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As the UFC closes in on its landmark UFC 200 card on July 9 in Las Vegas, its important to remember how it got here.?Looking back over the promotions 23 years, there are three factors to consider when creating a list of the most important numbered UFC events.The first is the entertainment factor. Which fights had you on the edge of your seat, producing the types of moments you had to discuss with your friends at work in the days that followed? The second is financial. Sometimes its the pay-per-view, attendance or live gate numbers alone that can make an event important. Finally, it needs to be an event that had a role in the development of both the UFC and mixed martial arts as a whole.?These are the events that helped get the sport to where it is today, creating superstars who became legends.10. UFC 40: Vendetta (Nov. 22, 2002)Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas Main event: Tito Ortiz TKO3 Ken Shamrock,?defends light heavyweight title Of note:?Set UFC mark with $1.54 million gate; the reported 150,000 PPV buys were the most since UFC 5Why it mattered: The bad blood between Ortiz and Shamrock had been building for years and boiled over in this grudge match. The rivalry garnered interest from mainstream media outlets such as ESPN, USA Today, and Fox Sports Nets Best Damn Sports Show Period, and the event went on to outsell its more recent UFC cards by a 3-to-1 margin on PPV. On the undercard, Chuck Liddell provided a sizzle-reel knockout of Renato Babalu Sobral by landing a head kick before finishing with punches. Seven total UFC champions (including Shamrocks SuperFight title) competed on the card. It also marked the debut of Joe Rogan on color commentary.9. UFC 31: Locked and Loaded (May 4, 2001)Venue: Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey Main event: Randy Couture UD Pedro Rizzo, defends heavyweight title Of note: First event with modern-day weight classesWhy it mattered: In the second event under Zuffa ownership, eight fighters who either had or would go on to hold UFC gold competed on this card. Couture-Rizzo was considered the fight of the year in 2001, Chuck Liddell recorded a first-round KO over Kevin Randleman,?and?UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn made his pro debut, beating Joey Gilbert via first-round TKO. Also of note, Shonie Carter?scored a highlight-reel spinning-back-fist KO of Matt Serra. The sport was growing up, and this event had a lot to do with it.8. UFC 194 (Dec. 12, 2015)Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas Main event: Conor McGregor KO1 Jose Aldo, unifies featherweight titles Of note: $10.1 million gate, 1.2 million PPV buysWhy it mattered: The night Mystic Mac became a living legend. During the week leading up to the main event, McGregor predicted exactly what would happen in his one-punch, 13-second KO of Aldo, who hadnt lost in a decade. The knockout snapped Aldos six-year title reign (including WEC) and elevated McGregor into the level of superstardom we see today (see McGregor-Mayweather hype). In the co-main event, Luke Rockhold took the middleweight belt from Chris Weidman with a fourth-round TKO.7. UFC 47: Its On! (April 2, 2004)Venue: Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas Main event: Chuck Liddell KO2 Tito Ortiz Of note: $1.4 million live gate, 105,000 PPV buysWhy it mattered: Immediately after the fight, Joe Rogan said, Ive never seen Chuck go at somebody with that kind of intensity. Fans clamored to see this one, but it took more than a year for the fight between the former training partners to materialize. Liddell made Ortiz feel his power at the end of the first round. In the second, Liddell threw a barrage of punches to earn the stoppage. The win, which followed a 2003 in which Liddell went 1-2, set up a legendary run for The Iceman. After coaching the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, he captured the light heavyweight title the following April from Randy Couture, part of a stretch in which he recorded seven straight wins by knockout, capped off by a second TKO win over Ortiz at UFC 66.6. UFC 71 (May 26, 2007)Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas Main event: Quinton Rampage Jackson KO1 Chuck Liddell, wins light heavyweight title Of note: $4.34 million gate, beginning of consistent mainstream coverageWhy it mattered: The end of the Liddell era, which set the foundation for the sports mainstream evolution. This was the event that proved to mainstream media that MMA and the UFC were here to stay, with Liddell gracing the cover of ESPN The Magazine during the buildup to the fight. It was notable for producing a SportsCenter debate between the UFCs Joe Rogan and boxing promoter Lou DiBella on the merits of the sport. Lets just call it a TKO win for Rogan. ESPNEWS covered the weigh-in live and provided additional live coverage after the event. The following week, Sports Illustrated ran a cover featuring the headline Ultimate Fighting: Too brutal or the future?5. UFC 196 (March 5, 2016)Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas Main event: Nate Diaz?SUB2 Conor McGregor Of note: $8.1 million gate,?1.5 million PPV buysWhy it mattered: Pandemonium! Originally set as a lightweight superfight between McGregor and 155-pound champion Rafael dos Anjos, RDA pulled out with a broken foot. On 11 days notice, Diaz stepped into the limelight. Never has more noise been made at a news conference held at a UFC gym than the madness produced at their first one in Torrance, California. The fun continued all the way to fight night, when Diaz did what seemed impossible: beating the seemingly infallible McGregor. Diaz burst into stardom after the fight, while McGregors wallet and profile didnt seem to take a major hit despite the defeat. Not to be forgotten, Miesha Tate pulled off one of the most dramatic submission victories in title fight history by choking?Holly Holm unconscious in the fifth round to capture the womens bantamweight title.4. UFC 129 (April 30, 2011)Venue: Rogers Centre, Toronto Main event: Georges St-Pierre UD Jake Shields, defends welterweight title Of note: 55,724 attendance, $12.075 million gateWhy it mattered: The first stadium show, with an attendance record that held until this past Novembers UFC 193 in Australia. The live-gate record still stands. In the UFCs first foray into Ontario, Canada, GSP owned the night in his native country with a unanimous decision victory over Shields. The card marked the final fight in the Hall of Fame career of Randy Couture, who was knocked out by Lyoto Machida with a jumping front kick. It also featured the UFC debuts of Jose Aldo and Benson Henderson, who came over from the WEC. The UFC has gone on to hold just three other events in stadiums (UFC on Fox: Gustafsson vs. Johnson in Sweden, UFC 193 in Australia and UFC 198 in Brazil).3. UFC 189 (July 11, 2015)Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas Main event: Conor McGregor TKO2 Chad Mendes, wins interim featherweight title Of note:?First event with Reebok kits, $7.2 million gateWhy it mattered: It was a magical night in Las Vegas, with amazing finishes in all five PPV bouts. Starting with Thomas Almeidas flying-knee KO of Brad Pickett, the momentum kept building through Gunnar Nelsons submission and Jeremy Stephens own flying-knee KO. In the co-main event, welterweight champion?Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald put on an all-time classic, with Lawler getting the stoppage in the fifth round while down on the cards. Before the main event, the atmosphere at the MGM Grand was electric, with Aaron Lewis and Sinead OConnor performing the walkout songs. McGregor rose from hyped contender to champion by knocking on Mendes, setting off a stream of Irish fans to celebrate in Vegas that night.2. UFC 1 (November 12, 1993)Venue: McNichols Arena, Denver Main event: Royce Gracie SUB Gerard Gordeau to win eight-man tournament Of note: The Gracie family reigned supremeWhy it mattered: From the very first bout of the night, with Gordeau kicking?Teila Tuli?square in the face 26 seconds in, combat sports changed forever. I think commentator and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown put it best in his analysis by saying, I think it was totally on the face. Awesome, awesome. Tooth came out. But the card is best remembered for putting Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and the UFC on the map. Gracie needed only 4:55 to submit three opponents (Art Jimmerson via mount, Ken Shamrock via rear-naked choke, Gordeau via choke) en route to winning three of the first four UFC tournaments.1. UFC 100 (July 11, 2009)Venue: Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas Main event: Brock Lesnar TKO2 Frank Mir, defends heavyweight title Of note: UFC-record 1.6 million PPV buysWhy it mattered: Capped by Lesnars mauling of Mir in their rematch and the legendary WWE heel promo he delivered after the main event, UFC 100 is still the card that media and fans look back to as the one. The main card started with Yoshihiro Akiyama defeating Alan Belcher and his massive Johnny Cash tattoo in the fight of the night. Dan Henderson then knocked Michael Bisping out with a hellacious punch that was so devastating, Henderson still sells shirts on his website with an outline of his body flying in the air about to level Bisping. Georges St-Pierre dominated Thiago Alves to defend his welterweight title. The card was so stacked that Jon Jones made his third appearance with the company on the undercard, submitting Jake OBrien. Chris Pronger Jersey . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. Josh Manson Jersey . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. https://www.cheapducks.com/377c-jean-sebastien-giguere-jersey-ducks.html . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. Josh Mahura Jersey . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. Erik Gudbranson Jersey . "It was nerve-wracking, but we pulled through," said Collaros, who threw four touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts (8-4) to a 33-27 win over the Calgary Stampeders (9-3) in front of 28,781 fans at McMahon Stadium. For Chris Weidman of Baldwin, New York, fighting in the UFCs maiden Madison Square Garden card always appeared to be a shoe-in. However, the neck injury he sustained earlier this year made it a long shot.If I would have done the fusion, the chances of me fighting in New York would have been really tough, Weidman told ESPN.com regarding some initial recommendations by physicians. It would have been really pushing it.On May 17, Weidman (13-1) was removed from a middleweight title rematch with Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 due to a cervical disk herniation. After undergoing an MRI, Weidman met with three different doctors, all of whom suggested fusion surgery to repair the injury. Facing a serious procedure with a prolonged recovery time, Weidman decided to educate himself and get different opinions because neck [surgery] is a scary surgery.Two opinions that provided hope for Weidman came from UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman and Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle. Both former standout wrestlers recommended that Weidman meet with Dr. Hae Dong Jho in Pittsburgh, who developed a non-invasive surgery with a shorter recovery time.Five days after the man who replaced him at UFC 199, Michael Bisping, captured the belt in an upset, Weidman underwent surgery in New York with Dr. K. Daniel Riew. Two weeks after the surgery, the former champ felt like I could do everything again. After six weeks, he was back to full training. A few months later -- with a neck thats feeling great -- The All-American set his sights toward a spot in the first card at the worlds most famous arena.For one of the preeminent faces of New York MMA -- a man whose hometown held a day in his honor for beating Anderson Silva -- Weidman will get his chance to fight in front of his local fans against Yoel Romero (11-1). Gone are the days of 3-hour-plus drives to Atlantic City, where Weidman made his debut with Ring of Combat. Now, Weidmans local fans can take the Long Island Rail Road directly to MSG.Weidman was part of the UFCs campaign to get the sport legalized, and when the vote passed the legislature via a 113-25 margin on March 22, he told WICZ-Binghamton it was a dream come true. Now, nearly eight months later, Weidman is ready to make the walk.I dont really feel extra nervous that its in New York, Weidman said. I put a lot of pressure on myself just to go out there and dominate and separate myself from the guy Im standing across from. I dont think you can put more pressure on yourself than that.Romero is an Olympic silver medalist in freestyle wrestling, and this battle between the thhird- (Weidman) and fourth-ranked (Romero) middleweights, according to ESPN.ddddddddddddcom, offers an interesting test to see which fighters wrestling skills translate better inside the cage.According to FightMetric, Weidman completes nearly double the amount of takedowns (3.52-to-1.85) as Romero, and at a much higher percentage (55-35). Weidman edges Romero in takedown defense percentage as well (81-75). It will be both fighters first bouts since last Decembers UFC 194. While Weidman lost his championship belt to Rockhold via fourth-round TKO, Romero defeated Ronaldo Jacare Souza by split decision for his seventh consecutive victory.A month later, Romero was flagged for a potential violation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Facing up to a two-year ban, the 39-year-old claimed the positive test was due to a contaminated supplement he was taking. USADA independently confirmed the claim, which led to the two sides agreeing to a reduced six-month suspension. Despite Romero getting cleared, Weidman still has his suspicions about his opponent this Saturday.Theres such gray area in there where you can set it up to where you look innocent. Anybody who fails a drug test, in my eyes, you failed a drug test -- thats on you, and youve got to live with that, Weidman said. Im just hoping that USADA is drug testing him. If he is taking stuff, I hope hes crapping his pants that USADA is going to hopefully catch on to whatever theyre all taking.This fight isnt necessarily a No. 1 contenders bout; however, the pathway to a title shot became easier when Rockhold pulled out of his Nov. 26 fight against Souza with a knee injury. Other top middleweights are in action later this month, too. Gegard Mousasi, ranked sixth according to ESPN.com, looks to avenge a loss to Uriah Hall on Nov. 19. Robert Whittaker and Derek Brunson, ranked eighth and ninth, respectively, square off on the 26th in Australia.The current champ Bisping has already told SiriusXM Rush he wouldnt want to fight Romero if victorious due to the positive drug test.As for the former champ Weidman, hes only looking to control whats ahead of him.I think good things happen if I just go out there and do what I feel like I can do against Romero, Weidman said. I cant waste my time thinking about different scenarios and if its unfair or not unfair. Im not at that point right now where I could do that. Im just focused on the camp, Im focused on Romero, thats it. ' ' '