Fifty Greatest Fights in UFC History Part 1/5

With the UFC running their top 100 fights of all-time in celebration of the UFC 100 card next weekend (and doing such a shit job with some of the fights they selected), I thought I’d go to a certain amount of effort and come up with what I believe is the best 50 fights in UFC history. I’ve gone over and watched plenty of old fights in the past two weeks which is one of the reasons I’ve made few updates on the site in recent times and I hope I haven’t left anything too obvious out. I’ll be doing this over the next five days with five posts, enjoy:

50- Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson unanimous decision Dan Henderson (UFC 75)
Sure, not the most action packed fight of all-time but given it’s historical significance as well as the back and forth battle between the two I feel it deserves a place in my 50 even if it comes at 50. This was the long awaited mega fight all UFC and PRIDE fans had been waiting for between the UFC 205lb champion and the PRIDE 205lb champion, except that it got less attention because it wasn’t Liddell vs Silva. Rampage had knocked out Liddell at UFC 71 and Henderson KO’d Wanderlei at PRIDE 33 setting up what ended up being a very underrated fight. Henderson controlled early with his wrestling but after Rampage had an answer for Henderson’s takedown game the two became locked in a very even battle that Rampage came on top of due to superior conditioning.

49- Eugene Jackson knockout (2nd) Royce Alger (UFC 21)
A wild slugfest from the dark ages with Middleweight journeyman Jackson scoring a dramatic one punch knockout over a tiring Alger in the early part of the 2nd round. Alger was a well credentialed wrestler who scored numerous takedowns in the early goings of the fight, even advancing his position and doing damage which was unheard of for wrestlers of that age. Alger suffered from the typical lack of long term conditioning that top wrestlers had back then, and Jackson began escaping and landing shots. After a wild first round of takedowns, escapes and heavy punches being thrown, Jackson ended things quickly in the 2nd round.

48- Tito Ortiz split decision Forrest Griffin (UFC 59)
A fight that the UFC would like it’s fans to forget is the one where Tito Ortiz, the former golden boy of the UFC who Dana White hates, edged out one of their poster boys Forrest Griffin by split decision. It was Tito’s comeback after a period off contract with the UFC and his opponent was the ever popular TUF1 champion Forrest Griffin who was 2-0 since winning the show. Ortiz quickly attempted to show Griffin he was out of his league, scoring a takedown and landing with heavy elbows for the majority of the first round that rocked and bloodied Griffin. Griffin somehow survived the onslaught and began opening up on his feet in the 2nd round, scoring with rapid punches although Ortiz was landing some solid straight shots back on Forrest. With the crowd on Forrest’s side going into the third, he again tried outworking a tiring Tito but the two traded evenly with Forrest again scoring more and Tito landing the harder shots. A late takedown from Ortiz looked like it could be enough, but Forrest escaped and the fight went to the judges where Tito scored an unpopular (I actually thought he won) split decision victory.

47- Phillip Miller submission (2nd) Mark Weir (UFC 40)
If you have never seen this fight, it’s a war that could have easily been higher if anyone, anywhere knew who either of these two were. Mark Weir was coming off the quickest KO in UFC history over Eugene Jackson while Miller was a solid wrestler who lay and prayed his way to victory on the same card. The fight was back and forth with Miller scoring repeated takedowns only for Weir to escape and rock Miller with shots. In the 2nd round, Miller seemed to be out but again scored a takedown and dramatically took Weirs back and sunk in the choke for the victory. Miller would retire not long after with a 16-0 record including a 2-0 run in the UFC.

46- Don Frye submission (2:14) Gary Goodridge (UFC 8.)
The tournament billed as ‘David vs Goliath’ pitted such a matchup in the Final with 210lb Don Frye taking on 260lb Gary Goodridge. It was the first UFC event of both men and both men had an easy run to the final, winning their two previous fights of the evening in under a minute for Frye and just over six minutes for Goodridge. The fight was quick, but violent as both men traded heavy shots with Goodridge scoring a brief takedown before they returned to the feet and traded some more. After a scramble, Frye ended up on top in a good position and began landing heavy shots on Goodridge who quickly tapped out, giving Frye the UFC 8 tournament championship.

45- Matt Hughes submission (1st) Frank Trigg (UFC 45)
The not quite as attractive older sister of that hot girl everyone’s always talking about, but one you’d fuck nonetheless if you had the chance (although I wouldn’t fuck any girl that looked anything like Matt Hughes or Frank Trigg). The first fight was surely not as memorable as the epic rematch (although the ending was one of the most memorable), but it was still a great fight. The fight was a four minute scramble in which both men took top position on a number of occasions and although little damage was done, it was an awesme display of grappling. Hughes ended up taking Triggs back and as Trigg stood up to defend, sunk in a mid-air rear naked choke pulling Trigg on top of him as he tapped out.

44- Pedro Rizzo knockout (2nd) Josh Barnett (UFC 30)
It’s very rare you get a good heavyweight slugfest that goes for more then a few minutes, but top heavyweight contenders Pedro Rizzo and Josh Barnett put on a show at UFC 30. Despite Rizzo’s feared striking ability, Barnett was more then happy to stand with him and was doing well in the first round. Rizzo was having trouble timing Barnett’s odd style combined with his size advantage but midway through the first he began timing Barnett and the two started scoring heavily in the exchanges. Rizzo started scoring with leg kicks which were slowing Barnett down visibly in the 2nd round and then after stunning him with a right hand, he finished the job with a bigger right seconds later. It would be Barnett who would go on to defeat Randy Couture however as Rizzo fell short in his two attempts at the title.

43- Tyson Griffin split decision Clay Guida (UFC 72)
Two of the UFC’s most exciting current day fighters battled in Ireland at UFC 72 and as expected won fight of the night. Both guys set an electrifying pace that didn’t back off for the entire three rounds. It was a back and forth fight with Griffin doing better on the feet and Guida scoring more takedowns and getting the better positions. At one point Guida took Griffin’s back but was dropped on his face as he attempted to sink in the choke. The decision went to Griffin although many people feel Guida was robbed.

42- Forrest Griffin submission (3rd) Mauricio Shogun (UFC 76)
The 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix champion Mauricio Shogun’s UFC debut was spoiled by Forrest Griffin in an exciting battle which mostly took place on the ground. Expected to walk through the ‘reality TV star’ Shogun seemed a step behind the entire fight and despite opening two huge gashes on Griffin’s face in the opening round, Griffin’s pace was too much for Shogun. After a close first round, Griffin upped the tempo and left Shogun tired and battered at the end of the 2nd round and basically doing all that he could to survive. After battering Shogun in the third round, Forrest finished off Shogun, who at the time was considered the top Light Heavyweight in the world, with seconds remaining in the final round.

 41- Robbie Lawler unanimous decision Chris Lytle (UFC 45)
The comeback for Robbie Lawler after his first loss was also the beginning of the long time UFC career of Chris Lytle who in losing earned another chance in the organisation. Lawler took the fight to the ground early in the first where he dealt out considerable damage while avoiding numerous submission attempts from Lytle. After a slow 2nd round, the fight exploded with one of the most memorable final rounds in UFC history with a wild stand-up exchange taking place for the majority of the round. Lawler took away any doubt in the decision by dropping Lytle (only for Lytle to applaud as he fell to his back) in what was the first of many memorable fights for Lytle in the UFC.

40-31 tomorrow…..