5 worst shows in UFC history

#2 UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop – 09/25/2010

Frank Mir's fight with Mirko Cro Cop was unspeakably dull

On paper at least, UFC 119 didn’t look like a bad card at all. Main evented by one of those classic UFC vs. PRIDE dream matches – Frank Mir vs. Mirko Cro Cop – the undercard featured exciting-sounding stuff like Melvin Guillard vs. Jeremy Stephens and Matt Serra vs. Chris Lytle.

Somehow though, in execution, the UFC’s first show from Indianapolis was simply diabolical. Stephens and Guillard didn’t fight at all in their usual style, instead of putting on a point-fighting display that saw Guillard edge out a dull decision. Serra vs. Lytle wasn’t bad, but it was painfully clear that Serra was past his best and Lytle simply couldn’t put him away.

The lone good fight on the show was Evan Dunham vs. Sean Sherk – an exciting battle at 155lbs that appeared to be a coming out party for rising star Dunham – except the judges decided to somehow score the fight for Sherk, leaving everyone with a foul taste in their mouths.

Ryan Bader took the co-main event slot alongside Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, and unsurprisingly, it was another fight that went the distance, with Bader just about doing enough with his wrestling and boxing to edge a dull decision over the PRIDE legend.

If the UFC were hoping Mir and Cro Cop would save the show, they were dead wrong. The two men fought at a glacial pace that resembled a sparring match at times, and questions were even asked when it appeared that the two men were chatting while in a clinch.

In the end, there was certainly no funny business going on – Mir knocked Cro Cop silly with a knee late in the third round – but even a tremendous finish couldn’t stop the fight being one of the worst of 2010 – and the show being remembered as an all-time terrible pay-per-view offering from the UFC.