As someone who appreciates martial art technique, of course I enjoy seeing a close match up, where two fighters struggle back and forth to take the lead in the Octagon. But every now and then, a fighter walks in and so thoroughly demolishes his opponent that you can’t help but revel in the unquestioned domination. Fans of the UFC who enjoy online betting in Canada have also helped push this dynamic sport to a new level of popularity. Here are ten of our personal favorites – in no particular order.
Anderson Silva vs Forrest Griffin, UFC 101
If Silva hadn’t already registered as a legend in everyone’s mind by this point, this fight secured that status. He had already scored wins against Chris Leben, Dan Henderson, and Rich Franklin (twice), but he ran a clinic on Griffin in the 3:23 they spent in the Octagon together. It was difficult to pick one fight of Silva’s. As anyone who has seen him fight knows, pretty much anytime he enters the Octagon, he moves like Neo in The Matrix. What makes this fight particularly impressive is that by the end, Forrest actually waves him off and surrenders. Astounding.
Georges St. Pierre vs. Jason Miller, UFC 52
In the lead up to this fight, Miller said he was going to make GSP take advantage of Canada’s free healthcare. GSP made him eat his words. For the entire three-round fight, GSP so utterly dominated Miller, that it almost feels like you’re watching a video of a 9-year-old boy trying to fight his much-bigger 12-year-old brother. There isn’t a minute where Miller even seemed to have a chance at winning this fight.
Junior Dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez II, UFC 155
JDS won his first battle with Velasquez in just 64 seconds. It was the only fight Cain had ever lost, and at the time of this writing, it still is. In this rematch, Velasquez was so terrifyingly dominant, that by halfway through the second round, I was convinced it wouldn’t go to a third. But it did – and to a fourth, and to a fifth. Dos Santos took and survived one of the most vicious beatings ever witnessed in the Octagon. It was frightening to watch. In photos from after the match, Junior looks like he’d spent the last hour making out with a hornet’s nest.
Alistair Overeem vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, UFC 156
Overeem was 4-to-1 favorite to win the fight. The UFC had basically given him another win to add to his record. Well, they tried to give it to him, at least. For the first two rounds, it was a pretty exciting fight, a lot of back and forth, but the ‘Reem was clearly leading the charge. Joe Rogan even pointed out in the commentary that “Alistair’s got his hands down, chin up — not worried at all about ‘Bigfoot.’” Maybe he should have been, because when the bell rang and round three started, a raging bull let loose out of Bigfoot’s corner. Quickly pinned against the cage, Overeem could do nothing to stop the onslaught of blows from Bigfoot. It’s hard to say for sure, but watching the replay, it looked like Overeem was already unconscious when the last five or six blows landed, and it was only the force of Bigfoot’s uppercuts keeping him upright against the cage. This might not have been a one-sided battle, but the ending was so severe that this fight definitely deserves the massacre label.
BJ Penn vs. Joe Stevenson, UFC 80
By 2 minutes into the first round, Penn was already dominating this fight, controlling Stevenson on the ground, applying tons of pressure and landing vicious blows. At about 30 seconds from the end of Round 1, Penn landed an elbow to Stevenson’s forehead that opened up a gushing wound worthy of a Wes Craven slasher films. Amazingly, the ring doctors were able to stop the bleeding enough between rounds for the fight to keep going, but Stevenson was on the receiving end of more brutal punishment for the rest of the fight. Penn locked in a rear-naked choke 4 minutes into Round 2, but by that point, BJ could have finished the fight any way he wanted.
Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar II, UFC 100
Mir had beaten Lesnar in their first meeting, but Brock had learned a lesson or two since then, and this fight turned out quite different. Right from the beginning, Lesnar took Mir down, and proceeded to demonstrate how he earned a record of 106–5 in NCAA college wrestling. Total control from the top, Frank Mir had no answers to Brock’s pressure. In the second round, Mir tried a different tactic and attempted to turn the fight into a slugfest. Lesnar slammed Mir to the ground, and pounded his face with anvil-sized fists until the ref stopped the match.
Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen, UFC 159
A lot of people wrote this fight off as a slam-dunk for Jones. But Sonnen was the guy who had almost beaten Anderson Silva twice. He has incredible wrestling, and is hilarious to listen to when he talks smack. It was arguable that Sonnen was going to present at least a bit of a challenge to Jones. But that never happened. Not only did Jones bash Sonnen unrelentingly, he landed three takedowns on a man who had never been taken down in his UFC career, and all within the first 4 minutes of the first round. Before the end of that round, Jones delivered enough crushing blows that the fight was stopped.
Tim Sylvia vs. Randy Couture, UFC 68
At the time of the fight, Couture was 43 years old, while Sylvia was two days shy of his 31st birthday. Couture hadn’t fought as a heavyweight in close to five years, and Sylvia was 41 pounds heavier than Couture, was seven inches taller, and had a whopping 11.5” reach advantage. It was almost laughable. What happened next though was unbelievable. Couture absolutely controlled every second of the fight. While the match the distance, and not much blood was shed, there is no question that this fight was a massacre. The final score was 50-45, but I personally would have scored Sylvia an eight in at least two of those rounds.
Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, UFC 146
I tried to avoid repeating anyone in this list, but how could any list of massacres ignore this one? And this one has Cain beating the winner of another fight in this list, so here we go! This fight was a blood bath, literally. Bigfoot tried to land a kick early in the fight, but Velasquez grabbed his foot and topped the giant to the ground. Cain proceeded to open a massive cut on Silva’s forehead that ended up covering both fighters in the thick, red life-juice. The fight was completely one-sided, and before the end of the first round, Silva had lost not only a pint or two of blood, but the fight as well
Gary Goodridge vs Paul Herrera, UFC 6
I threw this one in for the laugh factor. Over in just a few seconds, it’s a reminder of how much the sport has evolved its 20-year run. Goodridge, in a full martial arts gear no less, quickly trapped both of Herrera’s arms in a crucifix lock and proceeded to deliver the most thorough elbow beat down anyone has ever received in the Octagon. Less than 15 seconds after the start of the fight, Herrera was unconscious, and Goodridge had secured his place in UFC history. No matter the UFC event and no matter the fighters involved, fans of the UFC can always visit the top rated betting sites at Online Betting Canada to get in on the action.
