10 UFC Events That Changed The Game
Dana White just loves continually resetting the MMA standard.
When The Ultimate Fighting Championship first broke onto the scene in 1993, few could have imagined that this event - created to answer questions such as 'Could a boxer beat a wrestler? -' could ever grow into the titan of combat sport it has become today.
Even Dana White has to be impressed at just how far his darling company has come; he even admitted that the first show was 'supposed to be a one-off', further adding that 'never in a million years did these guys think they were creating a sport' - alluding to the initial event being conceived by Art Davie, John Milius and Rorion Gracie.
Yet, here we are. 26 years later and with over 500 events etched into the history books, the UFC has become the biggest MMA game in town.
However, this didn't all happen overnight and a number of special moments have helped catapult the company into the glorious position they are in today. Be it selling out stadiums or smashing PPV records, Dana White has continually demonstrated a need to one-up himself and the results have often led to ground-breaking events for the company's loyal fans to enjoy.
Yet, some occasions completely raised the bar for both fans and fighters alike and it's about time we highlighted just how game-changing these instances really were.
10. UFC 91 - Lesnar Becomes The Champ (Leading To Changing Of The Guard)
MMA fans the world over will probably scoff at Brock Lesnar's inclusion on this list, but it's hard to argue with the fact that his presence on any UFC card brought with it a substantial increase in attention.
Never was that more apparent than in the former WWE star's UFC 91 Heavyweight title fight against the champion at that time, Randy Couture.
Many felt that Lesnar didn't deserve the bout as he'd only gone 1-1 in the company. However, this marketing stunt proved to be a Dana White masterstroke and Lesnar's title victory broke the company's record for PPV buys at the time.
The fight got UFC some of that all important mainstream exposure, whilst also exhibiting a real passing of the torch moment. Couture - one of the company's faces - would never find himself in the title picture again post-defeat and Lesnar was positioned as the man to carry UFC into the next stage of their evolution as a promotion.
The rest of the card wasn't bad either, with the likes of Gabriel Gonzaga, Kenny Florian and Demian Maia all winning their respective bouts. However, Lesnar's announcement as a legitimate threat - in convincing fashion - rightly stole all of the headlines.