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UFC 100: Rematch between UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar and Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir, July 11, 2009.

#Brock Lesnar #Frank Mir #UFC #UFC 100 #MMA #Mixed Martial Arts

Looking Back On UFC 100's 5 Year Anniversay and My Introduction to MMA

It's been five whole years since the UFC put on what was marketed as a monumental event, UFC 100. An event so big that a Georges St-Pierre title defense was just the second biggest fight on the card. This show was my true introduction to MMA. It was the first show that I tuned into purposefully, and as I look back on the past five years, this show greatly influenced the way I watch and experience the sport of Mixed Martial Arts.

The first time I ever gave any attention to the UFC was just a few days prior to UFC 100. It was a great time to be a fan just getting into the sport, because Spike TV made a habit of airing as much UFC content as possible. Up until that point, I had shunned the sport in favor of my first television love, Professional Wrestling. It seems only fitting that the first thing to catch my eye would be the ending moments of Brock Lesnar's win over Randy Couture. The combination of being familiar with Lesnar as a star and physical spectacle, and being there for the end of a heavyweight championship fight rebroadcast on cable television had me curious for more. It was no more changing the channel on UFC for me. I was quickly given an introduction to some great aspects of the sport, knockouts given and received by Chuck Liddell, GSP's great time in the welterweight title picture, and the one that was of most interest to me, Frank Mir's kneebar submission victory over Brock Lesnar.

I've watched just about every PPV since UFC 100, but I don't think I was hot for any of them the way I was for that one. The second I saw a commercial for the rematch between Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar, I knew I had to see that fight.

Though I came into the card based solely on the main event, the undercard fights delivered in a fantastic way. The Fight of the Night winning performances of Yoshihiro Akiyama and Alan Belcher and the highlight reel knockout of Michael Bisping by Dan Henderson were obvious great moments, but I even loved the domination of Thiago Alves by Georges St-Pierre. People like to give the championship reign of GSP plenty of criticism, but my first full championship fight was a dominant decision by the Canadian, and since then I've always loved those kinds of dominant shut downs just as much as I love a good knockout or submission. It would only get more exciting for me once I came to know GSP's opponents and how good they were.

When the main event began and I was introduced to the two great heavyweight champions there was something special to the moment. I may not have known Thiago Alves, or any other non-champion on the card, but god did I know about these two men. I practically grew up being sold on Brock Lesnar's amateur wrestling career by the WWE, andhaving watched all of his fights I was beyond sold on the idea that the man was a true physically gifted animal. Convinced as I was of Brock's athletic greatness, that kneebar loomed over my head, joined at this point by plenty of Frank Mir's other fantastic performances. The level of doubt I had going into this fight was astounding, not only because I had an elementary understanding of both men's talents, but because after seeing their first bout, I knew that momentum could shift at any moment, and a dominant performance could be turned around if the wrong thing happened.

The beating that ensued was equal parts unexpected and impressive, but it was also dwarfed by Brock's post fight antics, where madness reigned and Brock's image became one of the giant fist wielding, spitting, sponsor dissing beast. What a way to end 100 shows and my first! Except Jon Fitch and Paulo Thiago came on to have their fight after that, leaving me bewildered.

At the end of the day, I can't ask for a better introduction to the sport of MMA. It's been ages since I've looked at this card, but it's fascinating to see the amount of named on the undercard that I'm heavily familiar with now. Five years can go by quickly and it's strange to think of the number of hours I've spent focused on the octagon. Here's hoping UFC 200 is just as great at bringing new fans like myself in. I'm certainly looking forward to my interest being given a new light.

#UFC #MMA #Brock Lesnar #georges st-pierre #UFC 100