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The UFC came into existence 25 years ago on November 12, 1993 and ever since then has seen the premier performers in Mixed Martial Arts compete against one another inside the famed Octagon.
Playing host to fighters possessing all manners of fighting disciplines such as Kickboxing, Boxing, Judo, Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling, Sambo and many, many more, the UFC has produced an incredible amount of stunning action on its shows.
Traditionally each UFC card in the modern (post-tournament) era has been headlined by a marquee match usually to settle a grudge or blood feud or with a title at stake.
Some of the highest drawing pay-per-view events in UFC history have had had a mouthwatering main event clash on the card which has sold it to the masses.
UFC 40 was the most successful event at that point under Zuffa's ownership. The headline Light Heavyweight Championship bout between Tito Ortiz and legend, Ken Shamrock ticked both selling points as a bitter feud four years in the making and a title match. The event drew 100,000 orders, which was more than double of any other event promoted by Zuffa.
The long-awaited grudge matches between Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell and Ken Shamrock and Kimo Leopoldo both broke the 100,000 buys threshold.
The Light-Heavyweight Championship feud between Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture was the first main event rivalry to truly do the business at the box office as their second and third bouts at UFC 52 and UFC 57 respectively drew incredible numbers of 280,000 and 400,000.
In the modern era, Conor McGregor stands atop the UFC pay per view draw scale with his title fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov drawing a record 2.5 million buys and his two bouts with rival, Nate Diaz drawing 1.5 million and 1.65 million buys respectively.
The headline bouts in UFC are vitally important to the company's bottom line and some fights are understandably better than others.
This list counts down the five finest main event fights ever contested inside the Octagon.
#5 Robbie Lawler vs Carlos Condit (UFC 195 - January 2, 2016)
"Ruthless" Robbie Lawler is renowned for being one of the most exciting MMA fighters of all time. His devastating Knockout power is unmatched and his career is a highlight reel of memorable KOs.
However, Lawler is much more than a relentless striker. He has immense cardiovascular conditioning and the ability to absorb extreme punishment, making him a nightmare for opponents to Knockout.
Carlos Condit is an incredible striker on his own merits and was a very strong match for Lawler which inevitably set up a brutal, incredibly close Welterweight Championship fight.
Condit sent Lawler to the ground with a short left hand that the Champion jumped right back up from. However, the challenger continued to land leg kicks and punches and took the opening round.
The second saw both fighters exchange combinations before a massive right hand floored Condit. In an amazing feat of recovery, Condit survived but had to endure more tough strikes from Lawler before landing some of his own.
More brutal strikes were exchanged in the third round as the two men seemed impossible to separate on the scorecards.
The Championship rounds saw Condit floor Lawler once more as well as hit a combination beginning with a spinning elbow that had to be seen to be believed before Lawler tagged Condit with brutal haymakers that visibly stunned his challenger. The pair continued to trade bombs right until the buzzer.
Lawler won a razor close split decision in one of the most brutal displays of striking you could ever hope to see. An incredible spectacle.
#4 Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen (UFC 117 - August 8, 2010)
With the Middleweight Championship on the line, Champion Anderson Silva squared off with contender Chael Sonnen in one of the most famous UFC fights of all time.
Coming into this fight, Silva was undefeated in UFC and had not lost an MMA fight in four years, which meant what took place in the opening four and a half rounds of this bout even more extraordinary.
Sonnen totally dominated the Champion in a way no one had witnessed before. Displaying beautiful ground and pound skills, the challenger wore Silva out with stunning ground and pound that the Champion had little answer to.
In the closing moments of the fourth round, Silva managed to bust Sonnen open with elbows from the ground to pave the way for a recovery in the final round where he was able to escape Sonnen's relentless punches by locking in a triangle choke to earn him an unlikely comeback victory with 90 seconds to go.
Silva was decimated for 22 minutes but somehow snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in one of the most impressive turnarounds you are ever likely to witness.
A true classic of a headliner.
#3 Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard UFC 125 - January 1, 2011)
Lightweight Champion, Frankie Edgar and challenger, Gray Maynard began 2011 with a bang with an electric headline bout, the second in their famous trilogy.
The fight had added spice as Maynard was the only man to have ever defeated Lightweight Champion Edgar and the anticipation was huge as the world wondered whether Maynard could do it once more, this time with the gold at stake.
It looked as if "The Bully" would be the next Champion as he blasted Edgar with right hand after right hand leaving Edgar staggering around the Octagon.
Somehow, the Champion survived the onslaught and recovered in the second and took his challenger down with a big take-down as he finally began to gain some momentum.
The third and fourth were both insanely close rounds as the fighters exchanged brain-rattling blows to a sickening degree.
The final round saw both men exchange strikes and attempt take-downs as they desperately attempted to earn the victory.
However, when the time ran out, it was left for the judges to decide the victor. They couldn't. The bout was so close, that it was declared a draw, which inevitably set up the rubber match.
A thrilling ride from start to finish. This was one bout that every MMA fan should see.
#2 Dan Henderson vs Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (UFC 139 - November 19, 2011)
In November 2011, Dan Henderson was enjoying something of a career resurgence having won three of his four bouts since leaving UFC two years earlier, most notably defeating Heavyweight legend, Fedor Emelianenko the previous July.
Mauricio Rua had had an indifferent start to life in the UFC after having previously dominated the competition as the main man in Pride FC, losing three of his first seven bouts in the promotion, which included a short Light-Heavyweight Championship reign, but the much younger man was still backed to defeat the old lion, Henderson.
In the 2011 match of the year, both men left everything they had inside the Octagon.
An incredible fight saw the pair exchange stiff strikes and takedowns as they jockeyed for an advantage.
It was "Hendo" who landed the first big blow of the fight when he landed a right hand which sent "Shogun" crumpling to the canvas in a heap. Smelling blood, Henderson jumped in for the finish but despite landing punch after punch could not put Rua away.
The barrage caused "Shogun's" left eye to swell shut but somehow he found a way to claw himself back into the fight, winning the penultimate round by smashing the American with rights which put him on spaghetti legs whilst Rua's trunks turned red with all the blood he was losing. A takedown and a choke attempt nearly won Rua the fight as "Hendo" desperately clung on to take the contest into a fifth round.
Running on fumes, the exhausted warriors continued on as "Shogun" took control, keeping Henderson on the ground and throwing punches over and over when the buzzer sounded.
Due to his dominance in the earlier rounds, Henderson won the closest unanimous decision you could ever see, winning the fight with scores of 48-47 all around.
A breathtaking classic main event, that almost has no equal, except for one bout that took place five years later.
#1 Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz (UFC 202, August 21, 2016)
It was the most hotly anticipated rematch in history and the fight between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz delivered even bloodier and more thrilling action than their exciting first bout earlier in 2016.
The pair had first fought in March 2016, in a fight where Diaz had choked out McGregor towards the end of the second round to inflict the Irishman's first loss of his UFC run.
McGregor, learning from his mistakes proved all his doubters wrong by demonstrating improved cardiovascular conditioning to push Diaz all the way through five rounds of pulsating action.
McGregor came out of the blocks swinging with brutal leg kicks and punches, winning the opening rounds.
However, not to be outdone, Diaz grew into the fight and smashed "Notorious" with a flurry of strikes that almost ended the match.
The non-stop action continued to twist and turn as the aggressive McGregor busted Diaz open early in the fourth and put together some excellent combinations to put his opponent once more on the back foot.
In the tale of the fight, Diaz found form in the final round, clearly winning it as he kept McGregor in the clinch and secured a late take-down.
McGregor ultimately edged the bout on a majority decision; one judge scored it a draw as the classic bout ended.
The very best main event the UFC has ever produced.
