5 UFC fight cards that felt like WrestleMania

McGregor levelled scores at UFC 202

It’s not a secret that UFC made use of the blueprint that professional wrestling rolled out. The way in which Vince McMahon built WWE and WrestleMania was something that had a huge impact on how Dana White pushed UFC, and this is why we find it easy to find parallels between professional wrestling and MMA.

‘Which is more popular’ might be a topic that we could debate about but as mentioned earlier, at least drawing parallels is easy. In such conversations, it’s hard to avoid the comparisons between UFC events and WWE events.

WrestleMania is something that always represents the wrestling business. But what are those MMA events that came close to the magical feeling that WrestleMania manages to evoke among the fans? Let’s take a look!

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5: UFC 1

UFC 1 was historic

Let’s begin with where it all started shall we?

UFC 1 might not be on top when it comes to the numbers or the star power that it had, but it is the event that put the sport on the map. Just like when the first edition of WrestleMania was rolled out, UFC 1 came with enough magic in it to captivate the fans.

Held in front of less than 8000 fans, the eight-man tournament opened up a new world in martial arts, and unlike the current format, this one was barbaric to the core.

Royce Gracie would go on to win three matches in one night to win the tournament and would cement his place as one of the legendary names that paved way for the sport.