UFC: 5 Greatest Main Events In History
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.