When was the prime years of UFC for you

[Shadowthrone]

Anytime without a bunch phaggets crying about steroids

 

[Kryptt]

Hmmms 2005-2010 or so, that span likely. Far more of a larger than life spectacle, less muddied, fighters actually fought more. But I also watched far far less MMA then than now. There are so many fighters in the UFC I prolly know less than 1/3. Add in the plethora of bodies from other orgs and well very few really stand out.

 

[Which Doctor]

UFC 1 - 45.

 

[dormammu]

Obviously mma has evolved tremendously but I liked the early ufc events from the 90's.
There was something cool about various styles competing(opposed to now and everyone is mma trained to some extent)
I do like weight classes but an all weight absolute division would be awesome, guys actually fighting up in weight not cutting trying to get any advantage.

Lack of rules was.better too

 

[Koro]

Machida's rise to the top was epic.

 

[mirko>anyone]

I'd say you nailed it right on the head. Great time to be an MMA fan.

 

[TheIrishPsycho]

1993-1996

Just fucking bleed.

 

[mirko>anyone]

We are still in it imo.
6 April 2013 -> Present to be exact

Well, it's all subjective, but how are we in it now? Truly, the UFC is at its worst since I've been refollwing (about 2005). The cards aren't nearly as stacked, last minute injuries, champs don't defend and if they do, it's not the number 1 contender.

Again, we are all entitled to have an opinion, but I'd wager most people who've followed MMA for a decade or more would agree that it's in a poor state right now. Curious to hear your thoughts. Thanks

 

[esum80]

the years before ronda and mcgregor

 

[MikeMcMann]

For me it started in the Chuck Liddell/Couture/Ortiz era and ended in the Lesnar Era. Everything in betwee. Seemed good. I remember a lot of fight parties and generally everyone being interested.
About the time Lesnar became big the newness started wearing off and i noticed conversations about mma became harder.
Now most people say "i dont really follow that stuff" and its rare to find someone to actually talk with about it. Guess thats what sherdog is good for.

I've was a diehard from about UFC 3 and would always be looking for the VHS tape at BlockBuster Video to see the events as soon as they came out. But the era you mark here was probably the Prime years of MMA for me.

The Couture/Liddell/Hughes years, into the GSP/BJ/Anderson and then Aldo years. The Pride guys crossing in to compete. Those were the best years for me personally.

 

[zxyss25]

UFC 166-168

JDS lost
Anderson lost
GSP lost...I mean not on the score cards but...he lost

 

[kiley_sean]

2004–2012

 

[Verace]

/thread

 

[Elysianwing]

2004-2013 or so.

 

[dormammu]

/thread

Left to right
Injury prone.
Cheat.
Cheat.
Most boring fighter ever(after that Serra loss).
Frankie, who I ain't a big fan of
Aldo(def goat, but embarrassed by McG)
And then the worst injury prone guy eva

 

[Stan]

During the NHB era with no gloves, weight limit or time limit with the 1 night tournament format.

 

[Brock-B-level-Athlete]

Greg Hardy era

 

[Verace]

Left to right:
Idiot
Hater
Noob fan
MMA ignorant
Also ignorant to the english language and what "era" means with revisionist comments

 

[el_cazador]

2004-5 or so up until maybe '12-'13 is when I think it started to taper off for me. It used to be a montly event where people would chip in for a PPV have 'fight parties' or pack into dive bars that showed the events.

Those years had champions with long title defense streaks. Those are the kind of champions that fans get behind to support or pay to hopefully see them lose. Fans are more invested personally into the fighters, rather than revolving door champions which is more common today.

We also had the Pride FC guys finally coming over and got too see how that rivalry played out - it had been speculated over for YEARS by hardcore MMA fans. Those were the first 'superfights' (anyone remember the excitement behind Hendo vs Silva?)

Randy Couture in his mid 40's, undersized for a heavyweight, coming out of retirement to whip Tim Sylvia and defend against a monster in Gabe Gonzaga was really something to watch. That kind of shit is straight out of a movie. You wont see that again.

Now we have plenty of amazing talents & exceptionally great fighters, but it's also the beginning of the hand picked opponents, trash talkers getting pushed into main events while true contenders get pushed aside. Now everyone on a 3 fight win streak is holding out for a 'Money Fight'. The PED issues, suspensions, champs ducking contenders, plus a huge roster making for an excess of events and a watered down feeling, all takes away from the spectacle.

UFC is following the boxing route. If it sells PPV's, great, but it's not the same feeling as the earlier days of MMA.

 

[BoD 2.0]

This was the end of the Golden Era of the UFC right here.