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Talk about a crazy night of Mixed Martial Arts! That's probably the best way to describe it, honestly. Narrowing down the five most memorable moments ended up being easier than some would have expected.
Also Read: UFC 217 Results: Bisping vs St-Pierre
You don't quite get upsets like UFC 217 had... especially all on the same card. It's really left most of the MMA community speechless, including myself. So let's get right into it. Here are the five most memorable moments from the historic UFC 217.
#5 Wonderboy showcases his world-class striking
Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson came into his fight with Jorge Masvidal having not won since the summer of 2016 when he defeated Rory MacDonald. Masvidal was coming off a loss to Demian Maia after gaining a big boost in the promotion by beating Donald Cerrone.
When the two met in the cage, it just ended up being Wonderboy putting on a show to get himself back in the win column. Masvidal found it nearly impossible to land on Thompson significantly as 66% of his strikes landed to Thompson's legs and he was only able to land 13 head strikes to Thompson's 49.
Wonderboy controlled the distance and landed at will as Masvidal tried to walk him down... which is exactly not what to do against someone like Thompson. Wonderboy put on a vintage Karate striking clinic with his variety of kicks and punch combos.
Thompson also was able to become the first man to drop Jorge Masvidal since 2014 when Masvidal fought Daron Cruickshank. A truly dominant performance for the former title challenger.
#4 Ricardo Ramos starts the night off with a spinning back elbow from hell
You can't start the night off with a better finish than this one. Ricardo Ramos came into his fight with Aiemann Zahabi after only fighting once in the UFC and I doubt he expected to be a candidate for KO of the Year so soon into his tenure.
The fight was competitive with the first round a very grapple heavy and "scrambly" altercation with Ramos getting the better of it and winning the round. Round two started and Zahabi kept things on the feet and was able to work his jab and control the action which presumably won him the round.
Enter the third and we're all tied up. The action was playing out similarly to the second round but Zahabi decided he ought to get aggressive and thought he saw an opening. Rushing on Ramos turned out to be the worst possible idea as he looked for a spinning back elbow which landed but Zahabi was unaffected.
Wait a second or two more and the second one follows and it couldn't have landed cleaner. A devasting shot that put Zahabi's lights OUT. This is only the second time we've seen a spinning back elbow result in a knockout and what a way it was to start off such an incredible card. Talk about a tone-setter.
#3 TJ Dillashaw survives early adversity to earn his second world title
The bitter rivalry finally concluded. At least for now, former teammates turned enemies, Cody Garbrandt and TJ Dillashaw had every reason to beat the snot out of one another and they each did that for about as long as the fight lasted.
Garbrandt was up to his previous antics that we saw vs Dominick Cruz when he won the title, taunting and trying to get in Dillashaw's head. It seemed more evident though that it was the other way around. Garbrandt was still fast and on point with his counters but he appeared stiffer than we had seen prior, but that didn't stop this from being a fun one.
The opening round was pretty close, each man landed about equally, but once the ten-second mark hit, Dillashaw came in with a combo looking to land and ate a huge right-hand square on the chin which dropped him. Garbrandt looked to end things then and there but Dillashaw was saved by the bell and visibly wobbled as he got up and went to his corner.
Dillashaw had shaken out the cobwebs between rounds and was back at it. He threw up a left head kick early in the round that Garbrandt's vision completely missed. He dropped to the ground but recovered fast, getting to his feet with Dillashaw searching for punches.
Garbrandt was back in it at this point but not for long. A quick exchange began with each fighter sort of whiffing until they both threw but Dillashaw landed first and dropped Garbrandt, following him to the ground, raining down punches to earn the victory.
As the fight was called, Dillashaw got up and screamed in Garbrandt's face, letting out all the emotion of finally getting back to the world title and finally taking out this teammate turned foe. A truly memorable and insane sequence of action while it lasted.
#2 A record that wasn't meant to be matched
This one... wow! There really isn't much more you can say besides that. Virtually nobody gave the 25-year-old, Rose Namajunas a chance at dethroning the reigning Strawweight queen, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, but she did just that.
An absolutely flawless performance from Namajunas, Joanna had practically no success whatsoever...which is just incredible considering the calibre of striker she is. Joanna was beaten soundly and only able to land five strikes against the equally rangey, Namajunas.
After scoring one knockdown, Namajunas had Joanna's attention but she just didn't see the big left hook that was in store for her. Of all the ways it would end, we thought Namajunas would need a submission, but instead the biggest underdog on the card came out and prevented the champion from tying Ronda Rousey's title defence record for a female and now starts her own legacy.
Just madness and something I don't think MMA fans will be forgetting anytime soon.
#1 Georges St-Pierre makes successful return; becomes fourth two-division champion in UFC history
He's back. Boy oh boy is he back.
If you needed any more evidence that Georges St-Pierre is the greatest fighter of all time then look no further than the UFC 217 main event. Just sensational. He kept saying he was better than he was before and I guess we should have believed him because he looked like the GSP of old and then some.
Having no trouble scoring his takedowns when he went for them, GSP also controlled most of the striking exchanges with Michael Bisping. Ironically enough, Bisping did most of his damage on the ground from underneath GSP, landing tight, sharp elbows in the guard.
As the fellow great, Dominick Cruz famously said about the myth of ring rust, "it's nothing more than mental weakness". GSP continued to prove these words true as someone who is always in shape and already has that championship mentality, he came back looking like he never left.
A competitive fight none the less, what an amazing return for the former Welterweight champion of the world. Coming back after four years of not fighting then going up in weight, taking on the champion and choking him to sleep in the third round... it doesn't get much more career-defining than that.
Georges St-Pierre is a legend, an icon and many other things that describe greatness. This was one of the best moments in MMA's history without a doubt.
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below and follow me on Twitter: @Dre_Kriggs
