10 fights that pushed MMA closer to mainstream
10. Gilbert Melendez vs. Shinya Aoki (Strikeforce: Nashville) Two current lightweight champions from different promotions located in different countries. Melendez…
10. Gilbert Melendez vs. Shinya Aoki (Strikeforce: Nashville)
Two current lightweight champions from different promotions located in different countries. Melendez (Strikeforce, USA) and Aoki (Dream, Japan) fought for the Strikeforce belt which Melendez detained with a unanimous decision win.
9. Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva (UFC 99)
A great match up between two legends in MMA, the story here was the location of the event. For the first time ever the UFC held an event in Germany and even thought the PPV numbers weren’t high it expanded the reach of MMA into another part of the world.
8. Gina Carano vs. Cris Cyborg Santos (Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg)
A huge step forward for women’s MMA as this 145 lbs. title fight actually headlined this card. I card that did really well in ticket sales too, 13,976 was the attendance for a live gate of $736,000. Santos won the fight in the first round and has since defended her belt two more times, both on the main card of those events.
7. Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin (UFC 116)
Called the biggest match in UFC history, this fight anchored the second highest PPV numbers in UFC history at slightly over one million buys. The event was held at the MGM grand in Las Vegas and Lesnar retained his belt with a second round submission.
6. Randy Couture vs. James Toney (UFC 118)
The only fight on the list that hasn’t happened yet, but it has already helped push the sport further into mainstream media. A champion Boxer (Toney) against a champion MMA legend and hall of famer (Couture) face off for the first time. How much the fight helps will come down to the outcome though.