It was an underdog title that Gustafsson would soon put to the test. He deserved respect with a 15-1 record of his own going into the contest. He showed he belonged at this level immediately by putting pressure on Jones with repeated strikes.

Jones was cut early and it looked as though he wasn’t prepared for what Gustafsson could throw at him. Much to everyone’s surprise, he was able to get through Jones’ infamous takedown defense, though Jones quickly recovered.

The rest of the fight was a back and forth battle that showed plenty of heart and courage. By the end of the fight, Jones’ face was bloodied and both men were exhausted.

It went to a decision with many feeling the underdog had done enough, but the judges disagreed, with Jones declared the winner. It wasn’t the result he wanted but the Swedish fighter had pushed Jones further than anyone expected in an epic battle.

3. Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva (UFC 79)

There are many times in combat sports where the fight just doesn’t live up to the hype. You desperately want to see the contest, only for it to not deliver. At UFC 79, however, the opposite turned out to be true.

The reason this fight had been so anticipated was due to both men fighting under different organizations previously, with Silva in PRIDE and Liddell fighting with UFC. Finally, it was the UFC who were able to bring them together in the octagon.

The start of the fight was very cagey as neither fighter was prepared to engage. That went out the window when things exploded into life with just over a minute to go in the 1st. Both men were swinging hard at each other. That action continued into the 2nd round in a contest where Liddell started to gain the upper hand.

Both men were still able to land significant blows, but Liddell continued to assert his dominance in what ended up being a huge victory for the UFC legend. It was a time where the pre-match hype was truly lived up to with both men given credit for a wonderful contest.