UFC: Ultimate 175 Greatest Fights 1993-2009

Paul Taylor and Paul Kelly wasted no time as both fighters were swinging for an early knock out in front a packed house in England at UFC 80. In a back and forth battle, neither fighter was going to back down and they ended up giving the UK crowd exactly what it came to see, a great fight.

With four successful defenses of his UFC welterweight title and an unbeaten record in the Octagon, Pat Miletich was basically rolling on unchallenged until he ran into charismatic newcomer Carlos Newton at UFC 31. Newton and Miletich waged an intense tactical battle, with Newton winning the war and the title by choking out the champ at 2:50 of the third round.

Randy Couture returned to the Octagon following his loss to Chuck Liddell at UFC 52 to take on Mike Van Arsdale. Couture and Van Arsdale showed off their wrestling backgrounds in this fight as they went to the ground early and often.

Rashad Evans was looking to keep his perfect record alive against UFC newcomer Sean Salmon but Salmon had other ideas but nothing went as planned in this fight with an ending that you have to see to believe and give us one of the greatest highlight reel strikes ever.

There was a controversial end to the well matched and exciting battle between Lytle and Alves at UFC 78. Alves won the fight after Lytle was deemed unable to go on due to a cut.

Kenny Florian tested his mettle against Joe Lauzon in the Octagon as the UFC returned back to Colorado. It was the proven Florian though who emerged victorious and took one step closer to title contention.

22-year-old Hawaiian wunderkind BJ Penn was expected to be severely tested in his UFC 32 match with highly regarded Din Thomas, but it was another impressive win for 'The Prodigy' as he drilled Thomas with a right knee to the chin, followed up with three hooks on his fallen opponent, and scored a first round TKO.

Two legends collided as one of the greatest Welterweight Champions in UFC history Matt Hughes took on the original champion of the Octagon Royce Gracie in a catchweight bout. Hughes overpowered the legend at the end of the first round.

The Prodigy, BJ Penn continued his winning ways by defeating Matt Serra by unanimous decision at UFC 39.

All mixed martial arts fans knew that Rich Franklin was one of the best fighters in the UFC, but his emphatic first round stoppage of UFC legend Ken Shamrock at The Ultimate Fighter 1 finale solidify him as a UFC superstar.

This was a rematch between two of the lightweight division's biggest stars at the time with the Championship on the line. After a back-and-forth five-round battle the fight went to the judges scorecard's which didn't help settle the bout as it was judged a draw. This was the final of a four-man tournament, but with it ending in a draw the title remained vacant.

Two up and comers in the UFC light heavyweight division squared off at UFC 66. Griffin and Jardine stood toe to toe to see who the better man would be in a fight that didn't make it out of the first round to the dismay of one very disappointed Griffin.

Sean Sherk returned to the Octagon after his loss to UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn to take on rising star Tyson Griffin. Griffin had won 4 fights in-a-row and had his sites set on the 155lbs crown. But it was Sherk who took a step toward title contention with the win.

The first time they met in the Octagon, Horn walked away with the win. Liddell came back with a whole lot of new experience and training to show the world the champion he will become.

It was battle of two of the world's best Middleweights at the time, Evan Tanner and Phil Baroni. After a great back and forth battle that ends in controversy.

Young UFC stars Karo Parisyan and Nick Diaz put it all on the line at UFC 49, and for three rounds the two welterweights traded takedowns and momentum shifts in one of the most entertaining fights of the night. In the end, the aggressive Parisyan emerged victorious by scores of 30-27, 29-28, and 28-29.

UFC 30's fight of the night was waged between heavyweights Josh Barnett and Pedro Rizzo, and in 9:21 of some of the best striking attacks seen in a heavyweight match, the two combatants slugged it out on even terms until a vicious right hand by Rizzo stunned Barnett and led to the finish moments later.

Chuck 'The Iceman' Liddell earned another title shot at Randy Couture with an exciting first round stoppage of a game Vernon White at UFC 49. White continually battled back from concussive blows in that opening frame to give to Liddell as good as he got, only to be sent to defeat with a big right hand that ended matters conclusively.

Though fairly unknown in UFC circles, Edgar made it obvious that he came to win as he took the favored Griffin to the mat and survived a thunderous slam to rack up an impressive first fight in the Octagon.

John Koppenhaver and Jared Rollins gave it everything they had as their battle stretched into the third round. After digging deeper Koppenhaver emerged victorious after a TKO in the final round of this bloody standing room only match.

Newly crowned UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre came into his first title defense as a heavy favorite against veteran Matt Serra. However it was Serra who shocked the MMA world with his TKO of the champion.

Chuck Liddell stepped back into the Octagon after losing his UFC Light Heavyweight title to Quinton Jackson at UFC 71. Keith Jardine was also trying to get back on the winning track after being upset by Houston Alexander, also at UFC 71. Both fighters come into this fight looking for answers but in the end only one saw himself back in the hunt for the 205 lb title. And it wasn't Liddell.

After having bested the middleweight division Anderson Silva sought a greater challenge. He found it with light heavyweight James Irvin at UFC Fight Night. The Spider made quick work of his opponent as usual though.

Up and comer Rich Franklin finally got his chance at the big time when he made his UFC debut against Evan Tanner at UFC 42. 'Ace' made the most of his chance, stunningly stopping Tanner in the first round.