Best MMA fights for each year

[JayPettryMMA]

What are your thoughts? That's a lot of years so I don't blame you if you don't get through all of them. I'll include the top three, and maybe an honorable mention or two.

I left off non-Zuffa promotions because we're in the heavies, other than one fight that needed mentioning. And I could have easily included Santiago vs Misaki, and if you haven't seen that one, watch it. Trust me.

If there's no number next to the matchup, but they've fought multiple times before, it's their first encounter.


1993
Shamrock vs Gracie - UFC 1
Jenkins vs DeLucia - UFC 1, good luck finding it but it was legit
Smith vs Shamrock - UFC 1

1994
Gracie vs Severn - UFC 4
Gracie vs Kimo - UFC 3
Shamrock vs Mitchell - UFC 3

1995
Shamrock vs Gracie II - UFC 5
Taktarov vs Tank - UFC 6
Shamrock vs Severn - UFC 6

1996
Frye vs Coleman - UFC 10
Shamrock vs Kimo - UFC 8
Frye vs Tank - UFC 11.5/UU 96

1997
Randy vs Vitor - UFC 15
Rickson vs Takada - Pride 1
Smith vs Coleman - UFC 14

1998
Sakuraba vs Newton - Pride 3
Rickson vs Takada II - Pride 4
Vitor vs Wandy - UFC 17.5/Brazil
HM: Williams vs Coleman - UFC 17

1999
Frank vs Tito - UFC 22
Sakuraba vs Royler - Pride 8
Wandy vs Matsui - Pride 8

2000
Sakuraba vs Gracie - Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals (I thought it was overrated but deserves to be mentioned)
Sakuraba vs Renzo - Pride 10
Randy vs Randleman - UFC 28

2001
Randy vs Rizzo - UFC 31
Hughes vs Newton - UFC 34
Wandy vs Sakuraba - Pride 13

2002
Frye vs Takayama - Pride 21
Nogueira vs Sapp - Pride Shockwave
Pulver vs Penn - UFC 35

2003
Fedor vs Nogueira - Pride 25
Nogueira vs Cro Cop - Pride Final Conflict 2003
Randy vs Chuck - UFC 43

2004
Wandy vs Rampage 2 - Pride 28
Parisyan vs Diaz - UFC 49
Fedor vs Randleman - Pride Critical Countdown 2004

2005
Griffin vs Bonnar - TUF 1 Finale
Fedor vs Cro Cop - Pride Final Conflict 2005
Hughes vs Trigg II - UFC 52

2006
GSP vs Penn - UFC 58
Wandy vs Cro Cop II - Pride Final Conflict Absolute
Sanchez vs Parisyan - UFN 6

2007
Guida vs Huerta - TUF 6 Finale
Diaz vs Gomi - Pride 33
Randy vs Sylvia - UFC 68
HM: Edgar vs Griffin

2008
Chuck vs Wandy - UFC 79
Griffin vs Rampage - UFC 86
Faber vs Pulver - WEC 34

2009
Sanchez vs Guida - TUF 9 Finale
Cerrone vs Henderson - WEC 43
Randy vs Nogueira - UFC 102

2010
Silva vs Sonnen - UFC 117
Pettis vs Henderson - WEC 53
Garcia vs Korean Zombie - WEC 48

2011 - Good god what a year
Henderson vs Shogun - UFC 139
Edgar vs Maynard II - UFC 125
Diaz vs Daley - Strikeforce: Diaz vs Daley
HM1: Barry vs Kongo - UFC on VS 4
HM2: Guida vs Henderson - UFC on Fox 1
HM3: Chandler vs Alvarez - Bellator 58, had to put a non-heavies fight on the list

2012
Lauzon vs Varner - UFC on Fox 4
Korean Zombie vs Poirier - UFC on Fuel 3
Miller vs Lauzon - UFC 155

2013
Jones vs Gustafsson - UFC 165
Hunt vs Silva - UFN 33
Sanchez vs Melendez - UFC 166

2014
Aldo vs Mendes II - UFC 179
Weidman vs Machida - UFC 175
Hendricks vs Lawler - UFC 171

2015
Lawler vs Rory - UFC 189
Cormier vs Gustafsson - UFC 192
Browne vs Arlovski - UFC 187
HM: Ferguson vs Barboza - TUF 22 Finale

2016
Swanson vs Choi - UFC 206
Reyes vs Kim - UFC 199
Lawler vs Condit - UFC 195
HM: Cruz vs Dillashaw - UFN 81

2017 so far! I'll give you five choices ranked by how I've seen them this year.
Elliott vs Smolka - UFC on Fox 24
Sherman vs Coulter - UFC 211
Andrade vs Hill - UFN 104
Poirier vs Miller - UFC 208
Lewis vs Browne - UFN 105

So, that was a lot of work. I compiled this list from my own recollection, along with several consensus articles including Tapology, Sherdog, MMAJunkie, MMAFighting and Vice's Fightland.

Agree? Disagree? See some I've left off the list that should be included? Should I have put more honorable mentions?

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

Good list @jeicex . Got my favorites on it.

1. Fedor - Crocop
2. Rampage - Wanderlei 2
3. Tito - Frank Shamrock

 

[k4lm4h]

 

[La Elefante]

2012- Jones
2013- Jones
2014- Jones
2015- Jones

 

[JayPettryMMA]

2012- Jones
2013- Jones
2014- Jones
2015- Jones

No no no, you've got to do it right.

2012 - Dylan
2013 - Dylan
2014 - Dylan
2015 - Dylan

Jones's fights in 2012 and 2014 weren't that magical to be FOTY-caliber. But Gus definitely and maybe DC.

 

[Summoning]

Andrade vs Hill ?

 

[JayPettryMMA]

Andrade vs Hill ?

I went through every FOTN this year to make a determination, you give me five better fights this year. Here, tell you what, here's every FOTN of 2017 to date, listed chronologically. The other events had 4 POTNs instead of a FOTN.

Mendes vs Saenz - UFN 103
Andrade vs Hill - UFN 104
Poirier vs Miller - UFC 208
Lewis vs Browne - UFN 105
Teymur vs Lando - UFC 209
Burgos vs Rose - UFC 210
Elliott vs Smolka - UFC on Fox 24
Swanson vs Lobov - UFN 107
Sherman vs Coulter - UFC 211

Of that list, I think Andrade vs Hill > Swanson vs Lobov and the rest not already listed above. Instead of just posting a gif shaking your head, why don't you give a better option? Or is it just because you don't like WMMA, and if that's the case, then move along. This thread isn't about that.

 

[Summoning]

I went through every FOTN this year to make a determination, you give me five better fights this year. Here, tell you what, here's every FOTN of 2017 to date, listed chronologically. The other events had 4 POTNs instead of a FOTN.

Mendes vs Saenz - UFN 103
Andrade vs Hill - UFN 104
Poirier vs Miller - UFC 208
Lewis vs Browne - UFN 105
Teymur vs Lando - UFC 209
Burgos vs Rose - UFC 210
Elliott vs Smolka - UFC on Fox 24
Swanson vs Lobov - UFN 107
Sherman vs Coulter - UFC 211

Of that list, I think Andrade vs Hill > Swanson vs Lobov and the rest not already listed above. Instead of just posting a gif shaking your head, why don't you give a better option? Or is it just because you don't like WMMA, and if that's the case, then move along. This thread isn't about that.

Yes, i don´t like Wmma.

And Lando vs Teymur was better than all in this list.

in my opinion.

 

[maxi diablo]

Zingano vs Nunes was pretty good.

 

[Couch Ninja]

Right on, cool list man. I would only add Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 1. When Nate sinks in the choke and Rogan starts screaming "HE TAPPED! HE TAPPED!" I feel like I'm on ecstasy

 

[Thesnake101]

2017

Holly Holm vs GDR
Cub Swanson vs Artem Lobov
Tyron Woodley vs Stephen Thompson 2

 

[Thesnake101]

I went through every FOTN this year to make a determination, you give me five better fights this year. Here, tell you what, here's every FOTN of 2017 to date, listed chronologically. The other events had 4 POTNs instead of a FOTN.

Mendes vs Saenz - UFN 103
Andrade vs Hill - UFN 104
Poirier vs Miller - UFC 208
Lewis vs Browne - UFN 105
Teymur vs Lando - UFC 209
Burgos vs Rose - UFC 210
Elliott vs Smolka - UFC on Fox 24
Swanson vs Lobov - UFN 107
Sherman vs Coulter - UFC 211

Of that list, I think Andrade vs Hill > Swanson vs Lobov and the rest not already listed above. Instead of just posting a gif shaking your head, why don't you give a better option? Or is it just because you don't like WMMA, and if that's the case, then move along. This thread isn't about that.

Wasn't Andrade vs Hill a very one-sided match? Not truly deserving of being called FOTN imo.

Good list though.

 

[AtlSteel]

Robbie - Rory may be best of the decade so far. Epic.

 

[ARONAbeetFEDOR]

I knew 2011 was gonna be packed. Shit was going down left and right.

 

[DaPunkMinowaMan]

What are your thoughts? That's a lot of years so I don't blame you if you don't get through all of them. I'll include the top three, and maybe an honorable mention or two.

I left off non-Zuffa promotions because we're in the heavies, other than one fight that needed mentioning. And I could have easily included Santiago vs Misaki, and if you haven't seen that one, watch it. Trust me.

If there's no number next to the matchup, but they've fought multiple times before, it's their first encounter.


1993
Shamrock vs Gracie - UFC 1
Jenkins vs DeLucia - UFC 1, good luck finding it but it was legit
Smith vs Shamrock - UFC 1

1994
Gracie vs Severn - UFC 4
Gracie vs Kimo - UFC 3
Shamrock vs Mitchell - UFC 3

1995
Shamrock vs Gracie II - UFC 5
Taktarov vs Tank - UFC 6
Shamrock vs Severn - UFC 6

1996
Frye vs Coleman - UFC 10
Shamrock vs Kimo - UFC 8
Frye vs Tank - UFC 11.5/UU 96

1997
Randy vs Vitor - UFC 15
Rickson vs Takada - Pride 1
Smith vs Coleman - UFC 14

1998
Sakuraba vs Newton - Pride 3
Rickson vs Takada II - Pride 4
Vitor vs Wandy - UFC 17.5/Brazil
HM: Williams vs Coleman - UFC 17

1999
Frank vs Tito - UFC 22
Sakuraba vs Royler - Pride 8
Wandy vs Matsui - Pride 8

2000
Sakuraba vs Gracie - Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals (I thought it was overrated but deserves to be mentioned)
Sakuraba vs Renzo - Pride 10
Randy vs Randleman - UFC 28

2001
Randy vs Rizzo - UFC 31
Hughes vs Newton - UFC 34
Wandy vs Sakuraba - Pride 13

2002
Frye vs Takayama - Pride 21
Nogueira vs Sapp - Pride Shockwave
Pulver vs Penn - UFC 35

2003
Fedor vs Nogueira - Pride 25
Nogueira vs Cro Cop - Pride Final Conflict 2003
Randy vs Chuck - UFC 43

2004
Wandy vs Rampage 2 - Pride 28
Parisyan vs Diaz - UFC 49
Fedor vs Randleman - Pride Critical Countdown 2004

2005
Griffin vs Bonnar - TUF 1 Finale
Fedor vs Cro Cop - Pride Final Conflict 2005
Hughes vs Trigg II - UFC 52

2006
GSP vs Penn - UFC 58
Wandy vs Cro Cop II - Pride Final Conflict Absolute
Sanchez vs Parisyan - UFN 6

2007
Guida vs Huerta - TUF 6 Finale
Diaz vs Gomi - Pride 33
Randy vs Sylvia - UFC 68
HM: Edgar vs Griffin

2008
Chuck vs Wandy - UFC 79
Griffin vs Rampage - UFC 86
Faber vs Pulver - WEC 34

2009
Sanchez vs Guida - TUF 9 Finale
Cerrone vs Henderson - WEC 43
Randy vs Nogueira - UFC 102

2010
Silva vs Sonnen - UFC 117
Pettis vs Henderson - WEC 53
Garcia vs Korean Zombie - WEC 48

2011 - Good god what a year
Henderson vs Shogun - UFC 139
Edgar vs Maynard II - UFC 125
Diaz vs Daley - Strikeforce: Diaz vs Daley
HM1: Barry vs Kongo - UFC on VS 4
HM2: Guida vs Henderson - UFC on Fox 1
HM3: Chandler vs Alvarez - Bellator 58, had to put a non-heavies fight on the list

2012
Lauzon vs Varner - UFC on Fox 4
Korean Zombie vs Poirier - UFC on Fuel 3
Miller vs Lauzon - UFC 155

2013
Jones vs Gustafsson - UFC 165
Hunt vs Silva - UFN 33
Sanchez vs Melendez - UFC 166

2014
Aldo vs Mendes II - UFC 179
Weidman vs Machida - UFC 175
Hendricks vs Lawler - UFC 171

2015
Lawler vs Rory - UFC 189
Cormier vs Gustafsson - UFC 192
Browne vs Arlovski - UFC 187
HM: Ferguson vs Barboza - TUF 22 Finale

2016
Swanson vs Choi - UFC 206
Reyes vs Kim - UFC 199
Lawler vs Condit - UFC 195
HM: Cruz vs Dillashaw - UFN 81

2017 so far! I'll give you five choices ranked by how I've seen them this year.
Elliott vs Smolka - UFC on Fox 24
Sherman vs Coulter - UFC 211
Andrade vs Hill - UFN 104
Poirier vs Miller - UFC 208
Lewis vs Browne - UFN 105

So, that was a lot of work. I compiled this list from my own recollection, along with several consensus articles including Tapology, Sherdog, MMAJunkie, MMAFighting and Vice's Fightland.

Agree? Disagree? See some I've left off the list that should be included? Should I have put more honorable mentions?

uh?

No Frank Shamrock vs Allan Goes ??

 

[JayPettryMMA]

uh?

No Frank Shamrock vs Allan Goes ??

See the second paragraph:

I left off non-Zuffa promotions because we're in the heavies, other than one fight that needed mentioning.

 

[DaPunkMinowaMan]

What are your thoughts? That's a lot of years so I don't blame you if you don't get through all of them. I'll include the top three, and maybe an honorable mention or two.

I left off non-Zuffa promotions because we're in the heavies, other than one fight that needed mentioning. And I could have easily included Santiago vs Misaki, and if you haven't seen that one, watch it. Trust me.

If there's no number next to the matchup, but they've fought multiple times before, it's their first encounter.


1993
Shamrock vs Gracie - UFC 1
Jenkins vs DeLucia - UFC 1, good luck finding it but it was legit
Smith vs Shamrock - UFC 1

1994
Gracie vs Severn - UFC 4
Gracie vs Kimo - UFC 3
Shamrock vs Mitchell - UFC 3

1995
Shamrock vs Gracie II - UFC 5
Taktarov vs Tank - UFC 6
Shamrock vs Severn - UFC 6

1996
Frye vs Coleman - UFC 10
Shamrock vs Kimo - UFC 8
Frye vs Tank - UFC 11.5/UU 96

1997
Randy vs Vitor - UFC 15
Rickson vs Takada - Pride 1
Smith vs Coleman - UFC 14

1998
Sakuraba vs Newton - Pride 3
Rickson vs Takada II - Pride 4
Vitor vs Wandy - UFC 17.5/Brazil
HM: Williams vs Coleman - UFC 17

1999
Frank vs Tito - UFC 22
Sakuraba vs Royler - Pride 8
Wandy vs Matsui - Pride 8

2000
Sakuraba vs Gracie - Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals (I thought it was overrated but deserves to be mentioned)
Sakuraba vs Renzo - Pride 10
Randy vs Randleman - UFC 28

2001
Randy vs Rizzo - UFC 31
Hughes vs Newton - UFC 34
Wandy vs Sakuraba - Pride 13

2002
Frye vs Takayama - Pride 21
Nogueira vs Sapp - Pride Shockwave
Pulver vs Penn - UFC 35

2003
Fedor vs Nogueira - Pride 25
Nogueira vs Cro Cop - Pride Final Conflict 2003
Randy vs Chuck - UFC 43

2004
Wandy vs Rampage 2 - Pride 28
Parisyan vs Diaz - UFC 49
Fedor vs Randleman - Pride Critical Countdown 2004

2005
Griffin vs Bonnar - TUF 1 Finale
Fedor vs Cro Cop - Pride Final Conflict 2005
Hughes vs Trigg II - UFC 52

2006
GSP vs Penn - UFC 58
Wandy vs Cro Cop II - Pride Final Conflict Absolute
Sanchez vs Parisyan - UFN 6

2007
Guida vs Huerta - TUF 6 Finale
Diaz vs Gomi - Pride 33
Randy vs Sylvia - UFC 68
HM: Edgar vs Griffin

2008
Chuck vs Wandy - UFC 79
Griffin vs Rampage - UFC 86
Faber vs Pulver - WEC 34

2009
Sanchez vs Guida - TUF 9 Finale
Cerrone vs Henderson - WEC 43
Randy vs Nogueira - UFC 102

2010
Silva vs Sonnen - UFC 117
Pettis vs Henderson - WEC 53
Garcia vs Korean Zombie - WEC 48

2011 - Good god what a year
Henderson vs Shogun - UFC 139
Edgar vs Maynard II - UFC 125
Diaz vs Daley - Strikeforce: Diaz vs Daley
HM1: Barry vs Kongo - UFC on VS 4
HM2: Guida vs Henderson - UFC on Fox 1
HM3: Chandler vs Alvarez - Bellator 58, had to put a non-heavies fight on the list

2012
Lauzon vs Varner - UFC on Fox 4
Korean Zombie vs Poirier - UFC on Fuel 3
Miller vs Lauzon - UFC 155

2013
Jones vs Gustafsson - UFC 165
Hunt vs Silva - UFN 33
Sanchez vs Melendez - UFC 166

2014
Aldo vs Mendes II - UFC 179
Weidman vs Machida - UFC 175
Hendricks vs Lawler - UFC 171

2015
Lawler vs Rory - UFC 189
Cormier vs Gustafsson - UFC 192
Browne vs Arlovski - UFC 187
HM: Ferguson vs Barboza - TUF 22 Finale

2016
Swanson vs Choi - UFC 206
Reyes vs Kim - UFC 199
Lawler vs Condit - UFC 195
HM: Cruz vs Dillashaw - UFN 81

2017 so far! I'll give you five choices ranked by how I've seen them this year.
Elliott vs Smolka - UFC on Fox 24
Sherman vs Coulter - UFC 211
Andrade vs Hill - UFN 104
Poirier vs Miller - UFC 208
Lewis vs Browne - UFN 105

So, that was a lot of work. I compiled this list from my own recollection, along with several consensus articles including Tapology, Sherdog, MMAJunkie, MMAFighting and Vice's Fightland.

Agree? Disagree? See some I've left off the list that should be included? Should I have put more honorable mentions?

Shamrock vs Gracie II - UFC 5

?

That was a non-fight. Period.

 

[DaPunkMinowaMan]

What are your thoughts? That's a lot of years so I don't blame you if you don't get through all of them. I'll include the top three, and maybe an honorable mention or two.

I left off non-Zuffa promotions because we're in the heavies, other than one fight that needed mentioning. And I could have easily included Santiago vs Misaki, and if you haven't seen that one, watch it. Trust me.

If there's no number next to the matchup, but they've fought multiple times before, it's their first encounter.


1993
Shamrock vs Gracie - UFC 1
Jenkins vs DeLucia - UFC 1, good luck finding it but it was legit
Smith vs Shamrock - UFC 1

1994
Gracie vs Severn - UFC 4
Gracie vs Kimo - UFC 3
Shamrock vs Mitchell - UFC 3

1995
Shamrock vs Gracie II - UFC 5
Taktarov vs Tank - UFC 6
Shamrock vs Severn - UFC 6

1996
Frye vs Coleman - UFC 10
Shamrock vs Kimo - UFC 8
Frye vs Tank - UFC 11.5/UU 96

1997
Randy vs Vitor - UFC 15
Rickson vs Takada - Pride 1
Smith vs Coleman - UFC 14

1998
Sakuraba vs Newton - Pride 3
Rickson vs Takada II - Pride 4
Vitor vs Wandy - UFC 17.5/Brazil
HM: Williams vs Coleman - UFC 17

1999
Frank vs Tito - UFC 22
Sakuraba vs Royler - Pride 8
Wandy vs Matsui - Pride 8

2000
Sakuraba vs Gracie - Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals (I thought it was overrated but deserves to be mentioned)
Sakuraba vs Renzo - Pride 10
Randy vs Randleman - UFC 28

2001
Randy vs Rizzo - UFC 31
Hughes vs Newton - UFC 34
Wandy vs Sakuraba - Pride 13

2002
Frye vs Takayama - Pride 21
Nogueira vs Sapp - Pride Shockwave
Pulver vs Penn - UFC 35

2003
Fedor vs Nogueira - Pride 25
Nogueira vs Cro Cop - Pride Final Conflict 2003
Randy vs Chuck - UFC 43

2004
Wandy vs Rampage 2 - Pride 28
Parisyan vs Diaz - UFC 49
Fedor vs Randleman - Pride Critical Countdown 2004

2005
Griffin vs Bonnar - TUF 1 Finale
Fedor vs Cro Cop - Pride Final Conflict 2005
Hughes vs Trigg II - UFC 52

2006
GSP vs Penn - UFC 58
Wandy vs Cro Cop II - Pride Final Conflict Absolute
Sanchez vs Parisyan - UFN 6

2007
Guida vs Huerta - TUF 6 Finale
Diaz vs Gomi - Pride 33
Randy vs Sylvia - UFC 68
HM: Edgar vs Griffin

2008
Chuck vs Wandy - UFC 79
Griffin vs Rampage - UFC 86
Faber vs Pulver - WEC 34

2009
Sanchez vs Guida - TUF 9 Finale
Cerrone vs Henderson - WEC 43
Randy vs Nogueira - UFC 102

2010
Silva vs Sonnen - UFC 117
Pettis vs Henderson - WEC 53
Garcia vs Korean Zombie - WEC 48

2011 - Good god what a year
Henderson vs Shogun - UFC 139
Edgar vs Maynard II - UFC 125
Diaz vs Daley - Strikeforce: Diaz vs Daley
HM1: Barry vs Kongo - UFC on VS 4
HM2: Guida vs Henderson - UFC on Fox 1
HM3: Chandler vs Alvarez - Bellator 58, had to put a non-heavies fight on the list

2012
Lauzon vs Varner - UFC on Fox 4
Korean Zombie vs Poirier - UFC on Fuel 3
Miller vs Lauzon - UFC 155

2013
Jones vs Gustafsson - UFC 165
Hunt vs Silva - UFN 33
Sanchez vs Melendez - UFC 166

2014
Aldo vs Mendes II - UFC 179
Weidman vs Machida - UFC 175
Hendricks vs Lawler - UFC 171

2015
Lawler vs Rory - UFC 189
Cormier vs Gustafsson - UFC 192
Browne vs Arlovski - UFC 187
HM: Ferguson vs Barboza - TUF 22 Finale

2016
Swanson vs Choi - UFC 206
Reyes vs Kim - UFC 199
Lawler vs Condit - UFC 195
HM: Cruz vs Dillashaw - UFN 81

2017 so far! I'll give you five choices ranked by how I've seen them this year.
Elliott vs Smolka - UFC on Fox 24
Sherman vs Coulter - UFC 211
Andrade vs Hill - UFN 104
Poirier vs Miller - UFC 208
Lewis vs Browne - UFN 105

So, that was a lot of work. I compiled this list from my own recollection, along with several consensus articles including Tapology, Sherdog, MMAJunkie, MMAFighting and Vice's Fightland.

Agree? Disagree? See some I've left off the list that should be included? Should I have put more honorable mentions?

1997, I would put Saku vs Conan, Rickson vs Takada was historical but no drama

 

[DaPunkMinowaMan]

What are your thoughts? That's a lot of years so I don't blame you if you don't get through all of them. I'll include the top three, and maybe an honorable mention or two.

I left off non-Zuffa promotions because we're in the heavies, other than one fight that needed mentioning. And I could have easily included Santiago vs Misaki, and if you haven't seen that one, watch it. Trust me.

If there's no number next to the matchup, but they've fought multiple times before, it's their first encounter.


1993
Shamrock vs Gracie - UFC 1
Jenkins vs DeLucia - UFC 1, good luck finding it but it was legit
Smith vs Shamrock - UFC 1

1994
Gracie vs Severn - UFC 4
Gracie vs Kimo - UFC 3
Shamrock vs Mitchell - UFC 3

1995
Shamrock vs Gracie II - UFC 5
Taktarov vs Tank - UFC 6
Shamrock vs Severn - UFC 6

1996
Frye vs Coleman - UFC 10
Shamrock vs Kimo - UFC 8
Frye vs Tank - UFC 11.5/UU 96

1997
Randy vs Vitor - UFC 15
Rickson vs Takada - Pride 1
Smith vs Coleman - UFC 14

1998
Sakuraba vs Newton - Pride 3
Rickson vs Takada II - Pride 4
Vitor vs Wandy - UFC 17.5/Brazil
HM: Williams vs Coleman - UFC 17

1999
Frank vs Tito - UFC 22
Sakuraba vs Royler - Pride 8
Wandy vs Matsui - Pride 8

2000
Sakuraba vs Gracie - Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals (I thought it was overrated but deserves to be mentioned)
Sakuraba vs Renzo - Pride 10
Randy vs Randleman - UFC 28

2001
Randy vs Rizzo - UFC 31
Hughes vs Newton - UFC 34
Wandy vs Sakuraba - Pride 13

2002
Frye vs Takayama - Pride 21
Nogueira vs Sapp - Pride Shockwave
Pulver vs Penn - UFC 35

2003
Fedor vs Nogueira - Pride 25
Nogueira vs Cro Cop - Pride Final Conflict 2003
Randy vs Chuck - UFC 43

2004
Wandy vs Rampage 2 - Pride 28
Parisyan vs Diaz - UFC 49
Fedor vs Randleman - Pride Critical Countdown 2004

2005
Griffin vs Bonnar - TUF 1 Finale
Fedor vs Cro Cop - Pride Final Conflict 2005
Hughes vs Trigg II - UFC 52

2006
GSP vs Penn - UFC 58
Wandy vs Cro Cop II - Pride Final Conflict Absolute
Sanchez vs Parisyan - UFN 6

2007
Guida vs Huerta - TUF 6 Finale
Diaz vs Gomi - Pride 33
Randy vs Sylvia - UFC 68
HM: Edgar vs Griffin

2008
Chuck vs Wandy - UFC 79
Griffin vs Rampage - UFC 86
Faber vs Pulver - WEC 34

2009
Sanchez vs Guida - TUF 9 Finale
Cerrone vs Henderson - WEC 43
Randy vs Nogueira - UFC 102

2010
Silva vs Sonnen - UFC 117
Pettis vs Henderson - WEC 53
Garcia vs Korean Zombie - WEC 48

2011 - Good god what a year
Henderson vs Shogun - UFC 139
Edgar vs Maynard II - UFC 125
Diaz vs Daley - Strikeforce: Diaz vs Daley
HM1: Barry vs Kongo - UFC on VS 4
HM2: Guida vs Henderson - UFC on Fox 1
HM3: Chandler vs Alvarez - Bellator 58, had to put a non-heavies fight on the list

2012
Lauzon vs Varner - UFC on Fox 4
Korean Zombie vs Poirier - UFC on Fuel 3
Miller vs Lauzon - UFC 155

2013
Jones vs Gustafsson - UFC 165
Hunt vs Silva - UFN 33
Sanchez vs Melendez - UFC 166

2014
Aldo vs Mendes II - UFC 179
Weidman vs Machida - UFC 175
Hendricks vs Lawler - UFC 171

2015
Lawler vs Rory - UFC 189
Cormier vs Gustafsson - UFC 192
Browne vs Arlovski - UFC 187
HM: Ferguson vs Barboza - TUF 22 Finale

2016
Swanson vs Choi - UFC 206
Reyes vs Kim - UFC 199
Lawler vs Condit - UFC 195
HM: Cruz vs Dillashaw - UFN 81

2017 so far! I'll give you five choices ranked by how I've seen them this year.
Elliott vs Smolka - UFC on Fox 24
Sherman vs Coulter - UFC 211
Andrade vs Hill - UFN 104
Poirier vs Miller - UFC 208
Lewis vs Browne - UFN 105

So, that was a lot of work. I compiled this list from my own recollection, along with several consensus articles including Tapology, Sherdog, MMAJunkie, MMAFighting and Vice's Fightland.

Agree? Disagree? See some I've left off the list that should be included? Should I have put more honorable mentions?

again in 1998:

Saku vs White, much better than Rickson vs Takada 2

 

[Pied Piper]

Everything was beautiful until...

2017 so far! I'll give you five choices ranked by how I've seen them this year.
Elliott vs Smolka - UFC on Fox 24
Sherman vs Coulter - UFC 211
Andrade vs Hill - UFN 104
Poirier vs Miller - UFC 208
Lewis vs Browne - UFN 105

come on ts