The UFC has been an octagon of chaos, mayhem, and fights that have been hyped to extremities. When the men and women have clashed in the ring, blood has been splattered and fireworks have been set off.
Hyping a fight does require a lot more than two fighters coming to verbal blows in a promo or the fans posting tweets to generate buzz. When two Goliaths, in any combat sport have the chance to face off, the fans are ecstatic.
A once in a lifetime opportunity to witness two greats in the same ring is something too alluring to avoid. The marketing department of UFC has been cashing in to such opportunities, to give the fans what they want.
Thus, today we will take a look at some of the UFC fights that went down as the most hyped matches of all time.
#10. Lesnar faces Couture in one of his most hyped UFC fights
Brock Lesnar has been a conqueror of titles and breaker of legendary streaks during his stay in the WWE. When the beast informed about beginning his journey in the UFC world, many an eyebrow was raised.
That, however, did not stop Lesnar to go on to compete for the world heavyweight title against Randy Couture. This would be one of the most hyped fights of his UFC career.
Couture, a huge name in the business stepped out of his retirement to take head-on, the massive Brock Lesnar. Both the men’s charisma and in-ring talent was grandiose enough to generate a hype worth profits.
Huge sales of tickets and skyrocketing levels of excitement were additions to this match. Fans had poured in from everywhere to witness this clash of the two titans.
#9. Conor McGregor knocks down Aldo in 13-second stunner
UFC 189 saw the showdown of a young gun from Ireland and the owner of an undefeated streak in his UFC career. Conor ‘Notorious’ McGregor faced off Jose Aldo inside the ring in 2015.
Everything from the characteristic trash talk of McGregor to play with his opponent’s head, to overselling the fight, UFC did it all. The fans even got into a brawl inside a plane heading to Las Vegas. Such was the excitement for the fight, a build-up so massive that the tickets were sold like hot potatoes.
The match was supposed to go down as a memorable one, which it did, due to 13-second knockout of Irish. McGregor put Aldo to sleep with one well-timed fist, in one of the UFC fights that was hyped immensely.
#8. Sonnen takes on Silva in most hyped UFC rematch fight
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Chael ‘American Gangster’ Sonnen and Anderson ‘Spider’ Silva were the hottest names leading up to their first match in UFC 117. Silva turned the tables in the final round, making Sonnen tap out. The world of MMA needed a rematch, after witnessing a clash of these two greats.
Angered by the way the previous match ended, American Gangster Sonnen was bent on talking trash and annoying his rematch opponent. The Spider was successfully ticked off to shut down his opponent for good this time.
The company sold this match rooting on people’s hunger to watch a heated rivalry. Although Spider finished Sonnen in the second round, the match had generated enormous hype among UFC fights.
#7. Chuck Liddell squares off against Tito Ortiz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vGIyRgqPio
The legendary fight between two former friends that spanned over two matches had garnered tremendous buzz. Two of the most amazing 205 pounder fighters squared off in UFC 47 and 66, going all out.
The two had been at one point in time were training partners which is the origin of their friendship. Ortiz brought this factor up several times, something which led Liddell to believe the Hungtington Beach Bad-Boy was avoiding the bout.
Ortiz, an expert trash-talker, was at his A-game, talking trash before the match. The UFC made the immense promotion of these matches, wanting the best out of the two former friends. Their first-ever encounter inside the octagon made Mike Goldberg say, “the friendship is over”.
Millions of viewers were roped in due to the over-the-top promotions and what the matches had to offer. Both of the matches had been among the most hyped fights in the history of UFC.
#6. Rousey faces iff Holms in one of her most hyped UFC fights
The hype leading up to the match between Holly Holms and Rhonda Rousey was screeching loud. However, it was all one-sided as Rousey had hogged all the limelight, given her superstar status.
UFC was quick to bill on to this fight by releasing an amazin trailer that it captured the entire hype. YouTube or Tweeter was not enough, even Ellen Degeneres made the debut of the trailer, in her show. This was the definition of huge.
Every medium was made to promote the fight and get ticket sales high. On the night of the fight, the two women faced off, where Rousey suffered a catastrophic defeat.
A knockout defeat that had the entire MMA fan-verse reeling, stayed relevant for several months to follow. People were talking of the most hyped fight of Rousey’s career and the shocking way it came to an end.
#5. Lesnar’s rematch against Frank Mir at UFC 100
The Beast Brock Lesnar once again finds mention in this list, given his panache towards the sport. This time, it was a rematch where Lesnar had to prove his worth, for real.
When the beast incarnate of WWE debuted in UFC, there were many naysayers. These people were rather cheerful when Lesnar had to lose to Mir in his first match, by an armbar.
Seething with anger, and desperate for revenge, this was Lesnar’s chance of redemption. The second match was sold way too much by UFC that it is considered as one of the most hyped fights.
The second time when the duo met in the ring in UFC 100, Lesnar proved himself beyond doubt. He defeated Mir with the same submission and talked trash at the defeated Mir, after sealing his victory.
#4. Cormier Vs Jones in their most hyped UFC fight
Jon Jones was the champion at that time, while Cormier was a successful olympian with enough guts to take on the champion. The world of UFC did not know what to expect from these two when they clashed, but it would be something legendary.
However, the fans were in for a little early treat as DC and JJ in fact, started brawling at the promotional event, before they met at UFC 178. Fists were charged and the set was decimated by the two charged-up men.
They had even attacked each other verbally one time when they were unaware that the cameras were on. This would later come to be known as the incident of ‘hot-mic’.
Every little emotion and feelings were used as a selling point, as UFC aimed to sell this match as one of the most hyped fights. Millions of vielwers were attracted to see how the two fighters who had so much rage in them, square off.
Despite JJ securing a rather unquestionable victory, the hype leading up to the match was one to root for.
#3. St. Pierre faces Shields in Canada
Georges St. Pierre is among the best fighters to have walked down the aisle to the octagon of all time. UFC 129 featured him as the major attraction, so the company needed equally big names to keep things balanced.
Adorned with talents like MacDonald, Diaz, and the great Randy Couture, the Canadian audience was in for excitement. The opponent to GSP that night for the UFC event was Shields, hyped as one of the most must-see fights.
The event was hosted at Rogers Center, with the total attendance of 55,000 UFC-loving fans. This was a record of the highest number of audience for any live event of UFC.
#2. The hyped up rivalry of GSP and Diaz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbQK7R061LU
Georges St. Pierre is a rather well-composed, collected individual, with the title of welterweight under his belt. Nick Diaz from Stockton, however, did manage to disrupt the cool temper of GSP, with his foul-mouthed trash talk.
The two were initially supposed to square off at UFC 137, where Diaz instead, defeated BJ Penn. In the fit of adrenaline and rage, he screamed into the camera, “Where you at Georges?” followed by rather crass swear words.
He added in the interview following his fight that GSP was afraid to face him in the octagon. This was the beginning of an enmity stretching almost a couple of years.
St. Pierre retorted back saying Diaz is a phony, who had managed to expose the dark part of him. UFC did not let this opportunity slide and started selling it, hyping it as the grandest bouts of that year.
Although, when Diaz and GSP did face each other the audience did not enjoy it as much as they were supposed to. However, the buzz generated was worth the tickets sold.
#1. Conor McGregor against Nate Diaz rematch
This was a rematch, where the Notorious had to take on Diaz who had defeated him in UFC 196. McGregor has the aura to capture the crowd and turn it towards his favor. An obvious crowd favorite, this rematch was a must-see event.
The fan-verse was ecstatic with anticipation as to how would Irish retort, what would be his gameplan. UFC capitalized on this and promoted the fight tremendously.
It was to be an event featuring one fight, in UFC 202. The entire event revolved around the bout of Diaz and McGregor and speculations were high.
The gate set was a little under $7.7 million, fifth-highest ever of UFC. MMA Payout reported the PPV purchases had surpassed 1.6 million.
Such was the buzz regarding one of the most hyped UFC fights of McGregor’s excellent career.
For five non-stop rounds, these two phenoms faced each other, as the crowd exploded with excitement. The hype and the buzz had paid off.
