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Over the years, UFC has delivered some memorable fight cards.
Though the definition of a ‘good fight card’ might vary from person to person, there is a handful of fight cards which a majority of the fans would agree on.
This might be due to the star power that the fight card boasts or the memorable moments that it produced. Or it could even be a combination of these two. The possible permutations and combinations are many.
So, without any more beating around the bush, here is a look at some of the best UFC fight cards of all time.
#5 UFC 217
UFC 217 was one of the best cards in recent history. The event took place on November 4, 2017, at Madison Square Garden and was headlined by the Middleweight championship bout between champion Michael Bisping and the returning Georges St. Pierre. It was GSP's first fight in nearly five years and since it was two legends, the hype was real.
The fight lived up to the billing and saw GSP finish Bisping in the third round via TKO.
In the co-main event, TJ Dillashaw knocked out Cody Garbrandt to win the UFC Bantamweight title and it was an equally compelling fight. The showdown between Rose Namajunas and Joanna Jędrzejczyk was another major attraction on the card. Joanna seemed unstoppable as the champion coming into the fight but Namajunas surprised everyone by knocking out Joanna in the first round itself.
There were some memorable moments and fights in the undercard as well featuring names like Stephen Thompson, Jorge Masvidal, Paulo Costa, Johny Hendricks, and James Vick among others.
#4 UFC 205
UFC 205 was a historic event. It was the first UFC card to be held in New York City and Dana White made sure that it was stacked. The UFC 205 card was so stacked that names like Frankie Edgar and Khabib Nurmagomedov were fighting on the prelims and not on pay-per-view.
Both Edgar and Nurmagomedov secured major victories at the event and both the wins were entertaining. In the main card, Raquel Pennington outclassed Miesha Tate via decision and the post-fight interview turned out to be an emotional affair as Tate announced her retirement.
Yoel Romero’s knockout win over Chris Weidman is something that still belongs in the Highlight Reels. Elsewhere, Joanna Jędrzejczyk successfully defended her Strawweight title against Karolina Kowalkiewicz in a three-round war.
But the best of the lot was perhaps the fight between Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson. The fight ended in a majority draw as both fighters were equally matched. The card was then closed by Conor McGregor and Eddie Alvarez with McGregor winning the Lightweight title and becoming a two-division champion.
#3 UFC 189
This card will be remembered for the bloody war between Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald. It was an all-out war between these two warriors and though Lawler came out on top via a fifth-round TKO, MacDonald was praised for the performance he delivered.
This fight served as the co-main event of the night, with Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes headlining the show for the Interim Featherweight title. A lot of fans were backing Mendes for this fight as they expected McGregor to struggle against a wrestler. The Notorious One, however, silenced all his critics and stopped Mendes in the second round.
A highlight reel knockout from Jeremy Stephens was another memorable moment from the show. The main card had two other stoppage finishes as well thanks to Gunnar Nelson and Thomas Almeida. Nelson submitted Brandon Thatch in the first round while Almeida knocked out Brad Pickett with a flying knee in the second round.
#2 UFC 129
UFC 129 was held on April 30, 2011, at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada. Headlined by the Welterweight title fight between Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields, the fight card also had big names like Jose Aldo, Benson Henderson, Lyoto Machida, Randy Couture, Nate Diaz and Rory MacDonald among others.
The fight between GSP and Shields was a joy to watch and it was GSP that came out on top via a decision after five hard-fought rounds. Aldo required a similar result to keep the Featherweight title around his waist. He outclassed Mark Hominick and cemented his dominance in the division.
The fight between Lyoto Machida and Randy Couture was a memorable one due to the iconic finish that it had. Machida’s jump front kick that finished the fight is still something worth watching again. Rory MacDonald’s fight with Nate Diaz went the distance with the former emerging victorious.
#1 UFC 100
UFC 100 was stacked.
As it was a milestone event for the UFC, the promotion loaded the fight card with some exciting fights and all of them delivered big time.
The prelims will be remembered for the rise of Jon Jones who defeated Jake O’Brien with his own version of the Guillotine Choke within two rounds. Jon Fitch and Yoshihiro Akiyama secured impressive decision victories to start off the main card.
These two fights were followed by the showdown between Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping. The ending was iconic and the knock out that Henderson delivered will never be forgotten. Georges St. Pierre was at his usual best as well, as he defeated Thiago Alves via a decision to retain the Welterweight title.
Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir was the headlining fight of the night and Lesnar surprised everyone when he stopped Mir to unify the UFC Heavyweight Championship belts. The pay-per-view was so big that it held the record for the most number of buys until UFC 202 broke it recently.
Which are the other cards that we missed out? And which are the fight cards that do not deserve to be in the list? Let us know in the comments below.
