Top 500 UFC Moments

499. Cecil Peoples’ over the top stoppage – UFC Ultimate Fight Night: After exchanging punches for just over 40 seconds, Nate Quarry sent Pete Sell to the mat. He was followed by referee, Cecil Peoples, who piled on before lying on top of both men “stopping the fight” for what appeared to be longer than the duration of the fight itself.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/28957

498. “Knockout” ends with no KO finishes – UFC 76: Knockout: What are the odds that a card featuring Chuck Liddell, Keith Jardine, Shogun Rua, Lyoto Machida, Diego Sanchez, Forrest Griffin, Jon Fitch, Jeremy Stephens, Rumble Johnson and more would end without a single KO? Too good. Lesson learned.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/85306

 497. “Wanna do it?” – UFC 121: After Brock Lesnar’s devastating loss to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121, WWE superstar, The Undertaker, briefly turned away from Ariel Helwani and crew to cryptically ask the former champion “something personal.”
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/29219

496. CM Punk’s debut – UFC 203: After a very public exit from WWE, CM Punk decided to try his hand at MMA. The UFC welcomed the known BJJ enthusiast at UFC 203 where he took on Mickey Gall.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/44695

495. Roy Nelson’s denial – UFC 143: It takes a special breed to get handled by Fabricio Werdum, lose by unanimous decision, go backstage with cameras rolling and explain to co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta that the judges must not have been paying attention. That’s where Roy Nelson comes in.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/30032

494. Flyweight tournament launches – UFC on FX: Alves vs Kampmann: The inaugural UFC flyweight title was in sight Joseph Benavidez. Yasuhiro Urushitani, Ian McCall and Demetrious Johnson fought for UFC 152’s flyweight title shot.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/30199

493. D-nied – UFC 210: Pearl Gonzalez’s UFC career was almost over before it started when the New York State Athletic Commission briefly banned her from her debut against Cynthia Calvillo due to her breast implants.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/55131

492. Sac-Town dance off – UFC Sacramento weigh-in: Instead of a handshake and intense stare down before their main event matchup, Paige VanZant and Michelle Waterson engaged in an impromptu dance off.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/47252

490. Craig White gives Diego a kiss – UFC 228 weigh-in: There’s being an aggressor and there’s barking up the wrong tree. Craig White jumped straight to option 2 when he gave Diego Sanchez a kiss at the UFC 228 weigh-in.
Weigh-in here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/64341

489. Robbie Lawler mirage – UFC 195 post-fight press conference: After his third straight Fight of the Year bout, welterweight champ, Robbie Lawler, was a household name, right? Wrong. A reporter had a question for Lawler that left an awkward tension in the air when he realized he was directing his question toward Albert Tumenov instead of the champ.
Press conference here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/36918

488. Woodley gets his black belt – UFC 228: In his fourth successful welterweight title defense, Tyron Woodley submitted Darren Till by way of D’Arce choke and received his black belt from Din Thomas before showing more emotion than he had since winning the title at UFC 201.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/65189

487. “Victor” Belfort – UFC 12: Joe Rogan is a fan favorite among UFC fans today but few remember his UFC 12 debut where he made numerous references to UFC 12 champion, Vitor Belfort, as “Victor.”
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/32281

486. Rashad’s “Personal Earthquake” – 2019 UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony: How does a fighter make himself stand out when tasked with speaking between Diego Sanchez and Michael Bisping? By summoning an earthquake.
Full ceremony here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/95859

484. Forrest fractures reporter’s leg – May 6, 2007: When RawVegas had a few questions for UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin, VP Eric Newby showed up late with a question for Forrest who told him he’d trade a kick for a question. One kick and one hairline fracture later, Newby admitted it was a bad idea.

483. Sean O’Malley smokes with Snoop – DWCS Season 1, Week 2: After introducing the world to the “Suga Show” with a first round KO, Sean O’Malley celebrated in style by lighting one up with the 213’s very own, Snoop Dogg.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/57729

482. Randy Couture and Mark Coleman finally meet – UFC 109: In a clash that fell through all the way back at UFC 17, Couture and Coleman finally went toe to toe marking the first time two hall of fame fighters shared the Octagon.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/29200

481. Debut of Nick Diaz, Karo Parisyan and Josh Thomson – UFC 44: As if a prime Andrei Arlovski, rising Rich Franklin and a Randy Couture vs Tito Ortiz title fight wasn’t enough. UFC 44 also saw the debuts of three future stars.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/30844

480. Ben Rothwell’s evil laugh – UFC New Orleans: After submitting Matt Mitrione, Ben Rothwell gave an Octagon interview that was as awkward as it was cringe-worthy and just enough to turn Ben Rothwell into a cult favorite among fight fans.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/40700

479. 6’8”, 616 pounds - UFC 3: Sumo-wrestling star and fan favorite, Emmanuel Yarborough made his UFC debut and briefly stole the show. After getting knocked down immediately, Yarborough got his hands on Keith Hackney, put the fear of God in him, threw him threw the Octagon and dished out some heavy trash talk before the two minute freak show was over.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/33018

478. Mark Coleman’s debut – UFC 10: Talk about an MMA debut. Mark Coleman stepped into the Octagon and took out Moti Horenstein, Gary Goodridge and Don Frye in one night to win the UFC 10 tournament.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/29767

477. Koscheck’s phantom knee – UFC 113: Ask yourself this, what’s the most Josh Koscheck thing of all time to do?
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/31718

475. Justine Kish has an accident – UFC Oklahoma City: After three rounds of giving it her all, Justine Kish showed Oklahoma City what it means to “leave it all in the Octagon.”
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/57491

474. Holloway’s spoiled debut – UFC 143: Max Holloway’s debut fight wasn’t exactly a gimme when he was pitted against Dustin Poirier who submitted him quickly.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/29074

473. Marco Olano’s arm break – TUF Latin America 2: During an Erick Montaño slam, Marco Olano went to break the impact by putting his hand out and proved to be costly as the impact left his arm looking like he grew a second elbow.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/43922

472. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – UFC on FX: Alves vs Kampmann: After dominating the first and second round, Thiago Alves came out just as strong in the third round, landed a monstrous right hand before being told to shoot for a takedown. In doing so he served Martin Kampmann his neck on a platter before being submitted with a guillotine.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/30199

471. Bisping’s Hall of Fame speech – 2019 UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony: Michael Bisping is never one to shy away from sharing his thoughts and after flat out stating he wasn’t going to read the speech prepared for him, all those in attendance and watching live were treated to over twenty minutes of The Count loose on the microphone.
Full ceremony here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/95859

470. Dana White’s Justin Timberlake rant – 2012: Cross Dana White and you’re treating the world to a beautiful interview. This was made very clear after N*Sync member turned global mega star ruffled White’s feathers backstage at the Nickelodeon Awards.

469. Jamie Yager quits on his stool – TUF 11: After a back and forth battle with Josh Bryant, Jamie Yager was staring down the barrel of a third round when he began to claim blindness, quit on his stool, threw a neck-brace on and had teammates help him walk to the on-sight ambulance.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/40977 

468. Debut of Frankie Edgar and Lyoto Machida – UFC 67: Both future champions took home decision wins.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/85800

467. Joe Son, the cross bearer – UFC 4: Aside from his role in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Joe Son has basically gotten more and more famous for worse and worse reasons since his UFC 4 debut but die-hards will never forget Son’s lone UFC walkout equipped with an oversized entourage and a cross that appeared to be about 50 pounds too heavy.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/30760

465. Debut of Big Nog – UFC 73: The two-time Pride heavyweight champion made his UFC debut with a decision win over Heath Herring just in time to finish out the last 11 fights of his career.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/85366

464. Diaz vs Riggs: The Hospital Brawl – UFC 57: After Joe Riggs beat Nick Diaz for three straight rounds, both men were sent to the nearby hospital where both Diaz brothers and Joe Riggs were somehow all three the aggressors and from Nick Diaz’s account, he won the rematch at the hospital.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/31481

463. Lesnar shoves cop – UFC 121: When Brock Lesnar was set to defend his heavyweight title against Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 it was quite obviously the biggest heavyweight fight in UFC history at the time. The electricity of it all had Brock Lesnar so hyped up he shoved a local police officer out of his way on the way to the Octagon much to Joe Rogan’s delight.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/29219

462. Dana White speaks at the RNC – July 2016: One of the biggest examples of the UFC sitting on top of the world was when UFC President Dana White was asked to tell his tale of Donald Trump seeing Dana’s vision in combat sports when others called it bloodsport.

461. Tank Abbott’s debut – UFC 6: No training, few teeth, nothing to lose. The world saw that street fighting was still an effective skill when they were introduced to D.L. “Tank” Abbott. While Abbott’s career evened out quickly, his entrance into MMA was felt as he was instantly one of the first fan favorites.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/31127

460. Kimo Leopoldo, the cross bearer – UFC 3: When your debut is against a man who walks to the Octagon in a train of Gracie’s, it’s almost your responsibility to find a way to match the theatrics. Kimo sure gave it his all. Signs, an entourage, a cloak and a giant cross.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/28927

459. UFC, doomed from the first words – UFC 1: One of the worst starts in a company’s history came when Bill Wallace’s first words on camera were, “Welcome to the Ultimate Fighting Challenge” before letting out a small burp.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/30323

457. First trip to Brazil – UFC Ultimate Brazil: The UFC’s first trip to the mecca of the sport saw Frank Shamrock, Pat Miletich, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, and many, many more.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ultimate-brazil

456. Shogun’s first win – UFC 93: After going 12-1 in PRIDE, Mauricio’s debut was spoiled by Forrest Griffin before taking on Mark Coleman and not only living up to the hype he brought to the UFC but avenging his lone loss in PRIDE.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/mauricio-rua-vs-mark-coleman-ufc-93

455. Hackney’s low blows – UFC 3: A moment that would fall under “the craziest moments” and not necessarily “the greatest moments” category is a memorable close up shot of Keith Hackney in a vulnerable position delivering multiple punches to Joe Son’s crotch.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/keith-hackney-vs-joe-son-ufc-4

454. Stefan Struve’s bloodbath – UFC 99: In the UFC’s first trip to Germany, the 7’ giant, Stefan Struve received a cut to the forehead so bad that both men were nearly swimming in Struve’s blood before he shocked the arena by sinking a rear-naked choke to win one of the most graphic fights in UFC history.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/stefan-struve-vs-denis-stojnic-ufc-99

453. Return of the lightweights – UFC 58: For the first time since Yves Edwards and Josh Thomson squared off at UFC 49, two lightweights entered the Octagon with Sam Stout defeating Spencer Fisher. It’s hard to imagine the UFC in 2019 without the 155 pound division.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/sam-stout-vs-spencer-fisher-ufc-58

452. Bisping sprays TUF contestant – TUF 9: Michael Bisping… After thinking he heard Damarques Johnson of Team USA say he’s “whiter than a Band-Aid,” he walked by and casually squirted water in his face before finding out that it was in fact Cameron Dollar who made the comment.
Full episode here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ep-909-battle-royale

451. Joe Lauzon’s debut upset – UFC 63: 21 years old, looks 15, what’s Joe Lauzon going to do in his debut? Knock out Jens Pulver and shock the arena.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/joe-lauzon-vs-jens-pulver-ufc-63

437. Bisping takes a spill – TUF 14: Never one to shy away from a celebration, Michael Bisping let his victory dance get the better of him after winning the coach’s challenge. Bisping climbed on to the air hockey table in celebration only to jump down and land flat on his back in front of both teams.
Full episode here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ep-1409-get-me-to-the-finals

436. Randleman takes a spill – UFC 24: While warming up backstage for the main event matchup with the heavyweight title on the line, Kevin Randleman slipped and fell on the concrete floor knocking himself completely unconscious. Needless to say, the main event was cancelled.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/first-defense

435. Robbie Lawler’s debut – UFC 37: They haven’t all bounced Robbie Lawler’s way but “Ruthless” has brought nothing short of 100% every time he’s stepped into the Octagon and with a UFC title and three “Fight of the Year” awards, it’s easy to see why amongst fans and fighters alike, he’s one of the most respected out there.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/robbie-lawler-vs-aaron-riley-ufc-37

433. “Take care of your underwears” – TUF 22: After a Team McGregor vs Team Faber scuffle that almost serves as the highlight to the season, David Termur calls out Cody Garbrandt and advises, “take care of your underwears. I’m going to f*** you, man.”
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/episode-2206-snake-in-the-grass

432. Rosie O’Donnel’s brother – The New York State Assembly hearing in opposition of MMA was almost must-see TV. While those watching were falsely led to believe that mixed martial artists were habitually biting each other’s ears off and other interesting stances, it was Hon. Daniel J. O’Donnell’s claims that MMA is simply, “gay porn with a different ending.”
Full 25 Years in Short, “New York State of Mind” episode here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/new-york-state-of-mind-the-story-of-the-fight-for-legalization-in-ny-state

431. Dana White’s Tyron Woodley rant – UFC 214 Post Fight Press Conference – The story of the night should have been only how successful UFC 214 was. Two titles on the line, the Jones vs Cormier rematch finally happening but it was impossible for Dana White to ignore the lackluster co-main event between Tyron Woodley and Demian Maia.
Full press conference here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ufc-214-post-fight-press-conference

430. Cannonier goes middleweight – UFC 230: Never much of a player in the heavyweight division, the Alaska FIGHTING Championship veteran dropped to light heavyweight, didn’t splash there. Then made the dangerous cut to middleweight and showed the world the killer he is against division stud, David Branch.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/jared-cannonier-vs-david-branch-ufc-230

429. Sister, Sister – TUF 28 Finale: After Antonina Shevchenko won her Contender Series fight, she made her successful UFC debut at TUF 28 Finale making her and Valentina the first sister duo in the UFC. A feat that would have been a laugh to think of a decade ago.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/antonina-shevchenko-vs-ji-yeon-kim-the-ultimate-fighter-28-finale

428. Hendo (kind of) takes UFC gold – UFC 17: Arguably the greatest fighter to never win a UFC title, Henderson came closer than he ever would when he won the UFC 17 middleweight tournament.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/redemption

426. BJ Penn’s double duties – UFC 84: In the closing seconds of the third round, BJ Penn caught Sean Sherk with a knee and unloaded fight-stopping punches. Perhaps it was showboating, perhaps it was Penn remembering Yamasaki was the referee, Penn stopped and waved the fight off on his own.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/bj-penn-vs-sean-sherk-ufc-84

425. Gabe Ruediger Part 1 – TUF 5: The first of our two-part series comes when Gabe Ruediger came to the TUF house overweight praying not to fight first so he could get in shape all while eating ice cream cake, taking it easy and skipping practice to get a colonic. Seriously.
Full episode here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ep-503-this-is-my-zone

424. Nate Diaz wins TUF 5 – TUF 5 Finale: Nate Diaz capped off one of the best seasons of The Ultimate Fighter by winning the six-figure contract. Unfortunately the fight ended in underwhelming fashion.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/nate-diaz-vs-manny-gamburyan-tuf-5-finale

423. Vitor wrecks Eastman – UFC 43: After a few seconds of not demolishing Marvin Eastman, Vitor Belfort unleashed and left one of the worst cuts in UFC history on Eastman’s forehead.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/vitor-belfort-vs-marvin-eastman-ufc-43

422.Handsome? Yes. Spencer Fisher-proof? No. – UFC 60: TUF 5 contestant, Matt Wiman had a tall task when he was pitted with the 18-2 finish-machine, Spencer Fisher. He found that out the hard way after eating a punch, shaking his head, shooting for a takedown, losing consciousness.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/spencer-fisher-vs-matt-wiman-ufc-60

421. Tiki in denial – UFC 40: After getting clearly knocked out and repeatedly beaten on the ground while unconscious by Robbie Lawler, Tiki Ghosn had the chance to take back his claims of Lawler being overrated but instead claimed the fight was only stopped because of a cut.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/robbie-lawler-vs-tiki-ghosn-ufc-40

419. Tony Ferguson scares Dana White…. Twice – UFC 209 and UFC 216: Always the unpredictable one, it's no mystery Dana White jumped not once but twice when Tony Ferguson randomly let out a Rick Flair “woo!” at faceoffs.
UFC 209 Media Day Faceoffs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvVdWChdAYE
UFC 216 Media Day Faceoffs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGs2YNPeTKM

418. Urijah’s revenge – UFC 157: Six years after winning by DQ, Urijah got the chance to get revenge over Ivan Menjivar for the illegal kick he landed on the California Kid six years previously. Cue submission of the year.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/urijah-faber-vs-ivan-menjivar-ufc-157

416. Kalib Starnes’ nonexistent game plan – UFC 83: A performance so bad it earned one of the rarest scores out there. A 30-24. For those unfamiliar with the sport, it’s actually hard to put on a performance that lackluster. Nate Quarry did anything he could to put together offense but Kalib Starnes’ backpedaling game was too sharp!
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/nate-quarry-vs-kalib-starnes-ufc-83

415. The Irish serenade Holly Holm – UFC 194 Q&A: Have you ever had an entire crowd joined forces for an impromptu serenading of Frankie Valli’s solo smash, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You?” Holly Holm has.
Full Q&A here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ufc-194-q-and-a

414. Noah Inhofer misses his girlfriend – TUF 3: Noah Inhofer demands Dana White break the strict “no communication” rule in place so he can talk to his girlfriend who suspects him of cheating. Dana gives Inhofer the chance to walk out or follow the rules and Inhofer quit immediately and flew back. In a FIGHT PASS Where Are They Now? episode, Inhofer and his girlfriend are happily living in Hawaii years later.
Full episode here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ep-306-the-letter
Full Where Are They Now? episode here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/episode-2-noah-inhofer

412. Ken Shamrock becomes first super fight champion – UFC 6: After defeating Dan “The Beast” Severn, Ken Shamrock became the first to hoist the super fight belt.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ken-shamrock-vs-dan-severn-ufc-6

411. Rumble Retires – UFC 210: Choosing not to answer any of Joe Rogan’s questions after his loss to Daniel Cormier, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson left the sport without warning. He left everybody a longing for more as well as one of the most passionate and composed retirement speeches in MMA history.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/daniel-cormier-vs-anthony-johnson-ufc-210-cormier-vs-johnson-2

410. Leben pees the bed – TUF 1: To clarify, Chris Leben intentionally peed the bed and not his own. With a little too much alcohol in his system, Leben decided to pee on Jason Thackers’ bed while he was away. What a way to kick off The Ultimate Fighter.
Full episode here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ep-101-the-quest-begins

408. Rampage vs Door – TUF 10: One of the most memorable scenes of one of the most memorable seasons of TUF. Scott Junk lost a close fight to Matt Mitrione which set Rampage over the edge and the door gym door paid dearly.
Full episode here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ep-1007-voices-in-my-head

407. Rampage finally conquers Wanderlei – UFC 92: Twice before, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson ran straight into the Wanderlei Silva wall. Once to for the Pride Middleweight Grand Prix, once for the Pride Middleweight Title. Fast forward four years. Fresh off losing his UFC title to Forrest Griffin, Rampage had nothing to lose when he unloaded all of his frustrations out on his old foe.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/quinton-jackson-vs-wanderlei-silva-ufc-92

406. Robbie Lawler’s faceplant – UFC 47: As if getting taunted, mocked and slapped the whole fight wasn’t bad enough, Robbie Lawler was also treated to a Nick Diaz right hook that put Lawler’s face in the mat.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/nick-diaz-vs-robbie-lawler-ufc-47

405. Makdessi’s spinning backfist – UFC 129: In his UFC 129 bout with Kyle Watson, John Makdessi shows the world exactly why you check kicks with your leg, not your hands.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/john-makdessi-vs-kyle-watson-ufc-129a

403. Rampage unifies UFC and Pride gold – UFC 75: With a dominant run in Pride, Dan Henderson walked into a UFC title fight with fellow Pride veteran, Rampage Jackson but lost by decision officially laying the Pride FC titles to rest.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/quinton-jackson-vs-dan-henderson-ufc-75

402. Nate Diaz’s double bird – UFC Denver: The Diaz brothers at it again! While locking up a triangle choke, Diaz began flexing at the camera before giving both middle fingers and THEN Kurt Pellegrino tapped out. In that order.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/nate-diaz-vs-kurt-pellegrino-ufc-fight-night

400. Junior and Breno – UFC 146: In an effort to show 9-year-old Breno de Carvalho a world beyond the dangers of Brazil streets, Junior dos Santos took him to the US to watch him defend his heavyweight title against Frank Mir at UFC 146.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/junior-dos-santos-vs-frank-mir-ufc-146
25 Years In Short “Take Me With You” here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/take-me-with-you-the-story-of-a-little-boy-and-the-ufc-heavyweight-champion

399. Get Brock some Coors – UFC 100: After avenging his loss to Frank Mir, Brock Lesnar took plenty of leftover energy to the microphone and gave a classic Octagon interview.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/brock-lesnar-vs-frank-mir-ufc-100

398. Dana White’s EliteXC rant – 2008: After finding out that EliteXC paid Seth Petruzelli to avoid wrestling with Kimbo Slice in their main event bout, Dana White delivered a fan favorite rant for the ages. “That’s f****** illegal.”

396. Birth of “mixed martial arts” – UFC 17: Early commentary staple, Jeff Blatnick coined the term and now, name of the entire sport, “mixed martial arts” at UFC 17.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/redemption

395. Peraira’s flash – UFC Vancouver: The UFC is no stranger to showboating or flash, but Michel Pereira laid it on a little too thick before and during his fight against debuting Tristan Connelly. Coordinated dances on the way to the Octagon, breakdancing in the Octagon and even a flashy backflip attempt to pass the legs of the downed Connelly, all may have looked nice but helped the heavy underdog take home the victory.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/tristan-connelly-vs-michel-pereira-ufc-fight-night

394. Forrest Griffin’s HOF induction – 2013 UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony: The everyman of all everyman makes good. Forrest Griffin breaks ground again as the first member of the Modern-era wing of the UFC Hall of Fame.
Full induction here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/hall-of-fame-induction-forrest-griffin

393. Lauzon comes home – UFC Boston: It’s been hard to watch the last few Joe Lauzon fights. He appeared to be trending down when he got the word that he was making his Octagon return after 18 months away from the game. Lauzon ran through Jonathan Pearce and sent the Boston crowd into a roar the city hasn’t heard since October 2013.

391. Rich Franklin’s debut – UFC 42: “The Ace” made his presence felt in his debut with a sub-three-minute TKO of Evan Tanner.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/rich-franklin-vs-evan-tanner-ufc-42

390. Sakuraba and Ken Shamrock’s debut – UFC Japan: Both legends of Japanese MMA had brief stints in the UFC but impacts were left as both men went on to win a UFC tournament and title, respectively.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ultimate-japan

389. Usman vs Askren – Pre UFC 235: It didn’t take more than a few milliseconds for Kamaru Usman to get in the face of Ben Askren after being called “Marty.” The altercation led to one of the most entertaining press conferences to date.

388. Nick Diaz and Conor’s mutual admiration – The Time is Now press conference: It seemed like an odd question to everybody in the room when Nick Diaz and Conor McGregor were asked what they thought of one another’s fighting styles and the answers couldn’t have been simpler or more perfect. “I like it.” And “I like it too.”
Full press conference here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/the-time-is-now-press-conference

386. Last tournament – UFC 23: UFC 23 marked the last time a UFC card was mainly tournament-based with half of the card a middleweight tournament, won by Kenichi Yamamoto.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ultimate-japan-2event

385. Bas Rutten and Evan Tanner’s debut – UFC 18: One would go on to be a UFC champion and the other, a member of almost every promotion’s hall of fame. Both made their Octagon debut at UFC 18.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/the-road-to-the-heavyweight-title

384. TUF 3 kicks off – 2006: A rather underrated season of TUF aired that brought the world classic moments from Michael Bisping, Matt Hamill, Ed Herman, Kendall Grove as well as constant barking between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock left fans with new watercooler talk every week.
Episode 1 here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ep-301-fresh-meat

383. Dana White’s Larry Merchant rant – 2011: Dana White let the world know how he felt about Larry Merchant telling Floyd Mayweather he would kick his ass and he let us know in spectacular fashion.

382. Steve Jennum wins UFC 3 – UFC 3: For the first time in the first two and a half events, the field had a chance of winning a UFC tournament when Royce Gracie expended all of his energy in the quarterfinal of his win over Kimo Leopoldo and chose to bow out. Alternate, Steve Jennum stepped in and defeated Harold Howard in under 90 seconds. Jennum would go on to win only one more fight in his MMA career.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/the-american-dream

380. Bring in the judges – UFC 7.5: A giant leap toward present day UFC came when judges were introduced at UFC 7.5.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ultimate-ultimate-95

379. Jose Aldo’s debut – UFC 129: After going 8-0 in the WEC, taking out Urijah Faber, Cub Swanson, Manny Gamburyan and everybody else the WEC could throw at him, 19-1 Jose Aldo made his UFC debut at UFC 129 with Fight of the Night honors against Mark Hominick.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/jose-aldo-vs-mark-hominick-ufc-129

378. Anderson’s clinic – UFC 101: Anderson Silva was already murdering everybody in the middleweight division and the UFC had some expectations to meet after the wildly successful UFC 100, so they sent him up to light heavyweight. Silva fought Forrest Griffin and seemed to move as if he were in a kung fu film and finished Griffin with a shot that, to the naked eye, appeared almost harmless.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/anderson-silva-vs-forrest-griffin-ufc-101

377. Cruz and Faber into the fire – UFC 132: Few came into the UFC with a built-in rival. Dominick Cruz brought a 17-1 record, WEC bantamweight title and hatred for Urijah Faber into the Octagon for the first ever UFC bantamweight title fight. Set to avenge his only loss to the California Kid, Cruz threw everything in the arsenal at Faber, reclaimed his loss and set the bar for bantamweights almost impossibly high.
Faber vs Cruz 1 here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/urijah-faber-vs-dominick-cruz-wec-26
Faber vs Cruz 2 here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/dominick-cruz-vs-urijah-faber-ufc-132

375. Over, under 200? – UFC 12: UFC 12 brought us even closer to the UFC we know today when they divided fighters into weight classes starting with the “over 200” and “under 200” weight classes.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/judgement-day

374. “Why do you do that?” – UFC 155: After the upset KO at UFC on Fox, Junior dos Santos was back in the Octagon with heavyweight wrestling powerhouse, Cain Velasquez. Velasquez made a statement in the rematch by demolishing JDS for five straight rounds. Despite never giving an inch, JDS lost and heard thunderous booing from the crowd. Rewatching Junior’s Octagon interview should tug the heart strings of anybody with a soul.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/cain-velasquez-vs-junior-dos-santos-ufc-155

373. Lightweights steal the show – UFC 35: Jens Pulver and BJ Penn squared off in the main event of UFC 35 marking the first time lightweights would main event a card, also setting in motion season 5 of TUF and their classic rematch at the TUF 5 Finale.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/jens-pulver-vs-bj-penn-ufc-35

372. BJ Penn’s debut – UFC 31: The demise has been evident, but BJ Penn’s debut and early career was nothing short of legendary. The Prodigy’s first professional fight came at UFC 31 where the BJJ specialist would score a TKO win over Joey Gilbert and only three fights later would be fighting Jens Pulver for the lightweight title.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/bj-penn-vs-joey-gilbert-ufc-31

370. Walls caving in – UFC 9: As the UFC was gaining popularity, they were finding out the hard way that not all publicity was good publicity. UFC pay-per-views were being pulled and they were getting on the wrong side of very powerful figures. Out of desperation the UFC quickly implemented more rules to try and appease the courts and the event went on to be the worst event so far.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/motor-city-madness

369. Melendez vs Sanchez – UFC 166: Strikeforce machine, Gilbert Melendez didn’t get the UFC start that he was hoping for in his loss to Benson Henderson but was put up against the resident psycho, Diego Sanchez. The two went to war in quite easily one of the greatest fights in UFC history.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/gilbert-melendez-vs-diego-sanchez-ufc-166

368. Sweet Caroline! – UFC Liverpool: The entire night had been a giant build up to the hometown hero, Darren Till making his way to the Octagon and when he did he did it to the tune of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.” The crowd shook the arena with the ovation and karaoke jam.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ufc-liverpool-2018

367. Gustafsson proposes – UFC Stockholm: It was most definitely Alexander Gustafsson’s day on April 14, 2012.  He defeated Thiago Silva, pushed his record to 14-1 and proposed to his girlfriend after the fight. All in front of his hometown crowd.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/alexander-gustafsson-vs-thiago-silva-ufc-fight-night

365. Adesanya’s big night – UFC 243: 18-0 Israel Adesanya’s presence has been felt since he first stepped foot in the Octagon at UFC 221. With a Donald Cerrone type of fight output, Adesanya found himself in a title fight at UFC 243 against Robert Whittaker and bringing home the belt in front of 57,000 fans. The most in UFC history.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ufc-243

364. Cain Velasquez’s debut – UFC 83: A man who is most definitely in the conversation of greatest heavyweight of all time, Cain Velasquez made his debut at UFC 83 in his first round TKO victory over Brad Morris.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/cain-velasquez-vs-brad-morris-ufc-83

363. Joe Lauzon vs Jamie Varner – UFC on Fox: Anybody who wasn’t a fan of Joe Lauzon before was after his fight with former WEC champion, Jamie Varner. Lauzon was eating some of the best shots Varner had to offer, pushed pressure, put himself into a guillotine but rallied back to score a miraculous triangle.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/joe-lauzon-vs-jamie-varner-ufc-fight-night

362. Zuffa’s first big show – UFC 40: Andrei Arlovski, Robbie Lawler, Carlos Newton, Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz all did what they do best and showed Dana and the Fertittas why they put their livelihood on a product once deemed “too hot for TV.”
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/vendetta

361. Kimbo’s debut win – TUF 10 Finale: As if heads weren’t turned enough when Kimbo Slice walked through the door at TUF 10, it was an even bigger moment when Kimbo Slice defeated Houston Alexander for his first Octagon win.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/kimbo-slice-vs-houston-alexander-tuf-10-finale

360. Jon Jones’ debut – UFC 87: UFC 87 marked the debut of Jon “Bones” Jones. Jones defeated Andre Gusmaro by unanimous decision in front of the Minneapolis crowd before becoming one of the biggest names in UFC history.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/jon-jones-vs-andre-gusmao-ufc-87

358. BJ Penn and Caol Uno fight to a draw – UFC 41: After a first round that was all BJ Penn and a second-round rally by Caol Uno, the third round was too close to call in the lightweight title fight and judges declared it a draw.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/bj-penn-vs-caol-uno-ufc-41

357. Coleman’s cakewalk – UFC 11: Mark Coleman took out Julian Sanchez in only 45 seconds for his quarterfinal win before a standard 2:20 verbal submission to strikes victory in the semifinals. His finals opponent, Scott Ferrozzo, however, was taken a full 18 minutes with Tank Abbott and forfeit before the finals starting, making Mark Coleman champion by default.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/the-proving-ground

356. Well, it can’t get worse – UFC 33: Eight fights, six submissions, a pay per view cut off and one unhappy Dana White, UFC 33 had it all because it had basically nothing.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/victory-in-vegas

355. Frank Shamrock makes history – UFC Japan: Frank Shamrock made his successful MMA debut at Pancrase: King of Pancrase Tournament against Bas Rutten in 1994. It was only a matter of time before he would come make history in the UFC and he did just that when he won the inaugural UFC light heavyweight title in his 16-second victory over Kevin Jackson.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/frank-shamrock-vs-kevin-jackson-ultimate-japan-1

353. Don’t forget protection – UFC 14: Thanks to Tank Abbott and heavy pushback from mainstream media UFC 14 would be the first event to require padded gloves to be worn in the Octagon.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/showdown

352. Cub Swanson vs Doo Ho Choi – UFC 206: The first round was the best round of the card, the second round was better than the first. Cub Swanson showed he was one of the most feared brawlers in the division and Choi proved it was going to take the best effort by one of the best strikers in the game to hold him down in 2016’s Fight of the Year.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/cub-swanson-vs-doo-ho-choi-ufc-206-holloway-vs-pettis

351. Rashad and Rampage finally meet – UFC 114: What may have been the most fun rivalry in UFC history that fortunately unfolded over the entire course of TUF 10 and beyond finally came to a head when Rashad and Rampage finally stepped into the Octagon at UFC 114.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/rampage-jackson-vs-rashad-evans-ufc-114

350. TUF 1 vs TUF 2 – UFC 92: Nobody wanted to see either man lose when undefeated TUF 2 winner Rashad Evans took on TUF 1 winner for his light heavyweight belt in the first ever TUF vs TUF fight.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/rashad-evans-vs-forrest-griffin-ufc-92

349. Rothwell submits Barnett – UFC on Fox: You read that right and yes, we mean Ben Rothwell. Heavyweight submission artist Josh Barnett had little to say after losing by submission for the first time in his career to Ben Rothwell. To put that in perspective for you, Josh Barnett was the youngest heavyweight champion of all time with 18 career submission victories. That’s a bad night.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ben-rothwell-vs-josh-barnett-ufc-fight-night

347. Matt Serra wins TUF 4 – TUF 4 Finale: Matt Serra, Din Thomas, Shonie Carter and others who had seemingly been chewed up and spit out by the UFC duked it out in the Comeback season of The Ultimate Fighter with Matt Serra defeating Chris Lytle by split decision earning himself a title shot against GSP scheduled for UFC 69.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/matt-serra-vs-chris-lytle-tuf-4-finale

346. Bruce Buffer debuts – UFC 10: What would the UFC be without Bruce Buffer? After multiple attempts at finding the perfect, golden voice for the UFC the search was over. The UFC found their man. With torn ACL’s, 360’s and suits that would make Craig Sager drool, it’s hard to imagine a UFC without Buff.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/the-tournament

345. Don’t boo Al Iaquinta – UFC Halifax: After a split decision victory over Jorge Masvidal, the displeased crowd let Raging Al Iaquinta hear it. And he let them hear it too. With a blood trickle from just below his eye that appropriately resembled a tear, Iaquinta shouted, “I fought my a** off!” along with many, many other things at the crowd before abruptly deciding he was done with the interview.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/al-iaquinta-vs-jorge-masvidal-ufc-fight-night

344. Till smashes Cowboy – UFC Gdansk: Undefeated Darren Till went from rising star to sure-fire title contender when he ran through Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in dominant, first round TKO.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/darren-till-vs-donald-cerrone-ufc-fight-night

342. Coleman comes home – UFC 100: Mark Coleman’s early career was a smash success by, hopefully, anyone’s standards. After winning UFC 10 and 11 tournaments, he defeated Dan Severn for the very first UFC heavyweight title at UFC 12. Coleman shipped off to Japan to fight for Pride before coming back to his original stomping grounds and defeating Stephan Bonnar for his first Octagon win in nearly twelve years.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/mark-coleman-vs-stephen-bonnar-ufc-100

341. Justin Gaethje’s debut – TUF 25 Finale: Very few debuts have been as anticipated as Justin Gaethje’s. After making a name for himself in WSOF for over three years, the undefeated brawler came to the UFC with intentions of swing hard and climb to the top. In quite possibly the most satisfying promotional debut, Gaethje proved that’s exactly what he was going to do.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/justin-gaethje-vs-michael-johnson-the-ultimate-fighter-25-finale

340. Sylvia and Arlovski’s one round war – UFC 59: Not many in the building gave Tim Sylvia a shot at UFC 59. Arlovski submitted him previously at UFC 51, he stood at the feared, undisputed champ and was an all-around threat. Both men threw, both men saw the ground and Tim Sylvia avenged his UFC 51 loss, taking home the heavyweight title.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/tim-sylvia-vs-andrei-arlovski-ufc-59

339. Mighty Mouse becomes first flyweight champion – UFC 152: Demetrious Johnson would set in motion a reign of dominance that is still untouched by defeating Joseph Benavidez at UFC 152.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/demetrious-johnson-vs-joseph-benavidez-ufc-152

337. I’m yellin’ timber – UFC London: Everybody watching knew something exciting was about to happen when they saw Marc Diakiese’s creative shots flying. They got their wish in less than a minute when Teemu Packalen caught a right hand to the chin that resulted in a collapse the whole arena felt.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/marc-diakiese-vs-teemu-packalen-ufc-fight-night-manuwa-vs-anderson

336. Dana White’s Mario Yamasaki rant – 2018: Michael Chiesa’s rant about Mario Yamasaki was definitely good but put that same anger in Dana White and watch out. First ballot hall of fame rant right there on Fox.

335. Uriah Hall’s broken toe – UFC 175: After a blow at the two-minute mark of the first round Uriah Hall came up limping and between rounds retreated to his corner where the camera showed a badly misdirected toe. After the final horn, Hall stood up and limped to his corner before being announced winner by unanimous decision.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/uriah-hall-vs-thiago-santos-ufc-175

334. Tony Ferguson wins TUF 13 – TUF 13 Finale: Brock Lesnar called his shot when he told Dana White that Tony Ferguson would be going home with the six-figure contract. After his KO victory against Ramsay Nijem, Tony would not only win the contract but drop down to lightweight and go on a storybook run that’s still unfolding in front of fight fans everywhere.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/tony-ferguson-vs-ramsey-nijem-tuf-13-finale

333. Poirier vs Holloway 1 – UFC 143: 4-0 Max Holloway came into the UFC with buzz and a hint of “it’s too early to tell” when he was matched up with 12-1 Dustin Poirier in the climax of the UFC 143 prelims. Fans watching were treated to a quick submission win for Poirier and the setting of the table for their high stakes rematch 7 years later.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ufc-143-prelim-dustin-poirier-vs-max-holloway

332. Arlovski becomes baddest heavyweight – UFC 51: At UFC 51, Andrei Arlovski went from the dude you didn’t want to see on the way up the division to the guy you had to see when he submitted Tim Sylvia for the UFC heavyweight title.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/andrei-arlovski-vs-tim-sylvia-ufc-51

331. Georges St-Pierre’s debut – UFC 46: GSP began his MMA career undefeated fighting in Canadian promotions. The brass at the UFC knew “Rush” to be a fan favorite but the number of fans that St-Pierre brought and the skill he possessed made him one of the biggest stars in MMA history.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/georges-stpierre-vs-karo-parisyan-ufc-46

330. Diego, Stephan and the asparagus – TUF 1: Beyond every shove, punch, full on fight or shouting match, it’s still hard to top the original when Diego Sanchez was hogging all the asparagus and Stephan Bonner confronted him.
Full episode here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ep-102-team-challenges

329. Abu Dhabi 1 – UFC 112: Not only was it the UFC’s first outdoor stadium show, but it was in such high demand that it was built for one event only in the UFC’s first trip to the Middle East.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/invincible

328. Good eye, Mazzagatti – Ultimate Fight Night Silva vs Irwin: At UFN: Silva vs Irwin, there was a very repetitive formula. One that could have and should have been avoided.
Round one: Poke to the eye led Anthony Johnson to shoot for a takedown that halted the rest of the round.
Round two: Two pokes to the eye led Anthony Johnson to shoot for a takedown that halted the rest of the round.
Round three: Poke to the eye led Anthony Johnson to collapse and effectively lose the fight.
While it led to a rematch that “Rumble” Johnson won, it was a hard way to accept a loss. Mazzagatti even managed to make the hand raising at the end of the fight look difficult.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/kevin-burns-sv-anthony-johnson-ufc-fight-night

327. Dana White’s Oscar De La Hoya rant – 2018: After Golden Boy MMA’s inaugural show snagged the trilogy match nobody wanted between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, Golden Boy promoter, Oscar De La Hoya took to the airwaves to throw stones at Dana White who called into UFC Unfiltered and rain down boulders on the former boxer.

325. Yamasaki DQ’s Erick Silva - UFC 142: After Erick Silva dropped Carlo Prater in the main card of UFC 142, a barrage of hammer-fists led to referee Mario Yamasaki waving off the fight. After Silva’s celebration Yamasaki informed him that due to blows to the back of the head, Silva was being disqualified. With careful examination Joe Rogan is seen making no effort at hiding the “WTF??” expression on his face when asking Yamasaki, “Really?!”
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/carlo-prater-vs-erick-silva-ufc-142

324. The UFC 137 web – UFC 137: Nick Diaz was scheduled to take on Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight title, but the fight was cancelled due to Diaz dodging media obligations. The replacement fight would be GSP vs Carlos Condit but was cancelled when GSP injured his knee. Solution? Put Nick Diaz back in the main event against BJ Penn. When all was said and done it was clear that Nick Diaz was more than ready for his title shot against GSP.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/nick-diaz-vs-bj-penn-ufc-137

323. First European Champion – UFC 20: MMA legend Bas Rutten stopped by the UFC briefly to become the first European champion in UFC history, opening the door for future European stars to make their mark in the Octagon.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/bas-rutten-vs-kevin-randleman-ufc-20

322. Cris Cyborg’s debut – UFC 198: In the world of women’s MMA there were few names the UFC didn’t have but one of them was Cris Cyborg. After years of jabs at Ronda Rousey and the UFC, Cris Cyborg finally answered the “what-ifs” when the UFC created an entire weight class for her to fight at UFC 198.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/cristiane-justino-vs-leslie-smith-ufc-198

321. Tito takes out Wanderlei – UFC 25: Long before Chuck Liddell finally got the fight with Wanderlei he had always wanted, Tito Ortiz stepped into the Octagon with him at UFC 25 and battled his way to a decision victory. Read that back if you need to. Tito Ortiz defeated Wanderlei Silva.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/tito-ortiz-vs-wanderlei-silva-ufc-25

320. Lightweight title is back – UFC 64: Before Anderson Silva’s famous nose shattering knee of Rich Franklin, Sean Sherk and Kenny Florian reminded the MMA world that there was in fact a lightweight title after BJ Penn and Caol Uno fought to a draw at UFC 41. Sherk would go on to defeat Florian by unanimous decision.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/sean-sherk-vs-kenny-florian-ufc-64

319. Couture rains on Gonzaga’s parade – UFC 74: After Gonzaga landed the head kick heard around the world, he was 8-1 and across the Octagon from heavyweight champion Randy Couture. The fairytale would dictate he shocks the world again and takes home the title. Unfortunately his story led him under a flurry of Couture punches and that was it.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/randy-couture-vs-gabriel-gonzaga-ufc-74

318. Joe Rogan and Vitor Belfort’s debut – UFC 12: UFC 12 saw the debut of two people who changed the UFC forever. Belfort, who was responsible for a number of the greatest fights in UFC history and Joe Rogan... Well, no explanation needed.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/judgement-day

317. Edgar ends Penn’s reign – UFC 112: After a historic run that earned BJ Penn a sure-fire place in the UFC Hall of Fame, Penn was pitted against the 13-1 up and rising star, Frankie Edgar. While the majority of the buzz was who Penn would fight on the other side of UFC 112, Frankie Edgar put a halt to that and effectively BJ Penn’s reign altogether.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/frankie-edgar-vs-bj-penn-ufc-112

316. Bisping goes blue – UFC 127: After weeks of taunting by way of words, dances and songs, Jorge Rivera had to face the music and step in the Octagon with a disgruntled Michael Bisping. Everybody in the crowd was treated to a second round TKO while everybody in Rivera’s corner was treated to expletives and spit.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/michael-bisping-vs-jorge-rivera-ufc-127

314. Shawn Jordan’s hook kick KO – UFC New Orleans: Shawn Jordan’s biggest UFC moment came at UFC New Orleans when he took on Derrick Lewis and delivered a second round hook kick knockout that would make Edson Barboza tip his cap. Well maybe not but fun nonetheless.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/shawn-jordan-vs-derrick-lewis-ufc-fight-night-1

313. Mike Perry’s broken nose – UFC Uruguay: Vicente Luque and Mike Perry both came to burn the barn down at UFC Uruguay. As if the slugfest wasn’t already on pace to steal the show, Luque landed a late knee in the final round before immediately attempting a guillotine submission. With Perry’s face down, the crowd could see a mysterious pool of blood forming underneath Luque. When Perry broke free of the choke the camera focused on a horribly, horribly broken nose on the face of Mike Perry that took twitter by storm.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/vicente-luque-vs-mike-perry-ufc-fight-night

312. Romero’s flying knee – UFC 205: It wasn’t necessarily the prettiest flying knee of all time but when Yoel Romero landed that giant knee to Chris Weidman’s face everybody watching couldn’t help but cringe.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/yoel-romero-vs-chris-weidman-ufc-205

311. Korean Zombie and the blood Diamond – UFC on Fuel TV: It was the kind of fight that regardless of who loses, both fighters gain stock in the division. Fight of the Year candidate to say the least when Korean Zombie edged out Dustin Poirier live on Fuel TV.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/chan-sung-jung-vs-dustin-poirier-ufc-fight-night

310. Romero’s a kisser – UFC 221: So, good news, bad news, bad news for Luke Rockhold at UFC 221. The bad news is he lost to Yoel Romero. Good news is Romero missed weight so Rockhold retained his title. Bad news is he had to stand there very awkwardly and uncomfortably while Romero gave him a congratulatory kiss on the cheek.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/yoel-romero-vs-luke-rockhold-ufc-221

309. Another Jon Jones bombshell – UFC 200 Vlog Series Episode 5: UFC 200 was set to be the biggest card in the history of the UFC headlined by Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier 2 until Dana dropped the bomb to Daniel Cormier. Jon Jones failed a drug test and was bowing out of the event despite the begging and pleading of Cormier. The raw reaction is enough to break anybody’s heart.
Full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVndLB0VXK4

308. Silva is also a kisser – UFC 162 weigh-in: Before taking on Chris Weidman for his millionth title defense Anderson Silva weighed in, walked across the stage and engaged in a stare down that went from intense to awkward when their lips pressed against each other.
 

299. Khabib’s 21 takedowns – UFC 160: To be fair, Khabib did miss weight by almost three pounds but his 21 takedowns over Abel Trujillo almost became painful to watch. Especially when a demoralized Trujillo began looking to the ref to stop Khabib from taking him down.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/khabib-nurmagomedov-vs-abel-trujillo-ufc-160

298. TUF 5 airs – 2007: It’s hard to deny TUF 5 as one of the greatest TUF seasons to date. With Joe Lauzon, Nate Diaz, Gray Maynard, Manny Gamburyan, Cole Miller and many more, more classic TUF moments stemmed from this season than any other before or after.
Episode 1 here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ep-501-its-like-anarachy-in-here

297. Cowboy breaks (more) records – UFC Denver: Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone adds his name, again, to the record books by winning his 21st UFC fight in a submission victory over “Platinum” Mike Perry.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/donald-cerrone-vs-mike-perry-ufc-fight-night

296. Tony Ferguson vs Everybody – TUF 13: Nearing the end of TUF 13, the cast was letting loose with some drinks to celebrate the season when Tony Ferguson went full “El Cucuy.” Beer was poured on his head and what started as a drunk wrestling match turned into a drunk fight and turned into an ugly mincing of words when Ferguson taunted fellow contestant, Charlie Rader for not having seen his son in over a year.
Full episode here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ep-1309-then-it-turned-ugly

295. Diego Sanchez becomes first Ultimate Fighter – TUF 1 Finale: It wasn’t exactly the fight the UFC or the fans wanted but it was exactly the fight Diego Sanchez wanted. “The Nightmare” took out Kenny Florian in under three minutes in the first round becoming the first Ultimate Fighter winner.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/diego-sanchez-vs-kenny-florian-tuf-1-finale

294. Korean Zombie Take it On, Take it Over! – UFC 140: Chan Sung Jung may have had the greatest first pair of fights in UFC history. Fight number one he sinks a twister in and fight number two he knocks out Mark Hominick in seven seconds. Here for a good time, not a long time!
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/chan-sung-jung-vs-mark-hominick-ufc-140

293. Benavidez used to what?? – TUF 24: Not Joseph Benavidez’s finest moment when he challenged opposing coach, Henry Cejudo to a sparring of words and said one of the most famous lines in TUF history. “I used to f*** guys like you in high school.”

292. Hug it out, knock it out – UFC 206: Donald Cerrone and Matt Brown put it to the floor in the co-main event of UFC 206. Entering the third and final round, the two showed what the essence of mixed martial arts was by smiling and embracing before the round. It was all business afterwards as Cerrone landed a head kick KO just over thirty seconds later.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/donald-cerrone-vs-matt-brown-ufc-206-holloway-vs-pettis

291. Paul Daley’s sucker punch – UFC 113: After faking an illegal knee, pre-fight chatter and getting bested for three rounds by Josh Koscheck, Paul Daley made the most costly decision of his life when he ran over and sucker punched Koscheck long after the final horn had sounded. Dana White announced at the post fight press conference that Daley would be cut immediately.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/josh-koscheck-vs-paul-daley-ufc-113

289. Conor and “that dork in the park” – UFC 196 Press Conference: McGregor was in his element, as usual, at the UFC 196 press conference when he was asked about weaknesses he saw in Nate Diaz’s game. McGregor kicked out an impressive song and dance before the unphased Diaz interrupted, criticizing McGregor’s lack of team talent and that while Diaz is training with warriors, McGregor is knocking out “midgets” and playing “touch-butt with that dork in the park.”
Full press conference here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ufc-196-pre-fight-press-conference-2

288. El Cucuy vs Showtime – UFC 229: There’s no doubt that going into UFC 229 the focus was on Conor vs Khabib. There’s also no doubt that for very public reasons the focus is still on Conor vs Khabib. But any true fight fan will tell you that Tony Ferguson vs Anthony Pettis stole the show at the UFC’s most “Notorious” event.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/tony-ferguson-vs-anthony-pettis-ufc-229

287. Record setting gate – UFC 243: 57,127 piled in to Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium to watch Robert Whittaker defend his middleweight title against Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 edging out the previous record of 56,214 set at UFC 193.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ufc-243

286. Derrick Lewis’ Octagon Interview – UFC Nova Scotia: Derrick Lewis completely removed his filter in his Octagon interview after his knockout of Travis Browne. From his uncensored thoughts on Travis Browne to the state of his bowels.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/derrick-lewis-vs-travis-browne-ufc-fight-night-lewis-vs-browne

285. UFC meet Las Vegas – UFC 33: While UFC 33 was a huge bust and still referred to as the worst event in company history, something good came from “Victory in Vegas.” The UFC had stuck their flag into Las Vegas for the first time.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/victory-in-vegas

284. Josh Barnett becomes youngest UFC champion – UFC 36: Josh Barnett defeated Randy Couture by TKO to become UFC heavyweight champion at age 24.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/josh-barnett-vs-randy-couture-ufc-36

283. Jorge Rivera rattles the cage – UFC 127: Jorge Rivera was betting on himself when he made comments, videos even songs mocking Michael Bisping ahead of their fight at UFC 127.
Full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLTniiY8BVc
Full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNUJTFjT4iY
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/michael-bisping-vs-jorge-rivera-ufc-127

263. Iaquinta’s 24-hour notice – UFC 223: Booking the main event for UFC 223 almost seemed to be more work than necessary after an injury pulled Tony Ferguson from the fight, then Max Holloway pulled, then Pettis disappeared. It was up to Al Iaquinta to save the day and on around 24 hours’ notice, Iaquinta found himself in a five round main event against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/khabib-nurmagomedov-vs-al-iaquinta-ufc-223

262. “His jaw is in trouble” – TUF 7: In the first seven seasons of TUF there had been countless altercations in the house, dangerous weight cuts, star building fights and the damage to go with it all. The sound that came from Dan Simmler after having his jaw broken by Matthew Riddle was new to the show as well as most of the fighters in the TUF gym.
Full episode here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ep-702-down-to-business?episode=true&catid=1137

261. Benson Henderson proposes – UFC on FOX: After a split decision victory that the fans booed mercilessly, Benson Henderson laid his championship belt down, dropped to a knee and proposed to his girlfriend in the middle of the Octagon.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/benson-henderson-vs-gilbert-melendez-ufc-fight-night

260. Robbie’s return – UFC 157: After making a splash in the UFC in 2002, Robbie Lawler fell on hard times and left the promotion to find high levels of success and popularity elsewhere before making his highly anticipated return against resident instigator Josh Koscheck. After controlling the fight stemming from an early takedown, Koscheck found himself on the wrong end of a Robbie Lawler left hand.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/robbie-lawler-vs-josh-koscheck-ufc-157

259. So who won? – UFC on Fox: After a scoring discrepancy, Demetrious Johnson was declared the winner of the flyweight tournament. The decision was later overturned to a draw which was supposed to result in an extra round. However, the error wasn’t noticed until later in the night.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/demetrious-johnson-vs-ian-mccall-ufc-fight-night

258. 2 of America’s most wanted – UFC 241: Nate Diaz made his return to the Octagon after three long years to take on Anthony Pettis at UFC 241. After defeating “Showtime,” Diaz was asked who he wanted to fight next. Most fans were wondering if he would call out Conor, Khabib, possibly Kamaru Usman, Diaz threw a curveball and called out the only other gangster left. Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/anthony-pettis-vs-nate-diaz-ufc-241

257. Chris Leben with the upset – UFC 116: With only one previous UFC submission, sharps weren’t exactly putting heavy money on Chris Leben submitting Japanese ground specialist, Yoshihiro Akiyama. Somehow, that’s exactly what he did with a triangle choke with 20 seconds remaining.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/chris-leben-vs-yoshihiro-akiyama-ufc-116

256. 10th anniversary celebration – UFC 45: The UFC turned 10 years old at UFC 45. With stars both old and new the UFC celebrated with the first two inductees of the UFC Hall of Fame, Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock and handing out Viewer’s Choice Awards to Gracie, Shamrock, Randy Couture, Tank Abbott, Mark Coleman, Pat Miletich, Marco Ruas, Dan Severn, Don Fry and Oleg Taktarov.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/revolution

255. The Heavyweight title is born – UFC 14: The 6-7 kickboxing specialist Maurice Smith fought Mark Coleman for 21 minutes in 1997’s Fight of the Year to steal the UFC heavyweight championship from the previously undefeated Mark Coleman.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/maurice-smith-vs-mark-coleman-ufc-14

254. Welcome to Slam-rock - UFC 16: It took 16 seconds to win the title and it took 22 seconds to defend it when Frank Shamrock slammed Igor Zinoviev unconscious for his first defense at UFC 16.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/frank-shamrock-vs-igor-zinoviev-ufc-16

252. Jens cemented in gold – UFC 30: Jens Pulver fought with Miletich instilled aggression and striking that few of the lighter fighters had ever brought before. “Lil Evil” etched his name in UFC history with his majority decision win over Caol Uno for the very first UFC lightweight championship at UFC 30.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/jens-pulver-vs-caol-uno-ufc-30

251. Big Nog steals the W! – UFC 81: The long time Pride heavyweight draw, Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira got his first shot at UFC gold. The submission specialist took damage early and often. Enduring a knockdown strike along with heavyweight ground and pound and failed takedowns before fighting through bloody eyes and weary legs to lock in the third-round guillotine submission making him the first man to hold a Pride and UFC title.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/minotauro-nogueira-vs-tim-sylvia-ufc-81

250. Tito visits Slam-rock – UFC 30: Not known for having KO power, it took a vicious slam from Tito Ortiz to put Evan Tanner to sleep at UFC 30.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/tito-ortiz-vs-evan-tanner-ufc-30

249. Koscheck’s trash talk fail – TUF 12: Ahead of Team Koscheck’s long-shot fight between their number 6 pick, Aaron Wilkinson and Team St-Pierre’s number one pick Michael Johnson, Koscheck was already visualizing his celebration if it went their way. “If we can pull this out, man… I’m going to run over there, you know, get in Georges’s face and motorboat his ass!” Complete with vocal simulation.
Full episode here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ufc-tuf-1203

248. Ortiz and the Fountain of Youth – UFC 132: With the better days of his career behind him, Tito Ortiz was looking for his first win in over five years. Unfortunately, he found himself matched up against 12-1 Ryan Bader. Inside the first two minutes, Ortiz sunk a guillotine that earned Submission of the Night honors.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/tito-ortiz-vs-ryan-bader-ufc-132

247. Down goes Wineland – UFC 165: Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson weren’t exactly in jeopardy of losing Fight of the Night to Renan Barao and Eddie Wineland but the other fighters who landed KO finishes knew where Knockout of the Night was going when Barao landed a spinning back kick to put a stamp on his bantamweight title defense.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/renan-barao-vs-eddie-wineland-ufc-165

246. GSP’s Walkout – UFC 129: The largest audience in UFC history at the time, UFC 129 hosted 55,724 in Toronto’s Rogers Centre and there’s no doubt they were all there for one man. Georges St-Pierre. The giant card had all the excitement you could ask for already, but when St-Pierre’s music came on and he came out of the tunnel, everybody in Toronto had hair standing straight up.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/georges-stpierre-vs-jake-shields-ufc-129

245. Cody and Maddux – UFC 207: Cody Garbrandt has clung to very little in his life but those he has attached himself to have been lifelong attachments. Before Garbrandt was ever champ, before his first fight in the UFC he developed a lifelong friendship with Leukemia survivor, Maddux Maple. When Garbrandt won UFC gold at UFC 207, Garbrandt felt fortunate enough to share the moment with Maple.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/cody-garbrandt-vs-dominick-cruz-ufc-207

244. Khabib’s reign begins – UFC 223: The man who had been absolutely mauling the lightweight division, one by one in flawless fashion was finally the man to see for the UFC lightweight title when Khabib Numagomedov picked Al Iaquinta apart for 25 straight minutes.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/khabib-nurmagomedov-vs-al-iaquinta-ufc-223

243. Rumble ends Bader’s run – UFC Newark: All was going according to plan for Ryan Bader. Win TUF, take out top names, make a name for himself. Next on the horizon was winning UFC gold. The number four ranked light heavyweight was eliminated from title contention when Anthony “Rumble” Johnson quickly added Bader to his long list of KO victims.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/anthony-johnson-vs-ryan-bader-ufc-fight-night

241. End of the Aldo Era – UFC 212: After defending the UFC featherweight title seven times, Jose Aldo was dethroned by a freak left hand by Conor McGregor. While his title run was over, there was a certain level of mystery as to how much of the fight was skill versus a lucky shot on the button. After McGregor was stripped of the title an interim match was held between Max Holloway and Jose Aldo. Max Holloway’s domination before a TKO finish closed the door on the Aldo Era.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/max-holloway-vs-jose-aldo-ufc-212

239. Charles Oliveira becomes submission king – UFC Sao Paulo: With his rear-naked choke victory over Christos Giagos, Charles Oliveira set the UFC record for most submission wins of all time with 11.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/charles-oliveira-vs-christos-giagos-ufc-fight-night-santos-vs-anders

238. Rockhold’s inverted arm triangle – UFC 172: Tim Boetsch found himself in one of the worst positions possible, from a grappling standpoint when Luke Rockhold had his legs around Boetch’s neck and Boetsch’s vulnerable right arm begging to be cranked. With plenty of time left in the round, Boetsch could no longer simply survive.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/luke-rockhold-vs-tim-boetsch-ufc-172

237. Hunt’s haka – UFC Adelaide: Before Israel Adesanya lit up the internet with his UFC 243 choreographed walkout, Mark Hunt was accompanied by 5 locals to perform a ceremonial haka as he walked to the Octagon at UFC Adelaide.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/justin-willis-vs-mark-hunt-ufc-fight-night-dos-santos-vs-tuivasa

236. Vintage Wanderlei – UFC 139: Wanderlei Silva tapped into his early days with a set of knees that only seemed to be missing the IVC soccer kick. Cung Le got off easy.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/wanderlei-silva-vs-cung-le-ufc-139

235. Garbrandt vs Dillashaw TUF Edition – TUF 25: This sure didn’t take long. Cody Garbrandt and TJ Dillashaw clashed in the first episode of TUF 25 and when Cody Garbrandt was told to “get the f*** out of [Dillashaw’s] face,” Garbrandt turns up the heat and grabs Dillashaw by the throat before the altercation is broken up.
Full episode here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/episode-2501-redemption

233. Alpha Male finally makes it – UFC 207: There would have been nothing for Maddux and Cody to celebrate if there was nothing for Team Alpha Male to celebrate. After years of chasing down that elusive bantamweight title, Cody Garbrandt defeated Alpha Male rival, Dominick Cruz for the 135-pound title.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/cody-garbrandt-vs-dominick-cruz-ufc-207

232. Nick Diaz blows off title shot – UFC 137: Nobody is quite as true to themselves as Nick Diaz. After fighting his whole life, the opportunity of a lifetime had presented itself. Diaz threw it away when he refused to participate in press conferences he deemed “beauty pageants.”

231. Falaniko Vitale’s powerbomb – UFC 43: In an era where slam knockouts were somewhat common, Falaniko Vitale’s UFC 43 slam KO of Matt Lindland shined the brightest.
Full fight here:

230. Frank Mir does the impossible… Twice – UFC 92 and UFC 140: No man had ever knocked out former Pride heavyweight champion Minotauro Nogueira. A strong feat of accomplishment for anybody in the heavyweight division. Frank Mir ended that run with his second-round knockout at UFC 92. No man had ever submitter Minotauro Nogueira. A strong feat of accomplishment for anybody who spends as much time on the ground as Nogueira. Frank Mir ended that run with his first-round kimura at UFC 140.
UFC 92 - Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/frank-mir-vs-minotauro-nogueira-ufc-92
UFC 140 – Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/frank-mir-vs-minotauro-nogueira-ufc-140

229. Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture’s debuts – UFC 13: Beyond just the UFC, UFC 13 saw the birthplace of two of the biggest names in all of MMA history with Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture hitting the Octagon for the first time.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ultimate-force

228. Bisping wins TUF 3 – TUF 3 Finale: TUF 3 launched the Hall of Fame career of Michael “The Count” Bisping, opening the door for some of the most entertaining moments and antics in company history but as the first international winner, Michael Bisping also opened the door for fighters all over the world. Ask 10 rising stars from the UK who their favorite fighter of all time is, chances are nine of them will say Michael Bisping.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/michael-bisping-vs-josh-haynes-tuf-3-finale

227. Dillashaw KO’s Garbrandt Pt. II – UFC 227: The sequel is never quite as good but when TJ Dillashaw put the spike in the coffin of his rivalry with Cody Garbrandt he did it with an explanation mark. While there will always be bad blood between the two former teammates, Dillashaw has already “won” the rivalry.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/tj-dillashaw-vs-cody-garbrandt-ufc-227

226. Fresh out of the frying pan – UFC 82: Dan Henderson was done no favors when he returned to the UFC and was fed to Rampage Jackson. After that loss he was fed to Anderson Silva and while he showed his toughness and put together a Fight of the Night performance, the unbeatable Anderson Silva won by rear-naked choke.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/anderson-silva-vs-dan-henderson-ufc-82

224. GSP’s plea for the title shot – UFC 56: Later that night… Georges St-Pierre became the first man to finish Sean Sherk who was 31-1-1 with only a decision loss to then champion Matt Hughes. After the decision was read, St-Pierre dropped to his knees and begged for a second chance at the title he was unable to secure back at UFC 50.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/georges-stpierre-vs-sean-sherk-ufc-56

223. Penn finally pays back Pulver – TUF 5 Finale: Jens Pulver defeated “The Prodigy” by decision at UFC 35 and while Penn wouldn’t lose again for over 3 years, he waited five and a half years including a brutal season of TUF to get back to Pulver and take back that loss.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/bj-penn-vs-jens-pulver-tuf-5-finale

222. “The split draw” – UFC 125: If not the most famous split draw in MMA history, it’s close. Maybe the most underrated rivalry in MMA history was pushed to a highly demanded trilogy bout after Frankie Edgar rallied back from early trouble and avoided falling 0-2 to Gray Maynard with a split draw.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/frankie-edgar-vs-gray-maynard-ufc-125

221. Bring on the light heavyweights – Ultimate Fight Night: Silva vs Irwin: After cruising to four straight title defenses, Anderson Silva became bored with the middleweight division, stepped up to 205 and even with PED’s in his system, James Irvin didn’t have the answer for “The Spider” who now had two divisions hoping they weren’t next.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/anderson-silva-vs-james-irvin-ufc-fight-night

220. Covington’s last trip to Brazil – UFC Sao Paulo: After a decision victory over Demian Maia at UFC Sao Paulo, Colby Covington took the opportunity to skip thanking the fans and complimenting Demian Maia but instead verbally rip Brazil and its inhabitants to shreds.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/colby-covington-vs-demian-maia-ufc-fight-night

219. Shogun’s revenge – UFC 113: After letting the first fight with Lyoto Machida get away from him, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was aiming to take full advantage of the immediate rematch. While the opening minutes consisted of crowd prepping for a long, even fight, Shogun landed 2010’s Knockout of the Year and took won UFC gold.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/mauricio-rua-vs-lyoto-machida-ufc-113

218. The reign starts here – UFC 53: Rich Franklin had taken out Ken Shamrock, Jorge Rivera and Evan Tanner in his first three UFC bouts. For a shot at the middleweight title, Franklin had to go back against Tanner who was gunning to take the win back but also defend his title. Franklin opened up Tanner’s face too far for doctors to pretend he was still in it and the Franklin Era was among us.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/rich-franklin-vs-evan-tanner-ufc-53

217. Gustafsson retires – UFC Stockholm: With classic bouts with Daniel Cormier, Jon Jones and Jimi Manuwa it appeared the only 205 threat to Jon Jones was Alexander Gustafsson. After two losses in a row and a fourth title shot seemingly down the road, Gustafsson took off his gloves and told the Swedish crowd, “the show is over guys.”
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/anthony-smith-vs-alexander-gustafsson-ufc-fight-night

215. O’Malley’s Octagon interview – UFC 222: Sean O’Malley introduced the world to “The Sugar Show” at Dana White’s Contender Series and earned a step up in competition at UFC 222 where he won Fight of the Night against Andre Soukhamthath essentially on one foot. After the war was over, O’Malley, unable to stand, gave Joe Rogan an Octagon interview from flat on his back.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/sean-omalley-vs-andre-soukhamthath-ufc-222

214. Royce wins UFC 1 – UFC 1: Royce Gracie shocked absolutely nobody when he cut through the competition like a hot knife through butter at UFC 1. It took a total of 4:59 seconds to defeat all three opponents to win the inaugural tournament.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/the-beginning

213. Elkins’ comeback – UFC 209: Joe Rogan, Jon Anik and Dominick Cruz were quite fond of the number 13 ranked rising star, Mirsad Bektic who left Darren Elkins swimming in his own blood for two and a half rounds before Elkins landed a right hand and a head kick that knocked out Bektic, sent the crowd into a deafening roar.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/darren-elkins-vs-mirsad-bektic-ufc-209-woodley-vs-thompson-2

212. JDS upsets Cain Velasquez – UFC on FOX 1: Cain Velasquez was the new standard for what a UFC heavyweight could be. Phenomenal cardio, athletic, KO power and suffocating wrestling. So when Junior dos Santos knocked him out in barely over a minute, nobody knew what to think. Especially when Fox realized the broadcast was now in the hands of the host’s improv skills since the five round fight was chopped down to a minute.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/junior-dos-santos-vs-cain-velasquez-ufc-fight-night

211. Matt Hughes stalls GSP’s reign – UFC 50: It was very clear there was something special about Georges St-Pierre from day one. It appeared he was going to make Canada proud in his UFC 50 title shot against Matt Hughes but the wrestling heavy fan favorite lost by armbar and forced to keep reaching for the stars.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/matt-hughes-vs-georges-stpierre-ufc-50

210. Another Diego walkout – UFC 95: Diego just couldn’t help but fill up his UFC 95 walkout up with positive vibes as he scowled the whole way out to the Octagon with shouts of “YES!” the entire walk. After one of the most famous walkouts in company history, Sanchez defeated Joe Stevenson by unanimous decision.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/diego-sanchez-vs-joe-stevenson-ufc-95

209. Gabe Ruediger Part 2 – TUF 5: When it was finally Ruediger’s turn to fight he was faced with the weight cut. After doing himself no favors at all the whole time, Ruediger had, in his mind, an insurmountable amount of weight to cut. BJ Penn and teammate Gray Maynard forced him into the sauna where he would spend increments of a few minutes at a time before stepping outside, begging to leave the sauna and eventually “passing out.” The ambulance arrived and his fight with Corey Hill was called off. Ruediger was effectively shunned by the house and later kicked off the show altogether.
Full episode here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ep-505-put-me-back-in

208. Dothan – UFC 12: UFC Judgment Day was scheduled for Buffalo, NY in the height of the “human cockfighting” controversy. The state of NY slammed the door on the event it was moved to Dothan, Alabama in the eleventh hour.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/judgement-day

207. Cowboy gets the Diaz treatment – UFC 141: When Nate Diaz and Cowboy Cerrone were matched up, fans knew they were in for the brawl of all brawls and Nate Diaz reminded everybody along the way, especially Cowboy, this wasn’t about sportsmanship and camradarie. This was a fight. Complete with trash talk before, trash talk after, off camera altercations and middle fingers between rounds.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/nate-diaz-vs-donald-cerrone-ufc-141

205. Cain picks Lesnar apart – UFC 121: The names in the heavyweight division are just a little bit bigger of a deal. For a long time, Brock Lesnar was the biggest name in the biggest division. Nobody knew just how one sided the beating when Cain Velasquez got a hold of Lesnar but he was quickly exposed as mortal.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/cain-velasquez-vs-brock-lesnar-ufc-121

204. Anderson’s masked faceoff – UFC 126: In the buildup for their UFC 126 showdown, Vitor Belfort accused Andrson Silva of wearing a mask to cover his true identity so what did Anderson do? Showed up to the weigh-in in a mask for a classic staredown.

203. Dillashaw KO’s Garbrandt Pt. I – UFC 217: One of the biggest and most passionate fights in bantamweight history came when champion Cody Garbrandt was set to defend his title and his team’s pride and take on Alpha Male defector, TJ Dillashaw. Dillashaw stopped the Garbrandt train in its tracks with a KO victory that left fans begging for a rematch.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/tj-dillashaw-vs-cody-garbrandt--ufc-217

202. The lord’s prayer – UFC 217: It was business as usual for Joanna Jedrzejczyk who was doing anything in her power to get under her opponents’ skin. Her antics led Rose Namajunas to repeat the lord’s prayer to herself to stay composed as the two faced off at the ceremonial weigh-in.
Full weigh-in here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ufc-217-weigh-in

200. Barboza’s flying knee – UFC Fortaleza: Edson Barboza is no stranger to a flashy knockout. When he ate a knee from Beneil Dariush it didn’t take but a few seconds before landing one of his own that knocked Dariush out cold.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/edson-barboza-vs-beneil-dariush-ufc-fight-night-belfort-vs-gastelum

199. Another Mark Hunt walk off KO – UFC Saitama: Mark Hunt let the world know he was the only one not shocked when he did the impossible and knocked out Roy Nelson by his signature knock out walk off.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/mark-hunt-vs-roy-nelson-ufc-fight-night

198. Nick Diaz vs Anderson Silva – UFC 183: Nick Diaz is not one to be outdone so when Anderson Silva got flashy, Diaz got flashy right back even completely laying down on the canvas to beat Silva at his own game. However, Silva won the fight by unanimous decision which was overturned due to PED’s but then ruled a no contest because Nick Diaz tested positive for marijuana, to nobody’s surprise.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/anderson-silva-vs-nick-diaz-ufc-183

197. Don’t talk about Michael Chiesa’s mom – UFC Summer Press Conference: All the trash talk in the world was bouncing off of Michael Chiesa until Kevin Lee mentioned his mom. A fight immediately broke out in defense of Mrs. Chiesa.
Full press conference here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/summer-kickoff-press-conference

196. “Then treat me like a b….” – TUF 10: Possibly the biggest scene from possibly the biggest season of TUF went down when Rashad was accused of calling Rampage Jackson a “b****” in cowardice fashion. The camera that was focused on a laughing Rampage Jackson soon also had Rashad Evans in the frame as the two had a nose to nose heated conversation that featured the word “b****” dozens of times.
Full episode here:

195. “So what’s your question?” – UFC 205 press conference: When Dana White took one more question at the UFC 205 press conference the mic fell into the hands of the man who stole the show. A fan posing as a reporter directed a very, very biased question in the direction of Eddie Alvarez that both dumbfounded him as well as filled McGregor with Irish giddiness.
Full press conference here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ufc-205-press-conference

194. Derrick Lewis’ balls are hot – UFC 229: After salvaging a fight by knocking out Alexander Volkov with 11 seconds left in the fight, Derrick Lewis took off his shorts before being told by event staff to put them back on. As he was putting them back on, Joe Rogan approached with the microphone and asked why he took his pants off to which Lewis responded with a sentence that shook social media and the T-Mobile Arena. “’Cause my balls was hot.”
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/derrick-lewis-vs-alexander-volkov-ufc-229

192. 20 pounds in 24 hours – TUF 1: When the UFC took the fans behind the scenes in the first season of TUF they got a deeper look at what goes into fighter preparation. Bobby Southworth earned the MMA community a lot more respect when viewers saw him cut 20 pounds in 24 hours to make weight for his fight against Lodune Sincaid.
Full episode here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ep-103-making-weight

191. First UFC Fan Expo – 2009: The UFC had finally reached a point where the legs were sturdy enough to host a fan expo. The fans were as excited to meet the fighters as the fighters were to meet the fans. It was a huge stride knowing public demand was now to meet the men of the UFC instead of ridicule them.

190. UFC PI Opens - 2017: The UFC now stood toe-to-toe with every major sport when they opened the PI. Athletes would now progress even faster as the UFC opened an in house Performance Institute for the safety and convenience of any fighter on the roster.
http://www.ufc.com/performance-institute/

189. Cejudo’s Rally – UFC 238: 2019 was already Henry Cejudo’s to lose after saving the flyweight division with a KO of TJ Dillashaw in just over half a minute and then receiving a bantamweight title shot against Marlon Moraes. Moraes made an absolute mockery of Cejudo in the first round. In possibly the greatest turnaround in company history, Cejudo came back and absolutely dominated Moraes to take home the title.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/henry-cejudo-vs-marlon-moraes-ufc-238

188. A Country Boy Can Survive – UFC St. Louis: After surviving a near-fatal collision with a train, Matt Hughes’ mobility and life as a whole was in question. Hughes proved everybody wrong when he walked to the Octagon to surprise the fans at UFC St. Louis. If you didn’t tear up at that moment, we don’t really want to know about it.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ufc-st-louis-2018

187. UFC fully adopts unified rules – UFC 31: Welcome to mainstream acceptance with the slamming of the door on the “human cockfighting” free-for-all people once viewed the UFC to be.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/locked-and-loaded

186. Anderson Silva’s debut – Ultimate Fight Night 5: Anderson Silva was setting the bar almost impossibly high for himself and buzz was becoming hard to ignore. It seemed almost certain he was going to make it to the UFC and his final fight before making it to the show sealed it. How would he live up to his upper cut elbow KO? His Michael Jackson walkout and every other bit of flash he’d become known for? Refer to his UFC debut against Chris Leben. Mission accomplished.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/anderson-silva-vs-chris-leben-ufc-fight-night

185. Flying knee to body kick to flying knee – UFC 53: Nobody saw a performance bonus in the cards for David Loiseau or Charles McCarthy in a fight that had so little action in under two rounds that referee John McCarthy was forced to stand the fighters up three times but when Loiseau hit McCarthy with the ol’ flying knee, liver kick, flying knee everybody was on their feet.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/david-loiseau-vs-charles-mccarthy-ufc-53

184. And another Mark Hunt walk off KO – UFC Brisbane: One of the best walk off knocks of all time came when Mark Hunt landed a viscous KO and followed it with a “why bother?” expression as he walked away from the unconscious body of Frank Mir.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/mark-hunt-vs-frank-mir-ufc-fight-night

183. Chuck Liddell, Dan Henderson, Carlos Newton’s debuts - UFC 17: As far as debut star power goes, UFC 17 was the biggest card in UFC history. Few have hit higher highs in stardom then Chuck Liddell, Dan Henderson and Carlos Newton.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/redemption

181. Big Nog turns away father time – UFC 134: Not mother nature, not father time and most certainly not Brendan Schaub were going to tell Minotauro Nogueira he couldn’t fight anymore at UFC 134.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/minotauro-nogueira-vs-brendan-schaub-ufc-134

180. Teeth go flying – UFC 1: It was a harsh welcome to what the UFC was all about when their first fight aired. The audience was greeted to sumo practitioner, Teila Tuli take a brutal kick to the face from Gerard Gordeau followed by an even harder to watch right hand. One of the two sent Teila Tuli’s teeth flying in the direction of the commentators.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/gerard-gordeau-vs-teila-tuli-ufc1

179. Khabib’s mid-fight chatter – UFC 205: In the midst of absolutely pummeling Michael Johnson with Khabib’s strong ground and pound, he began pleading with the helpless Johnson to simply give up.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/khabib-nurmagomedov-vs-michael-johnson-ufc-205

178. Whittaker makes Australia proud – UFC 213: After a five-round war with Yoel Romero, a man nobody can physically understand, Robert Whittaker churned out the performance of a lifetime and became the UFC’s first Australian champion.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/robert-whittaker-vs-yoel-romero-ufc-213

177. Sakuraba loses, ten wins, then wins UFC Japan – UFC Japan: When the face of Pride, Kazushi Sakuraba, crossed over and competed in the UFC Japan tournament things didn’t go as planned. Saku shot for a takedown as a knee came his way giving the impression he had collapsed. When Big John McCarthy stopped the fight an irate Sakuraba pled his case, even tried stealing the microphone. All was well when he was able to fill in, in the championship round and defeat the man who “won” the first time.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ultimate-japan

176. Jon Jones’ DQ loss – TUF 10 Finale: You read that right. Jon Jones’ DQ loss. Almost erased from memories altogether, Jon Jones was on the receiving end of Steve Mazzagatti’s judgment en route to his tenth straight win. Jones was raining down elbows on Matt Hamill when Mazzagatti stopped the action and immediately disqualified Jon Jones for illegal elbows. To this day Matt Hamill even concedes the win.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/matt-hamill-vs-jon-jones-tuf-10-finale

175. … And another Mark Hunt walk off KO – UFC on Fuel TV: The most impressive and emphatic Mark Hunt walk off KO came when the 5’10” “Super Somoan” took on the 7’ Stefan Struve, closed the distance and landed a jaw breaking left hand that was all he needed. Nothing more to do here!
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/mark-hunt-vs-stefan-struve-ufc-fight-night

174. The Spartan KO’s the Buckeye – Ultimate Fight Night 8: It was a Big Ten showdown when Rashad Evans and Sean Salmon clashed at UFC Fight Night 8. Ohio State’s Sean Salmon was outwrestling Michigan State’s Rashad Evans in the opening round but the Spartan threw a head kick in round two with power and precision rivaled by few others in UFC history.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/rashad-evans-vs-sean-salmon-ufc-fight-night

172. Jones dethrones Shogun – UFC 128: Jon Jones became the youngest light heavyweight champion, defeated one of the most decorated mixed martial artists and ushered in a reign of dominance that has yet to be defeated when he finished Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/jon-jones-vs-mauricio-rua-ufc-128

171. Mark Hunt vs Bigfoot Silva – UFC Brisbane: Two heavyweights slugging it out usually has about a round or two of excitement before the action slows down drastically. A heavyweight draw isn’t exactly the fight the crowd wants to see. Bigfoot Silva and Mark Hunt flipped the script when they slugged it out for five rounds in front of the Australian audience winning Fight of the Night on a card stacked with close matches and a plethora of finishes.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/mark-hunt-vs-antonio-silva-ufc-fight-night

170. Jones’ first test – UFC 140: Lyoto Machida set out to prove to the world the rising star turned champion still wasn’t ready for the legends at UFC 140. He was the first real test for Jon as he was evading patented attacks, turning Jones’ own strategies against him and put him in first and second round trouble before Jones gashed Machida’s forehead, choked him out and dropped his limp body to the ground.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/jon-jones-vs-lyoto-machida-ufc-140

169. Schoonover’s fun nickname – TUF 10: It started off as a laugh, turned into a threat and almost came to blows when Rampage relentlessly referred to TUF 10 contestant, Darrill Schoonover as “titties.”
Episode 1 here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ep-1001-size-does-matter

167. Dana White’s Darren Rovell rant – UFC 232 post fight press conference: After heavy underdog, Amanda Nunes, knocked out Cris Cyborg in under a minute to win the UFC featherweight title, reporter Darren Rovell deemed her the death of women’s MMA in the UFC, Dana White let loose in his some of his finest work ever. Still the million dollar question, “what the f*** does Darren Rovell know about fighting?”
Full press conference: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ufc-232-post-fight-press-conference

166. Pettis incapacitates Cowboy – UFC Chicago: Two of the biggest stars in WEC faced off in the Octagon at UFC Chicago and a prime “Showtime” Pettis had fans wondering what flashy move would finish the night. They didn’t have to ask long as Pettis rattled Cowboy’s organs with a fight ending kick to the body.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/anthony-pettis-vs-donald-cerrone-ufc-fight-night

165. Zach Davis’ torn retinas – TUF 13: TUF 13 hopeful, Zach Davis was eliminated from the show with his quarterfinal loss to Chuck O’Neil. Davis later found out he was eliminated from fighting altogether when doctors told him he had torn retinas in both eyes and fighting again would most likely result in permanent blindness.
Full episode here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ep-1309-then-it-turned-ugly

163. Shonie Carter’s spinning backfist – UFC 31: It was the highlight of Shonie Carter’s MMA career when he landed one of the most iconic knockouts in UFC history with his spinning backfist KO in the closing seconds of his bout with Matt Serra at UFC 31. Carter liked the move so much he attempted it multiple times in their rematch in their fight on TUF 4: The Comeback.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/shonie-carter-vs-matt-serra-ufc-31

162. The end of Liddell’s reign – UFC 71: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson had his work cut out for him when he took on everybody’s favorite fighter, Chuck Liddell. Liddell was surging with four straight title defenses and seven KO/TKO finishes in a row. On top of that, he had a score to settle with Rampage after losing to him three and a half years earlier at Pride Final Conflict 2003. Rampage turned the tables on Liddell by defeating him via first round knockout.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/quinton-jackson-vs-chuck-liddell-ufc-71

161. The most shocking debut performance – UFC 90: Junior dos Santos made one of the most difficult debuts in UFC history when he took on Fabricio Werdum. 24-year-old, JDS cashed in on “the puncher’s chance” and landed a legendary upper cut that cut the lights on Werdum.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/junior-dos-santos-vs-fabricio-werdum-ufc-90

160. Maia’s squeeze – UFC 153: Nobody on earth blamed Rick Story for tapping out of a Demian Maia choke that was so tight it shot blood out of Story’s nose before he finally chose to tap.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/demian-maia-vs-rick-story-ufc-153

159. Wanderlei’s last stand – UFC Saitama: It was a homecoming, in a sense, for Wanderlei Silva when the Pride FC champion went to Saitama, Japan for UFC on Fuel TV: Silva vs Stann. Silva bulldozed through Pride but fell on hard times in the UFC, going 4-6 and never quite living up to the hype. In his final bout with the UFC, Silva showed the kind of battles he was once capable of bringing.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/wanderlei-silva-vs-brian-stann-ufc-fight-night

158. Beginner’s luck??? – UFC Sioux Falls: Lando Vannata received the third ranked lightweight contender, Tony Ferguson, on less than three weeks’ notice. He seemed crazy before the fight claiming Ferguson was predictable in his UFC debut but results showed he may have been on to something as the newcomer was within inches from victory in one of the best fights in UFC history.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/tony-ferguson-vs-lando-vannata-ufc-fight-night-mcdonald-vs-lineker

156. Bisping makes England proud – UFC 204: In his lone title defense, Michael Bisping took on old foe, Dan Henderson in a fight that went the distance, earned Fight of the Night and showed England first hand that he put England on the MMA map.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/michael-bisping-vs-dan-henderson-ufc-204

155. Not so fast, Anderson – UFC London: Winless in his last three fights, Anderson Silva looked to right the ship against Michael Bisping at UFC London. Much to the chagrin of the fans in the O2 Arena, it looked like he had when he hit Bisping with a flying knee that sent “The Count’s” body limp. The horn sounded, indicating the end of the round and Anderson was informed the fight wasn’t over, mid-celebration.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/michael-bisping-vs-anderson-silva-ufc-fight-night

154. Wanderlei, meet modern UFC – UFC 84: Wanderlei Silva made a couple appearances in the UFC before becoming a Pride FC god. In his return to the UFC for the first time in the Zuffa era, Wanderlei Silva met Chuck Liddell and fell in one of the greatest fights in UFC history. Silva established himself in his bounce back fight against Keith Jardine and showed UFC fans what all the hype was about.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/wanderlei-silva-vs-keith-jardine-ufc-84

152. Vannata’s wheel kick – UFC 206: With neither man a stranger to exciting fights, it was just a matter of time before Lando Vannata or John Makdessi ended their fight in highlight reel fashion. Vannata did just that when he landed a wheel kick knockout in the first round.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/lando-vannata-vs-john-makdessi-ufc-206-holloway-vs-pettis

151. Barboza vs Felder – UFC Chicago: Edson Barboza and Paul Felder brought out the best in each other when they met at UFC Chicago. Barboza did his best to break every rib Felder had while trying to evade Felder’s spinning attacks. By the end of the fight, everybody was asking, “how is Felder still standing?”
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/edson-barboza-vs-paul-feider-ufc-fight-night

150. Rashad knocks Liddell back down – UFC 88: Chuck Liddell returned to Iceman form when he finally got his hands on Wanderlei Silva. His climb back to title contention wouldn’t be long as long as he performed well against Rashad Evans. “Sugar” Rashad gave him less than two rounds before knocking him out leaving Liddell 1-3 in his last four.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/rashad-evans-vs-chuck-liddell-ufc-88

149. Cool Hand Hooker – UFC Milwaukee: When Edson Barboza clashed with Dan Hooker it was the perfect matchup on paper and Dan Hooker even coming in as the favorite. Before the end of the first round the commentary team was preparing for the end. Hooker simply would not stay down. By round three Daniel Cormier was yelling to the referee from the commentary booth, “we can stop this fight!”
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/edson-barboza-vs-dan-hooker-ufc-fight-night-lee-vs-iaquinta-2

148. Nog finally finished – UFC 92: “The puncher’s chance” was in favor of Minotauro Nogueira for nearly ten years of heavyweight fighting before he was finally finished by Frank Mir at UFC 92.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/the-ultimate-2008

147. Robbie Lawler’s third straight Fight of the Year – UFC 195: Robbie Lawler was seemingly in his prime for 14 years when he defended his title against Carlos Condit who was most definitely in his. Condit was backed up early before rocking Lawler. By the midway point of the first round it was already established. It was a fight either man was going to have to earn.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/robbie-lawler-vs-carlos-condit-ufc-195

146. Anthony Pettis hits the Wheaties box – 2015: In 2014 Anthony “Showtime” Pettis was voted the next athlete to grace the cover of the Wheaties box. It was the first time a UFC athlete had been on the box placing themselves in the company of Lou Gehrig, Jesse Owens, Walter Payton, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and more.

145. “I love you, Mike!” – UFC 205: Following his flying knee KO over Chris Weidman, Yoel Romero set his sights in the broadcast booth at Michael Bisping. The brash Englishman gave Romero a thumbs down and middle finger which was brushed off and met with “I’ll see you soon, boy.”
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/yoel-romero-vs-chris-weidman-ufc-205

144. Stipe KO’s DC – UFC 241: Stipe Miocic made it very clear after his UFC 226 KO loss to Daniel Cormier that his next fight was to be a rematch for the title that was once his. Seemingly determined to yet again knock out Miocic, Daniel Cormier almost completely left wrestling out of his game plan. It was a decision that cost him the title as he was knocked out late.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/daniel-cormier-vs-stipe-miocic-ufc-241

143. Adesanya vs Gastelum – UFC 236: Almost a lock for 2019 Fight of the Year, Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum exchanged knockdowns for 5 rounds with the interim middleweight title on the line. Adesanya took himself from “rising star” to interim champion with his unanimous decision victory.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/israel-adesanya-vs-kelvin-gastelum-ufc-236

142. Conor takes over Boston – UFC Boston: Conor McGregor’s final UFC Fight Night was the last bit of proof the UFC would need to declare him PPV draw. In a fight that had the attention of sports talk shows, daytime talk shows and of course all of Ireland, McGregor defeated Siver in a Performance of the Night TKO the led him straight to an interim title fight with Chad Mendes. Gone with the days of climbing up the ranks for McGregor.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/conor-mcgregor-vs-dennis-siver-ufc-fight-night

141. First African born champion – UFC 235: With a five round steamroll of Tyron Woodley, Nigerian native, Kamaru Usman, became the first African born champion in UFC history.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/kamaru-usman-vs-tyron-woodley-ufc-235

140. California Kid is back – UFC Sacramento: At 40 years old, Urijah Faber decided his UFC career wasn’t over yet. Faber made his return after almost three years to take on 15-1 newcomer, Ricky Simon. The crowd erupted when Faber made his walk to the Octagon and somehow turned it up even higher when Faber landed the fastest finish in his career.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/urijah-faber-vs-ricky-simon-ufc-fight-night
 

138. Greatest performance bonus ever – TUF 1 Finale: After losing MMA’s version of “The Fight of the Century,” Stephan Bonnar impressed UFC President Dana White so much he was also offered a UFC contract on the spot.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/forrest-griffin-vs-stephan-bonnar-tuf-1-finale

137. Zabit and Aljamain’s co-submission of the year – UFC 228: In the UFC’s first 25 years the Suloev Stretch was only used one time to submit a UFC athlete. At UFC 228, both Aljamain Sterling and Zabit Magomedshaipov both won by the rare submission.
Aljamain Sterling vs Cody Stamann full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/aljamain-sterling-vs-cody-stamann-ufc-228
Zabit Magomedsharipov vs Brandon Davis full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/zabit-magomedsharipov-vs-brandon-davis-ufc-228

136. Showtime’s Superman punch – UFC Nashville: Anthony Pettis’ move up to welterweight opened the door to a number of entertaining matchups. The first man to pick up the phone was another man equally as entertaining, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.  The first two rounds were living up to the hype with the scales tipping towards Wonderboy until “Showtime” launched himself off the cage to land a Superman punch KO to the former title challenger.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/anthony-pettis-vs-stephen-thompson-ufc-fight-night-thompson-vs-pettis

135. Werdum post-fight, fight – UFC 203: After beating Travis Browne for a second time, Fabricio Werdum took exception to what Browne’s coach, Edmond Tarverdyan had to say before the official decision was read. A nerve was struck and Werdum offered a “back up” push kick ultimately leading to Tarverdyan being kicked out of the Octagon.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/fabricio-werdum-vs-travis-browne-ufc-203-miocic-vs-overeem

134. Usman punks Covington – Post UFC 235: After making fight week just a little more irritating for everybody in the 170 pound division, it all caught up to Colby Covington when Kamaru Usman and manager, Ali Abdelaziz, caught up with him in a hotel buffet line causing Covington to back pedal, jump railings and find refuge behind other people in line before making a phone call telling somebody, “Ali just swung on me at the Palms.”

133. 3 piece with the soda – Post UFC London: Following his main event KO over Darren Till at UFC London, Jorge Masvidal was in the middle of a backstage interview when Leon Edwards told Masvidal he was going to get his ass kicked in July. Masvidal calmly walked over to Edwards and unloaded four shots to the face before being separated.

132. Edgar vs Maynard 3 – UFC 136: To follow up 2011’s Fight of the Year, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard were going to have to dig deep and go to war in their trilogy bout. Desperate to salvage the trilogy as well as defend his lightweight title, Edgar at some of Maynard’s hardest shots to date in the first round, kept his foot to the floor and landed a fourth round knockout stamping the trilogy at 1-1-1.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/frankie-edgar-vs-gray-maynard-ufc-136

131. Let me bang, bro! – TUF 16: Julian Lane found himself in alcohol and rage induced tears as he approached Dom Waters demanding him to hit him. “You get one hit, that’s it.” Waters took off his microphone to take Lane up on the offer before tempers flared. It was the most tension that didn’t turn into a physical altercation in TUF history. Things were thrown, kicked punched and Lane let out the famous line, “Let me bang, bro!”
Full episode here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ep-1608-rock-em-sock-em

130. BJ Penn seals the rivalry – UFC 123: BJ Penn made his last UFC victory count when he nailed down his rivalry with Hall of Famer, Matt Hughes, with a 21-second knockout.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/matt-hughes-vs-bj-penn-ufc-123

128. Jon Jones earns his keep – UFC 94: Jon Jones got the nod of approval in his debut against Andre Gusmao and was placed in front of Stephan Bonnar to gauge his potential. A spinning back elbow that would have decapitated lesser men and the decision victory were enough to show the world, Jon Jones was here to stay.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/jon-jones-vs-stephan-bonnar-ufc-94

127. Lesnar’s revenge – UFC 100: Brock Lesnar most likely still looks back at his UFC debut and shakes his head. After having Frank Mir in a dominant position, Mazzagatti struck, action was stopped and before long, Mir escaped with a kneebar. At UFC 100, Lesnar not only defended his title, got his win back, gave us one of the greatest Octagon interviews of all time, but also took the horseshoe out of Frank Mir’s ass.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/brock-lesnar-vs-frank-mir-ufc-100

126. Forrest “Aw.. Shucks” Griffin – UFC 59: After losing to Tito Ortiz in his first step up in competition Forrest Griffin, fans tried drowning out Ortiz’s Octagon interview with “boo’s.” Joe Rogan tried shifting the boo’s but it wasn’t until Forrest Griffin was given the mic that the fans were won over.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/tito-ortiz-vs-forrest-griffin-ufc-59

125. Robert Whittaker vs Yoel Romero 2 – UFC 225: Yoel and Robert gave Las Vegas a show at UFC 213, why not bring the party to Chicago for UFC 225? Whittaker’s mission was simple. Be the only man on the planet who could out-man Yoel Romero twice. The back and forth slugfest went the distance with Whittaker taking the split decision in one of the greatest fights of all time.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/robert-whittaker-vs-yoel-romero-ufc-225

124. Chael breaks character – UFC 117 post fight press conference: Chael Sonnen was less than two minutes away from changing the course of history in his first bout with Anderson Silva. He talked about how easy it was going to be for him for weeks before he went out and backed it all up. After making a costly mistake and getting choked out, Chael Sonnen spoke to the pain of finishing in second place yet again.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/anderson-silva-vs-chael-sonnen-ufc-117

123. Couture spanks Tito – UFC 44: There weren’t many who gave Randy Couture a chance in his title unification fight with Tito Ortiz, but the dogfight swayed Couture’s way and he was even able to win judge’s attention with some late fifth rounds spankings.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/randy-couture-vs-tito-ortiz-ufc-44

122. GSP’s revenge – UFC 83: There’s no way to exactly “erase” one of the biggest upsets in UFC history but when Georges St-Pierre was told he would be headlining UFC 83 in the Bell Centre, there were few names he’d rather be fighting for the title than Matt Serra.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/georges-stpierre-vs-matt-serra-ufc-83

121. Hughes’ takes one back – UFC 63: Matt Hughes was unbeaten in the UFC and it was looking like he was going to have to cycle back through the roster soon. The always game, BJ Penn, stepped up and choked Hughes out in less than one round to raise the ceiling a bit on Hughes. After fighting his way back up that ranks, Hughes final got his rematch with Penn and delivered with a third-round finish.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/matt-hughes-vs-bj-penn-ufc-63

120. Conor vs Nate on CNBC – Pre UFC 196: Schoolyard bullying at its finest when CNBC interview both Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor ahead of their UFC 196 fight.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/nate-diaz-vs-conor-mcgregor-ufc-196-1

119. Bader runs into a prime Jon Jones – UFC 126: The title fight is usually the clearest indicator of who the best in the division is. When Ryan Bader and Jon Jones squared off, it gave the fans a similar feeling. Jones would go on to win by guillotine and the fans saw his raw reaction when he’s informed he would be getting the next shot at the title.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/jon-jones-vs-ryan-bader-ufc-126

117. Rampage and Ariel – UFC 130 Post fight press conference: All was going according to plan at the UFC 130 post fight press conference until Ariel Helwani asked Rampage Jackson a question then things went beautifully off the rails.

116. Backyard brawl – TUF 5: Marlon Sims and Noah Thomas get into a heated argument that, with the help of alcohol, testosterone and Allen Berube’s coaxing, turns into an all-out brawl complete with cheap shots, slams concrete and three dismissals from the show.
Full episode here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ep-508-not-on-the-concrete

115. Conor spots a snake in the grass – TUF 22: Conor McGregor made an entire season out of taunting Urijah Faber by questioning TJ Dillashaw’s loyalty to Team Alpha Male. McGregor’s crystal ball and love of burrowing under people’s skin led him to a nickname that would stick still to present day.
Full episode here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/episode-2206-snake-in-the-grass

114. Matt Hughes rises from the dead – UFC 34: Matt Hughes put himself in danger early in the second round when he was caught in a Carlos Newton triangle. Hughes lifted Newton up and began carrying him around the Octagon with seemingly no plan. After resting with Newton against the cage, Hughes slammed him unconscious to win UFC gold.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/matt-hughes-vs-carlos-newton-ufc-34

113. No arm? No problem – UFC 115: The last stop for Chuck Liddell was his main event bout with Rich “The Ace” Franklin at UFC 115. The last chance to rebound, the last chance to push the sun back into the sky. “The Ice Man” went in as intense as ever but shut the door on his career when Rich Franklin knocked out Liddell with a broken arm.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/rich-franklin-vs-chuck-liddell-ufc-115

112. Tim Sylvia era begins – UFC 41: It may not have been the best of times but there’s no doubt at all that Tim Sylvia’s upset KO of Ricco Rodriguez didn’t shake the heavyweight division like never before.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/tim-sylvia-vs-ricco-rodriguez-ufc-41

110. GSP is coming – UFC 79: Matt Hughes was set to take on Matt Serra in the main event of UFC 79 for the welterweight title. When Serra went down with a back injury Georges St-Pierre was scheduled to fill in for Serra making the fight an interim title fight. GSP cashed in on the opportunity by defeating Matt Hughes and stamping his ticket to a title fight.
Full fight here:  https://www.ufc.tv/video/georges-stpierre-vs-matt-hughes-ufc-79

109. Shamrock returns, Ortiz sends him packing – UFC 40: It had been close to six years since one of the UFC’s originals had been in the Octagon. When Ken Shamrock came back for the first time since UFC Ultimate ’96, he was taking on the new face of the franchise, Tito Ortiz. Ortiz won by corner stoppage after three rounds.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/tito-ortiz-vs-ken-shamrock-ufc-40

108. BJ Penn steals the welterweight title – UFC 46: The unpredictable prodigy, BJ Penn appeared to be out of his mind when he stepped up to the welterweight division to take on Matt Hughes for the welterweight title. Sure enough, in his welterweight debut, Penn waltzed in the welterweight division like he owned the place and snagged Matt Hughes’ welterweight title belt.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/bj-penn-vs-matt-hughes-ufc-46

107. Shamrock vs Ortiz Part 3 – UFC Ortiz vs Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter: The UFC has definitely come a long way. Tito Ortiz had already defeated Ken Shamrock twice before, and Shamrock had gone 1-5 in his last six fights, but they found themselves headlining a card for one more clash. Ratings were huge and the event was considered a wild success.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ortiz-vs-shamrock-3

106. It’s the Machida Era! – UFC 98: The fans were roaring, Machida’s reach was an ongoing issue and the belt was soon to be Lyoto Machida’s. Machida eventually landed a second round knock out against Rashad Evans, capturing the title and being deemed “The Machida Era.”
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/lyoto-machida-vs-rashad-evans-ufc-98

105. The new standard – UFC 21: In the early days of the UFC there was most certainly action but with the lack of versatility to most fighters, once a fighter was in danger, the fight was all but over. When Tito Ortiz and Frank Shamrock met at UFC 22 they put on one of the best fights to that point. The much smaller Frank Shamrock gutted out a performance for the ages to finish Ortiz to defend his UFC light heavyweight title in 1999’s Fight of the Year.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/frank-shamrock-vs-tito-ortiz-ufc-22

104. Tito vs Lion’s Den begins – UFC 19: Tito Ortiz took on Lion’s Den product, Guy Metzger, at UFC 19 and made relatively easy work of him. Ortiz decided to celebrate by way of finger guns, to middle fingers in the direction of Metzger and the Lion’s Den. Not long after, cameras capture an irate Ken Shamrock giving Ortiz a very heated earful and it was now a full-on rivalry.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/tito-ortiz-vs-guy-mezger-ufc-19

103. Old friends, new foes – UFC 145: Teammates Rashad Evans and Jon Jones began to divide when the last man on Jones’ list was champion Rashad Evans. Blood went bad, Evans even left the team altogether and Rashad Evans vs Jon Jones turned into one of the most real, personal rivalries in the UFC.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/jon-jones-vs-rashad-evans-ufc-145

101. Anderson Silva’s leg – UFC 168: Anderson Silva was looking to take back his middleweight belt in his immediate rematch against Chris Weidman, but the fight ended in gruesome fashion as Weidman checked a kick causing Silva’s knee to snap.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/chris-weidman-vs-anderson-silva-ufc-168

100. Captain America’s first upset – UFC 15: Vitor Belfort appeared to be the first invincible man. At 19 years old it was looking possible that he may not lose for a good 15 years. Randy Couture stepped in at UFC 15 in only his third professional fight and knocked out Belfort turning every head in the growing MMA community.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/randy-couture-vs-vitor-belfort-ufc-15

98. UFC 151 Cancellation – UFC 151: When Dan Henderson went down with a torn MCL, the main event of UFC 151 had a main event vacancy. Chael Sonnen was approached to fill in for the injured Henderson. Title holder, Jon Jones, turned down the new opponent leading to the first cancelled event in UFC history.

97. 55,000 screaming Canadians – UFC 129: Fan-favorite Georges St-Pierre and the entire city of Toronto came to play on April 30, 2011. UFC 129 had a long-standing record as the largest attendance in UFC history with well over 55,000 fans in attendance to watch GSP defend his welterweight title.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/georges-stpierre-vs-jake-shields-ufc-129

96. Launch of UFC FIGHT PASS – December 2013: For the first time ever, all things Zuffa would be under one umbrella. Now with every fight in UFC history, Pride, WEC, Strikeforce and many, many more, UFC FIGHT PASS is a one stop shop for any fan of combat sports.
UFC FIGHT PASS here: https://www.ufc.tv/page/fightpass

95. The USADA Era – UFC 189: The first event under USADA drug testing came just in time for one of the biggest cards in UFC history.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ufc-189

94. Speaking of USADA… - UFC 232: When Jon Jones was popped for traces of performance enhancing drugs, the UFC had precious time to make a decision that would avoid killing a whole card. The card was moved out of Las Vagas to Inglewood, California and the show went on.
Full event here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/ufc-232

93. UFC on FOX – 2011: It was a huge step up for the UFC. With the backing of FOX Sports, it showed, yet again, that the UFC was a respectable sport and now a major player.

92. Paul Felder’s spinning backfist – UFC 182: The quickest way to get a jump in competition is an impressive knockout and being tough as nails. Well, UFC 182 had cast for that role when the durable Paul Felder landed a spinning backfist KO against Danny Castillo to push his record to 10-0.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/paul-felder-vs-danny-castillo-ufc-182

91. Nate Diaz’s NSFW call out – UFC Orlando: Nate Diaz bounced back from a loss to RDA by beating Michael John live on Fox. After the fight Joe Rogan asked Diaz about the fight and instead got a call out that most definitely cost the UFC a few dollars in fines but the message was clear and the rivalry had begun.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/nate-diaz-vs-michael-johnson-ufc-fight-night

90. Cejudo dethrones Mighty Mouse – UFC 227: With one of the greatest title runs in UFC history, Demetrious Johnson defended the flyweight title an unprecedented 11 times. He had defeated so many flyweights, he had to start cycling back through. When it came back to Henry Cejudo’s second shot at Mighty Mouse, he took him the distance and took the title home becoming the only flyweight to ever defeat Demetrious Johnson.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/henry-cejudo-vs-demetrious-johnson-ufc-227

88. Cheick Kongo vs Pat Barry – UFC Live 4: Seconds into the main event matchup, fans thought they saw a two-and-a-half-minute fight resulting in a Pat Barry KO. Call it good officiating, call it bad officiating, you also call it the heart of a lion. Kongo managed to climb back to his feet after being visibly out not once, not twice, but three times to knock Barry out cold.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/cheick-kongo-vs-pat-barry-ufc-live-4

87. Barao’s brick wall – UFC 173: Renan Barao was an unstoppable force with a run that has to be acknowledged as one of the greatest of all time. 33 fights without a loss, Barao defeated a who’s who of the bantamweight division. What seemed to be his easiest test yet came in his title defense against TJ Dillashaw. Dillashaw rocked the division when he caught Barao in the final round and became the first man in almost a decade to defeat Barao. Barao has still yet to bounce back from the title loss.
Full fight here: https://www.ufc.tv/video/tj-dillashaw-vs-renan-barao-ufc-173

85. UFC’s first openly gay champion – UFC 200: Amanda Nunes made her first piece of history at UFC 200 when she choked out Miesha Tate to become the UFC’s first openly gay champion.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/40397

84. How to kill a Zombie – UFC Denver: Everybody watching UFC Denver got the main event they were expecting when the Korean Zombie took on Yair Rodriguez. The main event of the 25th anniversary show was full of creative strikes, hard shots and the most unorthodox elbow KO in recent memory.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/64906

83. THUG ROSE – UFC 217: It was the classic victim stands up to the bully story. Joanna Jedrzejczyk spent all camp terrorizing challenger Rose Namajunas, bullying her nearly to the point of tears on multiple occasions. But when the Octagon door closed, “Thug Rose” got her revenge with a first round knockout and the strawweight title.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/60434

82. Cejudo to the rescue – UFC Brooklyn: With Demetrious Johnson gone and ratings lower than ever for the 125 pounders, Dana White made no secret about it, TJ Dillashaw’s move down to flyweight would be to kill the division. With everything to lose, Henry Cejudo put the division on his back and knocked out Dillashaw in just over 30 seconds. 125 never die.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/96291

80. Robbie Lawler vs Johny Hendricks – UFC 181: At one point thought of as MMA’s Mike Tyson, it began to look like that was the only weapon worth mentioning in Robbie Lawler’s arsenal. Good wrestling, yes but it was only seemed to be used to get Lawler on his feet to brawl again. It wasn’t exactly a realistic possibility he could be UFC champion one day… Well apparently Lawler missed the memo when two out of three judges declared him the new UFC welterweight champion.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/34684

79. Who’s behind door number 1?! – TUF 10: There were few fighters outside of the UFC bigger than Kimbo Slice in the mid to late 2000’s. There was almost nobody speaking against him more than UFC president Dana White. At TUF 10, White gave him his shot as he shocked the fighters and the fans by walking through the gym door in episode 1.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/29421?playlistId=1714

78. Zuffa purchases Strikeforce – 2011: Responsible for growing some of the biggest names in MMA history, the UFC hit the jackpot when they bought out Strikeforce. Without Strikforce, fighters like Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes, Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Robbie Lawler and more may have never become the names they are today.

77. Shogun’s Forrest’s big day – UFC 76: Aside from Griffin, Randy Couture was the only one in the building who had any faith in Forrest Griffin when he took on Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in his UFC debut. With a Pride FC highlight reel that could outlast the Titanic, Rua was thought to come in and lay waste to the division starting with the darling of the UFC, Forrest Griffin. Griffin and the handful of people who believed in him had their day in the sun as Griffin choked out Rua in the third round.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/28837

76. Who is Pete Williams? – UFC 17: It was supposed to be a walk in the park for UFC 10 winner, UFC 11 winner and the first heavyweight champ in UFC history when Mark Coleman took on the unknown Pete Williams in Williams’ UFC debut. Williams caught Coleman in the head with a kick to give him his second straight loss in a huge upset in the early days of the UFC.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/30178

74. The Zuffa Era begins – UFC 30: UFC 30 would mark the first event since Zuffa purchased the UFC turning a failing nugget of gold into what the UFC is today.
Full event here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/30905

73. Anderson’s knees, Franklin’s nose – UFC 64: Anderson Silva won the middleweight title in brutal fashion when he kneed Rich Franklin’s nose to a crooked mess.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/28976

71. Brock Lesnar, heavyweight champ – UFC 91: Brock Lesnar went from “big name” to “the man” after a TKO victory over the heavyweight champion and fan favorite Randy Couture at UFC 91.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/29042

70. Droppin’ ‘bows – UFC 8: It was the “Showtime Kick” of the early era. Gary Goodridge made his UFC debut at UFC 8 against Paul Herrera. It took only seconds for Goodridge to get Herrera in a crucifix position before dropping an onslaught of some of the most brutal elbows in UFC history. No doubt, this 13 second fight was probably a driving force in the difficulty of landing athletic commission approval nationwide.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/33013

69. Brock Lesnar’s debut – UFC 81: It was quite possibly the biggest, most anticipated debut in UFC history when WWE superstar, Brock Lesnar came to the UFC to take on Frank Mir. The debut still serves as a divide between “die-hard” and “casual” fans.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/28958

68. Royce Gracie wins UFC 1 – UFC 1: While the performance of the seemingly undersized and non-aggressive Royce Gracie was the talk of the fanbase, it was little surprise to any when the Brazilian jiu-jitsu innovator steamrolled through the competition en route to a UFC 1 victory. The world of mixed martial arts wouldn’t be what it was today if it weren’t for bjj.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/28806

66. Submission of the Year – UFC 52: With his welterweight title on the line, Matt Hughes was tasked with a very motivated Frank Trigg. Not only had Trigg won five of his last six fights but the only loss in that span was against Hughes at UFC 45. Hughes and Trigg went back in forth in a one round war that ended with Hughes locking in submission of the year and taking the belt home, yet again.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/28811

65. Zuffa purchases WEC – 2010: Without the WEC, names like Urijah Faber, Dominick Cruz, Eddie Wineland, Anthony Pettis, Chael Sonnen and many, many more would have had no promotional to call home. The WEC acquisition is actually the sole reason for lighter weight classes in the UFC at all. Money well spent!

64. Cormier becomes champ/champ – UFC 226: After so many years of almost making it, Daniel Cormier’s day in the sun had come. An upset knockout over Stipe Miocic placed the heavyweight belt around his waist where the light heavyweight title had already been sitting for a full three years.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/64160

63. Jon Jones vs DC 2 – UFC 214: Marred by controversy, marred by PED’s, fueled by hatred, Daniel Cormier brought his light heavyweight belt to the table a second time against Jon Jones. The fight that was supposed to happen at UFC 200 was scrapped in the 11th hour when Jones tested positive for PED’s. When the rematch was in motion, there was no shortage of disdain between the men and the two went to war for three rounds before Jones knocked out Daniel Cormier.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/58215

60. “Sean Sherk, you’re dead” – UFC 80: B.J. Penn decisively beat Joe Stevenson at UFC 80 with a second-round finish and made his intentions for his next fight clear as well with one of the most iconic Octagon callouts of all time.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/28860

59. DC takes the mic – UFC 173: Daniel Cormier had only been in the UFC 13 months when he had mowed through Frank Mir, Patrick Cummins, Roy Nelson and Dan Henderson. When he got the microphone, he let the world, specifically Jon Jones, know who he had in the crosshairs.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/34759

58. The Glendale Barnburner – UFC Glendale: It almost couldn’t have been a better matchup when Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje met in the main event of UFC Glendale. Neither man a stranger to violence, it was a miracle that the fight made it to a second round, then a third then a fourth before Poirier finally knocked out one of the most violent men in UFC history.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/64369

57. UFC turns 25 – UFC Denver: Looking back to the days of UFC 1 it’s hard to imagine coming this far but the UFC celebrated its 25th birthday by going back to Denver, where it all began on November 10, 2018.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/65370?playlistId=2088

56. Uriah Hall’s crown jewel – TUF 17: Uriah Hall put the TUF house as well as the entire middleweight division on notice when he landed a brutal spinning hook kick to the face of Adam Cella that put TUF back on the map and immediately passed Hall through to the “rising star” category.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/41074

55. Luke Rockhold’s self-help seminar – UFC 199 press conference: The entire UFC 199 press conference was some of Bisping’s finest work. It seemed that with every question that was asked, Bisping was ready with another quote ready to go viral. The best came when opponent, Luke Rockhold, explained the difference between striving to hate or striving to achieve. Bisping had had enough when he butted in with his often-quoted, “Sounds like the worst self-help book you’ve ever read. ‘Conceive, believe, achieve. Shut the f*** up!’”
Full press conference here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/41796

54. In the nick of time! – UFC 186: What better way to defend your title for a sixth time than with a last second submission? Demetrious Johnson proved in his last stitch effort against Kyoji Horiguchi that it’s never too late to look for a finish.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/36717

53. The H-Bomb – UFC 100: After landing a definitive KO blow with the right hand, Dan Henderson watched Michael Bisping stiffen up and fall to the canvas unconscious before launching himself up in the air to land the original “super necessary” blow to the unconscious Bisping, “just to shut him up a little bit.”
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/29662

51. Jorge Masvidal – UFC 239: Surely you know what this is referring to. After weeks of hearing Ben Askren’s taunting, trash talk and antagonizing, Jorge Masvidal got the ultimate revenge to the tune of stalling Askren’s title run, erasing his undefeated record and landing the fasted knockout in UFC history with a flying knee right on the chin.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/96679

50. Conor finishes “Mini” Mendes – UFC 189: It was as close to impossible as it gets to follow up Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald’s co-main event performance at UFC 189 but Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes were still able to put on a show and when all the buildup had come to an end, the title was on the line an Conor McGregor held UFC gold for the first time.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/36835

49. Jones vs Gustafsson 1 – UFC 165: Just when it seemed like Jon Jones had cleared out anybody of any sort of threat, Alexander Gustafsson stepped up to the plate and gave Jon Jones a war he had never seen before in one of the greatest fights of both men’s careers.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/29760

48. First female co-main and main event – UFC 193: At one point the largest crowd in UFC history saw the first ever female co-main and main event with Joanna Jedrzejczyk defending her strawweight title against Valerie Letourneau and Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm fighting for the women’s bantamweight belt.
Full event here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/88476

47. Dan Henderson vs Shogun – UFC 139: The broadcast team had worries it was a shade too late for the dream matchup between Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Ten years after a split decision victory over Shogun’s brother, Murilo, at Pride 17, Henderson got the chance to take another hack at the family tree and gave the fans a Fight of the Year performance in his decision victory.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/29613

46. Couture ends the Tim Sylvia era – UFC 68: After it appeared Chuck Liddell had ended his career at UFC 57 13 months earlier, Randy Couture was back to move up into the heavyweight division. At 43 years old, Couture jumped the line and landed in a title fight with Tim Sylvia. Couture won by decision and gave a memorable Octagon interview.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/28944

45. UFC 200: How on earth could the UFC possibly top the star power of UFC 100? How about with Amanda Nunes, Miesha Tate, Daniel Cormier, Anderson Silva, Brock Lesnar, Cain Velasquez and just about everybody else a UFC fan could want to see.
Full event here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/88450

44. Sorry, Bisping. GSP is back – UFC 217: As crazy as it may sound, Georges St-Pierre and Michael Bisping fought in a title fight in late 2017. Oh, and it would be one of the best fights in GSP’s illustrious career… After four years away from the Octagon.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/60726

43. Couture sinks S.S. Liddell – UFC 43: Chuck Liddell was quickly becoming everybody’s favorite fighter and his reputation was spreading like wildfire. At 12-1 and riding a 10-fight win streak, Liddell was about to run full steam ahead into veteran Randy Couture who rebounded nicely from his heavyweight title loss by knocking out Chuck for the light heavyweight title.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/28871

41. Conor, Nate, Scrap Pack, Water, Monster – UFC 202 Press Conference: As Conor McGregor was in the middle of answering a question, Nate Diaz abruptly got up, walked off stage to the Scrap Pack and left the press conference but not without fireworks. Diaz and co. left with middle fingers flying that turned to swearwords flying that turned into bottles flying. It was the perfect way to set the stage for the fight of both men’s lives.
Full press conference here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/42316

40. Conor’s parking garage melee – UFC 223: While it wasn’t necessarily the best look for the UFC it’s impossible to deny that when Conor McGregor snapped, tried coaxing Khabib Nurmagomedov off of the UFC shuttle and eventually threw a loading dolly threw the window that it didn’t immediately escalate and intensify the hottest burning rivalry in the UFC.

39. MayMac – August 2017: It was the super fight to end all super fights when the biggest name in the UFC, Conor McGregor, stepped into the boxing ring to take on the biggest name in boxing, Floyd Mayweather.

38. Demetrious Johnson’s armbar alley-oop – UFC 216: Demetrious Johnson threw the theory that flyweights aren’t entertaining out the window in the fifth round of his 11th title defense when he threw Ray Borg into the air just to leverage the position into a mid-air armbar.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/59530

37. Aldo celebrates with the crowd – UFC 142: It’s hard to describe the visual of seeing Jose Aldo knock out Chad Mendes, sprint through the open cage door and get lost into a sea of celebrating Brazilians losing their minds at their hometown hero defending his featherweight title for the third time. The swarm got thicker and thicker as Aldo got “lost” further and further into the Rio crowd.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/30159

36. Diego Sanchez vs Clay Guida – TUF 9 Finale: After landing one of the most flush head kicks in the history of the UFC, Diego Sanchez kicked it into over drive against Clay Guida. Both men fought for their lives and gave a legendary performance that landed them in the UFC Hall of Fame as well as 2009’s fight of the year.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/30290

35. GSP and BJ Penn run it back – UFC 94: It was a classic GSP fight. Effortless takedowns turned into scrambles which turned into ground and pound. BJ Penn’s top notch BJJ always seemed just a touch out of reach. After a dominant fourth round, GSP punched the cage in celebration of his performance thus far not knowing that Penn’s corner would pull the plug on the rematch before the fifth round began. When it was brought to the MMA world’s attention that St-Pierre was having Vaseline rubbed on his shoulders and back between rounds, Penn appealed the loss and failed. It was a fight marred with controversy that may have served as the adrenaline dump of Penn’s career.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/30205

34. UFC on ESPN – 2019: The UFC reached the top of the mountain when the deal was inked with the worldwide leader in sports. There’s no stronger partner in the world for star building, brand exposure and coverage than ESPN and the UFC cashed in big.

33. UFC 100: While UFC 200 was one of the biggest cards of all time, think of it as Michael Jackson’s Thriller album or Godfather 2. Without the original “biggest card of all time” there would be no template to aim for. With Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Georges St-Pierre, Dan Henderson, Michael Bisping, Jon Jones and many more, it’s hard to argue that UFC 100 was and is the biggest card in company history.
Full event here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/73494

31. Luke Rockhold is just an average bloke – UFC 199: 25 fights, 17 days’ notice, one eye and no chance was all Michael Bisping had when he stepped in to fight Luke Rockhold for the middleweight title. The 37-year-old refused to count himself out or let Rockhold’s “confidence” shake him. A right hand to the body set up a left to the exposed chin of Luke Rockhold knocking him to the ground. Bisping pounced and after referee Big John McCarthy pulled “The Count” off of Rockhold’s unconscious body, the world had a new, undisputed 185-pound champion. Michael Bisping.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/42356

30. Endeavor buys UFC – 2016: Will they? Won’t they? You heard this, I heard that. Rumors were swirling around a potential sale that would eventually come to fruition when WME IMG purchased the UFC for just over $4 billion.

29. Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Francis – UFC 218: Francis Ngannou was 5-0 in the UFC and with 4 KO’s in that span, he was likely a couple wins away from a shot at Stipe Miocic’s heavyweight title. Ngannou jumped the line immediately when he landed the knockout of the decade on the then ranked number one contender, Alistair Overeem.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/61068

28. “Anderson Silva, you absolutely suck” – UFC 136: After beating all the right people and saying all the right things, Chael Sonnen earned a title shot against Anderson Silva and completely picked him apart for over four rounds before getting caught in a triangle and being knocked back down the rankings. After a PED suspension and an arm triangle win over Brian Stann, “The Bad Guy” got on the microphone and let Silva know he wasn’t going anywhere. “Anderson Silva, you absolutely suck!”
Full event here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/88434

27. Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier: Prequel – UFC 178 Press Conference: Bad blood began to boil when Jon Jones initiated a shoving match that turned ugly in the first faceoff of the most heated rivalry of the decade. Dave Sholler was thrown out of the way during the melee…. As was DC’s shoe and it led to one of the most entertaining interviews in UFC history.

25. The Prodigal Son Comes Home – UFC Dublin: It was only his third fight in the UFC and Conor McGregor was headlining a card. It was no mistake though. The 14-2 Irishman was going to show Ireland what the UFC was all about and show the world just how rowdy the Irish really were with his first round TKO of Diego Brandao.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/35480

24. Liddell invades Pride FC – Pride Total Elimination 2003: After calling out Pride FC multiple times, Dana White finally got his wish. Chuck Liddell, the baddest man in the UFC would be able to take on Wanderlei Silva, the baddest man in Pride. Only problem, Liddell would have to win the middleweight grand prix to get to “The Axe Murderer.” After knocking out Alistair Overeem in just over three minutes and advancing to the semifinals, Liddell was defeated by Rampage Jackson and ending the UFC’s dream of combat supremacy over Pride.
25 Years in Short “A Matter of Pride” here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/65233

23. Robbie Lawler vs Rory MacDonald – UFC 189: The “swing from the hip until one of us falls” welterweight champ, Robbie Lawler and the heir to GSP’s throne, Rory MacDonald were set to run it back for Lawler’s title in what would go down as one of the greatest fights in UFC history. No bad blood, no animosity, just two men out to throw until one man was no longer standing. Equipped with Lawler’s blood spray, stare down between the fourth and fifth round, the early and middle adversity for Robbie Lawler and the broken expression on MacDonald’s face before the final round, UFC 189’s co-main event was one of the most memorable wars in UFC history.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/36841

22. Chuck Liddell seals Couture trilogy – UFC 57: Randy Couture pushed “The Iceman’s” day in the sun back a couple years when he defeated Chuck Liddell for the light heavyweight title at UFC 43 but you can only avoid somebody for so long in the UFC and when Liddell and Couture met again at UFC 52, Liddell landed 2005’s Knockout of the Year and cemented a trilogy bout for UFC 57. It would all come down to the third and final matchup and Liddell again knockout out Couture and was officially the king of the light heavyweight division.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/28819

21. Anderson steals one from Chael – UFC 117: There was nobody at all who verbally went after Anderson Silva the way that Chael Sonnen did. It was hard to imagine what gameplan could possibly give somebody as much confidence against Anderson Silva as Sonnen had. Come fight night, when it was time for Sonnen to back up all his talk, he did precisely that. He mauled Silva for over four and a half straight rounds without a hint of adversity. With just under two minutes in the final round, Sonnen found himself in a triangle choke that took the hopes for the belt right out of his hands.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/29044

19. DC simultaneously defends two belts – UFC 230: Leave it to Daniel Cormier to juggle two weight classes enough to win two titles at the same time and then defeat Derrick Lewis to defend his belt making him the first person alive to simultaneously defend belts in two different weight classes.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/65455

18. Bad Blood: Chapter 1 – UFC 182: The UFC might as well have given Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier Fight of the Night before the event even started. Neither man was capable of letting fatigue or pain overpower their competitive drive. The championship on the line took a back seat to the will to defeat the other man. After the fight that everybody outside of Daniel Cormier wanted, Jon Jones’ hand was raised and he retained his title.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/36096

17. Chuck Liddell wins UFC gold – UFC 52: It was one of the biggest days in the early Zuffa era. Fan favorite, Chuck Liddell, had run through everybody in his path for over four years before falling to Randy Couture at UFC 43 when the light heavyweight championship was on the line. It seemed like Chuck Liddell would forever be “close to” another title shot. Forever came at UFC 52 when “The Iceman” avenged his loss to Randy Couture and became the light heavyweight champion.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/28987

16. UFC purchases Pride – 2007: Pride FC won the battle when Rampage Jackson took home the referee stoppage win over Chuck Liddell at Pride Final Conflict 2003. The UFC won the war when they purchased Pride FC for under $70 million dollars.

14. TUF 1 debuts – 2005: Every fight fans’ favorite reality show debuted in 2005. The best light heavyweights and middleweights in the country came to Las Vegas to fight for a six figure UFC contract. Coaches Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture led Kenny Florian, Diego Sanchez, Chris Leben, Nate Quarry, Josh Koscheck, Bobby Southworth, Stephan Bonnar, Forrest Griffin and more on the journey to become the first Ultimate Fighter.
Episode 1 here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/29513?playlistId=1705

13. A Lioness and a Cyborg – UFC 232: Going into UFC 232, Amanda Nunes was the undisputed queen of the 135-pound division. Untouched in her title reign, the UFC’s first openly gay champion wanted another challenge named Cris Cyborg with the women’s featherweight title on the line. The most feared woman on earth came in as the heavy favorite to hand Nunes her first loss in over four years. The 51 second slugfest ended with Cris Cyborg unconscious and “The Lioness” hoisting both belts for the first time in women’s MMA history, the third time in UFC history.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/64811

11. UFC vs Pride: The REAL Final Conflict – UFC 79: It was a long time coming for Chuck Liddell who finally got to prove UFC’s biggest light heavyweight star was more than Pride’s biggest light heavyweight star, Wanderlei Silva, could handle. Problem was, both men were trending down and coming off back to back losses. Wanderlei’s UFC debut would serve as the UFC’s Thrilla in Manila. Both men were beyond their prime and it was the only matchup that could have brought out the extra 10% in both men. When Liddell took home the decision victory it was cemented, the UFC had won.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/28825

10. Make that 50 – UFC 205: After what seemed like a never-ending battle, the UFC was finally given the green light to put events on in New York. UFC 205 marked the first event in New York since UFC 7 back in 1995. In celebration, the UFC booked a card so stacked, household names were locked into every fight throughout the card that saw three title fights and a Conor McGregor main event.
Full event here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/88531

9. “HE FRONT KICKED HIM IN THE FACE!” – UFC 126: If only the Joe Rogan cam was around at UFC 126. Anderson Silva was laying waste to everybody in both the middleweight division, as well as light heavyweight when the mood suited him. Rich Franklin wasn’t enough, Patrick Cote, Thales Leites, none of them really threatened “The Spider,” but fans knew something big was in store for them when Vitor Belfort was set to share the Octagon with Silva. One of the most devastatingly brutal fighters in UFC history and one of the most flawless came crashing together at full speed when Anderson Silva delivered one of the greatest knockouts in the history of combat sports.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/29391

8. “I’m not surprised, mother……” – UFC 196: It only took years of climbing to the top of the division, an all-time great call out and a Rafael Dos Anjos injury to land Nate Diaz in UFC 196’s main event against Conor McGregor. The feeling around the main event was that of, “I hope it’s a good fight before Conor knocks out Nate.” But when a bloodied Nate Diaz snuck under the chin of McGregor, everybody but Diaz was shocked. A rivalry had begun and Diaz upped his stock from good fighter to main event status.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/40876

7. Precision beats power, timing beats speed – UFC 194: Conor McGregor was on top of the world in the eyes of the fans and had only one more man to conquer before he would cement that place on top of the MMA world. Jose Aldo came into the fight at UFC 194 undefeated for over ten years, number one pound-for-pound and he had worn very thin of McGregor’s antics. And while McGregor stood in the blue corner as a slight underdog at +100 odds, it only took him 13 seconds to earn the victory. Your champion, Conor McGregor.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/38703

6. Liddell and Ortiz finally meet – UFC 47: Tito Ortiz – Wrestler, vocal, bad guy persona. Chuck Liddell – Brawler, stoic, everybody’s first favorite fighter. The two couldn’t have been more opposite. The shorts even displayed this, with Tito wearing flames and Chuck with the Iceman trunks. Their friendship was divided over UFC gold when Ortiz claimed Liddell broke a pact to never fight each other. It seemed like the only fight to make and at UFC 47, the game of cat and mouse came to an end when Chuck Liddell landed somewhere around 3,000-5,000 punches in the second round, dropping Tito.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/28856

5. Conor vs Khabib – UFC 229: You want to talk about another example of “the only fight to make” insert lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov who was swimming through the 155-pound division untouched while Conor McGregor was off chasing Floyd Mayweather. The bad blood boiled over at UFC 223 when McGregor got word of Nurmagomedov’s disrespect toward teammate, Artem Lobov. McGregor hopped the first flight to New York in search of Khabib. Soon, the most highly anticipated fight of all-time was among us. Khabib dominated for three and a half rounds before locking in a neck crank that put McGregor away.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/64526

4. Ronda Rousey waves in the ladies – UFC 157: In 2013, Dana White gave WMMA a chance when he opened the door to Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche, and with many questions lingering, the pressure was on both women. In the first women’s fight in UFC history, there was a bit of everything: Carmouche was inches away from finishing Ronda, Ronda recovered in time for her patented armbar finish and the fans saw that when you stick two female mixed martial artists in the Octagon there’s just as much intensity as there is with two men. In the almost seven years since women debuted in the UFC, it’s hard to imagine a life without it.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/30448

3. Biggest upset ever – UFC 69: Okay, so as far as real Vegas odds go, it’s not literally the biggest MMA upset ever, but ask any fan pre-Conor McGregor Era where they were when Matt Serra knocked out Georges St-Pierre and they can tell you. Matt Serra came in as a +850 underdog. To put it in perspective for the modern fans, Amanda Nunes knocked out Cris Cyborg as a +220 underdog and Nate Diaz submitted Conor McGregor as a +300 underdog. Serra’s crown jewel to this point was winning TUF 4 and his lone finish in the UFC was a triangle choke over Kelly Dullanty at UFC 36. In fact, in his UFC career to that point, Serra had never knocked out a single opponent. His first came at the right time when he joined one of only two people to ever defeat Georges St-Pierre. Knockout of the Night, welterweight title, upset of all upsets.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/28988

2. Conor becomes double champ – UFC 205: The lights couldn’t have been brighter and eyes couldn’t have been more fixed on the main event from Madison Square Garden. Whether you love or hate him, every fight fan alive was all in for the “Notorious” Conor McGregor and he would have to go through one of the toughest tests of his career if he wanted the entire country of Ireland to explode: “The Underground King” Eddie Alvarez, 28-4 with almost every award and title he’s come in contact with. McGregor’s fans did more than enough to keep Alvarez’ fans in Philadelphia because when he landed a few early knockdowns in the first round the MSG began to shake. Alvarez made it out of the first but Conor made UFC history when he put Alvarez down for good in the second round. He hid none of his excitement as he strutted over to grab the Irish flag and deliver the Octagon interview of a lifetime. “I’d like to say from the bottom of my heart, I’d like to take this chance to apologize to absolutely nobody. The double champ does what the….” Well… If you don’t already know, it’s time to set aside time to watch the second biggest moment in UFC history.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/46526

1. Forrest vs Stephan - TUF 1 Finale: It had been over four years since Zuffa purchased the UFC. Popularity was growing but not fast enough. It had gone from niche sport to… niche sport with a few more fans. Mainstream respect and attention weren’t zeroing in the way Dana White and the Fertitta brothers had imagined. In a last ditch effort, The Ultimate Fighter was born. Cable TV could now look behind the curtain and beyond the cage. And while the show was popular, there were no talks of a second season. The future of the company hinged on the free Ultimate Fighter Finale card. The card underperformed with many forgettable first round finishes and when it came time for the finals, Diego Sanchez snatched the middleweight Ultimate Fighter contract so fast many don’t remember it happened. It’d be hard to imagine a fight so spectacular it could single-handedly save the company.

Yet there has never been an example of fighters rising to the occasion better than when Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar met for those 15 minutes on April 9, 2005. It’s not a far cry to say that night Forrest and Stephan saved all of mixed martial arts.

18 men on the card, it only took two to dictate the future of a cable network, the UFC and MMA. If there was only one must-see performance, it would be the performance of Forrest and Stephan. Greatest fight of all-time. Most important fight of all time.
Full fight here: https://ufcfightpass.com/video/28832