UFC 100: Lesnar vs Mir
Perhaps there were events on the Fourth of July before UFC 100. It doesn’t matter. This is the card that set the standard for years to come. It was the seminal event in the sport and is the card against which all other “mega cards” are compared against. For all the main-stream attention that the UFC has received in recent years, it is still difficult for an event to capture the electric buzz that UFC 100 did back in 2009.
It was the perfect storm of an event. Brock Lesnar had won the heavyweight title, and Frank Mir had won the interim title to set up the rematch between the two at the event. Welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre faced knockout machine Thiago Alves in one of the most dangerous title defenses of his career. To top it off, the grudge match between Ultimate Fighter coaches Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping was scheduled as well.
Fan interest was higher for the event than ever before. It was also the first year of International Fight Week, then still just called the UFC Fan Expo. The event went down as one of the most memorable cards in UFC history.
Lesnar’s victory over Mir that night cemented his place as one of the biggest stars in the sport, and his dominance ignited talks to bring Fedor Emelianenko to the UFC as it seemed the Russian could be the only one who could stop him. For GSP, it was arguably the turning point that elevated him from star to legend. Finally, the event provided the most famous knockout in UFC history for Dan Henderson.
At the time, MMA had never had a bigger night. But the sport grew, and several years later it gave rise to one of the biggest names to ever shock the world of combat sports.
