5 Best UFC Fights Of 2016

This has been one of the most newsworthy years in UFC's relatively brief history, with fighters reaching levels of stardom never before seen in mixed martial arts competing for a promotion that was sold for a staggering four-plus billions dollars. While headlines have kept pouring in, the real draw of the sport is what goes on once the doors of the octagon are closed, Bruce Buffer's introductions are made and the two combatants are unleashed upon one another.

2016 will go down as one of UFC's greatest years in terms of action inside the cage. We've seen all out wars, chess matches between brilliant tacticians and superfights outside of normal weight classes, while watching superstars burn brighter and up-and-comers take advantage of the spotlight thrust upon them.

MMA fans were spoiled by the amount of quality FOTY contenders, and the topic will be argued for years to come, with it all being a matter of subjectivity and what each fan prefers from their combat sports.

Let's take a look back at the year that was and narrow down the tremendous amount of breathtaking fights to the five most memorable wars that took place in 2016.

Honorable Mentions: Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson - UFC 205

Dominick Cruz vs. T.J. Dillashaw - UFC Fight Night 81

Tony Ferguson vs. Lando Vannata - UFC Fight Night 91

Talk about making the most out of an opportunity. In a fight brutally reminiscent of the iconic Forrest Griffin/Stephan Bonnar clash, these two relatively unknown UFC light heavyweights stepped into the cage on the undercard of UFN 89 and battered each other into oblivion for paltry payoffs and our bloodthirsty enjoyment.

Coming into the bout, Bosse' was 1-1 in the UFC and looking to make his mark against the more experienced Sean O'Connell, who was the recipient of two Fight of the Night bonuses in his first five UFC matches. Neither man will be in the title picture anytime soon and that's perfectly fine. Not everyone is going to become champion. MMA needs guys like these two who put it all on the line and beat each other senseless to entertain the fans.

The fight was 15 minutes of pure violence, full of hard shots that would have felled most men, yet miraculously these two continued to stand in front of each other and eat the hardest shots their opponent was capable of throwing at them. Bosse' won a unanimous decision on the scorecards but there was no loser here. It was ugly and beautiful in all the best ways and no matter where these two peak, they can always point to this amazing showdown as a highlight of their careers.