But UFC stopped some good fights from being included....
With an over-the-top buildup leading into UFC 100, Zuffa’s promotional effort for Saturday’s card left virtually no stone unturned, including a countdown that recapped the greatest 100 UFC fights as voted on by fans.
That is, the greatest fights except those involving Frank Shamrock.
The UFC’s first middleweight champ and arguably its biggest star in the late 90s, Shamrock never lost a fight in the Octagon. However, the UFC excluded all of his bouts from fan voting -- even his epic scrap against Tito Ortiz in September 1999 at UFC 22.
In short, Shamrock-Ortiz was one of the UFC’s earliest title bouts that felt like a top championship boxing match, given the buildup and drama that made Shamrock’s fourth-round TKO his finest -- and final -- performance in the Octagon. Giving up more than 20 pounds after the weigh-in, Shamrock calmly and tactically dissected Ortiz in what stands as a masterpiece of strategy, along with a heady dose of down-and-dirty know-how.
Sadly, the bout won’t be featured on the UFC’s countdown that has been airing on Spike TV.
“I thought it was a pivotal fight (in MMA),” Shamrock told Sherdog.com. “Physically and mentally, it was a pivotal fight in the history of the sport itself. It’s obviously pretty ridiculous and childish they left it out. That’s obvious. I was the first-ever champion, and Tito was the first guy in a weight class to work his way up. In my opinion, it was the first real legitimate build-up to a championship fight. It was a real story.”
Shamrock doesn’t get along with Dana White and UFC brass. Nor does Ortiz, another former UFC champion, whose losses only -- not wins -- were made eligible to be voted on by fans. http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/erasing-shamrock-from-the-ufc-history-books-18470
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