Top 5 UFC pay-per-views of the decade (2010-2019)

#3 UFC 166

Diego Sanchez's war with Gilbert Melendez helped to elevate UFC 166 to classic status

The day after it’d taken place, 2013’s UFC 166 was christened by UFC President Dana White as probably the greatest show the promotion had ever put on. Six years later it largely holds up, although I’d argue that it’s been surpassed a couple of times since.

The show started off like a rocket with a pair of vicious knockouts; first, John Dodson turned the lights out on newcomer Darrell Montague in brutal fashion, knocking him face-first to the mat. And to follow that, Gabriel Gonzaga knocked Shawn Jordan out with a vicious right hand in the first round.

The best was yet to come, though; Gilbert Melendez faced Diego Sanchez in a highly-anticipated Lightweight battle, and to say the fight exceeded expectations would be a ridiculous understatement. The two men simply threw caution to the wind and brawled wildly for fifteen minutes, treating the crowd in Houston, Texas, to one of the greatest fights in MMA history.

Things did slow down for the next fight; Daniel Cormier simply outfought a game Roy Nelson to take a unanimous decision, but then the action picked up with a crazy main event – the final part of the trilogy between UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and his biggest rival, former champ Junior Dos Santos.

‘JDS’ put up a good fight, but in the end he was no match for the juggernaut that was Velasquez – and succumbed to a fifth round TKO in a stunning fight to watch. At the time, it felt as if we were watching perhaps the most dominant UFC champion of all time; a fitting ending to one of the best shows of the decade.