Contrary to popular belief, there is no Year Zero. Decades run from XXX1 to XX10. So while other MMA sites erroneously ran decade retrospectives last year, Bloody Elbow stayed the course of truth and fact. We polled the staff for their picks in a variety of topics covering the first decade of the third millennium A.D. Here’s what they had to say.
Kid Nate: I’m going to go with UFC 52 because it is the most definitive card of the UFC’s first period as a popular attraction. The first pay per view after Bonnar vs Griffin, this was the first time a new generation of fans were paying attention. Chuck Liddell vs Randy Couture 2 and Matt Hughes vs Frank Trigg 1 were classic rivalries that defined the UFC to a new generation of fans.
Brent Brookhouse: I’ll take PRIDE Final Conflict 2003 any day of the week. From Sakuraba’s dramatic submission of Kevin Randleman to Nogueira’s even more dramatic submission of Cro Cop to every tournament match it was an amazing card. I know every other month we have a good show go down and fans start claiming it is the greatest card ever. Final Conflict 2003 featured great fighters, dramatic fights and a tremendous atmosphere. It’s not even up for debate in my mind.
Mike Fagan: I’m partial to Final Conflict 2005. The undercard is nothing arousing, but I think the tournament is superior to the 2003 version, and Fedor Emelianenko vs. Mirko Filipovic is the greatest heavyweight title fight of all time. We saw Wanderlei Silva’s middleweight reign came to a halt after five-plus years as Mauricio “Shogun” Rua cemented his place as an elite fighter at 205 pounds. Plus, Hidehiko Yoshida submits Tank Abbott with a gi choke, which may have been the last time (am I forgetting something?) we’ll see that in major MMA.
Anton Tabuena: UFC 33 – Sept, 2001. Despite having three title bouts, and a line-up that featured stars like Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, Jens Pulver, Dave Menne, and Murilo Bustamante, this card still had the reputation of being one of the least entertaining cards in UFC history. So why did I pick this as the event of the decade? For the simple fact that this was the first UFC card in Las Vegas and with major cable presence on PPV under the Zuffa banner, and the first card sanctioned by the NSAC. It was a rough start, but I think it’s a very important milestone for MMA.
Scott Haber: I’ll agree with Brent – Pride Final Conflict 2003 had so many amazing fights: Rampage becoming the first man to stop Chuck Liddell with strikes and foiling Dana’s $250K bet with Sakakibara, Big Nog submitting Cro Cop in a legendary battle, Hendo introducing the world to his right hand, and finally Wanderlei teaching Rampage a little something about the Thai clinch in the tournament finals. The fights, combined with the Pride spectacle and the atmosphere at the Tokyo Dome packed with 65,000+ made it a truly amazing card.
Jonathan Snowden: For almost five years Zuffa struggled trying to make fans in North America care about MMA. It was an uphill battle, one that cost plenty of blood, sweat, and capital. But by July 11, 2009, they had certainly figured things out. UFC 100 was a landmark. It featured both of the company’s two biggest stars, Georges St. Pierre and Brock Lesnar, and also served as a showcase for the groundbreaking Ultimate Fighter. An amazing night for an amazing promoter.
Chris Barton: You could take pretty much any Shockwave or Final Conflict event and make a good case for it being the event of the decade. Add in some of the more stacked UFC cards (yes UFC 100 I am looking at you) and you get a robust list. I’m gonna get weird with it. My choice is PRIDE 32 – The Real Deal. It’s sentimental to me, it was my first live event and my chance to see PRIDE live in what ended up being the first of only two live events in the U.S. I’ll never forget yelling at Randleman to tap to Shoguns kneebar, Barnett being a shady…well Barnett being Barnett and Fedor just being Fedor.