Top Ten UFC Fights Of All Time

With the recent release of a Top Ten UFC Fights Of All Time list from the folks over at Sports Illustrated, Masson and I took it upon ourselves to develop our own lists and compare the fights.

We adapted criteria from Extremeprosports.com in order to form our own criteria (below) for our Top Ten lists.

1. The fight itself had to have significant drama. In other words, each fighter, at one point or another, must have been in a position to win the fight.

2. The bigger stage, the better. Non-championship bouts didn't get as much love as those giving out belts. The Ultimate Fighter Finales were also looked as with high regard due to the stakes involved.

3. Only UFC bouts were considered. To go beyond the foremost MMA organization would add even more chaos to an already impossible task.

Ben Zeidler's Top Ten
10. Royce Gracie vs. Dan Severn (UFC 4)
9. Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler (UFC 47)
8. Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture II (UFC 52)
7. Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre (UFC 50)
6. Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn (UFC 63)
5. Sean Sherk vs. Kenny Florian (UFC 64)
4. Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz I (UFC 47)
3. Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell I (UFC 43)
2. Forrest Griffin vs. Stephen Bonnar (The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale)
1. Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg II (UFC 52)

Masson Liang's Top Ten
10. Diego Sanchez vs. Karo Parisyan (UFC Fight Night 6)
9. Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler (UFC 47)
8. Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz I (UFC 47)
7. Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg II (UFC 52)
6. Georges St. Pierre vs. Frank Trigg (UFC 54)
5. Spencer Fisher vs. Sam Stout (UFC Fight Night 10)
4. Roger Huerta vs. Leonard Garcia (UFC 69)
3. Matt Hughes vs. Carlos Newton (UFC 34)
2. Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture III (UFC 57)
1. Randy Couture vs. Tim Sylvia (UFC 68)

Sports Illustrated's Top Ten Printed List
10. Nick Diaz vs. Diego Sanchez (The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale)
9. Clay Guida vs. Tyson Griffin (UFC 72)
8. Georges St. Pierre vs. BJ Penn (UFC 58)
7. Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin (UFC 59)
6. Kendall Grove vs. Ed Herman (The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale)
5. Diego Sanchez vs. Karo Parisyan (UFC Fight Night 6)
4. Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg II (UFC 52)
3. Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell I (UFC 43)
2. Forrest Griffin vs. Stephen Bonnar (The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale)
1. Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn II (UFC 63)

Sports Illustrated's Top Ten Original List
10. Tank Abbott vs. Oleg Taktarov (UFC 6)
9. Kendall Grove vs. Ed Herman (The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale)
8. Karo Parisyan vs. Diego Sanchez (UFC Fight Night 6)
7. Matt Lindland vs. Phil Baroni (UFC 41)
6. Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg II (UFC 52)
5. Randy Couture vs. Pedro Rizzo (UFC 31)
4. Frank Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz (UFC 22)
3. Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture I (UFC 43)
2. Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar (The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale)
1. Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn (UFC 63)

The only fight on all four lists is:
Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg II (UFC 52)

The only fights on three of the four lists are:
Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn (UFC 63)
Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar (The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale)
Karo Parisyan vs. Diego Sanchez (UFC Fight Night 6)