaMarques Johnson vs. James Wilks.

No. 3: Ultimate Fight Night 13

This six-fight main card was jam-packed with intriguing style clashes.

The card opened with an eight-second knockout after James Irvin landed a superman punch on Houston Alexander's chin.

Before the main event between Kenny Florian and Joe Lauzon, there were a good amount of quality matchups, including Matt Hamill vs. Tim Boetsch, Nate Diaz vs. Kurt Pellegrino, Thiago Alves vs. Karo Parisyan and Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard.

Some of the more memorable moments include Maynard handing Edgar his first loss by decision and Alves stopping Parisyan with strikes.

The main event featured two fighters who love to finish their opponents, but it would be Florian who would come out on top by stopping Lauzon in the second round.

No. 2: UFC 75

The UFC's fourth trip to Europe brought a very anticipated main event between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Dan Henderson.

Jackson, who was the UFC light heavyweight champion at the time, defeated the two-time Pride champion after five high-paced rounds to successfully defend his title.

Matt Hamill and Michael Bisping fought three rounds before "The Count" walked away with a controversial split-decision victory that is still debated to this day.

Also on the card, Houston Alexander and Marcus Davis finished off their opponents in exciting fashion, while Cheick Kongo picked up the biggest win of his career over Mirko "Cro Cop" Flipovic.

No. 1: The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale

This event will always be No. 1, and there's no way it can be replaced.

It featured the most important fight in the history of the UFC when Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar fought in three of the most exciting rounds to ever take place inside the Octagon, and it wasn't even the main event!

In the main event, Rich Franklin and Ken Shamrock fought in a passing-of-the-guard type of fight where one fighter was on his way up while the other was on his way out. Franklin knocked out Shamrock in the first round and would go on to win the UFC middleweight championship soon after.

Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian also fought in a division neither fighter has any interest of returning to at middleweight. Sanchez overwhelmed Florian in the very first round, defeating him by TKO.