If you had to decide, which single bout would you vote on as the best fight in UFC history?
Fans recently voted in a March Madness style voting bracket from ESPN where 16 fights were initially presented and the fans picked what they thought were the best fights in UFC history from their matchups.
The first 16 bouts were matched up with seedings, just like the College Basketball Conference Tournament brackets are arranged.
Here is how the matchups and voting for the initial 16 bouts played out:
No. 1 Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson (UFC 165)
wins over
No. 16 Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama (UFC 116)
No. 2 Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar (TUF 1 Finale)
wins over
No. 15 Mark Hunt vs. Antonio Silva I (UFC Fight Night)
No. 3 Dan Henderson vs. Shogun Rua (UFC 139)
wins over
No. 14 Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez (UFC 166)
No. 13 Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz II (UFC 202)
wins in an upset over
No 4. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen (UFC 117)
No. 5 Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard II (UFC 125)
wins over
No. 12 Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin (UFC 116)
No. 11 Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida (TUF 9 Finale)
wins in an upset over
No. 6 Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg II (UFC 52)
No. 7 Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald II (UFC 189)
wins over
No. 10 Matt Hughes vs. B.J. Penn II (UFC 63)
No. 9 Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva (UFC 79)
wins in an upset over
No. 8 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Randy Couture (UFC 102)
This took us to the next round of the Elite Eight where fans again voted and the results came out as follows:
No. 1 Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson (UFC 165)
wins over
No. 9 Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva (UFC 79)
No. 13 Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz II (UFC 202)
wins in an upset over
No. 5 Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard II (UFC 125)
No. 7 Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald II (UFC 189)
wins in an upset over
No. 2 Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar (TUF 1 Finale)
No. 3 Dan Henderson vs. Shogun Rua (UFC 139)
wins over
No. 11 Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida (TUF 9 Finale)
The Final Four took us down to the following where fans were asked to vote on their pick for best fight in UFC history out of the four matches:
No. 7 Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald II (UFC 189) wins the ESPN fans vote as the best fight in UFC history with 34% of the votes.
No. 1 Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson (UFC 165) came in at second place with 29% of the votes.
No. 13 Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz II (UFC 202) came in at third place with 21% of the votes.
No. 3 Dan Henderson vs. Shogun Rua (UFC 139) came in at fourth with 16% of the votes.
Do you agree with this fan voting? Let’s hear it in the comment section!
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/11/2017.