Top 5 UFC pay-per-views of the decade (2010-2019)
Over the last decade the UFC has moved from Spike TV to the FOX network and now to ESPN, but one thing regarding their shows has remained constant: their biggest and best fights are still on pay-per-view.
Ignoring the debate over the merits of the pay-per-view system – is any UFC show really worth over $50? – it’s undisputable that since 2010, the UFC has put together some absolutely fantastic pay-per-view shows, to the point where it’s almost impossible to whittle them down to a top five!
That’s exactly what I’ve done though – here are the top 5 UFC pay-per-views of the decade (2010-2019).
#5 UFC 178
2014 was a relatively lean year for the UFC when it came to pay-per-views, as main draws Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva stepped away from the promotion, leaving a void when it came to big-name headliners.
UFC 178 was the first show to really give a glimpse of who would become the promotion’s biggest star going forward, as despite not being in the main event, a certain Conor McGregor dominated the build-up with his trash talk towards opponent Dustin Poirier.
Despite sporting a main event that was hardly enthralling – Demetrious Johnson submitted an overmatched Chris Cariaso to defend his Flyweight title – UFC 178 turned out to be a fantastic show, opening with two of the best fights of 2014; a phenomenal comeback from Cat Zingano to TKO future Bantamweight and Featherweight champion Amanda Nunes, and a wild brawl between Middleweights Yoel Romero and Tim Kennedy that ended with Romero winning by TKO.
Later on the card, we saw the debut of former Bellator Lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez spoiled by stalwart Donald Cerrone, who destroyed the legs of ‘The Underground King’ with low kicks to take a decision, in what was another great fight. As for McGregor? He KO’d Poirier in the first round – just as he said he would – and went on to more ‘Notoriety’, pun intended.
Overall, this was a tremendous show and was by far the best on offer in 2014. It also remains one of the best of the decade.