5 UFC PPV main card fights which turned out better than the main event

Joanna Jędrzejczyk post her UFC 248 fight [via Getty]

If the UFC knows one thing, it is undoubtedly how to build up the hype in the lead up to the main event. Dana White and everyone within the UFC have done a tremendous job of promoting the marquee bout.

These fights almost always deliver and provide fans with lasting memories. However, there have been times when the main fight has been completely overshadowed by other bouts on the card.

Here is a list of five such fights that turned out to be better than the main event.

#5 Rafael Dos Anjos vs. Renato Moicano (UFC 272)

Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev at UFC Fight Night 201 was a contest everyone was excited for. However, after Fiziev faced visa-related issues, their fight was moved to UFC 272.

Unfortunately, just a week before the event, Rafael Fiziev tested positive for COVID-19, leaving RDA without an opponent. In came Renato Moicano, who stepped in as Fiziev’s replacement on a mere four days’ notice.

Both fighters agreed to a catchweight fight, which turned out to be extremely entertaining. Right from the onset, it was clear that RDA was the more dominant fighter and was in control of the octagon.

The two men began to deploy a series of attacks, but Moicano was clipped by a knee to the head early on by his older compatriot. As the rounds progressed, the crowd figured that it was but a matter of time before RDA secured his victory and they could move on to the main event.

However, Renato Moicano was in no mood to give his opponent a quick win. Despite being pummeled by RDA, the 33-year-old Moicano changed gears and began to launch a series of attacks, and the stadium erupted with cheers.

A true underdog in this fight, Moicano put forth a phenomenal display of heart and skill and simply refused to go down.

Before the final round began, some wondered if it was time for the doctor to stop the fight on account of Moicano's condition. Still, the round commenced, and at this point, fans noticed RDA easing up on his strikes, perhaps to allow his opponent to finish the fight standing.

The audience seemed to acknowledge this display of sportsmanship by RDA and the show of heart by Moicano.

In the end, RDA won the fight, and Moicano won our hearts by leaving everything he had in the octagon. Their fight outshone the main event, where Colby Covington largely outskilled and dominated Jorge Masvidal.

#4 Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Hunt (UFC 200)

UFC 200 was an event marred with controversy right from the start. The event was supposed to have the Jones vs. Cormier rematch, until Jon Jones tested positive for banned substances.

Furthermore, the event suffered another setback when Conor McGregor, who was scheduled to fight Nate Diaz in their rematch, was pulled from the main card. Dana White made the call after “The Notorious” failed to appear for the press conference as he was training in Iceland.

Things just didn’t look good for the event. Nonetheless, the main card was prepared with the then Women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate defending her title against the number one contender, Amanda Nunes.

However, Ariel Helwani dropped another bombshell with a tweet that said active WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar had almost finalized a deal to make his UFC comeback. Helwani faced a lot of heat as a result, which even included a lifetime ban from covering UFC events in the future.

The event got underway, with Brock Lesnar facing Mark Hunt in the co-main event. Needless to say, fans were beyond thrilled, because who wouldn’t want to see two of the most intense heavyweights face off.

On one side, we had Lesnar, whose insane speed and strength as a wrestler was something that all were well acquainted with. And on the other, "The Super Samoan", a legend in his own right with the ability to lay waste his opponents through his potent striking.

With all that in the foreground, the fight began with both heavyweights unleashing a massive volume of takedowns and strikes. The sheer sight of seeing Lesnar zip around the octagon and then proceed to take down an equally large Hunt was something that left everyone in amazement.

In round two, however, Hunt took the lead and began doling out his freight train like punches, while avoiding takedowns all the while. In the end, however, Lesnar secured a win over “The Super Samoan” via unanimous decision.

Without taking anything away from the Tate vs. Nunes main event, the fact is that women’s MMA had not yet attained the success it is known for today. And with that, Lesnar vs. Hunt stole the spotlight from the UFC 200 main event.

#3 Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk (UFC 248)

Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero are two fighters with a reputation that precedes them on account of their skill and cage presence. Upon hearing about Adesanya vs. Romero headlining the main event at UFC 248, it was a dream come true for fans globally.

However, come fight night, the fighters put up such a viciously boring fight that the only ones that faced damage were the fans, on account of an excruciatingly uneventful fight.

Yet, what saved the UFC from encountering the wrath of an angry mob of fans was the co-main event, Weili vs. Jędrzejczyk.

Zhang Weili was going to trade leather against former strawweight champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk. The two fighters brought an extremely versatile and deadly set of skills as martial artists.

While the crowd was eager to witness this title fight, nobody had any idea what we were about to witness. The two stalwarts launched an all-out attack by actively moving around the octagon while firing away at each other with a burst of kicks and punches.

Both women displayed phenomenal levels of skill, sending the crowd’s excitement through the roof.

Weili landed a series of hard jabs on Jędrzejczyk’s forhead, which resulted in the latter’s forehead swelling up to a scary size. Everyone from the fans, to commentators, and UFC officials felt that the fight was done.

Then, lo and behold, Jędrzejczyk, unmindful of her injury, soldiered on with Weili and completed all five rounds. Although Weili won the fight, the fighters cemented this fight’s position as one of the best in the history of MMA.

#2 Jorje Masvidal vs. Ben Askren (UFC 239)

“Funky” Ben Askren was one of the biggest names in the MMA world outside of the UFC. Having stacked up a massive list of victories, he made a name for himself as one of the most skillful mixed martial artists, and had held titles in Bellator and One Championship .

So, when news of Askren being signed by the UFC came, fans nearly skipped a heartbeat in anticipation of his debut. Askren too cranked up the excitement by calling out a number of UFC fighters with a series of verbal attacks and trolls.

While most UFC fighters were itching to step into the octagon with him, due to an unbeaten record and legitimate skillset, there was an added mystique around Askren that made them pause.

Dana White saw the potential of elevating Askren to star status within the UFC, and things just seemed perfect for “Funky”. Askren was to make his debut fight against a relatively unknown Jorge Masvidal at UFC 239. The stage was set for what fans expected to be an amazing display of wrestling skills by Askren and a quick win.

As the two men stood in the octagon facing each other, Masvidal was seen with hands behind his back leaning against the cage with a slight smile on his lips. As the crowd tried to contain their excitement, the bell rang, and Askren made a classic dive to secure a single leg take down only to meet a flying knee to the head sent by Masvidal.

Askren was sent crashing to the canvas and just like that, in a matter of five seconds, Jorge Masvidal created and broke a bunch of records.

While the world of MMA looked like they had just been through 'the wormhole' from Interstellar, Jorge Masvidal successfully created history in a manner that would elevate him to the status he enjoys today. For the main event, Jones vs. Santos, it was simply not possible to top off what fight fans had witnessed that day.

#1 Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin (UFC 101)

UFC 101 had the main event featuring legend BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian. If that wasn’t enough, fight fans were in for a treat as Anderson Silva was going up against Forrest Griffin in the co-main event.

With a highly-skilled fighter like Anderson Silva and a fan favorite like Forrest Griffin, this fight rightly didn’t even need a title to be fought over.

Despite the hype and fame surrounding Silva as one of the greatest middleweight fighters of all time, he had recently developed a reputation for being a safe fighter.

Fans were, generally, getting tired of his new style. In contrast, we had the living embodiment of blood and guts in Forrest Griffin, who was known for his raw talent and fighting spirit.

Even before the fight, fans had been rooting for Forrest Griffin to put an end to the picture perfect record of the “Spider”. With a match-up such as this, where two fighters with diametrically opposite fighting styles, fans were curious to see the outcome.

The fight kicked off in predictable fashion, with Griffin launching an offense complete with heavy-handed strikes.

We’ve heard about how one can enter a state of flow while executing certain tasks like, for example, walking through your kitchen in pitch darkness to retrieve dessert in the middle of the night. Or, to quote Bruce Lee, “be like water.”

That is exactly what the world witnessed as Silva seemed to effortlessly avoid every single jab that Griffin sent his way. Silva looked like he knew exactly which jab, hook, or uppercut was coming his way even before Griffin had thought of it.

As Griffin drowned in punches, Silva landed the knockout punch in just 3 minutes and 23 seconds of round one.

Though BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian proved to be a great main event fight worthy of praise, fans simply could not get over the way in which one of the most well-rounded fighters like Griffin was stopped. They were, at the same time, trying to come to grips with the way of the “Spider”.