The Sprawl 08.24.09: Volume 31 - The 10 Most Impressive Performances in MMA History

Posted by Alex Mattis on 08.24.2009

Coming off the heels of the amazing, career performances from Anderson Silva and others one would think it's near impossible to turn in a better display of skill. This week, in the vein of recent events, I'll take an in-depth look back to most impressive performances in MMA history; the one's that raised eyebrows and the one's that changed things forever.


Hello all and welcome back to "The Sprawl!" Hope all is well with everyone. Well what has gone down since we've last met? Anderson Silva, Brian Bowels, Gegard Mousasi, and Cyborg Santos have all turned in shocking/impressive performances. Whether it was through a destruction that was made to look easy, a big upset, or the "I know that person was going to win but I'd didn't expect it to be that easy" victory all these fighters earned the most impressive wins of their career. Mixed martial arts has seen many great and brilliant performances in its brief history and this week we'll delve into the most impressive performances the sport has seen. LET'S GET DOWN TO IT!!!

The 10 Most Impressive Performances in MMA History
(Fedor will not be on this list as his aura and career supersedes any one particular performance. Same thing will be said about Machida in several years.)


10. Tito Ortiz - 11/22/2002
This fight is now looked as a "changing of the guard" in MMA but when broken down as an actual fight one could see that it was one of the best performances in the career of one of the sports biggest stars ever. After what felt like years and years of hype and shit-talk Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock finally faced-off in the UFC's first true "mega-fight." First and foremost this fight proved that a top-level, well-hyped MMA fight could draw huge numbers but more importantly it showed that MMA had evolved and the stars from its beginning couldn't hang with true mixed martial artists. The fight started with a blitzkrieg of strikes and with Ken landing his most significant blow of the fight, dropping Ortiz with right hand. From there Tito began to pick apart Shamrock, turning his face to hamburger meat in the process. The most important thing to keep in mind about this fight was that prior to UFC 40 Tito Ortiz was known as the guy who would take you down and ground-n-pound the piss out of you; he was not know as a prolific striker who would pick you apart on the feet. After three rounds of abuse Ken Shamrock and his corner had no choice but to call it quits. Tito Ortiz put on as good of a striking display as the UFC had seen up until that point.


9. Nick Diaz - 2/24/2007:
Remember the period in time when Takanori Gomi was ranked the #2 lightweight in the world, some even had him at #1? Well for those of us that do - when we read a fight between Gomi and Nick Diaz was signed we thought "Man, what good name for Gomi to add to his record!" All fans expected a wild fight, but no one could have predicted what would unfold in Vegas at PRIDE 33. The first round of the fight was one of the craziest in the history of combat sports with Gomi dropping Diaz early in the fight only to have Diaz work a massive comeback, dissect Gomi on the feet and in classic Diaz fashion... keep shit real and taunt like there was no tomorrow. The bell rang after the first 5 minutes had ended; Diaz sported a confident smile while Gomi looked like he was suffering from a hangover that could slay a walrus. As the second round started Gomi, in his gassed state, stumbled out of his corner while Diaz came charging out of his shouting "Come on bitch!" Diaz landed more shots while Gomi kept looking for a homerun haymaker. Several minutes into the 2nd round Gomi shot in with telegraphed, half-assed takedown attempted which Nick was able to reverse into the infamous... wait for it... wait for it... GOGOPLATA!!! While this victory was later taken off of his record this performance from early '07 left people in awe at what Nick Diaz could do in MMA.


8. Mauricio Rua - 8/28/2005:
For those who are still wondering why Shogun is still highly-touted or if you're wondering why he got any of his hype in the first place, you don't need to look any further than PRIDE's Final Conflict event in 2005. After eliminating Rampage and Lil' Nog in the earlier rounds of the tournament Rua found himself with the biggest opportunity of his career in front of him and he was hell-bent on capitalizing on it. In the semi-finals of the tourney Shogun put away the now-heavyweight Alistair Overeem in impressive fashion. Then in the finals Shogun created one of his career highlights when he KO'd jiu-jitsu wiz Ricardo Arona in sickening fashion subsequently forcing Bas Rutten to lose his fuckin' gourd. At just 23 years old Mauricio "Shogun" Rua became whom many considered to be #1 light heavyweight in the world.


7. Mike Brown - 11/5/2008:
Stepping into the cage on 11/5/08 to fight Urijah Faber for the WEC's featherweight championship Mike Brown knew that 99.9999993% of people weren't giving him a chance and that they believed Faber was going to rough him up and leave without breaking a sweat. Well that couldn't have been further from the case. The first three minutes had me, and many others, thinking "shit, Faber is getting outclassed..." Ginger Kid was winning all the exchanges and clearly the more powerful of the two, even rag-doll'n the CaliKid at one point. Out of what may have been desperation or just cockiness Faber threw a renegade flying elbow that left him wide open. Brown saw this and landed a perfect right-hand square on the chiseled dome of the champ. Faber was dropped and clearly out of it. Lil' Fabbie showed a lot of heart and toughness trying to scramble and get back to his feet but Brown was just too much for him. After a merciless barrage of strikes the ref stepped in, stopped the fight, and a new featherweight champion was crowned. At the time of this fight most rankings had Faber at #5 on the Pound-4-Pound list and looked to be the "Fedor" of his division so Brown's victory would have been impressive regardless, but the fact that he did it in such dominating fashion left most speechless.


6. Mirko Cro Cop - 9/10/2006:
Much like Shogun, if you wonder why Cro Cop is regarded as an MMA legend look back to the finale of PRIDE's Open Weight GP. After numerous setbacks throughout his tenure in PRIDE (such as his losses to Nogueira, Randleman, and Fedor) Cro Cop cemented his spot in the company's legacy when he ran through the competition of their tournament in 2006. In the semi-finals of the tournament Cro Cop destroyed one of the most feared fighters in the history of MMA: Wanderlei Silva. After 5 minutes of raw ass-kicking Mirko put Wanderlei to sleep with his patented left-leg head kick. In the finals of PRIDE's stacked GP Mirko met Josh Barnett for a third time; the result would be no different then their previous two meetings. At 5:32 of the first round Filipovic beat Barnett into submission winning the tournament. An emotional moment in the ring following the announcement of his victory wasn't just the over-reaction to winning that we constantly see in MMA today, this was a man who finally realized his full potential and finally marked his place in the sport after years of effort. On September 10, 2006 Mirko Cro Cop was the best in the world.


5. Wanderlei Silva - 11/9/2003:
A man who many say is the GOAT at light heavyweight reached the pinnacle of his career in the finals of PRIDE's 2003 MW GP. Wanderlei was a heavy favorite to win the tournament from the beginning and he lived up to his billing. In the semi-finals of the event he fought Japanese hero, and Olympic gold-medalist, Hidehiko Yoshida in an incredible, emotionally-engaging fight. Then in the finals Wand met his arch-rival Rampage Jackson in their first epic encounter. Silva brutally stopped Rampage in the first round thus beginning the era of Wanderlei as PRIDE's Middleweight Champion. This victory was also huge for PRIDE as it solidified Wand as the face of the organization and turned Wanderlei into "their guy." Silva had many impressive victories throughout his career but no moment during his time in MMA was more important than this one.


4. Anderson Silva - 10/14/2006:
Anderson burst onto the UFC's middleweight scene with his destruction of the ultra-tough brawler Chris Leben. This victory, along with his performances prior to his debut in the UFC and the ranking he held coming in, earned him a shot at the UFC's middleweight title. The "hardcore fans", as Joe Rogan calls them, may have known there was going to be a new champion crowned but I doubt many expect this one fight to set into motion one of the top "era's" in the history of this sport. Coming into this fight many casual fans had no idea who "this Silva" was and that Rich was too big of a star to lose his title already. Three minutes was all that was needed for "The Spider" to show there was a new king to the throne. Anderson battered Rich in the clinch early landing knee after knee to the body, nullifying any and all attack that Franklin had to offer. The Muay-Thai clinch was Franklin's ultimate demise as Anderson landed several knees to the face that left Rich crumpled on the mat. This destructive victory showed all fans of the sport that a new force had arrived in the US and set into motion the most dominant reign of any fighter the Ultimate Fighting Championship has ever seen.


3. Kazushi Sakuraba - 5/1/2000:
When PRIDE announced their line-up for their 2000 Grand Prix people were intrigued at the possibility of Royce Gracie and Kazushi Sakuraba crossing paths in the tournament. After Royce defeated Nobuhiko Takada and Saku, amidst controversy, defeated Guy Mezger the two were set to square off. The two fought under modified rules with no judges and no limit. The two engaged in one of the most technical and one of the all around best fights in history. Sakuraba's technique and in-ring savvy proved to be the difference maker as his unorthodox style threw Royce off. After an hour and a half of fighting, Saku's repeated leg kicks would force Gracie's corner to throw in the towel in effect doing what was thought to be impossible; making a Gracie quit. Kazushi would go on to fight devastating striker Igor Vovchanchyn that very same night. Saku lost the fight to Igor, but his performance against Royce earned him an enormous amount of praise and truly cemented him as a hero amongst the people in Japan.


2. Matt Serra - 4/7/2007
It will be debated 'til the end of time whether or not Matt Serra landed a "lucky punch" or if he was the better fighter in the main event of UFC 69. When Matt Serra won the fourth season of the Ultimate Fighter, earning him a crack at Georges St. Pierre for the 170 lb crown, many had the "good for you, now accept your death gracefully" attitude towards him. Stepping into the octagon on April 7, 2007 Serra was a huge underdog, some places had him at 11-1, and didn't have too many people taking the fight seriously. For the first three minutes of the fight Serra remained calm, landed some decent body shots, dictated the pace, and in my opinion was winning the round. Eventually Serra landed a hook that dazed GSP and the rest is history. Serra had beaten the beast at the top of the hill and was the new UFC champion in the welterweight division. Matt Serra was always a tough, crafty veteran respected by most but no one in the world foresaw what he did in Houston, Texas in 2007. Three minutes and 25 seconds is all it took to forever cement "The Terror's" place in sports history.


1. Royce Gracie - 11/12/1993:
While the choice to put this at #1 could have been seen coming a mile away the fact remains that this single performance is the most impressive and important in the history of MMA. In one night Royce Gracie showed the world that fight is not what it was thought to be. Royce took out men much bigger than himself, he took out fighters that represented vastly different disciplines, and he took them all out with ease with a technique that had not been seen in the country before. Six minutes was all it took to eliminate the competition in the tournament. Royce submitted each opponent without suffering any damage himself. At the end of the night people though "what the hell just happened? That little guy in the gi just dominated the entire thing!" Since the inception of the MMA there have been many impressive, dominate, and shocking performances but at UFC 1 Royce Gracie forever changed fighting.


Well that's all for me this week.

This Week's Top 5: What I'm looking forward to at UFC 102
5. Chris Leben turning in another highlight reel KO thus ending the unwarranted hype behind Jake Rosholt
4. Demian Maia Vs. Nate Marquardt (Seriously!?!?!?)
3. How the K-Sos Vs. Truth fight plays out
2. The Keith Jardine-Thiago Silva stare down
1. Demian Maia Vs. Nate Marquardt (ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!?!?!?)

Remember feedback, as always, is welcome at [e-mail] or directly below. Top 5's are always welcome.

Take Care,
-Alex