Issue 166

April 2018

They’re driven to be physically and mentally better, to produce the kind of performance that earns them the title of number one in the world. When those performances are partnered with an equally fine showing from their opponent, we’re in for something special. 

So, for this special issue of FO, we’ve gone deep into our memory banks to recall the grandest action from the first 25 years of MMA as we now know it. 

To pick the ‘greatest’ title fights, we’ve tried to focus – with a couple of exceptions – on competitive fights with ebb, flow and attrition. You won’t see too much Anderson Silva, GSP or Conor McGregor here, whose championship legacies are built on blowouts. We’re interested in athletes who had to battle to get their belts.

Some you’ll have seen, some you might not have (get on Fight Pass or Google and rectify that ASAP); some are drawn-out, others last a few minutes; some are brawls, others are technically excellence. All are worthy of repeat viewings. 

23. Jedrzejczyk vs. Gadelha – TUF 23 Finale, July 9, 2016

Joanna Jedrzejczyk was on her way to losing her 115lb title in this heated grudge match as Cláudia Gadelha took a 20-18 lead. The challenger hit takedowns and took control for much of the opening 10 minutes. A left hook and takedown at the start of round three made defeat look inevitable, but within moments, the fight was back to the standing realm and ‘Claudinha’ was starting to take deep breaths. From then on, Jedrzejczyk had her way and put on a striking clinic, accelerating ahead on the scorecards and defending her strap in style.

22. Emelianenko vs. Nogueira – Pride 25, Mar 16, 2003

It might just be misty-eyed nostalgia talking, but this may well still be the peak of heavyweight MMA. It’s hard to imagine these men as anything other than old warhorses now, but at this time, Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira were just 26 years old and at the peak of their powers. They were, young, lean and unravaged by the toils of lengthy careers. At the very least, this was the highest-level MMA competition had ever reached at this point. 

The champion, ‘Big Nog’, could box, but was best known for his awesome durability and ability to pull a submission out of any situation. ‘The Last Emperor’ was a relentless offensive machine, but his sambo skillset would, it was presumed, play straight into ‘Minotauro’s’ strengths.

However, instead of finding a window of opportunity for a sneaky sweep or counter under fire, the Brazilian was repeatedly smashed for the majority of the fight by ground and pound. Even when he could get a reversal, incredibly, Emelianenko backed out and continued his assault. He danced with danger and laughed in its face for 20 minutes. One of the truly great performances of all time on the biggest stage.

21. Pulver vs. Penn – UFC 35, Jan 11, 2002

B.J. Penn was supposed to be the unstoppable young phenom destined for a title. After two rounds against the champ, it looked like he was moments from it. In fact, he was seconds from realizing his dream as Jens Pulver submitted to an armbar, but the tap came after the buzzer. The following three rounds were a lesson in determination, as ‘Lil’ Evil’ wore ‘The Prodigy’ down to complete one of the great comebacks.

20. Hendricks vs. Lawler – UFC 171, Mar 15, 2014

The two hardest-hitting welterweights of the day gave everything they had for 20 minutes. Johny Hendricks took rounds one and two, Robbie Lawler did what Robbie Lawler does to even things up. But ‘Ruthless’ was not yet notorious for his late victories and this time, ‘Bigg Rigg’ dug deepest in round five to get the edge. He said: “I looked at him and said, ‘It’s 2-2, I’ve got to win this round.’ I had to leave everything out there. In five minutes, you can change the world.”

19. Curran vs. Straus – Bellator 112, Mar 14, 2014

A strong start from Pat Curran was turned around as 145lb champion Daniel Straus scored a knockdown, then pulled ahead in the three subsequent rounds. Curran had to find something miraculous to make up the deficit. He found a second wind and a home for his right hand, then a takedown. Straus defended, but with just 14 agonizing seconds left, he had to tap to an RNC. Demetrious Johnson may have a later title-fight finish but he can't match this for drama.

18. Couture vs. Rizzo – UFC 31, May 4, 2001

It's 17 years and 32 UFC heavyweight title fights later, but this is yet to be topped. Pedro Rizzo, who destroyed with leg kicks, vs. Randy Couture, who wanted to wrestle and clinch. Couture came close to a finish with his plan of attack in the first, then ‘The Rock’ ate up his right leg with sickening shin-on-thigh violence in the next round. But ‘The Natural’ is next-level tough, and persevered through damage that would later send him to hospital to gut-out a remarkable victory.

17. Shamrock vs. Ortiz – UFC 22, Sep 24, 1999

This may have been billed as a light heavyweight (then middleweight, 199lb) title match, but Tito Ortiz was a much bigger man than Frank Shamrock. He put his size and wrestling to use by taking ‘The Legend’ down to avoid his kickboxing, but Shamrock never, stopped, working, from his back. He had to, otherwise he would have lost his title to ground and pound.

“I had a plan to beat him in 30 seconds,” Shamrock tells FO. “I was going to give him my back, spin around and catch him in an unsuspected armbar. The biggest memory for me was I missed it, then I felt how strong he was!”

But by round three, Ortiz had been working so hard to finish, he was getting tired. In the next period, he ran out of gas. Using a miraculous reserve of energy, Shamrock survived some elbows then swept from guard. They went toe-to-toe, then Shamrock snatched a guillotine, rolled to mount, got to his feet and wailed on the prone ‘Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ until he tapped.

“I just went back to my thing and the rest of it worked out exactly as I planned,” the winner remembers. “It was the original rope-a-dope in MMA. He had no idea what was going on and I was just riding the horse until I could turn him over and do my thing.”

16. Melendez vs. Thomson 2 – Strikeforce: Evolution, Dec 19, 2009

For all the memorable battles in Scott Coker’s San Jose organization, this might beat them all for action contained within a single fight. While not the most competitive of ‘El Nino’ and ‘The Punk’s 155lb title trilogy (that was their rubber match) it was the most exciting, with barely any pause from either man. There was plenty of technical striking and crisp combinations on display, but the contest also often reverted to a straight-up shootout. Though he had been the runaway winner in their first fight, Josh Thomson got outstruck in every round this time and dropped in the second, but never stopped going forward until the final bell, scrambling for a last-gasp submission. In the end, Gilbert Melendez got some hard-earned redemption as his hand was raised.

15. Aldo vs. Mendes 2 – UFC 179, Oct 25, 2014

Having been defeated by KO when he first challenged 145lb GOAT José Aldo for his belt, Chad Mendes returned to Rio as the very best version of himself – armed with the firepower to beat just about anyone. To counter this threat, ‘Junior’ abandoned his usual defensive, counter-attacking approach and met ‘Money’ in the center of the cage. “Chad is a great athlete,” he told FO. “But I was ready for anything he should bring to the bout and I overwhelmed him being superior in all areas.”

14. Lawler vs. Condit – UFC 195, Jan 2, 2016

The third appearance of ‘Fifth-Round Lawler’ in the UFC as Robbie had to dig deep yet again. Entering the last frame at a deficit, he bit down and delivered one of the greatest rounds we’ve ever seen. As soon as it was over, both he and Carlos Condit slumped against the cage in exhaustion. They had nothing left in the tank. It was touch and go, but the judges’ they had it 48-47 Condit, 48-47 Lawler and 48-47 for the winner, by split decision, and… still champion, ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler. 

13. Alvarez vs. Chandler 2 – Bellator 106, Nov 2, 2013

It would be unfair to say that the rematch of Bellator’s best-ever fight didn’t match its predecessor. It didn’t, but it still arguably ended up being its second-greatest fight. 

When Michael Chandler shocked the world by taking out Eddie Alvarez despite having a third of the in-cage experience the first time around, ‘The Underground King admits he was caught off-guard.

“The first fight… I don’t want to say I underestimated him, but the style and pace that he fights at is not something you’re just going to jump in a cage and be ready for,” he tells FO. “You need to be prepared for it. I jumped into the first fight and was overwhelmed with a new type of fighter. You don’t normally spar and need to get ready for a fight like that.”

That frenetic pace was dialed back by a few miles per hour when they met again, but an extra seven minutes of toe-to-toe action was added as these elite competitors traded rounds, busting each other open for 25 minutes, fighting tooth-and-nail to get the slightest edge.

“He’s a hell of a fighter. A combination of athletic, tough, grit, no willingness to give up, so it was more of a spiritual battle than it was skill battle,” says Alvarez. “When it was a fight between me and Mike Chandler, it was more whose will was going to be stronger. I needed to work on my intangibles more than you needed to work on the skill aspect. Sometimes that’s a lot tougher to have to dig deep and train your mind and your heart to not give up. 

“The second fight was definitely tough. All 50 minutes in the cage [with him] was tough,” Alvarez adds. “But as far as coming back and overcoming an opponent… I think he’s almost a mirror-image of myself. He just wasn’t willing to quit. He’s the closest to myself.”

In the end, after all the takedowns, submission attempts and direct hits absorbed, Alvarez just did enough to get his hand raised. It was the most hard-earned victory of his iconic career and one that was an encapsulation of everything he aspires to be as a mixed martial artist.

“Getting my belt back is the epitome of how I live and what I’m about. It’s about dealing with some adversity, not getting too down on myself, pushing myself back up off the ground and coming back better. That’s what I aim to teach my kids and it’s what I’m about as a human being.”

12. Nogueira vs. Cro Cop – Pride Final Conflict 2003, Nov 9, 2003

With Fedor Emelianenko nursing a broken thumb, the Pride interim heavyweight title was on the line – and drama of the highest order was in the offing. Once again, this was two of MMA's most battle-hardened veterans before all the bloodshed. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mirko Cro Cop were young, fresh and ready to roll like the stud athletes they were and set for a classic striker vs. grappler matchup. 

As Bas Rutten predicted: “Nogueira has to take this to the ground otherwise he’s going to be knocked out,” adding that he thought that was unlikely. He was right for the first 10 minutes, as the Croatian kickboxer pieced the BJJ master up on the feet. A trademark left high kick landed in the final seconds of the round – a strike that would kill most men. Big Nog went down, but was saved by the bell.

The start of round two brought about the most miraculous, unbelievable and inspiring turnaround. The takedown came in 10 seconds. Mount came 10 seconds later. Japanese crowds are usually quiet, but 67,450 in the Tokyo Dome started to stir. When ‘Minotauro’ locked in the armbar, they lost their minds. Has there ever been a louder roar in an MMA arena?

11. Hughes vs. Trigg 2 – UFC 52, Apr 16, 2005

It’s almost a legal requirement to mention this is Dana White’s favorite fight. The rematch between Matt Hughes and Frank Trigg is now also in the UFC Hall of Fame and we all know why: knee in the balls, referee misses it, Hughes recovers, picks Trigg up, does a running slam, MGM Arena explodes, rear naked choke.

Even though he lost, Trigg can look back on it with fond memories. “Even to this day there hasn’t been a rivalry as big as the one between Hughes and I,” he says. “There hasn’t been a rivalry as strong as ours with the fight living up the hype like ours did. 

“Either one of us could have won. I had him beat. He came back from that. I think Dana said that in four minutes and 15 seconds you see everything a title fight should be. That’s exactly what it was. There has never been a buildup, rivalry and fight that matched the level of intensity that surrounded it. We did it and it’s never been matched since.”

10. Edgar vs. Maynard 3 – UFC 136, Oct 8, 2011

The last time Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard fought, ‘The Answer’ had to come back from a beating in the first round to earn a draw in one of the greatest fights ever (more on that later). Going into their third fight, there was no way Edgar would be caught by that big left hook again. Was there?

He explains: “In the first round I was thinking ‘Not again.’ He came at me. He hits really hard. I was out of it for a minute. Sometimes in a fight you get hit like that and you are just in survival mode. You don’t have a plan. I get hit and I get rocked but I’ll keep coming forward.” 

Another 10-8 first round, but Edgar had been there and done that. This time, he wouldn’t merely fight back to a frustrating tie, either. This time he’d put a stamp on it. This time he’d make sure the judges weren’t needed. This time, he’d get a sensational, life-affirming knockout with six minutes to spare.

“I knew from the previous fight, that I could come back from it,” Edgar tells FO. “There was no doubt in my mind I could come back again. Gray was landing that uppercut. I listened to my coaches. They said I needed to get my head off. I was keeping my head in the middle. I made the adjustment. That seemed to work. With these fights, I’ve heard the Rocky comparisons a lot. That’s fine with me. Rocky was my movie hero.”

9. Jones vs.Gustafsson – UFC 165, Sep 12, 2013 

So many fights promise so much and let us down. This was the opposite. Few thought Alexander Gustafsson had anything to offer Jon Jones – already the best 205lb fighter ever after five flawless title defenses. Even the UFC’s PR team seemed to be struggling, as the best tagline they could come up with was ‘greatness within reach’ – because the Swede was tall like Jones. 'Bones' later admitted he didn't take this fight seriously, which was a huge mistake. “He was winning the fight and that was something that was new to me – to be losing,” he said. 

Gustafsson took Jones down for the first time in his career and cut him above the eye. He won the first and third rounds, and most of the fourth. He was picking the king apart. Fans, journalists, coaches, commentators and the fighter were starting to wonder, was this to be a defeat for Jon Jones?

A spinning elbow with a minute to go changed everything. “I knew it wasn’t good because I was seeing him three of him out there,” Gustafsson said. Now they were even – two rounds each. Exhausted, bloody, bruised, sweaty and swollen they clashed for five more minutes, but a series of left high kicks handily earned the champion the officials’ nod, which means he was, still, the king.

8. Henderson vs. Cerrone – WEC 43, Oct 10, 2009

Iron chins and rubber limbs set this fight apart, as Benson Henderson and Donald Cerrone traded strikes and submission attempts for a breathless 25 minutes. There was barely a second when someone wasn’t having their arm wrenched, neck squeezed, face punched or body beaten.

According to the judges, Henderson took the first three rounds (though he still had to escape some sticky situations) before slowing way down. He was still game, but didn’t have the gas to keep up with a ‘Cowboy’ who had horsepower to keep firing until the final bell and take the contest to an agonizingly close decision. He had a smile on his face when ‘Smooth’ had his hand raised, but you’d have to think he was crushed by coming so close, yet still ending up with an ‘L’.

7. Diaz vs. Daley – Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley, Apr 9, 2011

Mayhem. Perhaps the greatest one-round MMA fight ever. Paul Daley liked to end fights with power strikes. Nick Diaz, originally a submission specialist, preferred precision punches and an accumulation of damage. Both ended up swinging for the fences and giving the Compustrike analyst a heart attack...

• 0:00 – Fighters face off. Diaz calls Daley a b**ch.
• 0:04 – Diaz is already taunting, arms out wide.
• 0:07 – Inside leg kick from “Semtex’. Diaz shrugs.
• 0:23 – More trash from Diaz, jab and cross to the body.
• 0:27 – Daley gets the plumb clinch and attempts a knee.
• 0:33 – Left hook by Daley! Diaz drops to his knees.
• 0:35 – Daley unloads with wild hooks to a turtled Diaz.
• 0:46 – Diaz is on his feet, covering as Daley throws bombs.
• 1:04 – Diaz defends another flurry against the cage.
• 1:17 – He slips a big cross and counters with a right hook.
• 1:30 – A left straight snaps back the head of ‘Semtex’.
• 1:45 – Big body blows add to the damage up against the fence.
• 2:02 – Diaz throws a 15-punch combo, landing most of them.
• 2:07 – A desperate Daley shoots and narrowly avoids a choke.
• 2:37 – Diaz gets up with a single-leg attempt and clinches.
• 2:46 – A taunt and a big one-two to the face knocks Daley back.
• 2:55 – Diaz lands big to the body, but Daley fires back.
• 3:11 – Uppercuts and elbows against the cage from Diaz. Daley is in trouble.
• 3:15 – Daley wobbles, but explodes with knees in the clinch.
• 3:24 – Diaz walks through it like it’s nothing and they start swinging.
• 3:34 – A massive left hook decks Diaz! Daley dives in and unloads!
• 3:55 – Hammerfists! Ground and pound! But Diaz uses his feet to stay safe.
• 4:05 – Diaz is a danger on the mat so Daley lets him up. It. Is. On.
• 4:40 – Diaz goes to work. Body, head, head, head, head, body, head and head!
• 4:47 – Daley falls! Crowd on its feet! Diaz goes in for the kill!
• 4:57 – Eight unanswered punches and it’s over! Incredible!

6. Silva vs. Rampage 2 – Pride 28, Oct 31, 2004 

Wanderlei Silva and Quinton Jackson did not like each other, which meant they were going out to hurt each other again – as you’d expect for men nicknamed ‘The Axe Murderer’ and ‘Rampage’. Though their first encounter was a treat, few fights have ever topped the rematch. They picked up where they left off, in the center of the ring, standing toe-to-toe and flinging bones at each other. 

Rampage had the best of a long, 10-minute first round, dropping Silva and pounding away on the ground, but the Brazilian showed some savvy to survive and make it to his corner. He came back out on fire and eventually landed a right hook to end all right hooks. Somehow, that didn’t even drop his rival, but the barrage of knees that followed did. The last one sent the American falling through the ropes, where he stayed, unconscious, with blood pouring from his face. 

My two fights against Rampage were both very good,” Silva told FO. “The first one was good, but the second was one of the most aggressive, devastating knockouts in the history of the sport. When Rampage was knocked out and fell into the ropes it looked like he was dead! I had never seen a dead person before but it was amazing. That was one of my best performances.”

5. Chandler vs. Alvarez – Bellator 58, Nov 19, 2011

Was November 19th, 2011 the greatest night of MMA ever? Most of the attention was on the UFC action in San Jose as Dan Henderson and ‘Shogun’ Rua’s waged war in one of the greatest (non-title) fights of all time, but across the country – in Hollywood, Florida – there was arguably an even greater encounter taking place, as Eddie Alvarez defended his Bellator belt against the undefeated Michael Chandler. 

‘Iron’ exploded out of the traps and dropped the champion twice in the first 15 seconds. Though Alvarez got his senses back and had success of his own, he was dropped for a third time. Five minutes that clearly went the way of the challenger. The second frame was more even, before Alvarez took over in round three. However, somehow, ‘Iron’ was able to survive a trademark Alvarez attack and then roar back to finish the future UFC king in the fourth. Here, ‘Iron’ relives the action and the swings in momentum.

Phase 1: Explosion

“Let’s be honest, I started fighting in August 2009. I was barely two years into my career and I was fighting a top-three guy in the world in Eddie Alvarez. On paper, he was supposed to beat me. In the rankings, he was supposed to beat me. The oddsmakers said he was going to beat me. I was a huge underdog. I had nothing to lose and I knew he’d never stepped in the cage with anyone like me coming off a Division I wrestling background with five years at the University of Missouri, beating my body to a pulp, so I knew I was going to go out there and outlast him. Even though I wasn’t as skilled and not as good on paper or as experienced, I was going to go out there and smash him. I just wanted to set off fast. I wasn’t afraid to fight 25 hard minutes.

“It was just go! Go forward and go out on your shield. I dropped him at the very beginning of the first round, I dropped him at the end of the first round and split his lip open, so I knew I had him on his heels. I was just going to keep pouring it on. At that point in time, I’d only gone 15 minutes in a cage, I didn’t know if my body to go the full 25, but I was willing to die in there.”

Phase 2: Up against it 

“It was definitely different, there was definitely some adversity. I was getting beat for the first time in nine fights, but I kept my composure. He did a good job of keeping the pressure on me, so he made me look worse than I actually was feeling. I was feeling OK but he was all over me – hitting me with shots, hitting me with shots and hitting me with shots! 

“I was trying to manoeuvre away and angle out so I could get my faculties about me, catch my breath and get back into the fight. When he saw me hurt – I threw a kick and hit his hip, which badly bruised my foot and kind of stumbled on it a couple of times – he didn’t have me rocked at all, but he had me overwhelmed, if you will. He just poured it on and made me look really bad.”

Phase 3: The X-factor

“After that third round – he beat me up pretty bad in the third round – I came out and landed the first punch in the fourth round and let him know I wasn’t backing down, and that’s when he mentally broke… I looked him right in the eyes, punched him in the mouth and was able to finish him.

“You can’t teach heart, relentlessness and the will to win, and I’ve got it. Thank God I was blessed with it and I’ve worked extremely hard to continue to hone that skill, heart, gas tank and limitlessness. I continue to win fights because of it.

“I’m the most violent man in MMA. Eddie says he’s the most violent, but I am and I’ve proven that twice against him.”

4. Edgar vs. Maynard 2 – UFC 125: Resolution, Jan 1, 2011

Despite twice defeating the legend B.J. Penn to win and defend the 155lb title, Frankie Edgar came into this bout as a slight underdog. ‘The Answer’ lost a wide decision to Gray Maynard a couple of years before and many people expected the bigger, stronger ‘Bully’ to prevail in much the same way. This time would be far different, however, as the pair put on a fight for the ages to ring in the new year. Here, the two figures in one of MMA’s greatest rivalries remember a roller coaster 25 minutes…

Round 1

Edgar: "I don’t remember much about the first round. I went out and I was doing my thing, then I got caught with a big left hook and it was kinda all downhill from there. I remember… just surviving, I guess."

Maynard: "I thought it was done. I clipped him, he rolled over backwards, I hit him a couple more times and I thought I had the belt around my waist. Then he kept going and I kept trying stuff."

Edgar: "I just kept moving. I just think I didn’t give the ref a reason to stop it. I showed life, and that’s what you have to do. I want to make sure I don’t show him I’m kind of a dead man out there."

Maynard: "He did a great job of holding onto a leg and going all over the place. I couldn’t dial it in. It could have been more calculated a bit, but you smell blood and it’s hard to go back and not go crazy. It’s hard to put him out."

Edgar: "There were times I was rocked where I was able to return with punches a little bit to keep him off me. The person I am and how hard I train, I just put my chin down and got through it. That pride in me was saying, ‘Just don’t go down.’ I pretty much survived by the skin of my teeth."

Maynard: "Towards the end of the round I got that adrenaline dump. I was out of it. I was so tired from throwing all the heavy shots. Towards the end, I knew he was going to make it, so I sort of pulled off a little bit."

Round 2

Maynard: "I really didn’t hear my corner after the first because my body was pretty tingly. I was just trying to concentrate on how I was going to get through the next four. I knew I was, but I had to dig deep. He came out and poured it on."

Edgar: "I couldn’t really tell he’d punched himself out, but he’d had to have slowed down. He threw everything he had at me and I was able to keep coming. Whether he was punched out or not… I don’t know. I knew I was behind on the scorecards big time. I think I hit him with a nice 1-1-2 and turned him sideways a little bit, and that’s when the tide started turning."

Maynard: "I was just trying to get my body back. It was mainly defence, then he got a takedown. It was a big slam that kind of pissed me off. Right, let’s do this. Screw the defence, let’s keep going."

Edgar: "I was fighting on instinct, on remote control, listening to my coaches. I started picking up steam and chipping away at that lead he had."

Round 3

Maynard: "I knew what I was going to do and that was leave it on the line. I remember a lot of openings. [Unlike the last round] I took everything. A right hand he landed on me was the only good one. It was all points. A lot of stuff I didn’t even feel."

Edgar: "He got the takedown, but I was going for a lot of submissions, so I thought that might have been the equaliser."

Round 4

Maynard Alright Gray, this is the championship, the belt. Get your ass up off this stool and attack him."

Edgar: "I was looking for submissions against the fence and bringing a high pace.

Maynard Adrenaline could have been going pretty good to where I didn’t notice, but there wasn’t anything tight."

Edgar: "I didn’t know if I needed a finish, but my foot was on the gas pedal and I was definitely stealing the rounds."

Round 5

Edgar: "I knew I was down. My coaches were telling me I had to keep getting the rounds. But the person I am – I could be near death and I could come back, fight tooth-and-nail and do what I’ve got to make sure I win."

Maynard: "Edgar is tough and I knew I had to do what I had to do to beat him up. His lights weren’t going out, so it was doing damage because that’s what he was trying to do to me. We were just winging at each other and leaving it on the line. The belt was in my eyes and in my heart. When you want it bad enough, you dig deep."

Edgar: "I thought I did enough to win. He won the first round 10-8, but I felt two, three four and five were all mine."

Maynard: "We felt pretty good about it. This is mine. I know I did."

The decision: 48-46 Edgar, 46-48 Maynard, 47-47 draw 

Edgar: "I know I kept my belt, but it felt like a loss. I wanted to get my hand raised and have his not raised. I wanted a definitive win."

Maynard: "It’s hard to pat myself on the back when you feel like your arm is going to be raised and then it doesn’t happen. You just can’t believe it. It was surreal. I thought I blew it. It was painful."

Edgar: "Although I did get to take the belt home that night, I’m glad we got to do it again…"

Maynard: "It’s hard for me to keep checking it out, but I was part of history, we spilled a lot of blood in there and it was fun."

Edgar: "I’ve got to give respect to Gray. Every time we fought he brought it and definitely brought the best out of me. What really makes these fights so interesting and so exciting, is two guys that fought their heart out."

3. Pettis vs. Henderson – WEC 53, Dec 16, 2010

Both Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis were on a hot streak of phenomenal action coming into this contest – the last in World Extreme Cagefighting history. The pound-for-pound most exciting promotion ever to exist in MMA deserved a perfect conclusion as it was absorbed into the UFC, and the unbelievable offensive ability shown by both of these men in their previous fights, made theirs an irresistible clash that was, on paper, just that. ‘Showtime and ‘Smooth’ were willing to throw caution to the wind and attack from the get-go. 

“I was on cloud nine in that fight,” says Pettis. “I had nothing to lose. It was in his hometown. I’d been in the WEC maybe a year and a half, and I was already fighting for a world title. Then they announced the winner of that fight would fight for the UFC title. I was in a dream.”

Both took the centre of the Octagon, but ‘Bendo’ had the better of the first round thanks to his cage control and two takedowns. These were no stalling tactics. He was putting pressure on Pettis non-stop.

The Milwaukee native came back in the second round, landing with snappy strikes that visibly shook the champion, though he was able to brush them off and put his grappling to good use again. After 10 minutes it was clear we had a fight on our hands. The crowd in the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona was getting loud.

“I felt so good in that fight,” Pettis remembers. “I went out there and just performed… You’ve got to find that love for being in the octagon. You can’t just be there to get a paycheque. You’ve got to be there because you want to be there.”

The third round became a gruelling anaerobic struggle, but this time in Pettis’ favour as he became a human backpack after tripping his foe and scrambling into dominant position and wrapping up a body triangle. Henderson tried to stay clear of submission danger while standing, but opened his body to punishing body blows. He eventually succeeded getting free courtesy of some ferocious elbows to the thigh with seconds to spare. 

The scramble-tastic opening to the next round meant it was Henderson’s turn for back control with a body triangle – and then a locked-in rear naked choke, which somehow didn’t end the fight. “How did Pettis get out of that one?” wondered colour commentator, Stephan Bonnar. It’s doubtful anyone has an answer for that.

Momentum shifted in Pettis’ favour as he took the back, before the fight shifted to the feet and back to the mat with each fighter enjoying successful offence. There were submission escapes, takedowns and ground and pound, but Henderson just about got the better of the second-to-last stanza. By now, this was officially a classic.

There was barely any drop in intensity as the fifth frame got underway. Somehow each man dialled it up as the round progressed. For every blow that landed for one, the other was ready to reply in an instant in combinations. Dominant positions were exchanged with furious rapidity. Going into the final minute of the final round of the final WEC fight, it was a pick-em. Fans were on the edge of their seats until, with 1:03 left on the clock, they were all on their feet.

It was the highlight to end all highlights and the ultimate exclamation point. As Henderson backed up, Pettis jumped onto the cage, pushed off it with one foot and, still in mid-air, flattened his foe with a flying roundhouse – ‘The Showtime Kick’. It was unbelievable, unforgettable. Even Henderson’s home fans lost their minds.

“We used to jump off walls and break boards for demos when we were kids,” Pettis recalls. “That’s where that came from. It was just a playful move. It wasn’t something we drilled. I practiced it maybe four or five times. That was a clean kick. I hit him with my foot. If I’d been a little closer and my shin hit him, I think he would have been done, for sure.”

It was remarkable that Henderson didn’t go to sleep, but even though he hung on to the horn, that final shot had sealed the scorecards for ‘Showtime’, as well as a place on MMA sizzle reels for years to come.

“I was just running in Virginia and this guy, probably not even an MMA fan, he was like 60 years old, came up to me and said, ‘You’re Anthony Pettis. I remember the Showtime kick.’ It’s going to be one of the things that lives with me for the rest of my career,” Pettis says. “It was an amazing move.” It was also an amazing fight.

2. Santiago vs. Misaki 2 – Sengoku 14, Aug 22, 2010

It’s hard to think of any fights that had such extreme shifts in momentum as this one. About as close as you will see to an actual life-and-death struggle in MMA, both Jorge Santiago and Kazuo Misaki came to the brink of defeat on two occasions, summoning incalculable resolve to persevere through adversity and come back to put their opponent in danger, resulting in a do-or-die final round. It was relentless, breathless, jaw-dropping stuff.

Santiago, the defending champion spent much of the first fight chasing the ‘Grabaka Hitman’ around the ring before he finally finished him in the fifth, but says he expected more of a battle this time: “Misaki was always a guy where you couldn’t predict what he was going to do. He reacts sometimes more than making a game plan. I remember seeing him fight in Pride and he was just a wild guy. He has a strong background in judo and a little karate, and it makes him a very hard guy to fight.”

Here’s how the fight played out, based on Santiago’s memories and the scorecards of ringside judges Tenshin Matsumoto, Ryogaku Wada and Masato Fukuda. To be clear, judges were far more liberal with scorecards than Western fans were used to eight years ago, so prepare to see some very fine and wide margins.

Round 1: Close call

The first round was the closest of the bout, with Santiago – a self-diagnosed slow-starter – coming out hard for once. He found his aggression was matched. 

“I had it in my mind I was going to be so aggressive and determined to keep my belt because I’m pretty sure he was in the same mindset,” the Brazilian remembers. “I could see in his eyes after the first fight, he couldn’t believe he wasn’t the champ. I knew he would bring his best. He came out in the way we expected. He wasn’t going to give up.”

• Matsumoto: 10-10
• Wada: 10-10
• Fukuda: 10-9 Misaki

Round 2: Tight squeeze

First blood: Misaki. Heavy strikes were exchanged on the feet, but it was tough to separate the two, until the title challenger jumped guard and locked in the tightest of guillotines. Though it couldn’t force the tap, it was enough to earn the round.

“I almost tapped on the guillotine,” says Santiago. “I was like, ‘F**k, what am I doing here?” But I didn’t care, I wasn’t going to tap. I would pass out. The only thing I could do was pull him to mount. When he let go of the guillotine, you can see it in my mouth, it was like I’d been drowning (he takes a huge breath). It was very close.”

• Matsumoto: 10-9 Misaki (20-19 Misaki)
• Wada: 10-9 Misaki (20-19 Misaki)
• Fukuda: 10-9 Misaki (20-18 Misaki)

Round 3: Domination

A head kick and straight right hand changed the complexion of the fight. Misaki went down and held on for dear life. For an entire minute, he was besieged by brutal punches, but incredibly, he managed to sweep and escape.

“He’s a zombie,” Santiago says. “Why was he still up? What are you doing? Why do you want this so bad? You’re not normal! Please go away! I could never count him out. We thought he was done but he came back. I was hitting him with my whole power. I couldn’t understand why he was still walking. I could feel my whole body burning deep inside. I was going to my limit. They were going to have to call the paramedics. I wasn’t going to stop and I guess he felt the same.”

Most people saw it as a wash for Santiago and the fight had swung in his favour. Surely, the finish was in sight.

• Matsumoto: 10-8 Santiago (29-28 Santiago)
• Wada: 10-8 Santiago (29-28 Santiago)
• Fukuda: 10-9 Santiago (29-28 Misaki)

Round 4: Narrow escape

Just when you thought he was out… Santiago swings wildly, gets caught with a left hook and drops. Cue two minutes of unanswered ground and pound, submission attempts and knees to the head. The roles were reversed and it was his turn to go into survival mode as the blows rained down.

“I remember the whole thing,” he says. “I won’t lie, there was technique in our fight, but it was a war. We were there to kill or get killed. Either we die or we kill. That time I felt it. I’m going to get killed. I scooted a little bit out of the ring. I knew what I was doing. Anybody in that position would do the same.”

Escaping the ring was a foul, which allowed him valuable seconds to catch his breath… and land a straight right hand that dropped Misaki! But he was given a red card, which meant a point deduction. He’d have to find a finish to hold on to his belt.

• Matsumoto: 10-7 Misaki (38-36 Misaki)
• Wada: 10-7 Misaki (38-36 Misaki)
• Fukuda: 10-8 Misaki (39-36 Misaki)

Round 5: Fight to the end

Would you believe it? Seconds into the final round, a five-punch combo and knee decked Misaki. He had to hang on for dear life as Santiago pounded away.

“My only concern was, I need to win,” Santiago says. “Losing this match by a point was the same as by a million points. It was all or nothing. We couldn’t have a decision… I didn’t know the score, but I got a red card so there was no way I was going to win without a finish. Plus, I’m not Japanese, I’m Brazilian!”

Somehow, Misaki found the strength to sweep, but he was reversed again and the assault continued. He only had 29 seconds left to hang on, but his corner had seen enough. Fearing for his safety, maybe his life, they threw in the towel.

“I understood the coaches’ position,” says Santiago. “We are men with families. I’ve never landed punches like that on anyone in my life but him. I could hear his skull. Everybody could hear the shots. There was blood all over. It was so brutal. I thought his corner was going to let it keep going. If my corner threw in the towel, I think I would say thank you…maybe years later. You could be damaged for the rest of your life. The punches were very hard.”

Eight years on: Champion’s pride

Possibly due to it taking place in a short-lived organisation in Japan, this is a fight that’s not as well remembered as others, but it stands up as one of MMA’s most magnificent. Even Jorge Santiago, who doesn’t like to dwell too much in the past, looks back on it with satisfaction. 

“I don’t watch my fights. I don’t care. I don’t like to see myself. But I watched the highlights about two months ago. It touched me. I was like, ‘F**k! Did I really do that? That was so crazy. How did I do that thing?’ I’m still amazed. I accomplished my mission… It shows what man is made for – determination, set up a goal and achieve it. I’m really proud of it.”

1. Lawler vs. MacDonald 2 – UFC 189, Jul 11, 2015

“It’s more exciting because I showed everyone I’m a true fighter, I come to fight, no matter what happens I keep coming and I’m trying to knock people out!” Robbie Lawler screamed, voice cracking, with a swollen cheek, bruised eyes and severed lip after his hand had been raised and he’d retained his UFC 170lb title following the most incredible championship fight in MMA history.

His opponent, Rory MacDonald, had barely managed to stand up off his stool seconds before. Broken nose, broken foot, almost blinded by the blood pouring from his face. He had been pushed past his limit.

What makes this back-and-forth bloodfest stand above all others in FO’s list of the greatest of all world-championship matches is that it was simply unforgettable. Watching 21 minutes of this unbelievable battle will have left its mark on anyone who watched it, though not as much as it did on the two men that took part in it.

“It was an awesome experience,” Lawler tells FO. “He let it all hang out that day and he did a great job. Obviously, it was high on the list [of his greatest moments in MMA]… I was just able to showcase to the rest of the world what I am capable of and the kind of fighter I am.”

Though ‘Ruthless’ lost the first round, he enjoyed the first period of real dominance in the fight, causing major damage with lethal straight punches. The effect of these blows would take its toll later.

But to retain the belt, Lawler had to come from behind. The tide turned in a flash as he reeled from MacDonald high kick that penetrated his defences and opened him up to an onslaught of punches and elbows. Parity was almost restored in the subsequent stanza, but that didn’t stop him from being three rounds to one down by all three judges’ reckoning. Each man had to dig deep within their souls to summon the strength, courage and fortitude to survive the next five minutes. Somehow, Lawler could. 

“I think it’s just a fear of leaving it in the judges’ hands,” he adds. “That’s what pushes me to work and push for the finish in the final round. It’s the last round so I leave it all out there and go for the finish… I feel I’ve got so much more than the other fighter. I have great energy, and that comes down to my coaching, both S&C and fight coaches. Those guys get me ready to showcase my skills and I take so much confidence from that. I know I can go hard in the final round, because I have the energy levels to do it.

“It’s all just figuring out a way to get the job done… You are just doing the best you can and trying to figure out a way to win.”

The way Lawler ended the fourth by defiantly spitting blood on the canvas and staring his challenger down with murder in his eyes offered some clue about how ready he was. MacDonald had the same belief in his heart, but his body wouldn’t comply. A straight left shattered what was left of the Canadian’s nose and made him crumble. Though he later described the bout as the “best time of my life”, he was left broken on the mat as the champ wheeled away in celebration that was almost as intense as the action he’d been a part of.

“That was the accumulation of a beatdown,” Lawler screamed at Joe Rogan. “That wasn’t one punch, that was years of fighting right there coming to fruition.!”

Everything about the fight was awe-inspiring. It’s the pinnacle of world-championship fighting. The effort both had to show to persevere through it all went beyond anything we’ve ever seen before in a cage or any other sport. It was matched, too, by the ability they also needed to do so – in the modern era at the very highest level as complete mixed martial artists. 

With heart, soul, mind, body and spirit on the line, unrelenting action and a level of brutality that made the stakes, the compulsion to watch and the awe-inspiring spectacle even greater, there’s no fight that can match this.