The sport of MMA has come a long, long ways since the first UFC event back in November of 1993. New stars have emerged and legends have been built. The actual fighting skills have evolved, as has the public perception of MMA. All of these upheavals have come from the willingness of the fighters to step into the cage and test their skills, as well as their desire to make MMA a mainstream sport. The reality is that some fights had more impact on the evolution of MMA than others, and today we’re focusing on the 5 most important fights in MMA history.
5) Gina Carano vs Cris Cyborg
Women’s MMA is pretty mainstream nowadays; ask any fellow out there if he knows who Ronda Rousey is and chances are that he does. But it hasn’t always been that way. Just a few years ago, Women’s MMA had to strive to make itself validated by the general public.
Enter Gina Carano and Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino. Back in 2009, Women’s MMA was relatively developed and had made its way into Strikeforce, the world’s second largest MMA promotion. The fight between Carano and Cyborg was special though. It was seen as a clash between the pretty-looking, wifey-material, hard-working Carano versus the ferocious, brutal Brazilian Cyborg. The bout was disputed in the opening moments but Cyborg quickly overwhelmed Carano. More importantly, close to a million people watched that fight, which contributed greatly to propel Women’s MMA to what it is today.
4) Fedor Emelianenko vs Mirko Cro Cop
Back in 2005, Fedor Emelianenko was the reigning PRIDE FC Heavyweight champ and had already defended his title once. It’s really hard to picture what kind of aura Fedor had around him if you were not into MMA at the time. Simply put, he was the most feared fighter on Earth. Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic was set to clash against the Russian in what many fans expected to be a fight for the ages. And boy, it did NOT disappoint.
A great amount of observers thought Cro Cop’s striking acumen (especially his patented deadly left high kick) would be too much for Fedor. Well, Fedor not only beat Cro Cop, he did so by utterly out-striking him. If you’ve never seen that fight do yourself a favor and watch it as soon as possible. This legendary fight is still making fans all over the world talk about it.
3) TJ Dillashaw vs Dominick Cruz
TJ Dillashaw became the UFC Bantamweight champ in 2014 by utterly dismantling Renan Barao; he proceeded to maul him again in the rematch. Cruz, who had suffered a great share of terrible injuries throughout the years, was set to clash against Dillashaw in a much-anticipated title affair.
The most thing about this fight was to see how the stand-up aspect would unfold. In fact, Cruz’s and Dillashaw’s striking is so polished that only the two of them can brag about having the best striking in the UFC really. They often switch stances, dart, crouch, find insane angles, and all around exhibit the best striking performances we’ve ever seen inside the Octagon.
Needless to say, their clash was much-anticipated from a technical standpoint. Cruz managed to out-class Dillashaw, showcasing what might just be the best striking performance ever exhibited inside the cage. This was a fight for the ages in that we got to witness two revolutionary fighters going at it.
2) Stephan Bonnar vs Forrest Griffin
It may be hard to believe if you’re a new fan but there was a time where MMA wasn’t mainstream, at all. The fight that really propelled MMA to mainstream acceptance happened on April 9, 2005 as Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin were set to face each other after having spent months in The Ultimate Fighter house, filming then then-experimental reality TV show.
Both fighters knew it was their chance to shine, as well as to showcase what MMA is about. And they delivered.
The 3-round fight left both men exhausted and battered; they gave it all inside the Octagon. The gutsy performance from both pioneers made ratings skyrocket, and more and more people became interested in MMA, leading to what it is today.
1) Royce Gracie vs Gerard Gordeau
Once upon a time there was a fight promotion that featured clashes between boxers and wrestlers, judokas and brawlers, kung fu fighters and Muay Thai kickboxers.
You guessed it, I’m of course talking about the UFC. The UFC held its very first event back in November 12, 1993 in Denver, Colorado. The reasoning behind the idea to hold such an event was to answer a simple question: What is the most effective martial art?
Enter Brazilian Royce Gracie. Gracie, a six-feet tall, 176-pound Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter was sent to compete in the UFC by the legendary Gracie family in order to showcase the effectiveness of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to the world. At the time many people had no clue about BJJ and didn’t even train in ground-fighting.
Royce Gracie went on to easily dominate and submit his 3 opponents of the night in less than 5 minutes, combined, thus becoming the very first UFC Tournament winner. His approach to fighting was revolutionary at the time and he made people reconsider their opinions about martial arts in general. Royce Gracie’s win inspired millions of people all over the world to start training in BJJ and revolutionized the sport of MMA.
