[PTH]

Found this a few days ago on the front page of Canoe.ca which is a Canadian news site. The writer is an occasional 'blog' journalist however the link was found on site's homepage so I'm sure a lot of people assumed it was from a legit sports journalist. Either way, here's the list of Top 25 MMA Fights

http://space.canoe.ca/theneilman/blog/view/166381

25. Forrest Griffin vs. Stephen Bonnar (Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale)

Through this isn't the most technical fight out there, it single-handedly launched the mixed-martial arts revolution in North America. Since this was on a free television a ton of new fans tuned in to see what the UFC was all about. What they got was two guys giving every ounce of blood and sweat in their bodies for 15 minutes of non-stop action.

24. ‘El Guapo’ Bas Rutten vs. Tsuyoshi ‘TK’ Kohsaka (UFC 18: Road to the Title)

This was a grueling UFC debut for ‘El Guapo’ as ‘TK’ put him on his back and unleashed some nasty ground-and-pound for most of the fight. However, once Bas got back on his feet, things got ugly for Kohsaka.

23. Don Frye vs. Ken Shamrock (Pride 19: Bad Blood)

Two grizzled veterans attempting to regain their former glory and bound by a pure hatred for one another. This was a complete war and both competitors gave it their all. In the end, Frye did enough to convince two of the three judges that he was the better man.

22. Dan Henderson vs. Wanderlei Silva (Pride 33: The Second Coming)

Though Wanderlei was far more tentative than his usual self, this was still an exciting match and a fitting end to Pride’s last great show.

21. Tyson Griffin vs. Clay Guida (UFC 72: Victory)

Tyson Griffin was without a doubt the most exciting UFC fighter of 2007. All three of his matches were hard-fought decisions and each one took 'fight of the night' honours for their respective cards. His encounter with Guida still stands as one of the best ground wars in UFC history. Though the decision remains controversial, you can’t take say anything bad about either fighter’s performance.

20. B.J. Penn vs. Matt Hughes (UFC 63: Hughes vs. Penn)

Much like their first match, B.J. unleashes a brutal beating on Hughes, but this time the welterweight champion has a secret weapon up his sleeve: waiting for Penn to injure himself.

All kidding aside, this was one hell of a match.

19. Antonio Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira vs. Bob Sapp (Pride Shockwave 2002)

What is it with Nogueira and getting an ass-whooping? It seems like he takes unbelievable amounts of punishment in every fight and yet no one has been able to finish him.

Here we see him getting thrown around like a ragdoll by Bob ‘The Beast’ Sapp, but you can never count out Nogueira…

18. Randy Couture vs. Tim Sylvia (UFC 68: The Uprising)

Randy Couture once again proves one of the cardinal rules of MMA: never underestimate Randy Couture. For 25 minutes the 43-year-old legend dominated the much bigger, much younger champion in one of the most exciting and emotional matches in UFC history.

17. Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Hughes (UFC 65: Bad Intentions)

In their first encounter in 2004 at UFC 50, Matt Hughes won a thrilling match via armbar with only one second left in the first round. The loss didn’t hurt GSP, however. Instead it helped fuel him to improve and become one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

16. Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva (Pride Final Conflict 2003)

The finals of the 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix had a lot of hype to live up to. Not only did the previous tournament matches all deliver in spades, but MMA fans had been salivating at the thought of Jackson and Silva duking it out for some time.

The end result was one of the most memorable grand prix finals in Pride history and an explosive end to the single greatest MMA show ever.

15. Frank Edgar vs. Tyson Griffin (UFC 67: All or Nothing)

At the time, neither fighter was too well-known to most UFC fans. However, having an amazing match has a funny way of changing things.

Today both fighters are considered among the top lightweights in the UFC.

14. Takanori Gomi vs. Nick Diaz (Pride 33: The Second Coming)

Going into this bout, no one figured Diaz could beat Gomi. After a series of devastating wins, The Fireball Kid looked unstoppable. At first, the fight went as many had predicted with Gomi brutalizing Nick.

As the Pride Lightweight Champion began to tire, however, Diaz started taking over and eventually caught Gomi in a beautiful gogoplata.

The win would turn out to be bitter-sweet, though. Following the fight, Diaz tested positive for marijuana and the result was changed to a no contest.

13. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira (Pride 25: Body Blow)

The fight that launched Fedor’s legend into the stratosphere and the last time he would enter into a match as the underdog.

Plus, the sight of Fedor’s punches bouncing Nogueira’s head off the mat like a basketball remains sickening to this day.

12. Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic vs. Mark Hunt (Pride Shockwave 2005)

If you’ve ever wondered who has the best chin in MMA, the answer is simple: Mark Hunt. This is never more evident than his match with Cro Cop. He takes knockout shot after knockout shot and just keeps on fighting. In fact, with the exception of late takedown and some clinching, this almost resembles a K-1 fight.

Easily one of the greatest stand-up wars ever.

11. Antonio Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira vs. Josh Barnett (Pride Final Conflict Absolute 2006)

An absolute mat classic. Fifteen minutes of back and forth ground excellence. If anyone says the submission stuff is boring, show them this fight.

10. B.J. Penn vs. Matt Hughes (UFC 46: Supernatural)

In his pre-fight interview, Matt Hughes said it was completely disrespectful for a fighter to come up in weight and challenge the champion. Hmmm… I wonder how appalled he was when B.J. choked him out.

At the time, this was as huge an upset as you could get.

9. Royce Gracie vs. Kazushi Sakuraba (Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals)

Perhaps the most significant match in the sport’s short history.

What makes it so important, you say? Well, for starters it’s a battle of attrition that lasts 90 minutes. Yes, you read that right.

The gruelling bout finally ended after Gracie couldn’t continue and his corner was forced to throw in the towel.

Because this was part of a tournament, Sakuraba had to go on and fight Igor Vovchanchyn later that night. After taking tons of punishment from the hard-hitting Russian, Sakuraba’s corner threw in the towel.

MMA fans were so inspired by his heart and dedication that he became known as the ‘Gracie Hunter’ and would go on to become the biggest star in MMA history.

8. Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson vs. Chuck Liddell (Pride Final Conflict 2003)

Their first encounter is nothing like their UFC match. It’s a fifteen-minute war and probably the single worst beating Liddell has ever received.

If you think Jackson got lucky the second time, watch this and then comment.

7. Takanori Gomi vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pride Bushido 9)

One of the most intense, exciting and action-packed encounters in Pride history. A true testament to why Gomi is one of the best fighters in the world.

Bas Rutten said it best at the end of the match: "Everything you need to know about mixed martial arts you saw right here!"

6. Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic vs. Fedor Emelianenko (Pride Final Conflict 2005)

This was when both fighters were considered unstoppable. Fedor’s ability to take the fight to Cro Cop and adjust his gameplan to the tempo of the fight is nothing short of incredible.

5. Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (Pride 21: Demolition)

This is without a doubt the single greatest brawl in the history of mixed-martial arts. They literally stand toe-to-toe and wail on one another with haymakers. It has to be seen to be believed.

4. Wanderlei Silva vs. Hidehiko Yoshida (Pride Final Conflict 2003)

Many fans expected ‘The Axe Murderer’ to run right through the Olympic gold medal Judoka. Instead, he got one hell of a fight and a first-hand lesson on why Yoshida has one of the biggest hearts in MMA.

3. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira (Pride Shockwave 2004)

These two were originally set to decide the winner of the Heavyweight Grand Prix at Final Conflict 2004, but an accidental head-butt resulted in a lame no contest. So not only was the rematch made to determine the tournament winner, but Fedor's heavyweight title was also on the line. Needless to say, it was worth the wait. Another prime example of how Fedor completely controls the tempo of his matches.

2. Antonio Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira vs. Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic (Pride Final Conflict 2003)

Cro Cop unleashes a vicious beating Big Nog, including some nasty kicks to the body, but, as you well know, you can never count Minotauro out…

1. Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva (Pride 28: High Octane)

The hype for this match was absolutely huge and to say it didn’t disappoint is an understatement. These guys absolutely hate one another and the staredown alone was worth the money. The fight saw two of the best 205-lbs. fighters in the world in an absolute war, highlighted by one of the most devastating knockouts ever.


While I disagree with a few of the nominations, I think this list is less UFC-centric than other media outlets' MMA lists.

Let the controversy over which fights were overlooked begin...

[PTH]

Oh and here are the Honourable Mentions that were also included in the article

Honourable mentions

Matt Hughes vs. Carlos Newton (UFC 34: High Voltage)
Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg (UFC 52: Couture vs. Liddell 2)
Roger Huerta vs. Clay Guida (Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale)
Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson vs. Ricardo Arona (Pride Critical Countdown 2004)
B.J. Penn vs. Georges St. Pierre (UFC 58: U.S.A. vs. Canada)

[croppdaddy]

How was Guida and Huerta only an honourable mention? Or even the Chuck/Wandy fight or Huerta and Garcia, Forrest and Tito

[heavy_hander]

no list like this is complete without Lil Nog vs Shogun.

[Cormano]

It's a good list, but it should be called "Top 25 fights in UFC and PRIDE"

[Lodz]

Yeah, Rutten/Kohsaka is the fight I remember most fondly from back in the day. Haven't seen it in oh, at least 8 years though.
I gotta go watch that again.

[Det_Kimble]

I agree completely with #1.

[SwalDog]

Originally Posted by croppdaddy

How was Guida and Huerta only an honourable mention? Or even the Chuck/Wandy fight or Huerta and Garcia, Forrest and Tito

Probably because he's been wathcing MMA for more than a year.

[mmanut]

Originally Posted by heavy_hander

no list like this is complete without Lil Nog vs Shogun.

Beat me to it. That is without a doubt my favorite fight of all-time.

[SuperSuperRambo]

Originally Posted by Cormano

It's a good list, but it should be called "Top 25 fights in UFC and PRIDE"

Good point. It's a decent list, but I disagree with a lot of the ordering of the fights.