MMA / UFC

The Top 5 MMA Fights
of All Time

By James Folsom, ExtremeProSports.com

First, this is an impossible task. Second, it is only an opinion (and one that changed about twelve times while writing this article).

As with any "Top --" list, there is no way to really narrow it down to a definitive number. There will always be a difference of opinion on any list. UFC's Top Five All Time Fights is no exception. However, here is a list of the Top Five all Time fights and it may not be your Top Five but I guarantee you some people will have all five of these somewhere on his/her list. Here they are:

5. Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonner. This was the championship bout on a reality TV show where the winner would become part of the Pro MMA ranks. It just so happened that this show produced one whale of a fight, which really boosted the entire sport's popularity. Griffin won in a unanimous decision and was awarded a six-figure contract to fight in UFC. Many consider this to be not only the most important bout in MMA history but also the greatest.

4. Chuck Lidell vs Wanderlei Silva. In UFC 79 Chuck Lidell and Wanderlai Silva battled to the end with both men giving it all they had. It seemed as if either could land a knockout at any second but the fight went the distance, Lidell won a unanimous decision, giving him two of three in the rivalry between the two. The two had star power. Even if you don't follow MMA, you've heard of these two. Every sport needs a rivalry and in MMA this was one of the best.

3. Diego Sanchez vs. Karo Parisyan. Many consider this the "Fight of the Year"for 2006. Another fight that went the distance, the two battled each other for three action packed rounds before Sanchez won a unanimous decision. Parisyan ended this fight bloodied and battered and with fewer teeth than he started with, but he still went all the way, inflicting some damage of his own.

2. Matt Hughes vs, Frank Trigg. You have to love a great come from behind win right? Well this was one of the best. This fight never made it out of the first round but in that round Hughes, the champ, survived a low blow and a no call from the referee and a near defeat to thunder back and get Trigg to finally tap out. Trigg would never win the welterweight championship, this being the closest he would ever get. Hughes did not hang on to it for much longer after the fight, but for this night they were on top of the welterweight world and put on a great show.

1. Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen. Another comeback win in this one, Sonnen was laying a pretty good beating on Silva only to lose it by submission in the fifth round of this epic battle. There will be a rematch of these two later this year so do not miss it. Many consider Silva the greatest fighter ever in MMA. He is the longest title holder in the sports history in terms of time and number of title defenses. He had to go five grueling rounds in this fight however, and many believe he was behind on the judges' score cards. But he is not pound for pound the world's greatest fighter for nothing.

I'm sure those of you reading this will ask what about Georges St. Pierre? Rampage Jackson? Leban? etc, etc. And you would not be wrong. That's what makes these debates fun. There really is no way to determine who the best really is, especially when you are comparing different eras and weight classes. But here are my five. Let the debate begin.