Since the dawn of its time, mixed martial arts, often known as MMA, have long been the focus of public interest and the highest form of entertainment.
It is a fusion of kickboxing, wrestling, and street fighting methods that can be traced back to its roots in the brutal training of the ancient Greek warriors’, but commercial MMA as we know it today only began with the UFC’s inaugural bout in 1993.
Since then, we’ve seen a lot of noteworthy fights full of adrenaline and excitement. We’ve compiled a list of the greatest MMA fights for you to watch. These fights below no doubt have made the UFC what it is today, a behemoth of an organization.
Had online been legal in the United States back then, these fights no doubt would have been a huge cash cow. But the good news is that there are great fights coming up (like UFC 280 with Islam Machachev vs. Charles Oliviera). So if you are a betting man (or woman) in the states, you can now put your money on the line for MMA betting on Unibet USA.
Anyway, enough talk. Let’s get to the list of the greatest fights in UFC history (so far).
The Ultimate MMA Fights That Kept Us All On Our Toes
Over the years, the UFC has truly graced us with some remarkable fights. Witnessing two fighters enter a ring and exert every last bit of effort to get their hands raised makes you feel incredibly privileged.
Sometimes it doesn’t matter who wins; it’s about surviving a brutal onslaught and refusing to quit. These fights were prime examples of that:
1. Matt Hughes vs Frank Trigg 2 (UFC 52)
Despite only lasting a single round, this fight had everything you could ask for. The bad blood between the fighters was intense. Trigg caught Hughes with an illegal low-blow attack that the referee overlooked, and Trigg followed that up with a tight rear-naked choke. What happened next may be the most goose-bumping moment in UFC history. Matt picked up Trigg, ran across the octagon, and slammed him on the ground, eventually getting him locked in a rear-naked choke of his own, and finishing the fight justly.
2. Dan Henderson vs Shogun Rua (UFC 139)
Two legends of the sport, both in the tail ends of their prime years produced one of the most brutal and craziest fights ever seen on the octagon. The 41-year-old Dan Henderson started off very strong, landing huge blows after blows and dropping Shogun multiple times during the first 3 rounds of the fight. Midway through the 4th round, however, the ties completely turned upside down. Shogun Rua was able to mount exhausted Henderson in both the 4th and the 5th round, and gave Dan an absolute beating. Henderson was able to hold on though, and his performance in the first 3 rounds was enough to secure him the win.
3. Jiri Prochazka vs Glover Teixeira (UFC 275)
This fight was so intense, that if you had bet on a fighter in this fight, you must have had several mini heart attacks. The amount of times the momentum completely shifted is mind-blowing. Each heavy attack landed and the viewers were shocked to see the opponent still standing. The fight went back and forth like that for 25 minutes until Jiri was able to hold his opponent down with a rear-naked choke in the 5th round and secured the win.
4. Robbie Lawler vs Rory MacDonald 2 (UFC 189)
Just like something straight out of a horror film, this is quite possibly the goriest title fight in the history of UFC. Halfway through the fight, both fighters were fighting on willpower alone. Rory was doing well in the middle rounds, he literally ripped Robbie’s upper lip in half. Being the savage he is, Robbie brushed it aside and stood right in Rory’s face after the 4th round bell. Rory didn’t back away either, resulting in the bone-chilling stare-down ever seen in the UFC. Robbie absolutely shattered Rory’s nose in the 5th round. In the end, Robbie retained his title, giving us a fight we’ll never forget.
