5 most important Zuffa era UFC events

The UFC is currently regarded as the premier MMA promotion in the world. The promotion has grown leaps and bounds since its first event in 1993. But, they weren’t always the juggernaut that they are now. It wasn’t until Zuffa - founded by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta – purchased the promotion that they began to take off.

With Dana White as the president, the promotion experienced exponential growth, which was reflected in pay-per-view sales and TV deals. Pioneers of the sport like Ken Shamrock and Randy Couture played a key role early on in the Zuffa era. Then, fighters like Conor McGregor catapulted the promotion into the mainstream sports landscape and made it a hot commodity for networks.

ESPN, the worldwide leader of sports, is the promotion's broadcast partner. This is significant as it is a testament to how big the promotion and the sport of MMA has become. This list will look at the five most important Zuffa era UFC events.

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#5. UFC 40: Vendetta

UFC 40: Vendetta was a very significant event for the promotion early on in the Zuffa era. During that time, the promotion was still struggling financially and looking for a spark in terms of pay-per-views. The event had many notable fighters like then-welterweight champion Matt Hughes, Robbie Lawler, and Chuck Liddell competing on the card. But the main event is what garnered the most attention.

The main event was the highly anticipated grudge match between then light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock. 'The World's Most Dangerous Man' left the sport in favor of a lucrative WWE career. His return against the promotion's biggest star Ortiz led to the event receiving mainstream attention.

Referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy has since said that the event was a turning point for the sport.

“The energy of that fight, it was phenomenal and it was the first time I honestly said, it’s going to make it," said 'Big' John McCarthy on UFC 40

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#4. UFC 129

UFC 129 was another significant event in the Zuffa era. The event was the promotion’s first-ever stadium show as well as their first in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The province had legalized MMA, which allowed the promotion to host in Toronto and the nation’s capital, Ottawa.

The promotion would need star power if they were going to sell out Rogers Centre and that’s exactly what they brought. The main event saw then-welterweight champion and Canadian Georges ‘Rush’ St-Pierre defend his title against former Strikeforce champion Jake Shields.

Th­­­­e main card also featured then-featherweight champion Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick and Lyoto Machida vs. Hall of Famer Randy Couture. It was a massive success as 55,724 fans in attendance witnessed GSP end Shield’s 15-fight winning streak. This proved that the promotion was capable of putting on stadium shows. The event also remains the promotion’s largest attendance in North America.

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#3. UFC 157

UFC 157 marked an important milestone for the promotion. The event was more meaningful than any other pay-per-view. It was the first-time women headlined their event as then-women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey defended against Liz Carmouche. 'Rowdy' made her first successful title defense by submitting Carmouche in 4:49 of the first round.

Dana White had said for years that women wouldn’t compete in the promotion, however, he eventually changed his mind. Rousey’s popularity was a major factor in his decision and it ended up being significant for their long-term success. Since that night, the promotion has expanded their women’s roster and now have four different weight-divisions: featherweight, bantamweight, flyweight, and strawweight.

In addition, the women’s divisions have increased in popularity and overall quality since the promotion invested in women’s MMA. There have been many women’s main events and TUF seasons dedicated to the women.

#2. UFC 100

UFC 100 is still regarded as one of the biggest events in the promotion’s history. The card was stacked from the prelims to the main card. It was headlined by heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre vs. Thiago Alves. It was also headlined by the TUF: Team USA vs. Team UK coach’s bout between coaches Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping.

With the event being so star studded, there was plenty of coverage and mainstream attention. Lesnar, coming from the pro wrestling industry, took full advantage of the added attention surrounding the event. ‘The Beast Incarnate’ riled up the crowd and turned his post-fight interview into a full-fledged heel promo.

It was a successful event for the promotion. Its 1.6 million pay-per-view buys set a record for the highest selling pay-per-view in the promotion’s history. That record would stand until 2016, when UFC 202 surpassed it with 1.65 million pay-per-view buys.

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#1. The Ultimate Fighter season 1 Finale (UFC on Spike TV era)

The Ultimate Fighter season 1 finale was arguably the most important event in the Zuffa era. There was a lot riding on the success of the first season of TUF. The UFC took a huge risk with the reality show and it paid off in a big way.

The event is remembered for the light heavyweight final between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar. It was an exciting back-and-forth fight that saw Griffin get the unanimous decision win. The event also saw Diego Sanchez defeat Kenny Florian by first-round TKO in the middleweight final. With the win, Sanchez became the first-ever fighter to be crowned TUF champion.

The main event was also significant as Rich Franklin defeated Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock by TKO. The finale led to Spike TV ordering a second season and investing more as the promotion’s broadcast partner. The promotion would become a fixture on Spike TV and synonymous with the network.