Las Vegas is truly a special place for combat sports. The place is known for live casino gambling and sports: It has even been nicknamed the boxing capital in the world. This is because the city has hosted iconic pugilists such as Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, and Muhamad Ali.
If you are a boxing fanatic, watching a live match could be the best thing at the MGM Grand Arena. This also goes to boxers because they dream of fighting under the lights of Las Vegas. It, therefore, means people have received some of the best entertainment while in Las Vegas. That’s why the casino industry hasn’t been left behind: you can now play the latest live casino games without leaving the comfort of your home. This will give you a feeling similar to live individual gambling in Las Vegas.
Nonetheless, UFC and Las Vegas have a rich history because the city has promoted most of their matches. In these matches, we picked the biggest UFC fights staged in this city.
Let’s get started:
Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin
This is one of the most important fights held in Las Vegas. If it was not about the two fighters tearing the house down in 2005, UFC probably could not have been where it is today.
During this match, UFC was given a chance to produce something extraordinary. If it could not have given the best in the match, it would have possibly lost a TV deal. That’s when Bonnar and Griffin arrived for the occasion. It propelled MMA to mainstream the fight, thus setting a benchmark for other fights in the future.
These two Light Heavyweight prospects did their best for a six-figure UFC contract. When the fight was on the third round, the fans had knelt.
Even today, among all the fights held in Las Vegas, this remains the greatest in history.
Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva
The other UFC fight worth noting is a fight between Chuck and Wanderlei. This was after the hilarious botchy Silva promotion from UFC 61. UFC had spent over a year before they could put these two veterans in the Octagon. The surprising thing about the match is that it became the UFC 79th main event. Matt and Georges Pierre headlined the match in their rubber fight.
Luckily, the fans got their money’s worth when Liddell and Silva were involved in a stand-up shutdown. It was a great fight with everything to expect. That is because it was a fight for two established names with a satisfying pay-off.
Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard
Great things are said about mixed martial arts, UFC. However, the fight between Edgar and Maynard is among the greatest trilogies in history. These two lightweights had their first fight when no one had a spotless record. It was a great fight where Maynard handled Edgar to become his first MMA loss.
After that, Edgar was motivated to train hard for his 5-fight win streak. One of his most significant winnings was defending the lightweight title. In addition, Maynard did follow with similar winning, only to lose to Edgar at UFC 125 in Las Vegas.
On the other hand, Maynard emerged the winner after rocking Edgar using a left hook during their second fight. Edgar also received a barrage of punches that finished him off. Luckily, Edgar showed resilience through the fight to avoid losing easily. It was a 5-round slugfest fight and could be justified as a draw. This fight was even awarded an MMA award and termed the Fight of the Year.
