5 things you probably forgot about UFC 100
Next month will see UFC 300 take place in Las Vegas, and it's safe to say that this landmark show will be a huge one for the promotion.
With this huge show on the way, it's worth looking back at another landmark event - UFC 100, which took place in the summer of 2009.
Like the upcoming event, this show was huge, and was probably the promotion's biggest ever to that point. With more than a decade gone since, though, it's worth looking back at some of the moments that took place that night.
With that in mind, here are five things you probably forgot about UFC 100.
#5. UFC 100 featured a true pioneer competing on the prelim card
Just like next month's huge event, UFC 100 was stacked with big-name fighters up and down the card. This meant that the preliminary card was full of talent, but one fighter stood out above the others.
That fighter was former heavyweight champion Mark Coleman. A true pioneer of MMA, 'The Hammer' had debuted in the octagon way back in 1996, and after winning back-to-back tournaments, claimed heavyweight gold in 1997.
By 1998, though, the monstrous wrestler appeared to have been exposed as a one-dimensional fighter with a poor gas tank, and soon washed out of the promotion entirely.
Coleman enjoyed a resurgence in Japan with PRIDE, but by the end of 2006, at the age of 42, he appeared to be heading into a quiet retirement.
That changed in 2009, though, when he launched a shocking comeback attempt in the octagon.
After losing his return fight to Shogun Rua, he found himself matched with Stephan Bonnar at UFC 100 in a bout nobody thought he'd win.
Incredibly, though, 'The Hammer' turned back the clock and beat Bonnar up in a three-round bloodbath, giving the fans in attendance a truly special moment. It was the final win of his career, but it was certainly a memorable one.
#4. Jon Jones quietly fought on the undercard of UFC 100
UFC 100 is fondly remembered for the performances of champions Brock Lesnar and Georges St-Pierre, as well as Dan Henderson's stunning knockout of Michael Bisping.
However, few fans would probably recall that future light heavyweight and heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones also competed at the event, years before anyone ever labeled him the GOAT.
'Bones' was just 2-0 in the octagon at the time, and his fight against Jake O'Brien, who held a win over Heath Herring and was an excellent wrestler, looked like a tough test.
Of course, that wasn't really the case. Despite O'Brien enjoying an experience advantage, Jones absolutely blew him out of the water, ragdolling him before dispatching him with a guillotine in the second round.
The bout was the last time Jones would ever appear on a preliminary card, as he was elevated into a co-headliner in his next fight and never looked back.
#3. Fans watching UFC 100 on TV missed Tom Lawlor's wild entrance
Back in 2009, there was no way for UFC fans to watch preliminary fights unless they either aired at the end of a pay-per-view, or if they bought the DVD of the event months later.
That meant that a number of wild moments often went unnoticed by all but the fans in attendance, and one such moment took place at UFC 100.
One of the preliminary fights at the event pitted middleweight Tom Lawlor against CB Dollaway.
Dollaway's nickname was 'The Doberman', and so Lawlor, who was renowned for his pro-wrestling style antics, decided to have some fun at his expense.
When it came to his entrance, 'Filthy Tom' walked out to the sounds of Who Let the Dogs Out? by the Baha Men, and led his teammate Seth Petruzelli to the octagon on the end of a metal lead.
It was a hilarious moment that would almost certainly have gone viral had it happened in an era with a bigger social media presence, and it perhaps would've turned Lawlor, who won the fight, into a star.
#2. UFC 100 only featured two title fights
One of UFC 300's big selling points is the fact that, like a number of other big events in recent years, it is set to feature three title fights.
Interestingly, though, that wasn't the case with 2009's big event, which, like most pay-per-views back then, only featured two.
Sure, both title fights were huge, with Brock Lesnar facing Frank Mir for the heavyweight title and Georges St-Pierre defending the welterweight title against Thiago Alves, but why did the promotion not go further?
The answer is probably the fact that Dana White was still sour over what had happened at UFC 33 some eight years beforehand.
That event was the first to feature three title bouts, but when all of them went the distance, the pay-per-view was cut off before fans got to see the conclusion of the headliner.
White was so scarred by the incident that he always avoided risking a similar thing occuring again. In fact, it wasn't until 2016 that the promotion produced an event with three title bouts, but when that one went well, they never looked back.
#1. Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir was not the last fight on offer despite headlining
UFC 100's billed headline bout was one of the biggest in MMA history, pitting former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar against Frank Mir in a heavyweight unification bout.
Lesnar had captured the title from Randy Couture in November 2008, while Mir had beaten Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to take the interim title a month later.
Given that the rivals had fought before, with Mir submitting Lesnar in a titanic battle, the stage was set for a true classic.
Every fan remembers what happened next, as Lesnar smashed Mir with ground-and-pound in the second round before unleashing a sweary rant on the microphone afterwards.
However, most will have forgotten that the show actually didn't end there.
Instead, welterweights Jon Fitch and Paulo Thiago took to the octagon to fight in a forgettable three-round bout, despite nobody really paying too much attention.
Why was this? Essentially, looking to avoid a repeat of the UFC 33 debacle, Dana White and company decided to move Fitch vs. Thiago to the end of the show, ensuring everyone would see Lesnar vs. Mir without a hitch.
It didn't affect anything in the end, but it did mean that the event ended in a slightly muted fashion, rather than with Lesnar's wild rant.