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