Top 5 Brutal Matches In UFC History

Audiences love action, and violence and if that implies the blood flying all over the Octagon, we’re probably speaking of the ideal combination. In UFC, elbows, and foreheads simply don’t work together and frequently lead to the bloodiest MMA fights which can make most people sick.

Here are some fights which sure were brutal and made the audience ask for more.

Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen: UFC 117

The lead-up to this one was nasty, with plenty of trash talk from Chael Sonnen. However, as soon as the first round began, it was apparent that Sonnen would be able to back up that trash talk. Sonnen hurt then-UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, several times early in the first round with strikes, and then took the fight to the ground where he was in complete control.

The second, third, fourth, and most of the fifth round involved more of the same, with Sonnen taking the fight to the mat and then looking to break down Silva with ground and pound. Over the course of the fight, Sonnen landed 320 strikes to Silva’s 64. And it looked like Silva’s reign as middleweight champion would come to an end.

However, with just two minutes left in the final round, Sonnen slipped up and allowed Silva to secure a triangle choke. Seconds after the submission hold was applied, Sonnen tapped and the title remained around the waist of Silva. The win was an incredible comeback victory.

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Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar: TUF 1 Finale

This fight may be the most significant match in the history of the UFC. The matchup between Griffin and Stephan Bonnar was nothing but two light heavyweights trying to knock each other out for 15 minutes straight. When the first round ended the fighters received a standing ovation from the crowd in Las Vegas. Many in the audience would not take their seats again until well after the fight ended.

By the time the second round came to a close, Griffin was a bloody mess and it was a wonder how either man had enough left in the tank to make it through another five minutes — but that’s exactly what they did. The pace slowed during the third round, but that didn’t make the fight any less entertaining. Each time one fighter looked to land a strike, the other looked for a counter. When the horn sounded to end the fight, the bloody pair of fighters raised their hands to the wild approval of the crowd.

When the result of the fight was announced, awarding the victory to Griffin, Bonnar collapsed to the mat. The UFC believed so much of the fight that it presented UFC contracts to both fighters. Originally only the winner was going to earn a deal with the promotion. Both Griffin and Bonnar were inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2013.

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Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard III: UFC 136

The first time Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard met, in 2008, Maynard earned a unanimous decision win. The second time these two met, in January 2011, it was for Frankie Edgar’s UFC lightweight belt. After five rounds of action, the fight ended in a draw. About 10 months after that fight, the two met for a third time, in the main event of UFC 136. Edgar was holding his own in the first round until Maynard landed an uppercut with 2:35 left in the round that rocked Edgar, but failed to put him out.

With 1:40 left, things got worse for Edgar when he was dropped by Maynard, who then went for the kill, throwing everything he had at a bloodied and stunned Edgar. The assault left the fans wondering how much can edgar take? When the second round started, Maynard couldn’t get close to Edgar, who kept him at a distance with his boxing, giving himself time to recover from the beating he took in the first round.

The third round was more of the same from Edgar. By the fourth round, Edgar showed his movement and footwork, taking over the fight. With 1:15 left in the fourth stanza, it was Edgar’s turn to damage his opponent with an uppercut — the difference being that once Edgar hurt Maynard, he was able to put the fight away, landing several rights before wrapping things up with lefts on the ground. The final result of the Knockout of the Night-winning fight was a KO at 3:54 of the fourth round.

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Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg II: UFC 52

The first time Matt Hughes and Frank Trigg met, Hughes defended his UFC welterweight title by stopping Trigg via a standing rear-naked choke. Less than two years later, the two met again. Things were tense from the get-go in this one, as Trigg stepped into Hughes during the stare down, which resulted in Hughes shoving Trigg and Trigg puffing Hughes a kiss as he backed into his corner before the start of the action.

Early in this fight, the two tied up along the cage and Trigg landed an accidental knee to the groin of Hughes. Referee responded to the blow by telling Trigg to watch his knees. Meanwhile, Hughes was obviously unfocussed by the shot. However, since the referee did not stop the action, Trigg fought on, taking advantage of the situation and putting Hughes to the ground where he tried to end the fight. Hughes was able to weather the storm, even fighting off a deep choke attempt.

Once Hughes slid free from the choke, he got to his feet, lifted Trigg off his feet, and ran him across the cage, slamming him to the ground where he mounted Trigg and rained down elbows. Trigg gave up his back and Hughes sank in the rear-naked choke for the submission win at 4:05 of the first round. The fight was one of the best one-round fights in UFC history.

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Mark Hunt vs Antonio Silva I: Fight Night 33

If you want to see two extremely large men try to knock each other out cold for 25 straight minutes, this is a must-see fight. The first half of the first round didn’t have a lot of action, but when these two decided to open up, the fists began flying, and Antonio Silva got the best of things, briefly putting Mark Hunt onto the mat with a short right hand. Silva hurt Hunt again in the second round, landing a brutal leg kick to Hunt’s calf, which required him to switch his stance.

In the third round, Hunt briefly gained a takedown, but the fight quickly went back to the feet. With a little more than two minutes left in the round, Hunt dropped Silva with a right and worked for the finish with ground and pound. Yet, Hunt was unyielding, taking Silva to the mat. When they stood, Hunt threw some heavy elbows that cut Silva, but Silva responded with a brutal striking assault that backed Hunt into the cage.

With one-minute left in the round, Silva seized the fight to the mat, and he gained full mount, bloodying Hunt with strikes. At one point it looked, and sounded like the referee was going to wave off the fight. Neither fighter looked like they had anything left in the final round, but that didn’t stop them from throwing heavy hands. Hunt got the best of this round, throwing punches to the head and body before the referee paused the fight to look at the gash on Silva’s head. When the fight came to an end, it scored a majority draw, and somehow, that felt right.

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