The Best UFC Cards of All Time

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has played a vital role in the development and promotion of Mixed Martial Arts for nearly three decades. The company organized dozens of events worldwide for the local and international fighters which are heavily featured on the card.

From 1993 till now, UFC has come up with several memorable and best fight cards. They are considered the best UFC cards of all time due to ever increasing and admiring fan following. The UFC cards gained hype due to the high-profile fighters and the memorable moments which turned the table. Let's explore the best UFC fight cards of all time.

Following are The 10 Best UFC Cards of All Time.

UFC 217 has been a remarkable event in MMA history. A new record was set up due to the change in three UFC championships on that night.

On 4th November 2017, the legend who was under the spotlight was Georges St Pierre who returned after a four-year hiatus and claimed promotional gold in a category he never fought before.

GSP won the first round easily but Canadian legend Bisping fought back to freak out his opponent. But the bout came to an end due to endless attacks of elbows on Bisping and then Rear Naked Choke caused Bisping to senseless.

The achievements of Tj Dillashaw and Joanna Jedrzejczyk ranked UFC 217 as the best card. Dillashaw won the Bantamweight title and knocked out Cody Garbrandt. Joanna Jedrzejczyk surprised everyone by striking Rose Namajunas. The results were definitely shocking but the fights are still remembered.

The UFC 205 event was held in New York. It was recognized as a historic event because MMA Tournaments were legalized that year. The UFC 205 event was highlighted as the best MMA card due to many reasons.

Firstly, Conor McGregor was the first fighter to simultaneously secure two UFC title belts. McGregors’ timely executed techniques nailed Alvarez against the octagon fence.

Secondly, the world-class champions Frankie and Khubaib were fighting in the preliminary rounds. Both secured major victories which won the hearts of the audience.

Michael Johnson while fighting Khabib made some technical faults which resulted in an inevitable takedown. Later he tried to defend himself through a guillotine choke but Khabib secured victory via kimura.

Edgar revealed his injury, Medial Collateral Ligament ( MCL ) requires an epidural to continue practice in the future.

The most emotional aspect of the UFC 205 card was Tate's retirement. Tate lost the match against Raquel Pennington. She shared: "I’m announcing my retirement, you guys," Tate told Rogan and the fans in the cage. "I love this sport forever, but it’s not my time anymore. It’s the future’s time."

Yoel Romero's win is still celebrated after so many years. He knocked out Chris Weidman by applying a flying knee taking advantage of being an Olympic wrestler. Elsewhere, Joanna Jędrzejczyk was able to defend her strawweight title. Kowalkiewicz punches and knees cause hematoma near the Jędrzejczyk eye. Perhaps Kowalkiewicz's offensive methods were not enough to win the battle. She shared the words: "I am very proud because I came and gave a good fight," she said to Rogan in the cage after the fight. "Maybe next time we can fight in Poland."

The Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson's fight ended in a draw. It was an incredibly tough match with a lot of offensive and defensive techniques remaining undecided till the end. Thompson shared the words with Rogan after the fight. "it is what it is. I want to do it again."

The great UFC 189 card fight was organized in Los Vegas. This card is in highlights still today due to the blood-spattered war between Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald. Lawler defeated Macdonald with punches and gained a top position in a gift round. Macdonald received huge appreciation in 189 UFC cards due to his highly skilled performance.

Then comes the fight between Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes under the Featherweight title. McGregor unexpectedly defeated Mendes with punches in Round 2. Most of the audience was supporting Mendes being a wrestler but McGregor’s techniques worked. The Irish man surprised the audience with his diverse attacks. Brett Okamoto shared his thoughts:

McGregor's confidence was remarkable before the match. He predicted to Mendes:

In this fight Stephens was an underrated fighter but he managed to defeat Bermudez.

Brandon Thatch was considered an aggressive striker and Nelson was a terrific grappler. Thatch was not able to stand for a long time in the octagon, the reason might be one year break from the fight due to a toe injury. Thatch lost the fight in round 2 when Nelson applied a Rear Naked choke.

Then comes the breathtaking fight between Pickett and Almeida. Almeida is aggressive and he knocked out Pickett in Round 1 by applying TKO. Almeida is ranked at No.4 in overall MMA rankings.

Matt Brown is an unstoppable champ when in the ring. He is famous for his grappling techniques and wrestling remains his weakness. Brown and Means are labeled as head hunters that even mouthguards cannot protect the fighters from bleeding.

The fight ended in a unanimous decision or split decision under the preliminary cards.

Under the 129 UFC card, in Canada, Georges St Pierre defended his welterweight title with an incredibly smart style of striking against Jake Shields. This was the fifth win Pierre in pound-for-pound ranking which positioned George as one of the greatest MMA fighters in history.

In the fight, Aldo gunned Hominick resulting in a huge hematoma. Hominick, being a tough guy, bore the attack and tried to take down the opponent but the fight ended in a unanimous decision.

On the UFC 129 card, Machid defeated Couture by Crane kick. The Hall had an equal number of supporters for both of the fighters. Both were applying punches and kicks. The fight became memorable due to Machida’s front kick and Couture lost the fight in Round 2. The rest of the bouts on the card were left behind with the historic victory of Pierre and Shields.

In this event, the fighter Jon Jones gained popularity by defeating Brien with the Guillotine choke in Round 2. Yoshihiro Akiyama and Jon Fitch's impressive bouts won the hearts of the crowd which marked UFC 100 as the best card.

After these two fights, Henderson and Bisping's techniques in the octagon cannot be forgotten. Pierre was successful enough to retain his welterweight title.

Lensar defeats Mir and secures his Heavyweight Championship Belt. The card gained popularity due to the big pay-per-view record on the most hyped fight between Brock Lensar and Frank Mir.

Nate Diaz was successful enough to defeat McGregor in the last seconds of the second round. In the first round, McGregor injured Diaz’s eye but the fighter seemed much not worried about the bleeding. In the second round, daze remained dominant. He attacked McGregor's chin from which the fighter took time to gain momentum. In the last seconds when McGregor hit the ground Diaz suddenly attained mount but McGregor rolled turning back to the opponent. Diaz applied a choke and McGregor's fight was over.

Daze in the interview with Rogan shared words that " I knew it would be a slow start for me, so I knew I would have to start slow and pick up and let go."

McGregor said:

What makes UFC 269 card most famous is the fight between Oliveira and Poirier and then Pena's continuous energetic attempts to force Nunes into submission.

Poirier remained dominant in the first round because of his first-class boxing skills. The Fighter's hard jabs on Charles Oliveira were quite clear and strong. In the second round, Oliveira defended himself on the mat by applying punches and elbows continuously for 3 minutes. And then finally in the third round, Oliveira won the fight by applying a rear naked choke.

Nunes remained dominant on Pena in the first round forcing submission but remained unsuccessful. Then, comes the second round, totally unexpected. Pena attacked Nunes with a series of shots and then played trickly to choke her.

The UFC 202 main event was held in Las Vegas. McGregor wanted to win this bout after losing in UFC 196 and Nate Diaz wanted to prove himself as a pro Fighter. The moment the fight started McGregor striked his leg repeatedly. At first, Diaz was successful enough to defend himself but after brutal attacks from McGregor, Diaz was pushed towards the fence. In the second and third rounds again Diaz tried to make the situation worse for McGregor. The bout speed was slowed in offending and defending. But the interest of the audience increased in every round. Finally, in the fifth round, McGregor tripped Diaz on the ground and mounted him.

In an interview with Joe Rogan McGregor said:

"He took them better than I expected. He didn't show. He didn't let me know. I won the first three rounds. I proved the class difference, but then that toughness and durability that he has crept back in the later rounds. I'm still happy to come away with the win.”

"It was a hell of a fight. He's a hell of a competitor. He brought out the best in me.

"Like my coach said, we win or we learn. I learned from that last contest."

He further said: "All I know is it's 1-1. Regroup. We'll do it again, this time at 155 pounds. I came up to 170, faced the bigger man, and overcame my adversity. Now you want this trilogy, it happens on my terms. Come back down to 155. We'll do it."

After that Diaz gave an interview with Rogan. He shared: "Good job today, Conor, but we going for three," Diaz noted. "For real."

As Dominick shared the views about McGregor: “I don’t know if Conor McGregor has a fighting style that can go for five rounds.”

Under the 229 UFC Card, Khabib Nurmagomedov successfully retained his Lightweight belt. He defeated McGregor in Round 4 via submission. McGregor forced Khabib to tap out in round 4 through a rear naked choke but at the end, Neck Crank from Khabib forced McGregor to submission.

McGregor and Khabib were suspended for the post-fight drama. Khabib attacked the corner man of McGregor Dillon Danis after winning the fight in some grudge. In exchange McGregor also targeted khabibs fellows which resulted in the huge fine and suspension of both players.

Then comes an amazing brawl between Tong Ferguson and Anthony Pettis. Ferguson won the bout by TKO when Anthony told the coach that his hand had broken.

UFC 239 is remembered as lively, furious and the fastest knockouts in MMA history. The most incredible aspect of this card was featuring the best male and female Mixed Martial Artists live. Jon Jones defeated Thiago Santos in Round 5 through a Split decision. In the post-fight interview, Jon Jones shared about Santos: “Most powerful guy I have ever faced.” He further commented: “ Santos pushed him to his limits with heavy shots”.

Fighters showed a wide variety of strikes in their bouts which includes head kicks, flying knees and spinning back kicks. But in the end, victory was for Jon.

Masvidal's flying knee on the Ben Askren chin was the deciding moment for the bout. Then the other interesting bout was between bantamweight champions Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm which marked Nunes as the queen of women's Mixed Martial Arts.

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