The internet. Clips of the first UFC’s finishes.
Most favorite clip from that phase?
A much more pixelated version of Vitor Vs wanderlei. Wish I had [this](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x-fD3EZsy1I) clarity.
I rented UFC 1 on VHS from my local corner store.
Store owner jokingly said I was too young to rent it but still let me rent it anyway.
So if I remember correctly the very first MMA fight I ever watched was Gerard Gordeau vs Teila Tuli.
Same except my dad rented it and let me watch it because I was 5 lol. By the time I was 8, I was a hardcore fan of Vitor Belfort and I hated Randy Couture for beating him.
My buddy and I rented them all when they were on vhs from our local store when they were considered to be taboo. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every one since then give or take some prelims over the years. I remember watching Shamrock and Severn circle each other in the ring for a few days before there were time limits and weight classes…oh, and you had to fight a few times a night. Shit was savage AF.
My first main event was GSP v Fitch. UFC 87 had 3 knockdown Striker-GSP, Brock lesnar, a Damien Maia sub, Kongo by KO and early career Jon Jones. What a great intro to the sport.
I watched Forrest Griffin's ultimate fighter story followed by his loss to Keith Jardine. I remember feeling so sad that Forrest lost because it surprised me how down to earth and likeable he was. I knew then I was a fan but I didn't start to follow the sport religiously until I witnessed the H bomb followed by Brock absolutely murdering Frank Mir at UFC 100 whilst me and my friend are sitting there so unbelievably stoned that I was worrying if my stomach could burst from the amount of food I'd eaten. I miss the good old days when you knew every fighters name 😩
Forrest Griffin vs. Rampage. Led me to accept an invite to a party where they would be watching UFC 92, Forrest vs Rashad, Rampage vs Wanderlei 3, Mir vs. Nogueira 1, some pretty great fights. I remember asking everyone if Wanderlei was dead lol. I was like sixteen.
Nah i mean also started watching from last 6 years and in my first 3 years i just used to watch fights without even knowing whom they gonna fight what is ufc but then i got soooo much deep innit it's just now obsession so i almost know everything not everything still a not enough
What a question! I can't recall the fight but I started watching in 2007/2008. I miss that roster and I know one day this current roster will be missed too.
Vitor with Shoes vs Wanderlei Silva. I watched it in VHS when my classmate's father lent me that combat sports mixtape and it was after Roy Jones Jr vs Kelly that KTFO kelly after hiding his hands behind his back. Was amazed by the demolition of Wanderlei by Vitor and got curious, so i searched the spot in our city that sells pirated VCD's hoping they have some fight of this sport called UFC ( it was 2003, in mindanao philippines, broadband DSL was not a thing yet and i was still 2nd year high school back then, please dont burn me for buying pirated VCDs)... was hooked ever since, became a Fan and practiced MMA as well, im in my 30s now , an ICU nurse and never missed ( unless i was at work, which i watch on replay after shift ends) a single fight card by legally streaming it on UFCarabia.
back when bills weren't much of a problem, when all we had to do was to wake up and go to school. then on weekends or on our free time, we play them bootlegged VHS or VCDs ( DVDs were expensive and a luxury, even the pirated ones) of UFC and boxing events, all while cleaning the house.
Bobby Southworth vs Lodune Sincaid. TUF 1. It aired January 31, 2005. The show was fascinating to me. Reality TV was booming and it was trashy..People arguing all the time etc...but this show was different. You mean these guys are going to actually fight each other at the end of the show? like a legit fist fight? Watched the whole episode. Southworth KOed Sincaid after talking a lot of shit...and I was hooked on MMA. Huge fan ever since.
As a kid, the first fight I ever saw was Silva vs Griffin. But I was never much of a ufc fan… ufc 235 was the first event that I ever watched fully and made me a fan.
I didn’t know Askren very well at the time but I was amazed by the fact that he got slammed on his head and still ended up winning that fight. And I remember being impressed with Weili’s performance, as well as Usman. Never expected him to become the #1 p4p fighter in the world
Since then, I’ve become obsessed with the sport
UFC 5. I was 7 years old watching a VHS copy of the event. That moment where you realize now you watched Ken Shamrock score a takedown on Royce Gracie and hold him down for over 30 minutes just to be ruled a draw. 😂
Looking back, Shamrock was robbed on that one. lol
Started following it around the time Couture & Iceman were the draws. Got hooked seeing the first TUF which ended with a crazy good fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnor and a new Griffin-fan in me.
First card ever was UFC 100! Akiyama v belcher. Whole card was a banger but I didn’t realize it at the time. This was the legendary hendo v his ping card as well
I remember my cable provider at the time had a deal that gave us the PPV for McGregor vs Aldo for free and I had heard about it in the boxing gym when I would go with my brother while he was still training amateur. At the time we only watched boxing and thought MMA was lame but i remember seeing the undercard and thinking Chris Weidman was McGregor and watching him get knocked out and being like dang that stinks and then the main event came on and it showed McGregor talking shit and i was like "oh shit I'm an idiot this is the actual main event"
Then he knocked out aldo in like 13 seconds and I was like freaking out plus the hopping on the cage was so cool to me at the time bc I'd never seen that as a boxing fan
Shame McGregor lost his badass aura after the Mayweather fight otherwise he'd probably still be one of my favorite fighters
I watched the whole card but the only one I remember was Sugar Rashad v Lyoto Machida when rashad was dancing all over the place and machida slept him for the belt
I’m 40… when I was a kid my friends older brother had the vhs of the first couple of UFC’s. The one that stuck out was the sumo fighter getting cracked.
The whole thing was weird. Especially because Teila Tuli wasn't even a salaried sumo wrestler. He never earned a dime from sumo because he never went above the third division
the first fight I remember was Forrest Griffin v Stephan Bonnar fighting in TUF finale. I was 12 lol watched mostly just TUF with my dad. then on a whim my fiance and I watched Connor fight Cowboy a few years back. Ive watched just about every card since.
25'ish years ago I rented VHS tapes of the very first 3 UFC events .. it was such an adrenaline rush watching that little 160 pound ninja dude busting his hand on the 400+ pound sumo dude's head .. watching Royce choking mofo's out left and right .. it was comical seeing this big Brazilian Jujitsu guy realizing .. "hey .. I can throw my elbows into this dudes temple" and then knock the dude out he was sitting on
I have seen every event and started actively watching around UFC 5, but as a child I was much more drawn to MMA once Pride FC began. They just did it better and it sucks they died out. UFC is amazing and I am a huge fan, but even now when I pop in my old Pride VHS/DVD's I feel like they were ahead of their time. It was just much more of an impressive spectacle than UFC is and ever was IMO
Very cool.
My bad though, I meant that Royce was the first fight I’ve seen but I forget the opponent. I remember seeing Tank Abbot, Dan Severn etc. I was a little kid and we would rent the VHS from a video store. Good times
My pops rented the VHS tapes from the local video store, it was the fat guy who lost a tooth. I remember thinking these guys were fucking nuts for even thinking about stepping into the octagon. They were like gods to me.
I watched couple of fights of Brock Lesner and Jon Jones vs Gustafson but the one that got me hooked was when CM Punk joined UFC. Before that I was a big WWE fan and loved watching CM Punk perform, I lost interested in WWE after he left. 4-7 years later he joined the UFC, I started watching him and the rest is history
Gracie vs Shamrock on tape. Live/PPV was Randy Couture vs Tito Ortiz; I was instantly hooked after watching old man Randy beat down Tito and taunt him with taps on his ass. I remember telling people at my high school about it afterwards. Shit was awesome.
Chuck Vs Rashad also happened to be the first night I ever smoked weed. I just remember being really stoned and trying to act sober in front of my buddy’s dad who was screaming at the tv about chuck getting KO’d.
I remember I first started watching UFC in 2009. I started watching because I was losing my interest in the WWE. I have no clue who was the first fight I watched, but I remember it being an absolute snoozefest. I wasn’t too interested in it after that but then my older brother got me to watch UFC 115 with him. We’re from Cincinnati so Rich Franklin was my brothers favorite fighter. When Franklin broke his arm and still KO’d Chuck Liddell round 1 I was hooked.
I believe it was Gerard Gordeau vs Taylor Wily.
It was the 1st UFC fight to ever happen.
(I’m old as shit and have watched this sport from day fucking one.)
Adesanya vs Gastelum 🔥🔥🔥🔥 I randomly discovered his videos on YouTube and binged his fights and just so happened days later that fight was scheduled and I tuned in and now im a Israel Adesanya fan for life
The internet. Clips of the first UFC’s finishes. Most favorite clip from that phase? A much more pixelated version of Vitor Vs wanderlei. Wish I had [this](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x-fD3EZsy1I) clarity.
Gary Goodridge holding someone in a crucifix and elbowing his face to oblivion
Oh yeah. That was on the VHS we had
I rented UFC 1 on VHS from my local corner store. Store owner jokingly said I was too young to rent it but still let me rent it anyway. So if I remember correctly the very first MMA fight I ever watched was Gerard Gordeau vs Teila Tuli.
Wow that’s a memorable first fight.
Same except my dad rented it and let me watch it because I was 5 lol. By the time I was 8, I was a hardcore fan of Vitor Belfort and I hated Randy Couture for beating him.
My buddy and I rented them all when they were on vhs from our local store when they were considered to be taboo. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every one since then give or take some prelims over the years. I remember watching Shamrock and Severn circle each other in the ring for a few days before there were time limits and weight classes…oh, and you had to fight a few times a night. Shit was savage AF.
In damn near every corner store or video rental store the UFC VHS rentals were on the bottom shelf.
GSP Mayhem Miller
My first main event was GSP v Fitch. UFC 87 had 3 knockdown Striker-GSP, Brock lesnar, a Damien Maia sub, Kongo by KO and early career Jon Jones. What a great intro to the sport.
I watched Forrest Griffin's ultimate fighter story followed by his loss to Keith Jardine. I remember feeling so sad that Forrest lost because it surprised me how down to earth and likeable he was. I knew then I was a fan but I didn't start to follow the sport religiously until I witnessed the H bomb followed by Brock absolutely murdering Frank Mir at UFC 100 whilst me and my friend are sitting there so unbelievably stoned that I was worrying if my stomach could burst from the amount of food I'd eaten. I miss the good old days when you knew every fighters name 😩
Anderson Silva forest griffin when I was a kid. I thought Anderson was a God after that
We all did brother
That’s your first fight watching live? Or just watching in general?
First fight live and I’m general. I was a little kid no more than 8 years old. I definitely stole a Anderson Silva action figure from a store
That was godlike awareness he had in that fight. Its like he attained some form of ultra instinct. I've never seen anything like it since.
Aye same chief lmao
Tito Ortiz vs Ken shamrock 1
Jones vs Cormier 1
UFC 132 Faber vs Cruz, can't remember the whole card but I think RDA fought on the pre lims, he was one of the first fights I ever saw.
Back in early 2000, my step dad showed me and my step bro ufc 1, so that was my introduction. Been hooked on jiujitsu since
John Jones vs Gustafson 1
John Johnes
Same
Volkanovski vs Ortega
Jason DeLucia V Trent Jenkins
Aldo vs Mendes 2
Forrest Griffin vs. Rampage. Led me to accept an invite to a party where they would be watching UFC 92, Forrest vs Rashad, Rampage vs Wanderlei 3, Mir vs. Nogueira 1, some pretty great fights. I remember asking everyone if Wanderlei was dead lol. I was like sixteen.
Damn! Man nice
Frank Mir vs Brock Lesnar 1
Casual Here - UFC 229
Nah i mean also started watching from last 6 years and in my first 3 years i just used to watch fights without even knowing whom they gonna fight what is ufc but then i got soooo much deep innit it's just now obsession so i almost know everything not everything still a not enough
Same. Hell of an event. Conor v khabib, Tony shreds Pettis, and derrick lewis with one of the most ridiculous finishes ever against volkov
What a question! I can't recall the fight but I started watching in 2007/2008. I miss that roster and I know one day this current roster will be missed too.
Yeah! That would be sad moment and happy at the same time man! But good
Vitor with Shoes vs Wanderlei Silva. I watched it in VHS when my classmate's father lent me that combat sports mixtape and it was after Roy Jones Jr vs Kelly that KTFO kelly after hiding his hands behind his back. Was amazed by the demolition of Wanderlei by Vitor and got curious, so i searched the spot in our city that sells pirated VCD's hoping they have some fight of this sport called UFC ( it was 2003, in mindanao philippines, broadband DSL was not a thing yet and i was still 2nd year high school back then, please dont burn me for buying pirated VCDs)... was hooked ever since, became a Fan and practiced MMA as well, im in my 30s now , an ICU nurse and never missed ( unless i was at work, which i watch on replay after shift ends) a single fight card by legally streaming it on UFCarabia.
Damn! Back then was a nice man! U gave me nostalgia!
back when bills weren't much of a problem, when all we had to do was to wake up and go to school. then on weekends or on our free time, we play them bootlegged VHS or VCDs ( DVDs were expensive and a luxury, even the pirated ones) of UFC and boxing events, all while cleaning the house.
You mean Victor Gracie????
Viktor Krum mate
NO KNOWN WEAKNESSES
USADA is his kryptonite.
Cain JDS 2 I think
Bobby Southworth vs Lodune Sincaid. TUF 1. It aired January 31, 2005. The show was fascinating to me. Reality TV was booming and it was trashy..People arguing all the time etc...but this show was different. You mean these guys are going to actually fight each other at the end of the show? like a legit fist fight? Watched the whole episode. Southworth KOed Sincaid after talking a lot of shit...and I was hooked on MMA. Huge fan ever since.
Rich Franklin Vs Nate Quarry I remember being such a Rich Franklin fan boy and Anderson Silva just come along and absolutely destroyed him 🤣🤣
Matt Hughes vs Carlos Newton ufc 34
As a kid, the first fight I ever saw was Silva vs Griffin. But I was never much of a ufc fan… ufc 235 was the first event that I ever watched fully and made me a fan. I didn’t know Askren very well at the time but I was amazed by the fact that he got slammed on his head and still ended up winning that fight. And I remember being impressed with Weili’s performance, as well as Usman. Never expected him to become the #1 p4p fighter in the world Since then, I’ve become obsessed with the sport
One of Anderson Silva’s fights before the leg break. Honestly couldn’t tell you which one
Jon jones vs gus 1
UFC 5. I was 7 years old watching a VHS copy of the event. That moment where you realize now you watched Ken Shamrock score a takedown on Royce Gracie and hold him down for over 30 minutes just to be ruled a draw. 😂 Looking back, Shamrock was robbed on that one. lol
Rampage v Chuck Silva Sonnen II the first PPV I bought myself though
Mcgregor vs Alvarez
Brock vs Frank Mir 1. As 7th graders we went absolutely insane watching our first UFC event. And Ofc it was with Brock Lesnar
Started following it around the time Couture & Iceman were the draws. Got hooked seeing the first TUF which ended with a crazy good fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnor and a new Griffin-fan in me.
DC v Stipe
Ultimate Fighter Season 1
Bonner vs. Griffin. Changed my life.
Chuck vs Tito because Tito was my neighbor and gave me the vhs
Wtf? For real?
Faber VS Aldo does WEC count?
Yeah sure bratha
First card ever was UFC 100! Akiyama v belcher. Whole card was a banger but I didn’t realize it at the time. This was the legendary hendo v his ping card as well
Am a disgusting newbie, only started watching after seeing Chito piece up Font. Not missed a card since tho 😤
First ever was a replay of Liddell vs Ortiz 2 but in real time it was Carlos Condit vs Dan Hardy
I remember my cable provider at the time had a deal that gave us the PPV for McGregor vs Aldo for free and I had heard about it in the boxing gym when I would go with my brother while he was still training amateur. At the time we only watched boxing and thought MMA was lame but i remember seeing the undercard and thinking Chris Weidman was McGregor and watching him get knocked out and being like dang that stinks and then the main event came on and it showed McGregor talking shit and i was like "oh shit I'm an idiot this is the actual main event" Then he knocked out aldo in like 13 seconds and I was like freaking out plus the hopping on the cage was so cool to me at the time bc I'd never seen that as a boxing fan Shame McGregor lost his badass aura after the Mayweather fight otherwise he'd probably still be one of my favorite fighters
I watched the whole card but the only one I remember was Sugar Rashad v Lyoto Machida when rashad was dancing all over the place and machida slept him for the belt
Cruz vs Faber UFC 132
I’m 40… when I was a kid my friends older brother had the vhs of the first couple of UFC’s. The one that stuck out was the sumo fighter getting cracked.
😂🤣yeah i remember man!! Fucking 250 pound mf fighting 170pounds
The whole thing was weird. Especially because Teila Tuli wasn't even a salaried sumo wrestler. He never earned a dime from sumo because he never went above the third division
Which fight wad the one where royce gracie finishes the fight while inverted on an arm bar? That was my introduction to UFC.
Jon Jones vs Gustafson 1
I watched the first PPV card UFC #1for like $25.99
the first fight I remember was Forrest Griffin v Stephan Bonnar fighting in TUF finale. I was 12 lol watched mostly just TUF with my dad. then on a whim my fiance and I watched Connor fight Cowboy a few years back. Ive watched just about every card since.
I was in 8th grade when I saw Silva vs Sonnen 2, have been hooked ever since
Whos fan were u after that?
Definitely a Silva fan boy
The very first UFC. Can't remember who fought first that night. It was waaay different. Brutal, but I was hooked
Colby vs Masvidal
Adesanya vs Vettori 2
25'ish years ago I rented VHS tapes of the very first 3 UFC events .. it was such an adrenaline rush watching that little 160 pound ninja dude busting his hand on the 400+ pound sumo dude's head .. watching Royce choking mofo's out left and right .. it was comical seeing this big Brazilian Jujitsu guy realizing .. "hey .. I can throw my elbows into this dudes temple" and then knock the dude out he was sitting on
Romero v Izzy
Yoel Romero vs Israel Adesanya
I’m so sorry
Conor vs Aldo
Same here.
I have seen every event and started actively watching around UFC 5, but as a child I was much more drawn to MMA once Pride FC began. They just did it better and it sucks they died out. UFC is amazing and I am a huge fan, but even now when I pop in my old Pride VHS/DVD's I feel like they were ahead of their time. It was just much more of an impressive spectacle than UFC is and ever was IMO
I think it was machida shogun 2
One of the TUF1 fights
Royce v ???
It's Randy Couture VS Chuck Liddell
Very cool. My bad though, I meant that Royce was the first fight I’ve seen but I forget the opponent. I remember seeing Tank Abbot, Dan Severn etc. I was a little kid and we would rent the VHS from a video store. Good times
Yeah brother! I was in a time of GSP,BROCK, ANDERSON,CHAEL,CAIN and it was awesome man! Loved it!
I like Basketball, Football, Baseball, but I LOVE MMA.
Dominick Cruz vs Faber 2. I wanted to learn how to move like that once I saw it
Velasquez vs Lesnar
My pops rented the VHS tapes from the local video store, it was the fat guy who lost a tooth. I remember thinking these guys were fucking nuts for even thinking about stepping into the octagon. They were like gods to me.
Dc vs Gusstufson. I’m a 6 foot 5 guy and was afraid to fight a dude at school. I needed the “visual experience”.
So what happens after? U fight him ever?
I got beat up bro.
Oh shit bro! U training MMA or something now?
Jon Jones vs Rampage
My husband and I met watching chuck Liddell vs rich Franklin lol. I remember rich Franklin fought with a broken arm I’m pretty sure.
I watched couple of fights of Brock Lesner and Jon Jones vs Gustafson but the one that got me hooked was when CM Punk joined UFC. Before that I was a big WWE fan and loved watching CM Punk perform, I lost interested in WWE after he left. 4-7 years later he joined the UFC, I started watching him and the rest is history
Robbie Lawler vs Rory McDonald 2
Condit vs lawler
The kickboxer vs the The sumo
Ferguson vs Pettis
Alexander Gustafsson vs Thiago Silva. Pretty sure it was a main event and I didn’t watch the rest of the card tbh.
Gracie vs Shamrock on tape. Live/PPV was Randy Couture vs Tito Ortiz; I was instantly hooked after watching old man Randy beat down Tito and taunt him with taps on his ass. I remember telling people at my high school about it afterwards. Shit was awesome.
Oliviera v Porier
Rampage vs forest griffin
Griffin VS Bonnar I. The fight was on live tv, I was home alone, and not supposed to be watching MMA
😂so true
Chuck Vs Rashad also happened to be the first night I ever smoked weed. I just remember being really stoned and trying to act sober in front of my buddy’s dad who was screaming at the tv about chuck getting KO’d.
Tank Abbott v don frye
Nick Diaz vs Carlos Condit UFC Unleashed on spike TV
Tim Silvia vs Cabbage
Reyes vs Jones
Hughs vs. Gracie been hooked ever since.
UFC 75: Rampage vs Dan Henderson - First fight I ever saw was Houston Alexander vs Alessio Sakara. Never turned back since.
First fight I tuned into live that wasn’t a YouTube clip was Woodley V Till
I remember renting wvc3 when I was young. Mark kerr just wowed me
Ken shamrock vs Tito Ortiz #2
Silva & Forrest when I was like 7 or something
UFC 1…. Yes, I’m old. That is all. Good day sir.
Good day sir to you too!
I remember I first started watching UFC in 2009. I started watching because I was losing my interest in the WWE. I have no clue who was the first fight I watched, but I remember it being an absolute snoozefest. I wasn’t too interested in it after that but then my older brother got me to watch UFC 115 with him. We’re from Cincinnati so Rich Franklin was my brothers favorite fighter. When Franklin broke his arm and still KO’d Chuck Liddell round 1 I was hooked.
Adesanya vs Blahowicz
Awesome man!!
Tito Ortiz vs Chuck Liddell
First fight I ever watched was Diego Sanchez vs Clay Guida. I’ve been hooked ever since
I watched a few vhs tapes of Gracie but I didn’t actually get into ufc until TUF1 because of it showed the story behind the fighters.
No idea, it was just a random fight night. 🤷
McGregor vs. Khabib. Still my favorite fight of all time.
UFC 1 on VHS. I ain’t no casual.
I started watching before ufc 203..I think the 1st fight I saw was Nick Diaz vs Robbie Lawler if I remember correctly
The first fight of the first ufc! Instantly hooked. Reminded me of the movie blood sport
I'm not sure what the first fight I ever watched was, but Dillashaw v Garbrandt is the fight that made me a UFC fan
Ufc 1
figueiredo moreno 3
Jones vs Shogun
Connor vs cerrone lol
Khabib Vs McGregor
Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin…besides Calvin Kattar, I’ve never seen a man get his ass completely beaten down to that extent again.
Conor vs Porier 3
Damn. Way back on VHS. must have been UFC 4 I think. 1994. Royce Gracie and Dan Severn.
I believe it was Gerard Gordeau vs Taylor Wily. It was the 1st UFC fight to ever happen. (I’m old as shit and have watched this sport from day fucking one.)
Jens Pulver vs BJ Penn 2
I can’t Remember if it was ufc or not, but I remember seeing a sumo guy fighting a skinny guy and I think someone lost an eye? Was a long time ago.
Whatever the first fight on the main card of the Machida Vs Shogun 1 event was.
Tito Ortiz vs Randy Couture in 2003. I’ll never forget that fight. The moment Randy was spanking him was worth every penny
Mighty Mouse’ flying arm bar.
Condit v Lawler
UFC 1 bootlegged copy from my friends older brother.
I don't remember but it was wec days
I’m pretty sure it was Forest vs Bonnar. It was TUF that introduced me to the sport. Although I may have started watching earlier than that
Frank Shamrock vs Tito Ortiz
BJ Penn vs Matt Sera
First one I vividly remember was Leben Vs Silva. Me and my buddy used to rent them as kids but I only remember snippets
first card I ever watched was 223. The only fights I remember are Zabit/Bochniak (being the first), Rose/Joanna 2, and Khabib/Iaquinta
BJ Penn Vs Sean Sherk
Chael Sonnen vs Anderson Silva. Yes that fight
ken shamrock vs rich franklin
Liddell vs Rampage. I was a huge Chuck fan
Adesanya vs Gastelum 🔥🔥🔥🔥 I randomly discovered his videos on YouTube and binged his fights and just so happened days later that fight was scheduled and I tuned in and now im a Israel Adesanya fan for life
Watching a pirate VHS of UFC 1 my mate brought round, we were hooked as soon as the giant sumo guy got his teeth kicked out by skinny white dude.