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By any measure, 2009 was a fantastic year for boxing. Fans were treated to a number of exciting bouts, new stars were born, and the state of The Sweet Science feels healthier now than it did back in January.

That doesn’t mean it was a smooth ride for everyone. The nature of the sport meant that not all of its participants could emerge as winners, and a handful of top fighters fell victim to misfortune in or out of the ring.

Here’s a look at five boxers who probably can’t wait to turn the calendar and start 2010:

5. Antonio Margarito

When 2009 began, Margarito was the hottest boxer in a loaded welterweight division. Unfortunately, fans will now forever associate the "Tijuana Tornado" with the word “loaded” in a whole different way.

Before a January fight with Shane Mosley, opposing trainer Nazeem Richardson suspected something funny about Margarito’s hand wraps. That hunch turned out to be correct, as resulting tests found an illegal substance that not only earned Margarito and trainer Javier Capetillo one-year suspensions, but also cast a cloud of doubt over Tony’s previous victories.

To add injury to insult, Mosley’s fists did all the significant damage en route to a ninth-round TKO . It’s true that Margarito never should have been cheating to begin with, but getting caught right before the biggest fight of his career was a stroke of bad luck from which he may never fully recover.

4. Bernard Hopkins

The last thing you want when you’re waging a battle to stave off Father Time is to waste a whole year. Yet that’s essentially what happened to the 44-year-old Hopkins, who was unable to capitalize on his dominating October 2008 victory over Kelly Pavlik.

Hopkins and his Golden Boy team tried in vain to land a big fight this year. He was linked to the likes of Carl Froch and Tomasz Adamek but had to settle for beating up on lightly regarded Enrique Ornelas in December.

At least it appeared "The Executioner" would have a chance to avenge his 1993 loss to Roy Jones Jr. in early 2010, but that plan went up in smoke when Jones was knocked silly by Danny Green in a supposed tune-up fight. As a result, 2009 will go down as one of the most forgettable years in Hopkins’ mostly brilliant career.

3. Kelly Pavlik

Though the attention of the sports media and casual fans is currently (and rightfully) focused on Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, it wasn’t too long ago when it appeared that the "Pride of Youngstown" was best positioned to become a mainstream star. His bad run of luck actually started when his team put him up against Hopkins, but it got worse in 2009.

Nasty drug-resistant staph infection? Check. Life-threatening reaction to medication intended to fight that same infection? Double check.

If that wasn’t enough, team Pavlik spent a great deal of time and energy discrediting rumors about "The Ghost’s" non-boxing activities. Unless Pavlik gets upset by huge underdog Miguel Espino on Dec. 19, next year has to be better for the middleweight champ, because it can’t get much worse.

2. Sergio Martinez

On the plus side, North American fans actually know about this speedy southpaw now. Sadly, Martinez might not feel as great about journeying here from Spain after what happened to him this year.

First, Martinez appeared to have Kermit Cintron knocked out in February only to have the referee change his mind and restart the fight. Most observers thought he did enough to win anyway, but a dubious final round point deduction for excessive grabbing meant the bout ended up as a majority draw .

On short notice, Martinez took on Paul Williams in a thrilling December battle that could have gone in his favor. One judge never even gave him a chance, though, turning in a ludicrous 119-110 card for Williams that in no way reflected the tense nature of the fight.

We’ll be hearing from Martinez again, but he’ll have to be mentally tough to shake off his experiences over the last 12 months.

1. Ali Funeka

This South African lightweight opened eyes with two impressive performances fighting outside his homeland for the first time. Amazingly, he’ll be home for the holidays with a 0-1-1 record for the year and no championship belts.

First, Funeka had a shot at some gold when facing Nate Campbell, who failed to make weight but fought anyway. Both men gave it their all, but even though many observers thought Ali won, the judges felt otherwise . It was a tough decision that drove Funeka to tears, but it wasn’t a robbery.

His next fight was.

After Funeka weathered an early storm from Joan Guzman, he took over in the late rounds to the point where commentators were wondering if the fight should be stopped. That somehow wasn’t enough to impress two judges, who gave six rounds each to Guzman and made the contest a majority draw.

In a perversely fitting way, the most questionable decision of the year went against the boxer with the worst luck. For Funeka, 2010 can’t get here fast enough.

Nick Tylwalk is the editor and co-founder of BoxingWatchers.com . Follow his Twitter feed @Nick_Tylwalk .

We finally made it. The improbable rematch to the best game from last year is here.  Both teams are missing key pieces from last year. However, neither slipped up, and for the first time ever we have a battle of undefeateds in the SEC championship. 

To put it bluntly, this game will rock.

Not convinced? I've got 15 pieces of evidence backing me up.

15. No. 15

I don't mean number 15, as in the 15th most important reason to watch this game. I mean jersey No. 15 for the Florida Gators, Tim Tebow. The Heisman winner—and probably two-time Heisman winner—shows up in big games. And this is one of the biggest.

Take a look at his career stats in what I consider the big games (LSU, the traditional rivals, bowls, and championships):

212/333, 2872 yds, 34 TDs, 5 INTs, 166.8 Pass Eff.
285 rush, 1,068 yds, 19 TDs

To give you an idea of how good he's been, the career mark for pass efficiency is 168.9, set by a WAC quarterback. Tebow's been doing nearly that against his toughest competition.

Don't expect anything less than a huge game by No. 15 with a title and an outside shot at the Heisman on the line.

14. The Coaches

Say what you want about the SEC, but the league is the fun. In fact, it's the most fun, most successful league, thanks to the guys calling the plays.

My theory on it? The SEC's model for success is professional wrestling. We've got heels (Kiffin, Meyer, Saban, Spurrier), Wildcards (Miles, Nutt and his wacky daughter), Good guys (Johnson, Richt), inept refs who "never see nothin'," even when somebody smacks a guy with a chair, and a jackass commish who plays favorites.

The championship gives us two of the heels, an all–star cast of crappy refs, and Vince McSlive in attendance. How could you not watch that?

13. Defense, Defense, Defense!

The Gators rank first in total defense, second in passing defense, first in scoring defense, and eighth in rush defense. They are also top 20 in sacks.

Alabama ranks third in total defense, first in pass defense, second in scoring defense, and second in rush defense. They are 25th in sacks.

Neither team gives up more than two scores a game—Florida at 9.8 points per game, and Alabama at 10.8. 

For those of you a little skeptical of how two dominant defenses can make for an exciting game, look back at last year's 31–20 SEC championship. Both teams were top 20 in all of the above categories. The two unstoppable forces were able to put up a combined 51 points on the immovable objects. This year they just went and turned it up to All–Madden.

12. Mark Ingram

The other Heisman candidate took a big hit in both his candidacy and on the field. Right now he's not practicing. But he says he's playing, and I believe him.

Ingram's second effort has killed teams this year, and it will be the ultimate test for the Gators' stout defense.

At nearly 300 yards and 11 TDs behind Gerhart, Ingram has some work to get back into the Heisman race. A big game on the biggest stage will do just that.

11. NFL Pre-draft Workout

This game should be the first choice for every NFL scout in the nation. The Gators have Tebow, Spikes, Haden, Dunlap, Hernandez, James, Cunningham, and the Pounceys to show off. 

Alabama's bringing Cody, Daederick, McClain, Arenas, and Woodall.

McClain and Spikes are the defensive leaders, likely the first and second best players at the inside linebacker position, respectively. Haden and Cody are possibly the best players on each team. 

Short of bringing the 2001 Miami squad back, you're not going to get more talent in a college football game.

10. Spread Versus Stuff

Last year, Urban's offense got the best of Saban's defense, but it wasn't easy. Florida averaged just 3.4 yards per rush, never gaining more than 14 yards on a single rushing play.

Every hard yard was worth it in the end though. Every time Demps failed to get outside, every time Tebow got stuffed up the middle, every seemingly ineffective play increased the tension until finally, one got free for a 10 yard gain. It felt like an NFL playoff game.

9. Brandon James

I don't know what happened during the beginning of the season, but James forgot how to run. Well, Florida's return man has come on a bit in the last few weeks, gaining 182 punt return yards over the past five games.

Last year he averaged 24.2 yards per kickoff return and 8.3 yards per punt return. I doubt Urban will let him regress to his early 2009 form, so I'd expect similar numbers this year.

8. Javier Arenas

This year, the better return man clearly plays for the Tide. Last year, it was a wash—both were extremely explosive on every play. However, James has fallen far from his 2008 form, and Arenas remains the same. 

Something should be said about his confidence not leading to mouthiness, too. Greg Reid said he'd break one. Florida didn't give him a chance, only punting once. Arenas has wisely stayed silent, allowing his impressive résumé to speak for itself. I doubt Henry will only be punting once, and Arenas will get his chance.

7. Power Run Versus 3–3–5 Mega-blitz

Florida has the deepest, most talented secondary in the nation. Charlie Strong realized this last year and put in the 3–3–5 package. It worked, so it became the base set. 

This year, he's taken blitzing from the nickel and turned it up to 11. This, coupled with the Gators' all-around athleticism, has led to a high-reward defense that managed to keep risk low.

Most of the risk management falls on No. 5. Haden can tackle anyone in the open field. He leads the team with 61 solo tackles, and is often left by himself while Florida sends the house. Strong trusts him to save the TD, and so far he has.

Enter the Alabama rushing attack and Mark Ingram.

Ingram leads the lead in "holy s*** he just rolled that guy!" (HSHJRTGs). He sheds defenders that hit him low or high, and if Haden doesn't make him fall on one of his frequent left-on-the-island-alone plays, Ingram will be in the end zone before someone else catches him.

6. Revenge

Revenge for what, for losing one game? Nope. Revenge for a missed BCS title.

Dumb people will say, "Alabama lost to Utah. There's no way they would have won the title last year." I disagree with those dummies. Alabama's hearts were broken in Atlanta. One month later, they had lost their edge and barely showed up against a hungry Utah team that felt like they deserved to be in Miami.

The result was an unexpected beat-down where Alabama never really got into the game. If the roles were reversed, the results might have remained the same. A defeated Florida squad could have done the same thing against Utah, and a perfect Alabama team might have stalled the mighty Sooners offense, outlasting them and hoisting a trophy in South Florida.

There's no real way to know, but you should know this. Alabama believes that to be true. That's all they need for this year.

5. Hits

These are the two most athletic defenses in the nation. If a quarterback sails a pass, the safeties will punish the receiver. If a running back or running quarterback goes for the extra yard, he's getting his helmet knocked off. 

Even if the score is 3–3 after four overtimes, the game will be exciting because of all of the highlight-reel hits.

4. Julio Jones

Even though he was more exciting last year, before teams knew that they could shut him down, he's still a game–changer. Part of Bama's game plan will be getting Jones involved more as a receiver than a decoy because he's the only Tide WR who can make big plays on the Gators' stingy defense.

3. Porous Pass Protection

This one's for all of the Tebow haters. He might get rocked on Saturday. His line has allowed 28 sacks (81st in the nation). While the Gators have cleaned up a little bit since Xavier Nixon began starting at tackle, they haven't faced a defense like Alabama.

Tebow's going to get hit, and he might get hit hard. Those of you who like that stuff should probably hang around.

2. Alabama's Redemption

One game is one game. Two games is a series. If the Tide lose the big game twice to the Gators then it clears up two things. First, Urban is the better coach. There's no other way to slice it. He's the better big game coach, he's better head to head, he's just better. Sorry, Bama.

Second, it clears up how far my road trip will be in January. It's either a 2500 mile drive or a 700 mile drive. As soon as I know, I'll be able to plan accordingly.

1. It's 12–0 No. 1 vs. 12–0 No. 2

This is a BCS championship in early December. Need I say more?

He’s Baaack

At just after 7am on a cool February morning in Arizona, Tiger Woods stepped onto a PGA Tour practice range for the first time in more than eight months.

He was walking a little slower, and he wasn’t attacking the ball with the same ferocity as he once did, but it was still Tiger Woods. 

And if you thought your eyes were deceiving you, the hundreds of cameramen and reporters out at 7:15am on a Wednesday morning would have been enough to make you believe.

Woods’ much anticipated return was cut short when he was defeated by South African Tim Clark in the second round of the Accenture Match Play Championship.

For a guy who had won 65 PGA Tour events and 14 major championships before going down with a knee injury, there was only one way for him to prove he really was back—and that was to win.

Less than a month after his initial return, Woods overcame a five-stroke deficit in the final round to defeat Sean O’Hair at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The sun had set, Arnold “The King” Palmer was looking on from just off the side of the green, and Woods was lining up his 25-foot putt in almost complete darkness.

As Woods went through his tedious pre-putt routine, one could not help but think back to the last time he faced a must-make putt.  It was on the 72nd hole of a little tournament known as the US Open, and we all know how that turned out.

The moment Woods struck his putt, the green was illuminated by the flashes of hundreds of cameras.  As the ball began closing in on the hole, Woods began slowly back peddling before unleashing one of his trademark fist pumps upon seeing his ball disappear into the cup.

He’d done it again.  

After an eight month hiatus, excitement had finally returned to the PGA Tour.

Woods vs. Michelson Showdown at Augusta

Although Angel Cabrera, Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell would compete in a three-way playoff, most golf fans began enjoying their Easter ham upon the conclusion of the Woods/Michelson showdown.  

Longtime golf announcer Jim Nantz later said that after watching Woods and Mickelson walk off the 18th green, he had to take a deep breath and remind himself that there was still a golf tournament going on.

Woods and Mickelson began the day well behind the leaders. But it didn’t matter.  These two heavyweights could've begun the day tied for last place, and their pairing would have still been the tournament’s main event.

Heck, television could have shown their final round on pay-per-view, and millions of households would have gladly accepted the charges.

After Mickelson birdied six out of his first nine holes and Woods was three-under-par at the turn, it was beginning to look as if one of these guys might actually pull off a comeback comparable to Nicklaus at the '86 Masters or Palmer at the '60 US Open.  

For Woods, it would have been yet another jaw-dropping accomplishment in a long list of jaw-dropping accomplishments.

For Mickelson, it would have defined a career.

But it was not to be.

Michelson double bogeyed the par-three 12th and then missed a short eagle putt on the 13th.

Woods on the other hand continued his charge by birdying the 13th, 15th and 16th before the greatest closer the game has ever seen inexplicable bogeyed the final two holes, which eliminated any hope of a fifth green jacket.

Mickelson’s final round 67 landed him in alone in fifth place while Woods’ 68 put him in a tie for 6th. 

Oh yeah, and Angel Cabrera won the Masters with a par on the second sudden death playoff hole.

The Twilight Zone (aka The US Open)

Lucas Glover and Ricky Barnes were battling it out for the US Open title; David Duval was right on their tails; Hunter Mahan was making a run of his own before his perfectly struck approach shot on the par-four 16th happened to ricochet off the pin and roll clear off the front of the green; and it began pouring rain every time Tiger Woods stepped foot onto the golf course.

Bethpage Black might as well have been the twilight zone during that memorable week back in June.

The only part of the 2009 US Open that didn’t come as a complete shock was Phil Mickelson finishing second for the fifth time in his career.

Glover played the back nine on Monday—yup, that’s right, on Monday due to the monsoons that swept through the New York area that week—in even par, which was good enough to give him a two-stroke victory over Phil Mickelson, Rickey Barnes, and David Duval.

During the trophy presentation, Barnes turned to Mickelson and told him that he could take the second place medal.  Mickelson calmly replied by telling Barnes not to worry about it...he already had four of them at home.

 

Y.E. Yang Slays the Tiger

Tiger Woods had never lost a major championship when holding at least a share of the 54-hole lead.

That’s worth repeating.

Tiger Woods had never lost a major championship when holding at least a share of the 54-hole lead…until he ran into Y.E. Yang at the 2009 PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.

When Woods sent his tee-shot on the par three 17th, clear over the back of the green, thus virtually securing Yang’s victory, he put his hands on his knees and hung his head down in defeat.

It was a scene reminiscent of Rocky Balboa cutting the seemingly invincible Ivan Drago in Rocky IV.

Golf’s most dominant prize fighter of all time had been cut…and it was a bad cut.

Not since a driving range pro by the name of Jack Fleck defeated Ben Hogan in the 1955 US Open had golf seen a more shocking upset.

Yang, a former Korean power lifter, celebrated by hoisted his golf bag over his head on the 18th green, while the rest of the PGA Tour was undoubtedly hearing the voice of Tony "Duke" Evers (Rocky Balboa’s trainer in Rocky IV) screaming, “You see, he’s man!  He’s not a machine…he’s a man!”

Watson Comes Within a Hair

Every player at the 2009 British Open was competing against a field made up of the best golfers on the face of the planet.  Well, every player except one.

Tom Watson was not only competing against 157 of the top players in the world, he was also competing against a far more ruthless and unforgiving opponent—Old Man Time. 

And he came within a measly two yards of conquering them all.

All eyes were on Watson as he teed off on the 72nd hole at Turnberry holding a one-stroke lead.  After all, it’s not every day that you see a 59-year-old man about to win a major championship.

When Watson found the right side of the fairway, the excitement began to build as his win looked inevitable.

Inevitable because Watson is from a different era in the game, an era when professional golfers were more likely to win tournaments rather than lose them.

Exactly 30 years earlier on the same hole, Watson stuck his approach shot to five feet and then proceeded to sink his birdie putt to defeat Jack Nicklaus in what is now known as “The Dual in the Sun.”

However, things did not go as smoothly for Watson on this day.

With the pin placed on the back of the green, Watson’s approach shot landed towards the front of the putting surface and sprung clear off the back edge of the green.

He pitched to around six feet and began lining up his putt.

As Watson stood over his six-foot putt to win the British Open, one could not help but question the pure cruelty of the golf gods.

You see, Watson’s days of winning ended when he lost his ability to make putts from inside of 10 feet.

So, what’s standing between Watson and arguably the greatest achievement in sports history?

That’s right, a six foot putt.   

The massive crowds surrounding the 18th green at Turnberry uniformly winced as Watson’s putt came up three feet short.

He tapped in for a bogey five and began preparing himself for a three-hole playoff with Stewart Cink.

By then, however, Old Man Time had broken through the front lines and Watson appeared both physically and mentally broken.

Cink won easily, and golf fans will forever remember the 2009 British Open as another one of those “what if” moments in the game’s long and illustrious history.

Other Memorable Moments:

Henrik Stenson shoots a final round 66 to win The Players Championship by 4 strokes.

Phil Mickelson wins The Tour Championship while Tiger Woods wins FedEx Cup.

Ryan Moore finally breaks through at the Wyndham Championship.

Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker dominate the Presidents Cup.

1. Best Entrance Music Ever

Before breaking down the fights, let's get one thing clear: the choice of "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba as Forrest Griffin's entrance song was awesome.

Coming off an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Anderson Silva, there was no better song for Griffin to walk out to than one whose chorus states, "I get knocked down, but I get up again. You're never gonna keep me down."

Well played, Forrest Griffin. Well played.

2. Play It Again, Sam

Chances are, we'll see Forrest-Tito Round 3 somewhere down the road, just because: (a) it's a 1-1 series and you have to have a winner, and (b) both of these guys bring in the crowds and would make for a great No. 2 or 3 fight on a stacked card.

While it might not be warranted in some people's estimations because Griffin was clearly the victor last night, while Ortiz eeked out a decision in their first fight, they seem to enjoy fighting each other and match up well against one another, so why not do it again down the road?

You have to admit, this was far better than Ortiz vs. Coleman would have been.

3. Sorry Tito, But You Missed the Evolutionary Bus

No, I'm not saying Tito is a caveman or anything disparaging when it comes to the real world application of the word evolution. But in terms of Mixed Martial Arts, Tito missed the bus in a big, big way.

Back when Tito dominated the 205-pound division, being outstanding at one skill could propel you to numerous victories, and Tito was a prime example. His wrestling was tremendous and few could defend his double leg takedown. From there, a little Tito ground and pound and the fight was done.

But we're creeping up on 2010, and being one dimensional isn't going to cut it today. Even a guy like Forrest, who started out as a brawler, has evolved. He has tightened up his striking, adding some Muay Thai and developing a very underrated ground game under Robert Drysdale.

If Tito wants to have any success moving forward, he's going to have to disprove the theory that you can't teach and old dog new tricks.

4. Not Quite Ready to Rumble

He's close, but Anthony Johnson just isn't quite there yet and Josh Koscheck showed that last night, by utilizing his strong wrestling base and superior submission skills to force the Cung Le protegee to tap in the second round of their much-anticipated bout.

What a novel concept, using your strengths in accordance with your opponents weaknesses to earn a victory. Why didn't someone think of that sooner...or at least tell Jorge Gurgel?

Results aside, this was an ugly fight. Both guys got poked in the eye and we were extremely close to seeing the fight end in a disqualification thanks to Johnson's blatant and brutal knee of a downed Koscheck.

Regardless of what the replays showed and however you want to spin it, Johnson should know better, and until those mental errors are erased and he develops his defensive skills against submissions, "Rumble" will remain an outstanding prospect who can't quite get over the hump.

5. That Was Fight of the Night?

As entertaining as the Koscheck/Johnson tilt was, am I the only one wondering how a fight filled with fouls and accidental eye gouging was awarded Fight of the Night?

My understanding of things is that the $60,000 bonus should go the bout that provided the most action throughout or was the most evenly contested fight of the evening, not a scrap that didn't see the third round and was stopped repeatedly for rest and regaining clear vision.

Griffin/Ortiz and Thiago/Volkmann were far more deserving of the money in my book, but this isn't my book we're talking about.

6. Speaking of Jacob Volkmann...

Two things I liked from the debuting Minnesota Martial Arts Academy welterweight:

1. His nickname

As Joe Rogan said, we have enough pitbulls and spiders and guys with menacing names who are far from menacing, so now we have a guy his friends call "Christmas" and I love it. Even better is that it comes from his ever-so-slight resemblance to Jim Carrey's character "Lloyd Christmas" in Dumb & Dumber.

2. D'Arce Choke off His Back

Yeah, you don't see that one every day, especially against a guy who is known for having a great jiu-jitsu game of his own. While he wasn't able to secure the choke or score the win, pulling out moves like that is certainly a glimmer of hope for future fights with the UFC.

7. The Best Part of Phil Baroni's Performance...

...was his entrance.

Honestly, someone needs to tell me why Baroni was given an opportunity to collect whatever money he made last night while countless fighters are denied chances to fight on pay-per-view cards or even fight in the UFC at all.

Remember, the UFC re-signed "The New York Badass" after Strikeforce had released him, so it's not like he was a big-name talent who could have helped the competition. This was brutal, just as everyone outside of the Baroni family knew it would be.

8. Sadollah Looked Solid

Actually, he looked more than solid. He looked strong, and despite my history of ragging on the former Ultimate Fighter, I won't even qualify that with an "against the equivalent of a human punching bag in Phil Baroni."

His Muay Thai was terrific; powerful kicks and well-placed elbows that would cut up anyone, and he showed a killer instinct to keep pushing the fight when he clearly could have coasted through the final round.

While the memory of the Johny Hendricks fight still lingers, it's not as salient, and I look forward to seeing what's next for Sadollah.

9. Introducing Antonio Rogerio "Minotouro" Nogueira

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Lil' Nog. Nog, meet the UFC fan base.

This was one of the best debuts I can remember, as Nogueira made quick and easy work of a very game opponent in Luis Cane, showing those who were unaware that there are two talented Nogueiras in the game.

Unlike Koscheck/Johnson, Rogerio was more than deserving of his $60,000 bonus for Knockout of the Night, and the rest of the light heavyweight division has officially been put on notice that a new knockout artist has arrived.

10. Still A Couple Judging Questions

As always, there are a couple points of discussion concerning scorecards and judges.

a) Did anyone else think Phil Baroni won a round besides the one judge who scored it 29-28?
b) I still don't know how you can have a fight scored 30-27 Griffin and 29-28 Ortiz...
c) If ever there were a 10-8 round it was Round 3, right? Ortiz did zero...

While there are always going to be a couple questions, at least we didn't have a main event that yielded a controversial decision!

On to The Ultimate Finale!

UFC 105 will mark the UFC’s ninth appearance in the United Kingdom and its 15th occurrence outside of the United States.

MMA is growing into a global phenomenon with passionate fan-bases all over the world. 

The UFC has established itself as the premier organization in the sport and has done an excellent job in branching out internationally.

With that being said, let’s take a look at the top 10 greatest international events in UFC history.

10. UFC 8: San Juan, Puerto Rico

This classic event was dubbed as the “David vs. Goliath” tournament and was headlined by a UFC Superfight championship showdown between Ken Shamrock and Kimo Leopaldo. The focal point of the event featured an old-school eight man tournament that marked the debuts of MMA legends Don Frye and Gary Goodridge.

At the time, the UFC was still marketed as a “No Holds Barred Spectacle” rather than the pure sport it’s perceived as today. The first round of the tournament pitted smaller fighters, such as Frye who weighed in at 195-pounds at the time up against 200-plus pound monsters hence the “David vs. Goliath” title.

Both Frye and Goodridge finished their first and second fight with crushing knockouts that to this day still appear on highlight reels. They met up in the finals and Frye forced Goodridge to submit from strikes to win the UFC 8 tournament.

“The Predator” went on to become one of the biggest fan-favorites among die-hard fans and at 43 years old Frye with his trademarked “Stache” is still competing in local MMA events.

The Superfight bout saw Kimo escape a choke attempt, land a few head-butts (which are no longer legal today) before tapping to a Shamrock leg-lock.

9. UFC 29: Tokyo, Japan


UFC 29 was the UFC’s third and currently last Japanese show and it was important in MMA history because it was the last event promoted under Semaphore Entertainment Group. One month after this show, SEG sold the UFC to Zuffa, for two million dollars and we all know how much the UFC and MMA in general has grown in pop culture since Dana White and the Fertittas took control.

The stacked fight card was kicked off with a 205-pound battle between Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell and Jeff “The Snowman” Monson. Liddell defeated Monson by unanimous decision and would eventually go on to become the biggest superstar in MMA history in the coming years and a UFC Hall of Famer.

Eventual UFC champ Matt Hughes was looking to avenge his first professional loss in his rematch against Dennis Hallman but found himself once again on the receiving end of a Hallman arm-bar in just 21 seconds. Hallman was the only fighter other than B.J. Penn and Georges St. Pierre to submit Hughes in the 11 years that Hughes has been competing.

Then UFC Light-Heavyweight champ, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz made his first of five successful title defenses submitting Yuki Kondo with a tight neck crank in the first round. Much like “The Iceman”, Ortiz would eventually develop into one of the world’s most famous MMA fighters and the most dominant 205-pound champion in UFC history.


8. UFC 38: London, England

 “The Brawl at the Hall” marked the UFC’s first ever trip to the United Kingdom and it turned out to be a huge success for the UFC. It was the first event that was promoted with strong television due to the 13-week deal that the UFC signed with Sky Sports in the U.K.

A Welterweight championship match between the champion Matt Hughes and the former champ Carlos Newton served as the headliner for the show. For 13-weeks heading up to the event, Sky Sports aired old fights from the UFC library on primetime television to generate some buzz for the event.

This strategy drew a nearly sold-out crowd of 5,000 fans to London’s Royal Albert Hall and the English fans viewed the competitors as celebrity figures rather than just fighters due to watching them compete on television before the event.

This card is also historical for having one of the biggest upsets at the time with British journeyman Ian “The Machine” Freeman knocking out eventual UFC champion Frank Mir in the first round. Mir was unbeaten at that point and was expected to be one victory away from earning a title shot against Randy Couture.

7.  UFC 99: Cologne, Germany

On June 13th, 2009, the UFC made its first ever trip to Cologne, Germany.  Despite uneducated German politicians trying their best to shut the event down, the show went on as intended, although minors were banned from attending the event but it’s a small price that had to be paid to put on an exciting fight card for German fight fans.

Former PRIDE Heavyweight sensation, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic made his return to the UFC after consecutive losses to both Gabriel Gonzaga and Cheick Kongo.  Heated rivals Marcus Davis and Dan Hardy fought to a split decision and AKA Heavyweight Cain Velasquez went from prospect to contender with a wrestling clinic over French striker Kongo in the night’s co-main event. But the real action was generated from the main event of the evening between Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva.

Silva and Franklin went to war for three full rounds that had the German fans and the viewers watching at home on the edge of their set throughout the duration of the fight. Franklin out-pointed “The Axe-Murderer” and was awarded the unanimous decision on the judges’ score cards.

6.  UFC 80: Newcastle, England

Kicking off the year 2008 was UFC 80: Rapid Fire which featured a Lightweight championship headliner between B.J “The Prodigy” Penn and Joe “Daddy” Stevenson. Originally the bout was slated as an interim title fight but when then-lightweight champion Sean Sherk was stripped of his title after the California State Athletic Commission upheld his suspension for testing positive for steroids, the Penn-Stevenson fight was altered to be for the undisputed championship.

Before the new Lightweight champion was crowned, British fans were treated to a night of exciting finishes with no fights on the main card being left in the hands of the judges.

Highlights include Marcus Davis scoring an impressive first round knockout over Englishman Jesse Liaudin, Wilson Gouveia earning knockout of the night honors against Jason Lambert, and Fabricio Werdum finishing off Gabriel Gonzaga with a TKO in the second round.

The main event turned out to be one of the bloodiest fights in UFC history with Penn completely dominating Stevenson before finishing him off with a rear naked choke to claim the 155-pound title.

With the victory Penn became the second man in UFC history to claim gold in two separate weight classes, the first being Randy Couture.

5. UFC 83: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Back at UFC 69, Matt Serra knocked out Georges St. Pierre to claim the Welterweight championship in what is still considered to be the biggest upset in UFC history. After dominating both Josh Koscheck and Matt Hughes, St. Pierre earned his chance at redemption against Serra in his homeland of Montreal, Quebec Canada.

It was the UFC’s first event in Canada and it was built up as a modern day version of Rocky 4. Serra took the form of Rocky Balboa, the underdog Italian who was never supposed to win the championship where as St. Pierre was compared to the Canadian version of the menacing Ivan Drago. However while Balboa triumphed over Drago in the movie, Serra was not as successful.

St. Pierre completely dominated Serra to re-claim his Welterweight championship. Throughout out the entire event the Montréal crowd went berserk with chants of “GSP! GSP! GSP!” and when their hero stood tall at the end of the fight with the championship around his waist, the Canadian crowd almost tore the roof off with their cheers.

4. UFC 93: Dublin, Ireland

Irish MMA is on the rise and in January 2009, the UFC took advantage of the growing fan-base with a stacked fight card in Dublin, Ireland. The main event featured an anticipated Light-Heavyweight clash between former UFC champ Rich Franklin and former PRIDE champ Dan Henderson. Henderson edged out the decision in a closely contested contest that was action-packed all the way through.

This event marked the first time that the UFC has ever given out two “fight of the night” bonuses. The first FOTN award went to Welterweights Chris Lytle and Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis in their three-round war that saw Davis earning the split decision victory. The crowd thoroughly supported Davis singing an Irish song throughout the entire fight.

The second FOTN for some odd reason went to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Mark Coleman in the night’s co-main event. Both fighters appeared poorly conditioned throughout the duration of the fight and it took Rua three rounds to finish off an exhausted Coleman.

3. UFC 70: Manchester, England

For the first time since UFC 38 in 2002, the UFC had returned to England with an event titled “Nations Collide”. The card was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Setanta Sports and broadcasted live and free on Spike TV in the States.

Former PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix champion, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović, fought top contender Gabriel Gonzaga in the main event to determine the top contender for the UFC Heavyweight Championship held by Randy Couture.

Very few gave Gonzaga a chance in this fight as most predicted “Cro Cop” would score a brutal knockout with his trademarked head kick. Four minutes into the first round, Gonzaga shocks the world knocking Cro Cop out with a devastating head kick in a huge upset that nobody saw coming.

The card also featured England’s own Michael Bisping making his first Octagon appearance in the U.K against Elvis Sinosic, current Light-Heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida battling David Heath and Andrei Arlovski taking on Fabricio Werdum.

2. UFC 95: London, England

It isn’t often where every fight on the televised portion of a UFC card is exciting but such was the case for the UFC’s seventh show in England. UFC 95 was a true display of MMA, from crushing knockouts to slick submissions to all-out wars, it truly had everything a fight fan dreams for.

The first televised fight of the night saw a huge come from behind victory when Paulo Thiago knocked out top ranked Josh Koscheck in his UFC debut, after being used as a punching bag from Koscheck for the majority of the first round. We then witnessed a beautiful display of ground work with Demian Maia’s triangle choke submission victory over Chael Sonnen.

Top ranked Middleweight Nate Marquardt finished Wilson Gouveia off in the third round with a combo that looked like something straight out of Mortal Kombat. “The Outlaw” Dan Hardy proved his power with a stunning first round knockout over Rory Markham and established himself as a Welterweight to watch out for in the 170-pound division.

Closing the event was a super-exciting stand up war between Lightweights Diego Sanchez and Joe Stevenson in the show’s headliner. It was Sanchez’s 155-pound debut and he put on a striking clinic to defeat Stevenson by unanimous decision.

1. UFC 75: London, England

UFC 75 was dubbed “Champion vs. Champion” due to the headliner which featured a title unification bout between UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and PRIDE champion Dan Henderson which would determine the undisputed 205-pound champion of the world.

The event was on Setanta Sports 1 in the United Kingdom and offered on tape delay on Spike TV for free in North America. At the time, UFC 75 had achieved the highest recorded ratings for any mixed martial arts broadcast in North America, drawing a total of 4.7 million viewers and beating out the previous record held by the UFC's Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter.

Jackson and Henderson went toe-to-toe for five rounds in an epic bout with “Rampage” earning the unanimous decision and the undisputed championship in the end. However the most exciting fight of the night was contested between fan favorites Marcus Davis and Paul Taylor which earned the FOTN bonus. Also on the card, Michael Bisping defeated his TUF rival Matt Hamill in a controversial decision that most felt Hamill had won.