Q for the veteran fans, has there been a bigger fight than Conor vs Khabib?

[acannxr]

I've been watching mma since like 2006-2007 but UFC only since like 2013.

And considering all the build up with Conor going completely bananas with the dolly and the bus, and his fame and notoriety and Khabibs record and just brutal determination and style.

I'm wondering if there ever was something close to this in the past, that at the time felt on similar level as the anticipation is now for this one.

When that happened, I jumped up so high I hit my head on the ceiling fan.

 

[truthisfreedom]

Conor vs Khabib is absolutely the biggest mma fight ever, just because of Conor's massive base of casual fans.

I think I read somewhere that Oct 6th sold out in under 5 minutes...

 

[pick999]

chuck tito
ken tito
randy lesnar
gsp penn 2
jones dc
silva son

 

[thoughtsone]

Tito vs Chuck
Bj vs gsp 2
DC vs Jones 2
Fedor vs cc
UFC 100
Hughes vs Gracie was pretty big for casuals
Diaz vs Conor 2

In Japan kid vs maesato (even though not mma) and a lot of Nye events where pretty huge. Like Gardner vs yoshida or Sapp vs akembo to similar though not all mma they where huge for the time.




There have been a bunch but this is certainly a huge deal and with the reach of social media and the growth of the sport to at least not be human cock fighting to the masses it might bring in the most money in the UFC. We have to have context MMA isn't the same as it was waiting on vhs bootlegs of jmma events and if MMA had the same reach back then those events would certainly feel maybe bigger if they happened the same way but with a global hype

 

[neil_totally]

4 pages before anyone mentioned this. Disappointing.

Both Ortiz x Liddell fights were hype as fuck, and I’d say the second Ortiz x Ken fight was crazy hype too.

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

None that will sell like this one... But for the hardcore fan not mentioned was the Rampage - Wanderlei 2003 fight. Huge beef and bad blood. Plus they had to make the final for it to happen...

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

define big -- i dont think anything as of it yet will outsell it but in terms of implications i was way more excited for penn gsp 2

 

[613]

I don't even think this is the most hyped Conor fight. Nate vs Conor 2 or the Aldo fight seemed more hyped. A big reason is those fights had Sherdog split down the middle who they thought would win (check the polls Conor fans pretending everyone thought he would lose those fights). This fight most seem t think Khabib steam rolls Conor

Also as far as Sherdog and hardcore fans goes. Fedor vs Cro Cop and GSP vs Penn 2 were the most anticipated. No fan base has ever hated each other like Penn and GSP fans

 

[Verace]

What do you mean biggest?

Regarding mma fans interest or actual PPV numbers?

 

[Zebra Cheeks]

The hype for UFC 100 was nuts the forum exploded that night

 

[613]

Machida Vs Rua 2 really ?
1st one was boring and a bad decision

Fuck right off with this shit!

 

[613]

The reality is Conor is a much bigger star than everyone you mentioned. Coming back after a layoff. Against an undefeated champion. They may not be doing a world tour but Conor himself makes this a much bigger fight than most you list.

I don't think the Floyd fight really boosted his popularity. He actually did OK all things considering, but most casuals were trashing him after the fight. Probably because they went into the fight thinking Conor could win, so Conor making 10 rounds is didn't impress them

 

[surrealworlds]

Its not even the biggest Conor fight. That would be Aldo or Mayweather. The biggest fight ever in the UFC would be Santos vs Cain, first fight ever on network tv. First fight for the Fox contract. Hyped like crazy.

 

[613]

The biggest fight ever in the UFC would be Santos vs Cain

Yeah.....no

 

[ColombianFist]

Penn vs GSP 2, GSP vs Serra 2, Brock vs Mir, Rampage vs Wand, GSP vs Hughes.

 

[613]

Fedor vs CroCop & Fedor vs Tim Sylvia were very big fights.

Sylvia was still a good fighter, but he was (unfairly) kinda the laughing stock of the MMA community when he fought Fedor. Fedor vs AA was much bigger

 

[Wicked_1]

Fedor/Crocop
Wandy/Rampage 1
Shogun/Lil nog
Randy/Chuck

Were all big fights a while back.

 

[Ah Man]

It's really hard to compare the hype for fights these days to the old days, when there were fewer stars, fewer fans, and fewer events. Fights light Fedor/CroCop and Silva/Rampage II had a completely different feel to them, since they dominated the discussion on message boards for years. There were far fewer events and people for people to talk about, so they dominated the imagination in a way that it's really hard for fights these days to, since they have a lot more competition. There were fewer stars, so a larger proportion of the fan base was really invested in one fighter or the other. The only more recent fight that was at all similar was Penn/GSP II, which got its own subforum since the discussion so overwhelmed current events.

This fight will obviously have more mainstream attention, although it won't get as many eyeballs as Kimbo/Thompson or the big Japanese New Years shows. It still has a long way to go to dominate the hardcore MMA discussion the way Fedor CroCop, Silva/Rampage II, or Penn/GSP II did, but it's also a much bigger ask these days than it used to be.

 

[surrealworlds]

Yeah.....no

I think its up there in regards to hype, overall im going with Mcgregor/Aldo with the world tour. For impact maybe Forrest/Bonnar.

 

[honzo]

Jones v DC 2 felt enormous IMO.