The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) TV series of January 2005 marked a watershed in the history of the UFC. With its brutal final match between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar, the event established mixed martial arts as a mainstream sport.
The UFC would use TUF as a platform of finding its next champions and turning MMA into the fastest-growing sport in the world.
However, before TUF, the UFC had already spent 12 years building its brand and evolving the sport into what we know today.
From its humble beginnings as a one-off event in 1993, to classic showdowns between TIto Ortiz and Ken Shamrock, Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture and BJ Penn and Matt Hughes, the UFC could look back at many of its greatest moments over that time.
This slideshow showcases 25 of the most significant moments in the UFC before TUF. They’re arranged in chronological order and highlight the most important fighters, fights and events in the promotion’s history.