Epic Fights Collection #21 || Ben Henderson versus Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis || WEC 53: Henderson vs. Pettis
In December of 2010, the World Extreme Cagefighting organisation was being packed up and getting ready to be merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. However, they left with a bang when Anthony Pettis and Ben Henderson competed in the final fight of the promotions long history. In a battle for the WEC Lightweight title, Anthony Pettis and Ben Henderson battled back and forth. Pettis’ phenomenal ‘Showtime Kick’ not only stole the show but the whole fight too as he was declared the final WEC Lightweight Champion after the fight was over.
Epic Fights Collection #19 || Diego Sanchez versus Karo Parisyan || UFC Fight Night 6
In the summer of 2006, two welterweights had risen through the ranks. Both Sanchez and Parisyan were a couple of fights away from the Welterweight title, and in 2006’s fight of the year, they collided. In an action-packed fight which included Parisyan using his judo skills to toss Sanchez around the Octagon and Sanchez knocking Parisyan’s tooth out with a vicious knee from the clinch, ‘The Nightmare’ was the one that earned the decision.
Epic Fights Collection #18 || Yoshihiro Akiyama versus Chris Leben || UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin
Originally meant to be a fight between new Japanese import star Yoshihiro Akiyama and Wanderlei Silva, Chris Leben stepped up to the plate to face the Japanese star in the co-main event of UFC 116. In a back and forth affair, Leben managed to gain the victory, locking ‘Sexyama’ in a triangle choke with twenty seconds left in the fight.
Epic Fights Collection #17 || Chuck Liddell versus Rich Franklin || UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin
Originally scheduled to be the third battle between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, Rich Franklin stepped up to the plate to face Chuck Liddell after Ortiz revealed on The Ultimate Fighter he had to have an operation, which scraped Liddell’s battle with him entirely. There was one burning question going into this fight: at 40 years old, could the ‘Iceman’ dodge retirement and produce a victory over Franklin.
Franklin himself needed a victory after being crushed by Vitor Belfort at UFC 103. High stakes made for an entertaining all-out war between the two. Liddell utilised his superior striking throughout and even landed a takedown. However, in the closing seconds of the first round, an uppercut knocked him unconscious and into retirement. Franklin left the victor, Liddell left retired, finishing a storied career on a sour note.
Epic Fights Collection #16 || Ben Henderson versus Clay Guida || UFC on FOX: Velasquez vs. dos Santos
When the high-energy and non-stop pace of Clay Guida met the devastating fighting style of Ben Henderson, there was bound to be fireworks. And with number one contendership to the UFC Lightweight title on the line, it was all to play for.
In a crazy brawl which took place at every place in the Octagon, Ben Henderson and Clay Guida duked it out. From various submission attempts to getting dropped with vicious strikes, the two engaged in one of 2011’s most entertaining fights. In the end, it was Ben Henderson who came out with the ‘W’ via unanimous decision.
‘Smooth’ of course, now faces Frankie Edgar this Saturday live in Japan at UFC 144 in another fight that promises to deliver fireworks.
Epic Fights Collection #15 || Tito Ortiz versus Rashad Evans || UFC 133: Evans vs. Ortiz
Back at UFC 73, Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans faced off for the first time. The fight of course, went to a draw. Ortiz would have won the fight, as he had won the first two rounds on the judges scorecards, but was deducted a point for grabbing the fence. Fast forward four years later and it was a different world for both men. While Rashad continued to ascend up the ranks of the Light Heavyweight division, Tito Ortiz had fallen from the top, where he once stood.
Some ruled Ortiz out of his fight with Ryan Bader at UFC 132, but with his back against the wall, Ortiz managed to pull out a massive upset forcing Bader to tap out to a guillotine choke in the first round. Ortiz came into UFC 133 as a replacement. Originally, Phil Davis was supposed to take on ‘Suga’ but pulled out due to an injury. And coming in at short notice was Ortiz, looking to propel himself into title contention for what could have been the last time.
The ‘Huntingdon Beach Bad Boy’ train came to a halt however, as Rashad managed to turn in a great performance and victory over the former Light Heavyweight champion. But it didn’t come without a few scares. Ortiz looked to replicate his victory over Ryan Bader with a guillotine choke on Evans, but Evans got to half guard before any damage could be done. A heel hook was also on the cards, but Evans got out of that one easily. ‘Suga’ delivered a crushing knee to the body of Ortiz and scored the TKO victory several shots after.
Epic Fights Collection #14 || Wanderlei Silva versus Cung Le || UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson
Underneath what was an epic battle between Shogun Rua and Dan Henderson, the co-main event clash between ‘The Axe Murderer’ Wanderlei Silva and Cung Le was also an exciting battle. Le — who was fighting for the first time in over a year — looked to score a victory over Silva in his hometown of San José. Silva meanwhile looked to rebound off a devastating loss to Chris Leben in a knockout defeat which lasted under thirty seconds.
Using flashy kicks, the former Kickboxer and Sanshou fighter had stunned Silva in the early going, but Silva managed to keep it together. In a moment which was likely to bring back memories for the old PRIDE fans, Silva grabbed Le and placed him into the Muay Thai clinch and blasted away with knees, something that people hadn’t seen for a long time. The barrage stunned Le and eventually, as he went for the takedown, Silva pounded away at him for the TKO victory, which may have been a bit premature.
Nonetheless, Silva rebounded back in impressive fashion and not only took home a victory, but fended off retirement with the victory.
Epic Fights Collection #13 || Chan Sung Jung versus Leonard Garcia || WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber
When the ‘Korean Zombie’ arrived on U.S. soil in April of 2010 for the first time, he was supposed to face Cub Swanson. When Cub got injured, the wild brawler Leonard Garcia stepped in. Needless to say, the two overshadowed the rest of the WEC 48 card with their fight of the night and fight of the year fight.
The two engaged with frantic strikes frequently throughout the fight and their recklessness was what enticed the crowd. Sadly, a poor judge’s decision overshadowed the fight itself as Leonard Garcia was announced the winner despite Jung being seen as the winner by many.
Epic Fights Collection #12 || Anderson Silva versus Forrest Griffin || UFC 101: Declaration
In August of 2009, Anderson Silva looked for a challenge after he defended his title twice against Patrick Coté (at UFC 90) and Thales Leites (at UFC 97) in what were considered lacklustre title defences. In these defences, Silva outclassed his opponents. But he would find a challenge in former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin.
Griffin, fresh off a loss to Rashad Evans in which he lost his UFC Light Heavyweight title, looked to soothe the pain of losing the title with a win against Silva in Silva’s second match a light heavyweight in the UFC. However, he did not get the victory. Just like every other opponent before this fight, Anderson Silva outclassed his opponent. The ‘Spider’ dropped his opponent three times throughout the fight and utilised sways to avoid Griffin’s strikes. The finishing blow was enough for the referee to declare that Griffin could not continue.
With the dominant performance, Silva erased the memories of lacklustre fights against Leites and Coté and pretty much entered another highlight reel victory into UFC’s history books.
Epic Fights Collection #11 || Wanderlei Silva versus Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson II || PRIDE 28: High Octane
After he tasted defeat in their first encounter, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson worked is way to another fight with the ‘Axe Murderer’ Wanderlei Silva. En route to this shot, Jackson defeated Ikuhisa Minowa and Ricardo Arona (whom he defeated with a phenomenal powerbomb KO).
The hotly anticipated rematch started with Rampage pressing forward and getting into the clinch early. The two exchanged strikes and at one point in the first round, Silva began to utilise Muay Thai knee strikes, the same knees that defeated Quinton in their first outing. The fight was taken to the ground where Rampage’s attempts at ground and pound proved unsuccessful while Wandelrei worked from his back for submissions.
After a stand-up, Jackson managed to drop Silva with a vicious straight right hand. But Silva hung on until the end of the round.
The two exchanged strikes in the second round as Wanderlei stunned Jackson with a right hook. Sensing blood in the water, the Brazilian swarmed on his enemy and landed five knee strikes from the Muay Thai clinch which knocked Jackson unconscious onto the middle rope. Once again, Silva showed why he was the most dangerous fighter in PRIDE and once again, he made an example of Rampage Jackson.
Epic Fights Collection #10 || Wanderlei Silva versus Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson || PRIDE Final Conflict 2003
The stage was set for the finals of the PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix. After Wanderlei Silva had disposed Hidehiko Yoshida and Rampage Jackson had beaten Chuck Liddell earlier in the night, the two men were set to collide for the first time ever.
The fight began with Jackson attempting to close the distance earlier, however, as he went for the takedown, Silva locked in a guillotine choke. After a brief moment or so locked in the choke, Jackson pulled Wanderlei to the ground and proceeded to work on the ground. During this time, he delivered to knee strikes to the head of the ‘Axe Murderer’ and several body shots.
The fight changed once stood up due to inactivity (which was debatable as Jackson had spent time working from the dominant position). From there, Silva done what he did best and secured the Muay Thai clinch and blasted away with approximately twenty vicious knee strikes and several soccer kicks before one final knee strike landed and the referee saved Jackson from further punishment.
The brutality shown by Silva was an example of how much of a dangerous competitor he was back then (and still is now). However, he’d take it up a few notches in the next fight between him and Rampage.
Epic Fights Collection #9 || Roger Huerta versus Clay Guida || The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale
Clay Guida and Roger Huerta tore the house down in the main event of the Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale. Both fighters, known for their exciting stylers, clashed in a ‘fight of the year’ candidate which featured back and forth action between the two. It seemed that Clay may have been able to get to the decision, but he ate a massive knee which began a downward spiral for him in the opening seconds of the third round. He eventually succumbed to a tight rear naked choke from ‘El Matador’ as his valiant effort was put to rest.
Epic Fights Collection #8 || Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Royce Gracie || PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Finals
After he defeated Royler Gracie, in a fight which marked the first defeat of a Gracie in professional fighting in decades, Kazushi Sakuraba had elevated his status in Japan to that of a ‘superstar’. Meanwhile, the Gracie family had felt ‘cheated’ by PRIDE due to the loss and as a result, Royce Gracie returned to the world of mixed martial arts entering the 16-Man PRIDE Grand Prix.
There was a condition to his entry however. In the event of Sakuraba and Gracie occurring in the tournament, there would be special rules: no referee stoppages, no time-limits and the fight could only end via submission or knockout. Both men would meet in the second round of the tournament. Sakuraba managed to defeat the heavier Guy Mezger via controversial forfeit (Mezger’s coach Ken Shamrock said that both men did not agree to any additional rounds and went to the back) and Gracie defeated Nobuhiko Takada via unanimous decision.
For ninety minutes, the two fighters battled. That was exactly six fifteen minute rounds. Sakuraba nearly ended the fight in the first round with a kneebar and Gracie nearly forced Sakuraba to submit to a guillotine choke. Sakuraba had apparently tapped out during this choke but it went unnoticed by the referee and the fight continued. As the no time-limit fight continued, it began playing against Gracie as Sakuraba’s superior wrestling and balance stopped the former UFC Champion from making takedowns. Gracie’s gi allowed Sakuraba to control him easily when the fight went to the ground or when Sakuraba was on the defensive.
The Japanese fighter throughout the duration of the bout landed fierce leg kicks and it was those leg kicks which had built up and forced Royce Gracie’s corner to retire Gracie from the fight which allowed Sakuraba to continue on to the tournament. There was a question whether he would or not, but Sakuraba came out for his fight against Igor Vovchanchyn and fought for an additional fifteen minutes before his corner stopped the fight.
After the fight, Kazushi Sakuraba had been christened the ‘Gracie Hunter’ and went on to defeat Renzo and Ryan Gracie. He fell short to Royce in a rematch which took place in July of 2007, however, Royce tested positive for steroids afterwards. Most recently, he was defeated by Ralek Gracie in 2009. But despite all of this, Kazushi Sakuraba’s legend lives on as he will forever be known as the ‘Gracie Hunter’.
