5 greatest non-pay-per-view events in UFC history

The UFC’s biggest shows over the years have always come on pay-per-view, with stars like Conor McGregor fighting almost exclusively there. Despite this, we’ve seen some great non-pay-per-view shows too.

Over the years, the UFC has produced a number of classic, free TV shows, including efforts on Spike TV, ESPN+ and the Fox network.

Sometimes these shows were turned into classics by having a loaded card. Other times, they were simply made unforgettable by a hot crowd or a bunch of absolutely incredible fights.

With this in mind, here are five of the greatest non-pay-per-view events in UFC history.

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#5. UFC: Ultimate Fighter II Finale (2005)

Diego Sanchez's war with Nick Diaz headlined the TUF 2 finale in 2005

There’s no doubt that the inaugural TUF Finale from April 2005 made the most impact on the UFC. It also featured an all-time classic bout between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar. However, on the whole, the event wasn’t all that great.

In fact, the second TUF Finale of 2005 was far better, and featured three fights that arguably came close to matching the greatness of Griffin vs. Bonnar, even if they didn’t quite make the same mark on the sport.

One of the shortest events in the promotion’s history, the TUF 2 Finale featured just seven fights overall. All of them were excellent, from the preliminary bouts to the main card.

Those prelims saw three violent finishes, including a rare leg kick stoppage from Keith Jardine over Kerry Schall, and a knockout via slam from Josh Burkman in his bout with Sammy Morgan.

The two TUF finals themselves – which saw Joe Stevenson face Luke Cummo in the welterweight division, and Rashad Evans face Brad Imes in the heavyweight division – both went the distance. Like Griffin vs. Bonnar before them, they saw a crazy amount of back-and-forth action.

Cummo knocked Stevenson down and hurt him on numerous occasions, but still fell prey to the superior grappling skills of ‘Joe Daddy’. Evans and Imes, meanwhile, brawled for all three rounds, with Evans landing a series of crazy knockdowns to claim victory.

The icing on the cake, though, was the headline bout between young welterweight stars Diego Sanchez and Nick Diaz. Plenty of bad blood had been brewing prior to this one. Diaz reportedly even threw a shoe at Sanchez backstage. The fight did not disappoint, as the two men put on a grappling clinic, with ‘The Nightmare’ coming out on top due to his superior wrestling.

Essentially, every fight on offer here was tremendous. While the event seems to have been forgotten over the years, it certainly stands as one of the best non-pay-per-view cards in the promotion’s history.

#4. UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Diaz (2012)

Benson Henderson's lightweight title bout with Nate Diaz headlined a classic Fox show in 2012

When the UFC first signed a deal with the Fox network in late 2011, it was expected that they’d produce some loaded shows to broadcast there. However, sticking to their pay-per-view-driven business, that wasn’t the case at first.

That changed when the promotion put together their fifth event on Fox in late 2012, a stacked card headlined by a lightweight title bout between champion Benson Henderson and challenger Nate Diaz.

The event also featured a pair of huge bouts on its main card: Alexander Gustafsson vs. ‘Shogun’ Rua and B.J. Penn vs. Rory MacDonald. It also had some of the promotion’s other big stars like Matt Brown, Mike Swick, Raphael Assuncao and Jeremy Stephens.

Of course, this wouldn’t have meant much had the fights themselves not delivered but they did hugely. Four of the seven preliminary bouts ended in violent fashion, and Brown turned Swick’s lights out in a wild opener.

The big three fights, meanwhile, all went the distance and were all fantastic, particularly Gustafsson vs. Rua, a fight which felt like a throwback to the great light heavyweight battles that took place in PRIDE.

In the end, Henderson, Gustafsson and MacDonald all came away with huge victories. The biggest winners here were the fans, who got to witness not just one of the best events of 2012, but one of the best non-pay-per-view events in UFC history.

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#3. UFC Fight Night 204: Volkov vs. Aspinall (2022)

Tom Aspinall's win over Alexander Volkov capped off a classic Fight Night event in London

The most recent entry on this list didn’t feature a title bout at the top of the card, nor did it feature any of the UFC’s biggest names, per say. Instead, Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall was turned into a classic by a mix of wild fights and a truly raucous crowd.

The event was the promotion’s first visit to the UK since 2019, a decision essentially forced upon Dana White and company by the COVID-19 pandemic. When it came to fight time, it was immediately clear that the fans were ready to see some action, and the fighters didn’t disappoint.

Incredibly, just three of the twelve fights on offer went the distance, with the others all ending in wild, violent and entertaining fashion.

It’d be hard to put your finger on one main highlight. Standout moments included Paddy Pimblett’s submission of Kazula Vargas, Molly McCann’s spinning elbow KO of Luana Carolina, and breakout performances from Tom Aspinall and Arnold Allen in the event’s two headline bouts.

Overall, though, this one was more about the red-hot crowd. The reception the London fans gave the fighters instantly made the event far more memorable than the low-key Fight Night events in Las Vegas – and helped to make it one of the best non-pay-per-view events of all time.

#2. UFC Fight Night 143: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw (2019)

Henry Cejudo started the ESPN era with a bang by taking out TJ Dillashaw in 2019

When the UFC made the move to ESPN in 2019, it was the culmination of a dream that Dana White and company had had for years: breaking the promotion, and the sport of MMA, into the biggest mainstream sports network in the US.

Despite their first show with the network coming on the ESPN+ streaming service, the promotion stacked it to high heaven, even sacrificing a pay-per-view in the form of UFC 233 to beef it up.

In the end, this stacked card delivered hugely. Nearly every one of the 13 fights on offer produced ridiculous action. Incredibly, nine of them ended before the final buzzer.

The headliner – a champion vs. champion bout which pitted flyweight kingpin Henry Cejudo against his bantamweight equivalent T.J. Dillashaw – didn’t last long, but ended with a bang, as ‘Triple C’ turned out Dillashaw’s lights after just 32 seconds.

Elsewhere, controversial former NFL star Greg Hardy was disqualified in his octagon debut, while the likes of Glover Teixeira, Paige VanZant, Donald Cerrone and Cory Sandhagen all picked up highly impressive finishes.

Overall, this event was fantastic from top to bottom. It was not only a great way to start the UFC’s ESPN era, it remains one of the promotion’s best non-pay-per-view cards, too.

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#1. UFC on Fox: dos Anjos vs. Cowboy 2 (2015)

The UFC's Fox era peaked with its 17th event on the network, headlined by Rafael Dos Anjos and Donald Cerrone

The UFC produced plenty of tremendous shows during its seven-year relationship with the Fox network. The best of the lot was probably the promotion’s 17th event to air in prime time, an event that took place in December 2015.

The show was headlined by a lightweight title bout between champion Rafael dos Anjos and challenger Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, who was riding a lengthy eight-fight win streak. The co-headliner saw a long-awaited grudge match between heavyweight stars Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem.

In the end, Overeem and dos Anjos came away with their hands raised in those fights, with both men delivering knockouts that were amongst the most memorable of the year.

This event didn’t just have those two outstanding fights, though. It also featured tremendous finishes for Vicente Luque, Nate Marquardt and future lightweight champ Charles Oliveira, the first meeting between Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards, and impressive octagon debuts from two future champions in Valentina Shevchenko and Francis Ngannou.

Add in a classic Nate Diaz performance that saw him pick apart Michael Johnson before unleashing his much-quoted promo on Conor McGregor, and this show is basically untouchable. Simply put, it’s up there with the best UFC shows of all time.