5 classic forgotten UFC events that new fans ought to revisit

#2. UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber

Carlos Condit's knockout of Dong Hyun Kim was just one of the classic moments at UFC 132

In terms of show quality, 2011 may well be the best year in UFC history. However, while the promotion’s big return to Brazil, as well as the clashes between Alistair Overeem and Brock Lesnar and Jon Jones and Mauricio Rua, are fondly looked back upon, UFC 132 seems to have been somehow forgotten.

In reality, this event remains amongst the very best that the promotion has ever produced. The run from the final two preliminary bouts through to the main event was particularly outstanding.

That run of fights saw brutal knockouts from Melvin Guillard, Rafael dos Anjos and Carlos Condit. 'The Natural Born Killer' took out Dong Hyun Kim with a flying knee in what remains probably the best finish of his career.

From there, legendary former light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz picked up his first win in the octagon in five years by upsetting Ryan Bader in one of 2011’s most emotionally charged moments. Chris Leben then managed to knock out former PRIDE champ Wanderlei Silva in a wild brawl.

The main event, meanwhile, was a genuine Fight of the Year contender between the world’s top two bantamweights. Dominick Cruz managed to survive two knockdowns from bitter rival Urijah Faber to edge out a decision.

This event might not have been a major success on pay-per-view – it reportedly drew just 350k buys – but it should definitely be remembered as an all-time classic and is well worth revisiting.

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#1. UFC 84: Ill Will

Wanderlei Silva's win over Keith Jardine was just one of the brutal moments at UFC 84

While it doesn’t stand up as one of the best-selling events of all time – reportedly drawing around 475k buys on pay-per-view – in terms of fight quality, UFC 84 may well be the highest peak that the promotion has ever reached.

The show went down in May 2008, during the peak years of the UFC’s TUF boom. Not only did it feature a number of that era’s biggest stars, but it also saw the debuts of a handful of fighters who would go onto achieve greatness in the octagon later on.

Future interim heavyweight champ Shane Carwin exploded onto the scene with a brutal knockout. Meanwhile, Rousimar Palhares, Dong Hyun Kim and Yoshiyuki Yoshida also finished their opponents in flashy fashion.

More to the point, of the 11 fights on the card, just two went the distance, with the others ending in highlight reel fashion. Of those two, one saw Lyoto Machida make himself into a star by defeating the legendary Tito Ortiz, albeit after avoiding a last-gasp triangle choke from ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’.

The show’s subtitle – ‘Ill Will’ – referred to the feud over the lightweight title between champion B.J. Penn and former champ Sean Sherk, who had been stripped following a positive drug test. Penn promised to punish ‘The Muscle Shark’ for his indiscretion. He duly did so by taking him out with a third-round TKO.

However, the most memorable moment of the event saw Wanderlei Silva channel his old PRIDE self to take out Keith Jardine in one of the most vicious finishes in the promotion's history.

Overall, this show may well have been missed by modern fans introduced to the promotion by stars like Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey, but it remains incredible 16 years on.