The best fights to get someone hooked onto MMA

[Shiv]

right, so I had a few friends who I wanted to get hooked onto MMA. I'm quite sure most of them would love it if they saw enough of it but with these things, sometimes its mostly about the first couple of fights they see.

Anyway, I wanted to know what you guys think should be the fights I should recommend to them. Obviously, something like a completely technical fight won't be that appealing for them even though it might be for us.

I would personally show them Bonnar vs Griffin I just because its the first real "main event" I saw myself. I'd seen a bit of TUF 1 but nothing really before this. Plus, its pretty great! I'd like something that dealt with both stand-up and the ground game though. Feel free to suggest more than one!

Anyway, go!

 

[mirza]

Bonnar vs Griffin is a great start. It's kinda what got my old man into the sport.

If your friends are like most people who don't really watch MMA, you'll wana show them exciting shit and cool finishes for them to want to watch again. With that in mind, I'd suggest:

Rampage vs Arona-Rampage's highlight powerbomb will get anyone on their feet

Rampage vs Sakuraba-Again, lots of slams from Page and this match showed how a grappler could actually defeat a bigger, stronger man. Of course if this was the Page of today, and Saku in his prime, I'd bet on Page. :)

Get some matches where the smaller guy destroys the bigger opponent like Bob Sapp vs Crocop. On that note, just put on a Crocop and Fedor highlight. You can show your friends how a chubby Russian man manages to manhandle a bunch of ripped athletes since the stereotype seems to be that ripped guys murder fat dudes.

Show em some Wanderlei Silva fights from PRIDE. No one forgets Wandy's staredowns and the guy was brutal at one point.

Also, show them a highlight of Genki Sudo, he was a crazy bastard and was hella entertaining. His subs were cool too.

 

[QuickDraw]

dude, Henderson vs. Bisping from UFC100. just replay that knockout over and over and over and over and over etc. i watched it on replay at least 30 times before i was satisfied for 10 min.

the second GSP vs Hughes title match was a great fight.

the first couture vs liddell fight

Machida vs Ortiz

liddell vs ortiz was good too

 

[Agaki]

I saw some UFC 100 greatest fights show on last week, that got me hooked =P

 

[mirza]

I wouldn't recommend the Ortiz vs Machida fight. To the average person that'd be so fucking boring you wouldn't believe it. Show them some of the Ultimate Knockout shows and like Agaki said the UFC 100 greatest fights (while terribly rated) is a good start too.

 

[FreakShizzl]

Bonnar vs. Griffin #1.

Any Royce Gracie fight is classic also.

 

[Shinryu]

Bonnar vs. Griffin #1.

Any Royce Gracie fight is classic also.

Like when Matt Hughes beat him? :P

But yeah, all the old Royce Gracie fights are great. Liddell/Ortiz is great as well, and Wanderlei Silva is always worth watching. Try getting them to catch The Ultimate Fighter series as well, pretty fun.

 

[Trax]

Don't fucking show them Bonnar vs Griffin #1 or they'll turn into those drooling fucking retards who boo every time a fight goes to the ground because they're too fucking stupid to appreciate jujitsu or wrestling and I will have to kill them with a tire iron.


Show them the following

UFC 1
Rizzo vs Couture I
Marco Ruas vs Paul Varelans (so maybe they'll appreciate leg kicks..)
Don Frye vs Amaury Bittetti
All 3 Big Nog vs Heath Herring fights (cause fuck, those were exciting)
Cro Cop vs Big Nog
Little Nog vs Shogun
Josh Barnett vs Aleks Emelianenko
PRIDE 19 was pretty good too, Pele vs Newton was an insane fight.

 

[Shiv]

I wouldn't recommend the Ortiz vs Machida fight. To the average person that'd be so fucking boring you wouldn't believe it. Show them some of the Ultimate Knockout shows and like Agaki said the UFC 100 greatest fights (while terribly rated) is a good start too.

It isn't that badly rated imo! Looking at just the top few, I'd rate Bonnar vs Griffin #1 for sure though I wouldn't rate Wanderlei vs Liddel #2, that would surely be Hughes vs Trigg #2.

Also, thanks a lot for the input. Also, Trax, I ws planning on showing Hughes vs Trigg #2 along with Bonnar vs Griffin lol. I do believe that you appreciate the ground game more and more as you start watching the UFC, its not something that you can appreciate at first watch. Thats how it happened for me atleast.

 

[Trax]

Also, Trax, I ws planning on showing Hughes vs Trigg #2 along with Bonnar vs Griffin lol. I do believe that you appreciate the ground game more and more as you start watching the UFC, its not something that you can appreciate at first watch. Thats how it happened for me atleast.

You should probably note that pretty much nothing I listed is full on grappling; Frye vs Bittetti is almost all ground but that's about it. There is a lot of stuff in there that's 70/30 striking/grappling -- that is why I suggested Herring/Nog over Barnett/Nog :)