Best UFC Cards of All Time

Because of their stacked roster of the best MMA fighters, the UFC created the best possible fights in the sport’s history. These top-flight bouts were assembled and produced fight cards that gave the fans an excellent show. Additionally, it paved the way for them to bet on their favourite athletes when looking at UFC odds before each fight.

But throughout the three decades of the Las Vegas-based promotion, which are considered the best UFC cards ever assembled? How did these massive cards affect the rise of the UFC, and who are the superstars who spearheaded it?

Best UFC Cards of All Time

UFC 100

On July 12, 2009, the UFC commemorated their 100th pay-per-view event with the heavyweight title showdown between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir. It was their second meeting after Mir submitted Lesnar in February 2008. This time, Lesnar was able to exact revenge with a second-round TKO finish.

UFC 100: Lesnar vs Mir II:
1,600,00 PPV Buys- $82 Million

UFC 100 for the longest time this was the biggest event in the history of MMA.

Had many greats on this card with GS, Michael Bisping, Dan Henderson, Jim Miller and Jon Jones also being on the card. pic.twitter.com/LQPA0Yw8uC

— Bry The MMA Guy (@BryTheMMAguy) December 6, 2023

It was a memorable night for the UFC as it was the first pay-per-view event to break into 1.3 million PPV buys. Aside from the card’s headliner, the event also featured Georges St-Pierre’s welterweight title defence against Thiago Alves and a young Jon Jones fighting Jake O’Brien.

UFC 129

UFC 129 was the third-highest UFC PPV with the biggest attendance (55,000) at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada, on May 1, 2011. It was headlined by one of the best Canadian UFC fighters of all time, Georges St-Pierre, as he successfully fended off the challenge from Jake Shields by unanimously beating him.

It was GSP’s seventh successful title defence. Jose Aldo’s featherweight title defence was also featured in the co-main event after beating Mark Hominick unanimously. Other notable UFC stars included in the stacked card were Lyoto Machida, Benson Henderson, Nate Diaz, Rory MacDonald, and John Makdessi.

UFC 205

Conor McGregor cemented his superstar status when he defeated Eddie Alvarez in UFC 205 on Nov. 13, 2016, to become the first fighter in UFC history to become a two-division world champion. “The Notorious” only needed two rounds to finish “The Underground King” and achieve the ground-breaking feat.

The co-headliner was equally entertaining as Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson fought in a majority draw for the welterweight championship. It was Woodley’s first title defence after beating Robbie Lawler and becoming the king of the welterweight division.

BEST. CARD. EVER.#UFC205#UFCNYC pic.twitter.com/xG1jK9SnKM

— UFC (@ufc) November 10, 2016

It was a star-studded card inside the Madison Square Garden as other top UFC stars Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Chris Weidman, Miesha Tate, Frankie Edgar, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Liz Carmouche were also on the card. The card not only made history but also reached 1.3 million pay-per-view buys.

UFC 261

The title rematch between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal in April 2021, which headlined UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Florida, was the first PPV event that the UFC held with the crowd inside the arena since the COVID-19 pandemic happened. It was a successful and memorable card, and Usman knocked out Masvidal in the second round to retain his title.

#UFC261 Milestone:

SHORTEST MAIN CARDS – UFC PPV History (5 fights)

19:10 – UFC 29
19:23 – UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar
20:56 – UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2
21:19 – UFC 55
21:50 – UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir

— UFC News (@UFCNews) April 25, 2021

There were also two titles on the card, as Rose Namajunas beat Zhang Weili to become a two-time UFC women’s strawweight champion, and Valentina Shevchenko continued her dominance in the women’s flyweight division by stopping Jéssica Andrade. Other UFC stars present on the card were Uriah Hall, Chris Weidman, Anthony Smith, and Brendan Allen.

UFC 285

The highly anticipated return of one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time, Jon Jones, occurred in the main event of UFC 285 in March 2023. Jones returned from his two-year layoff and moved to the heavyweight division to face Ciryl Gane and submit him in the opening round. A new champion was also crowned in the women’s flyweight division as Alexa Grasso defeated Shevchenko via fourth-round submission to score one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.

WHAT. A. CARD. 🤩 #UFC285 goes down TONIGHT!!!

[ B2YB @ForThePeople | Early Prelims 5:30pmET | Prelims 8pmET | Main Card 10pmET ] pic.twitter.com/TT9bmCNS0c

— UFC (@ufc) March 4, 2023

This entertaining card also produced new top contenders as Shavkat Rakhmonov, Mateusz Gamrot, Bo Nickal, Ian Garry, Dricus Du Plessis, and Tabatha Ricci showed out and proved that they are the new breed of challengers in their respective divisions.