Top 10 brutal UFC fights of the past decade

Why do we watch the UFC? The answer is more obvious than an illegal knee to the groin. It's quite simply the most aggressive, shocking and, - dare I say - the most brutal sport of the modern age.

Of course, the techniques and skills needed to compete, particularly during this modern era, are unquestionable, and there's plenty to appreciate besides the gore, breaks, bruises, and swells.

On that note, let's take a look at ten of the most brutal fights to take place inside the octagon over the past decade.

*Most fights available to view on Youtube either in their entirety or as extended highlights*

#10 Max Holloway vs Brian Ortega

There were many fans-in-the-know who were convinced that this was to be the fight in which Hawaiian born superstar, Max Holloway, finally lost his belt. Brian Ortega was supposed to choke the guy out in the third. How wrong we all were!

The fight could have been over within a couple of rounds if not for the sheer heart, grit, and determination of one Brian 'T-City' Ortega to fight through the pain barrier, the multiple blows, the blood, and just to do everything he could to stick it out in hope of pulling off one of his miraculous trademark submissions. The technically superior Holloway had other ideas though and kept the jabs and hooks in his opponent's face all night.

By the end, Ortega's swollen head was almost unrecognizable and he succumbed to a barrage of blows and, consequently, a doctor's stoppage at the end of the fourth round. Holloway was just too good on the feet... but what a fight it was!