UFC: Ultimate 175 Greatest Fights 1993-2009

It had been a long time coming for Chuck Liddell, seven years to be exact. But after a series of disappointments and near-misses, 'The Iceman' finally gets a light heavyweight world championship after a stirring first round knockout of Randy Couture in the main event of UFC 52.

An early favorite to win the first ever Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ken Shamrock looked the part and fought like a champion as well. Unheralded Royce Gracie, clad in the traditional gi of Gracie jiu-jitsu, wasn't expected to stop Shamrock's run to the title, but he did in less than a minute with an amazing show of poise and technique.

It's was a dream match-up as 'The Spider' Anderson Silva took on "Dangerous" Dan Henderson at UFC 82 to see who was the true Middleweight Champion. Henderson came out early and was able to get Silva to the ground but Silva would show once again why people consider him the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Georges St-Pierre asked and he finally received his title shot against Matt Hughes. Hughes had beaten St-Pierre once before at UFC 50. Now St-Pierre has his chance to avenge his loss and in the process walk away with the 170 lbs title, both of which he attained.

With a drop to the light heavyweight division, Randy 'The Natural' Couture reinvented himself and stunned the mixed martial arts world, not only by taking on Chuck Liddell in his first 205-pound fight at UFC 43, but by beating 'The Iceman' via a decisive third round TKO.

Roger Huerta looks to stay unbeaten in his UFC career but his task loomed large as he went toe-to-toe with Clay Guida. These two left it all inside the Octagon as they possibly gave what some of the UFC faithful would say was the best fight of 2007.

Former champion Georges "Rush" St-Pierre stepped into the Octagon with his nemesis Matt Hughes at UFC 79. Hughes and St-Pierre went to battle for the third time to determine who would walk away with the interim UFC Welterweight Title and the chance to face Matt Serra for the undisputed championship.

It was the grudge match to end all grudge matches, a packed house saw Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz finally get it on in the main event of UFC 47 after months of Tito avoiding to sign to the fight. Yet after only five minutes and 38 seconds, it was 'The Iceman' who was left standing, as he emphatically stopped the former light heavyweight champion in the second round.

In a much anticipated fight, the respected Randy Couture took on heavyweight defender Tim Sylvia. Few critics gave Couture the edge, but everyone wanted to see what he would do in the Octagon. In a 5 round war that kept the sellout crowd on their feet the entire fight, Couture and Sylvia showed the world exactly why fans love this sport.

Sam Stout and Spencer Fisher, who took the fight on very short notice, go the full 15 minutes in what many consider to be one The Fight of 2006.

The greatest welterweight of all time, Matt Hughes, stepped into the Octagon to take on the up-and-coming Thiago Alves in a fight to get one step closer to the Welterweight crown. It was a one sided battle that saw Alves as the victor.

Matt Hughes defeated Carlos Newton for the second time at UFC 38. Unlike the first fight, this one headed all the way into the fourth round before ending with Hughes retaining his welterweight title.

In the first defense of his heavyweight title at UFC 31, 37-year-old Randy Couture went to war for five bloody rounds with renowned Brazilian banger Pedro Rizzo, almost stopping his challenger in the first round. Rizzo survived though, coming back strong with brutal leg kicks and strikes that left many fans wondering who won the bout when it was over.

Diego Sanchez showed how far he had come from him winning the Ultimate Fighter as a mixed martial artist as he won a three round unanimous decision over highly regarded contender Nick Diaz in an exciting ground battle.

Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson made his second title defense against The Ultimate Fighter season 1 winner Forrest Griffin. In what turned into a classic, these two went non stop for the full 25 minutes and ended with a surprised new champion.

It was the long awaited debut of PRIDE superstar Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua inside the Octagon. Forrest Griffin wanted nothing better than to spoil Shogun's debut and climb his way up the UFC Light Heavyweight ladder, which he shockingly did.

After a dominating performance his first time inside the Octagon, Mirko Cro Cop took on the well rounded Gabriel Gonzaga. Though it would be Gonzaga's night as he took out Cro Cop with one of the most vicious knockouts in UFC History.

Diego Sanchez kept his undefeated streak alive by taking down Karo Parisyan in what many consider one of the best fights of 2006.

Rich Franklin got his chance to win back the UFC Middleweight title against the man who beat him, UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Silva had to travel into Franklin's backyard for his second title defense in a fight that Franklin promised wouldn't be like the last time. However it was.

The big question coming into this fight was, "Can Brock Lesnar fight?" He answered that question early on as he took the former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir down in the first few seconds of the first round. But the veteran Mir was far from finished as he was able to pull guard and show Lesnar his jiu-jitsu skills.

Georges St. Pierre proved he was all fighter when he fought former UFC welterweight champion BJ Penn at UFC 58, as he survived a bloody pounding in the first round to win the next two on two of the three judges' cards and earn a split decision in a bout that lived up to the pre-fight hype. As expected BJ was not pleased about the results.

Ever since Matt Hughes submitted Frank Trigg in 2003, the top contender plotted his revenge. After an inadvertent low blow stunned Hughes, Trigg pounced and almost choked the champion out, only to see Hughes recover, slam the challenger, and choke him out at the 4:05 mark of one of the most intense championship battles you will ever see in the Octagon.

Two of the biggest names in MMA collided at UFC 79 as Liddell and Silva finally squared off. Both fighters were coming off of back-to-back losses and both wanted to get back into the chase for the 205lb title.

Everyone should already know about this fight, however: The Ultimate Fighter Finale bout between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar was a battle that showed incredible heart and skill that went to a difficult judges' decision. Where in the end both fighters earned a contract in the UFC.