5 UFC fights that changed the course of the promotion's history
In a sport where every fight has the potential to be as enticing as the main event, characters routinely come into the limelight and wither away. On the outside, a card may look like it should be telecast free on TV, but it may very well turn out to be the card of the year.
In other words, there is much that can be said about the outcome going into a fight but not much about the myriad of factors at play that can turn the tables at any moment.
Most fights (or in the older days, experiments) are planned stylistically to give the fans an interesting match-up to look out for. Variables that align well with each other or are diametrically opposite, end up providing the most bang for the buck.
How about a knockout artist Vs. knockout artist? Technical striker against a brawler? Or the classic, striking specialist pitted against a grappling master? It is not just about doing what seems right but also doing it for the right reasons. And you can never go wrong with "Quality entertainment" as a viable reason.
Back in the old days when stylistic match ups were the crux of the reason the UFC existed in the first place, the contrast between various martial arts added a sense of curiosity to the fights.
The whole project was like a huge reality check for all traditional martial arts, who could no longer market themselves to be an end in themselves, in terms of practical applicability and self-defence.
There is something to be said about blood sport in general. The odds were always against the business of no holds barred fighting and the UFC tried its best to turn this into a legitimate sport and suffice to say, they have now succeeded with flying colours.
But apart from the business aspect of the situation that must have haunted the initial investors of the UFC and Dana White in the form of many sleepless nights, it also had a huge moral sticker attached to it that presented itself as an easy target for politicians and lobbyists to go against.
Therefore, it had to be morphed into a well regulated, fairly judged and evenly competitive sport.
Throughout this journey, the perception of the UFC and mixed martial arts went through many ups and downs. And like any source of entertainment, you could always change the channel if you didn't like what was being shown. The competition was against the likes of established sports such as the American football, Soccer and even its arch rival, Boxing.
No doubt, the road was lengthy and rough and it took UFC more than 20 years to establish itself as the instantly recognisable brand it is at present.
But along the way, there were many fights that gave the promotion and the sport a great push by creating organic buzz on social media and through word of mouth in the old days. These fights essentially catapulted the sport into the mainstream media's face, by presenting them a story they could not afford to ignore.
The narrative is the vehicle of attention. And as we know, in a world of competing narratives, attention is very hard to get and even harder to sustain. These fights compelled the spectators to turn their attention on the product UFC was selling and acted as a gateway drug for the frenzy of MMA to take over.
Here are 5 fights that changed the course of UFC history.
#1 Royce Gracie Winning UFC 1
When UFC 1 first aired as a tournament to determine the best martial artist on the planet, there was no shortage of humongous athletes willing to have a go at each other under no rules. Because of the controversial nature of the competition and the vagueness of the rules surrounding it, many believed it was more or less just a fight in which anything goes.
Not an unfair assumption to make when shots to the groin, knees to the head and soccer kicks on a downed opponent were not even discussed as causes for concern, let alone made illegal.
A time in which the rules forbidding utilising elbows from the 12-6 direction and hits to the back of the head would be a laughable addition to the rules and regulations.
The times were wild, Rules minimalistic and just enough to not let it happen in an actual bar. Weight categories were redundant and integration of various martial arts to form a universal MMA curriculum was not even in the talks.
In such conditions, who in their right mind would pick a 170 pound, scrawny, emaciated dude in his thirties to defeat every other fighter with monstrous physique to take home the crown?
In a brilliant display of techniques that his family borrowed from Japanese jujutsu, later progressing it into a new and refined system of ground fighting in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Gracie went on to submit every fighter that was matched up against him.
Gracie still holds the record for most consecutive submission victories in the UFC with 11 victories via varying submissions. Although the times have changed astronomically since the inauguration of UFC, the contribution that Royce Gracie made towards the betterment of the sport cannot be overstated.
While new generations of fighters continue to evolve and innovate, it cannot be ruled out that without a solid foundation that many old school fighters like Gracie provided, the sport would have been a lost cause.