With the UFC just days away from promoting its 100^th show there are several fights that define the leading mixed martial arts promotion. Looking back at the 16 year history of the UFC you can break it down into four distinct eras that chronicle the ups and downs of the MMA business.

From UFC 1 in November 1993 to UFC 25 you had the Wild West days of the UFC. The company’s original owners SEG began the process of transforming the UFC from its tournament style events into a more organized sports organization.

The set of shows UFC 26-50 saw the UFC being purchased by its current ownership group Zuffa LLC in January 2001. The New Jersey State and Nevada athletic commissions also approved regulation of mixed martial arts competitions during this time, which aided in the growth of UFC.

In January 2005 the UFC in conjunction with Spike TV premiered a new reality show called “The Ultimate Fighter”. The show was a rating success and the UFC events 51-75 reaped the rewards of a weekly MMA presence on TV through inflated pay per view numbers and bigger live gates.

2007 was a banner year for the UFC. The organization purchased its biggest competitor in March with the buyout of Pride Fighting Championships. The company also earned cover stories in both Sports Illustrated and ESPN the magazine in May 2007.

The last 25 pay per view shows promoted by the UFC have further established its dominance as the number one mixed martial arts organization. Below are the four best fights from the first 99 UFC events.

UFC 1-25 = UFC 22 September 24, 1999 Frank Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz

UFC 22 was just the second show in UFC history to use the 10 point must system. In the main event Frank Shamrock defended his middleweight (now light heavyweight) title against a rising star named Tito Ortiz.

The 24 year old Ortiz jumped out to an early lead winning the first two rounds of the five round title fight with his repeated takedowns of the smaller Shamrock. In the third round Ortiz opened up a massive cut over the left eye of Shamrock leaving the champ bloodied and down three rounds to none.

In the championship rounds Shamrock took advantage of gassed Ortiz in the final minute of the fourth round. A flurry of strikes from Shamrock forced Ortiz to shoot for a takedown and in the process the challenger left his head exposed for a guillotine choke. Shamrock let the choke go in favor of strikes and finished off Ortiz with just 12 seconds remaining in the round.

UFC 26-50= UFC 43 June 6, 2003 Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell

In a fight for the interim light heavyweight belt at the age of 39 and coming off back to back defeats Randy Couture dominated the hottest 205 pound fighter on the planet at the time for three rounds.

Chuck Liddell came into the fight with a 12-1 record and was a heavy favorite to win his first UFC belt. In the classic wrestler vs. striker match-up it was Couture the, Division-1 wrestler, who peppered Liddell with strikes for the first 10 minutes of the fight. Up to this point in his career Liddell had never lost the stand up battle.

The third round saw Couture land a big takedown slam on the man with the best takedown defense in MMA history. The end came with Couture unleashing a brutal display of ground and pound to earn the TKO win. Couture became the first man in UFC history to hold titles in two different weight classes.

UFC 51-75= UFC 52 April 16, 2005 Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg II

In combat sports there is no thrill like snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Matt Hughes had no business beating Frank Trigg at UFC 52.

The bout was a rematch from the main event of UFC 45 in which Hughes submitted Trigg via rear naked choke in the first round. Two years later the result was the same, but only after a frantic four minutes in which Trigg gave Hughes one of the worse beatings of his career.

Working from the tie up Trigg went for a knee intended for Hughes’ thigh but placed it squarely on his groin. A hurt Hughes looked towards referee Mario Yamasaki to call a foul and in doing so left himself exposed to the punching a power of Trigg, who dropped the champion to floor.

Down but not out Hughes was able to a reverse a rear naked choke attempt by Trigg into top position. From there he proceeded to pick up Trigg, slam him and apply his own RNC for the submission victory.

UFC 76-99= UFC 86 July 5, 2008 Forrest Griffin vs. Quinton Jackson

On the timeline of the history of mixed martial arts and the UFC most experts point to one singular fight that changed the course of a dying sport. Forrest Griffin had his hand raised in that fight and became the winner of the first season of Spike TV’s “Ultimate Fighter”.

Griffin validated the credibility of the reality show by becoming the first contestant to win UFC gold in the main event of UFC 86.

The fight went the full 25 minutes. Griffin employed a great tactical game plan against Jackson, controlling the pace and whipping him with a constant barrage of leg kicks. All five rounds were close and you had the feeling that at any moment Jackson could end it with a one punch knockout.

The three judges at ringside awarded the fight to Griffin in one of the bigger upsets in UFC history.

Honorable Mention: UFC 4 Royce Gracie vs. Dan Severn I, UFC 10 Mark Coleman vs. Don Frye, UFC 31 Randy Couture vs. Pedro Rizzo I, UFC 63 Matt Hughes vs. B.J Penn II, UFC 79 Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva

Tommy Messano covers mixed martial arts for phoenix.fanster.com submit a question and follow him at https://twitter.com/ultmma

July 9th, 2009 5:58 PM