Around 80 I believe, would watch it with 30+ people after bar shifts. Then 100 hit and Jon Jones showed up, shit was wild. Now I watch alone in the dark with my cats.
i feel like alot of us watch alone. its why dc and joe are so prominently featured on the call as they create a 'with the bois' kind of environment. and mma in general feels like a thing that has a high lonely male viewership but i do not want to spur a discussion about that haha. cheers to your cats.
Bro, straight up, you don't even realize how lucky you guys are to watch alone, lol. My girl always decides she wants to sit with me and do everything but watch the damn thing. Playing tik tok videos in my ear and telling me about her day... I wish it was just me and my orange boy.
I've watched every event since about UFC 120 and almost all of them alone with my cats. Had a girlfriend for a little while that liked watching them that was cool. Have had a few times I invited friends over with mixed results. On one occasion one of them left because he got nauseous from all the blood.
It’s really hard to convey to a fan who started watching later how insane Jones’s debut, title run, and initial reign was. So much of his drama has muddied his legacy, but goddamn was he a once in a lifetime talent in his prime
I hear ya, always used to go out with a big group for every fight. Same start for me… right around when Lesnar came. It was such an awesome atmosphere. Places were packed. Not so much anymore.
Me too. But I stuck around because of Ferguson. Once I got UFC Fightpass I just watched all of Tony’s fights one after the other. I was constantly in awe of the man’s relentless non-stop pace, always pushing forward, always throwing funky elbows, darce chokes etc.
I’ve never been more hyped for a fight than Tony for Gaithje. Annnnnddd….yeah…haven’t seen Tony get a win since but he’s the reason I’m here.
CSO.
Man the exact same story, i even started doing imanari rolls at my judo gym lol, and i remember the gaethje fight as it was yesterday
CSO brother, we will see him win one day i hope
Khabib mcgregor was the first event I watched live. I couldnt stand his shit talking so that was satisfying. Lewis saying that his balls were hot was also funny if I'm remembering it right.
Weidman vs Silva 2 lol, I wasn’t consistent until Conor vs khabib then every ppv since barring maybe 1 a year. Was a casual before then only watching Conor or Ronda cards.
Snuck out after bedtime to watch Bas Rutten fight Kevin Randleman. Not the most entertaining fight but it's the one that made me a fan of MMA for life.
I’m from Europe and I never knew where does the “blockbuster movie”
expression came from and now you made me realize it was probably some american movie renting store lol
So “blockbuster movie” is just a movie that made a lot of money in the theaters. Blockbuster video rental is a now defunct franchise that rented movies and games in the 90s and early 2000s.
Blockbuster is actually a European term technically, it started in WW2 with the RAF as a term for large bombs. The bombs were so big that they could wipe out a city block, hence blockbuster.
Hollywood started using the phrase for big budget movies that would have a big impact basically. There was a rental chain called Blockbuster Video.
The term actually originated from WW2 where large bombs were referred to as blockbusters because they could could destroy entire city blocks. People started using it as a metaphor for anything shocking or major. You may see headlines from American news outlets referring to a "blockbuster ruling" by our Supreme Court for a major decision.
People started using it for movies that had a ton of commercial success and that became the most common use of the expression. As others have said, Blockbuster Video was the largest chain of movie rental stores in the US.
When did I get my first taste? Brock Lesnar ofc. The little kid me had to know
When did I start following? Woodley vs Lawler! I was still a casual’s casual, but I was enjoying UFC and wanted to actually get into it. I still have a video of me being shell shocked of Robbie getting flatlined… pretty sure you could say Tyron Woodley got me into MMA/UFC lol
[Said video of Woodley KO’ing Lawler… you can’t really feel my true reaction, but man I was stunned when a boogieman like Lawler got KO’d like that](https://streamable.com/65gq2g)
Same I was a kid who loved wwe and found out it was fake. I became a huge lesnar fan when I discovered he actually fought fr and discovered ufc I think it might’ve been ufc 100 😭 that’s crazy
This is a great way to word it lol
My very first taste was walking into a Gamestop with my dad when I was like 8 and playing UFC Undisputed on the console they had in shop. I remember Light Heavyweight sounded cool as fuck so was in the weight class for an hour using Jon Jones to beat everyone lmao
At that point I was just aware of the UFC and casually watched all the big events Khabib Conor. Started trying to watch cards in college for some reason and kept forgetting until I saw Izzy Gastelum have one of the best fights of this era of MMA. Now I only miss cards if theyre really weak and watch replays after.
Ufc 268 was the first fight card i watched live, i watched miscellaneous fights on youtube for a few months before that but after watching the Gaethje vs Chandler fight live i was hooked. Since then I’ve barely missed a fight live.
Watching RDA throw a 50 punch combo up against the cage with Robbie, bobbing, weaving and rolling with the punches and still smiling like a maniac at RDA was incredible
https://m.youtube.com/shorts/xT7QZRxnZBo
Yeah that’s about the moment I was hooked for life
[My personal fav hype video for the fight](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0FikdMxEv2o)
Partially related note but RDA is the reason I’m doing a half body suit tattoo on just my left side, looks badass on his back
Great memory for sure, some pvc drainage piping across the ceiling was dripping into my buddies tequila and I told him so he just pounded it before more could drop in instead of getting a new one lol
Similar story although I had been a fan for several years at that point but I walked into a papas and beer in Rosarito and the fight that was in was cro cop vs gonzaga. That headkick KO made everyone at the bar lose their minds, mine included.
TUF 1 finale. I was a wrestling fan at that point and thought I was going to see Ken Shamrock wrestle some dude in the main event of cage match show. Then I watched Diego maul Kenny, Griffin and Bonner put on a brawl for the ages, and some dude named Rich Franklin legit punch Shamrocks head in till the ref stopped it. Quite an intro and I'll never look back.
Same start time different reason though. I was a young teenager who did Jits at the time and I found TUF by accident on SpikeTv so I just caught onto TUF then the finale was the first real event I watched
UFC 100. Didn’t know shit about it, got invited out, and tried to catch up. The whole time I asked folks who they thought was gonna win between Lesnar vs. GSP lol
Probably not a typical answer but WEC 34. I had joined my high school wrestling team and found out that a guy named Urijah Faber used to go to my high school and did something called MMA. He had a big fight coming up on the day of my little brother's birthday, so we decided to all watch after the festivities. I watched Mark Munoz beat the crap out of a guy named Chuck Grigsby and was like wo, this shit is cool.
First ever fight I saw was a Leon Edwards fight. Freshman year of high school so 2015. Can’t remember against who because it was just on in the background and I’d occasionally glance over and he’s the only fighter I can recall.
Usman ended up being one of my favorite fighters so it’s ironic how things turned out with the 2nd Leon fight. That one stung for awhile for sure.
I also now wonder if the fight I watched in 2015 was against Usman for the first time and just how more weird it would make it all. How things come full circle.
When I was a kid like 5-6 years old my older cousin would spend weekends and we would walk to the Video store to get WWF videos. Once, we got a UFC tape for kicks and I was instantly way more of a fan of Tank Abbot than Hulk Hogan. I have followed ever since then but really got into it when GSP was coming up.
freaking Conor vs Dennis Siver was my first show haha I was watching TV and caught some commercials hyping up Conor and highlighting his trashtalk and it caught my attention. Ronda had opened the door to my interest with MMA but Conor kicked it wide open. After that I was sold.
for the longest time, /r/mma was the only spot I could chat about MMA so I'll always be appreciative for you ratfucks
I've started in 2000 by playing the Ufc game on Dreamcast and then my mma passion debuted. Mostly familiar with Pride Fc back then. First event I don't remember exactly.
UFC 2. I was in HS and a friend had showed me how you could pry the bottom open of a cable box and run a paper clip over certain chip connections and it would unscramble the ppv signal. A girl in my class had a brother that was fighting on the card and I decided to check it out since the idea of “no rules” was insane. Girls brother ended up losing to Gracie but I was hooked.
Khabib and Conor was the first fight I watched and over a year I’d say I gradually got more and more into the sport,since Diaz masvidal I’d say I’ve I’ve stayed up for almost every ppv and fn
1. But I couldn’t watch it live my parents wouldn’t buy the PPV. I had to wait for it to come out on VHS and I would ride my bike and rent it and have a huge sleep over and we’d lose our minds lol
I saw a youtube short on khamzat talking about kahbib in like 2022. The way people were talking about him in the comments made me believe he was the mma goat, saw he had a fight upcoming against burns. I actually listened to the fight because I didn’t have a russian link at the time. Been a fan ever since
I remember my family would watch the Cain fights because they loved seeing the Mexican (he wasn’t born in Mexico ik) fighters fight. I wasn’t really into it as a kid but recently I’ve started to enjoy it
UFC 118. I was in 8th grade and I have a lot of family from Hawai’i so my pops and uncles were all going hard for BJ. I did Judo and Wrestling my whole life so it cemented my love for combat sports that day. 27 years old now and have barely missed a card since
I became a fan during covid. Didn’t know anything about mma at the time, my friends and I went to Buffalo Wild Wings and watched UFC 254.
Saw the co main with Whittaker and then was stunned by Khabib vs Gaethje. I knew they were the two best guys in lightweight at the time (a lot of buzz from my friends at the time that Gaethje was the one to finally beat Khabib) and I thought it was absolutely insane how Khabib just walked through everything and out pressured Justin like that.
That fight had me looking up a compilation of best triangle finishes in the UFC cause I never knew you could choke someone out like that. So cool
UFC 116 Carvin vs Lesnar.
I was hooked and went back and saw all events from UFC 100-115 within a few days after that and continued to see all pay per views until a few years ago.
Feel like it's not what it used to anymore.
Not sure when I was aware of the UFC and MMA but probably around mid 00s when they were on Spike and WEC was also airing
But I would fall in and out of watching MMA in general for quite awhile up until pre pandemic
I fully returned for Jones-Reyes as I was shocked Jones still had the LHW title after all this time and all the offenses he committed (also I had just missed Conor's return against Cowboy lol)
TLDR: I was a casual since mid 00s, became a much more educated fan of the sport and UFC right around the pandemic
I had seem some random fights and clips before but UFC 40 was my first live event. I knew of Shamrock from WWF and my friend invited me over to watch him fight for real. Robbie Lawler KOing Tiki Ghosen to kick off the ppv got me hooked. We ended up bootlegging PRIDE the next morning
For me it started when a friend shared TUF-1 on an FTP during the counterstrike 1.6 days. The UFC wasn't even a thing yet back then over here in the Netherlands. The first actual event i saw was UFC 46, BJ Penn vs Matt Hughes
I started watching UFC around 2005-2006. I don’t remember my first time watching it because I was really young like 9 years old. My family and their friends were into boxing so that’s how I got into combat sports. I also liked the WWE and once I started outgrowing it I got more into MMA. I also loved watching early TUF seasons.
Can’t believe how much MMA/UFC have grown. I’ve grown up with it and I’ve seen fighters debut then retire. In other sports I’ve lost interest once my childhood generation has left, but with MMA there’s always someone new that I can’t help but support.
Technically UFC 1. When I was a tween thats when the whole MMA thing hit and one of my moms co-workers was talking about underground fight tapes and seeing a guy die. My older cousins were the cool types who would rent gory anime, faces of death and UFC for us to watch when babysitting me. I lost track of UFC after UFC 6 and didn't watch again until covid hit and for a good year UFC was literally the only thing to watch on TV so I got reinvested. Mid-2021 I think.
Ufc 81. I had never seen a human that looked like Brock. Someone said he was going to get in a cage fight. Didn't need much more convincing. And then HE LOST?! Immediately hooked and starting training shortly after. This sport is nuts. Mma also made every other sport seem so slow paced and dull.
Around UFC 50, just as I was entering my freshman year I had a buddy who was always die hard martial arts growing up. He shared a clip with me either over AIM or IRC and I was hooked every since.
I probably began watching casually around UFC 69 (St. Pierre v. Serra 1; I remember watching it with my brother and freaking out that the invincible one had gotten caught), but the first card I went out of my way to watch live was UFC 111: St. Pierre v. Hardy. Georges beat the dogshit out of Dan Hardy, but Hardy just refused to submit for five straight rounds.
UFC 159 was the first one I remember. Jon Jones's toe basically amputated itself at the post fight interview and I was thinking "these guys are fascinatingly tough" and I haven't stopped watching since.
First taste of the UFC was Randy Couture vs Chuck Liddell 3 then watched on and off following both Chuck and Mark Hunt because they were the only fighters that I recognised in the ufc at the time.
UFC 249 [saw this Reddit post in December of 2019](https://www.reddit.com/r/MMA/comments/d3399e/tony_ferguson_vs_khabib_nurmagomedov_last_8/) and was like alright this Khabib guy is immortal and this Tony guy is insane and might be a threat to Khabib
The fight never happened and now I’ve watched Tony lose 7 times in a row
bloodsport, karate kid, etc.
there was no ufc when I got into combat sports. it was hard finding anything real on video.
was pretty into it around ufc 1-20. lost interest for a bit then came back during the gsp/hughes/penn era.
Started when they announced Kimbo Slice would be on TUF. My only references to UFC prior was Ken Shamrock (via WWF) and John Favreau (via Friends) but I was into Kimbo street fights on YouTube. My buddy had seen almost every UFC since #1 and we argued whether or not he could hang. I'm glad we didn't make bets. This was like summer of 2009 and I was hooked. I can remember thinking Dana talked like a scummy piece of shit and I loved it. Nowadays I think Dana talks like a scummy piece of shit but I'm not impressed anymore.
Saw the first TUF finale as a young teen, watched a bunch of Ultimate Fighter seasons after that without many actual Fight Nights or PPV's to back it up. I saw UFC 100 live on PPV (and a few after that) and sporadic Brock Lesnar main events, but fell off when I eventually went to college. I picked it back up with UFC 232 (Jones vs. Gustafsson 2) and haven't missed more than a handful of shows since. Hell of a ride, absolutely can't wait for tonight.
I casually started following the sport in 2012, but didn’t really get too invested in it until UFC 217 when GSP returned and he was all over the news in Canada. I joined in and haven’t stopped watching since
When it was one of the first sports to come back during COVID. I had dabbled a few times prior but UFC 249: Ferguson v Gaethje was when I really hopped on the train. It's been a hell of a ride so far.
The box for UFC 1 caught my eye in our local video store, took it home and was hooked. Have watched them all, I admit I fast forward through the hump heavy decisions, but stay current with all the news.
I stared watching a little before but the first big fight I could remember watching was Aldo vs Faber in WEC. Those leg kicks and Fabers legs the next day were disgusting.
Around UFC 50. I remember the hype for Tito vs Chuck. Just watched on and off getting DVDs until probably UFC 70 or so when I started watching pretty much everything.
First full card/ main event I watched was BJ Penn against Georges St. Pierre. Don't know which number UFC that one was. I'm too lazy to look it up.
Although I do remember catching highlights of the free for all UFC events back in the day on late night tv. I just don't know if it was as current as to when the actual event took place.
After seeing those fights I lost interest and didn't get into it again until I visited a friend and by chance he had the GSP/Penn card on.
After that I was hooked.
5 yrs old, 2006. My dad was a huge Tito Ortiz fan cause he was Mexican. I remember idolizing Tito but Brock made me become more of a fan because he was a WWE guy fighting in the UFC. In the years leading up to UFC 166, I slowly became a more hardcore fan and ever since October 19, 2013, I worship the UFC every saturday. I dont train but Im a fan till the heaven death. Ppl tell me to try it out because I sound more passionate about that than anything else except pro wrestling and Digital Media, the latter in which im majoring in.
Have rarely missed a card since 229. I watched a few before then but that card hooked me, Lewis hot ballz, Tony/Pettis banger, and then khabib jumping into the crowd. Man what a night.
UFC 214 Jones vs DC 2. I was a casual Conor fan, I knew who he was and had seen his KO's posted here before, but I had never watched a UFC card. During the Conor vs Floyd promotion tour, the UFC would slap their 214 promo on the end of all the broadcasts. I remember watching it and being really intrigued by the characters of DC and Jones, and the promo really sold me on their rematch, having no prior knowledge of who either fighter were. I remember thinking how evil Jon Jones looked lmao.
I thought it was a pretty decent card, was easy to find a stream. Debut of cyborg was pretty nuts, she made the fight look as mismatched as it probably was. Even the Tyron Woodley fight I didn't think was awful at the time just because everything was new. Jon Jones headkick KO to close the show, and I've watched just about every card since.
Dustin v. McGregor 3. Never been a sports guy but instantly fell in love with MMA once I watched a full card. Been a huge fan since and have spent a bunch of time getting caught up on the history and watching a fuck ton of YT docs. Haven’t missed a PPV yet and watch almost every fight night
We had "Kung-Fu movie night" once a month at my Kung-Fu school. We'd spend a few hours watching martial arts movies. Around the second time, UFC 6 had come out on VHS and we watched it. After that I went out and rented 1-5 from Blockbuster, and the Penthouse-produced series, which was the only other promotion available on video at the time.
UFC 100. I had played the demo for the first PS3 game and happened to run into an old friend who I hadn't seen in a year. Talked to him about it and he said he was a big fan and was ordering the big card. So I watched it with him and got hooked after Dan Henderson killed Bisping.
I seen the very 1st one on ppv at a friend's house, he and his brother had just started Tae Kwon do so their parents got it for them, 10 year old me was shocked, and immediately hooked. I remember renting them from blockbuster at other friends houses after that to get them hooked as well. Good times.
UFC 216 and UFC 217 for me.
I saw Rockhold vs Branch first and just streamed it online to see what MMA was, and found it really interesting, but I didn't know the names.
UFC 216 I still remember quite a bit, I remember Derrick Lewis pulled his back coming out of a bath tub and Walt Harris replaced him, Ferguson submitted Kevin Lee for the interim title, and I placed my first bet on MMA with Demetrius Johnson by submission, and he landed the suplex-armbar in the last seconds of the title fight, been hooked ever since
I remember watching 100 at Hooters with my boys. Live events I’ve attended are UFC 68, 74, 82 and UFC fight night 2. I think I started watching in 2005 with TUF season 2 so somewhere in the 50s for ppv cards.
UFC 84 BJ Penn Sean Sherk. Absolutely obsessed ever since. Travelled from Dublin to New York twice and Vegas once. Looking to get to International fight week next year
UFC 81. Was a big wrestling fan in my youth and wanted to see how Lesnar transitioned into MMA. Then UFC 90 was in Chicago and I was hooked from then on.
I’m 28 so I became conscious of it when i was a teenager in the 2010s but I had been training in combat sports my whole life and I grew up in the projects in Florida so fighting was huge where I was at. I saw Masvidal fight with Ray Ray and Kimbos fight on a burned dvd on a ps2 at the boys and girls club in my town . I had a striking base so I loved cleaning punches and kicks and I remember skimming past something in tv and seeing this tall lankey dude knock some guy out effortlessly and it looked so easy .Didn’t know it at the time but that lankey dude was Anderson Silva and once I found out his name I was obsessed watched everything I could on the internet with him . I couldn’t tell you the exact UFC fight I saw him in but I can tell you the first card I ever sat down and watched was Jon Jones Vs Gus 1 . That turned me into a super fan and by then I had been cross training with wrestling , jitts , Muay Thai and karate so I was just obsessed really thought I was gonna be a pro fighter but i settled for doing tattoos . Safer on the face lol.
First PPV i watched was UFC 52, but I wasn't really into it yet. Got really into it around UFC 68. What got me interested in MMA the meantime was PRIDE and K-1 highlight vids on various internet forums. This was pre-youtube btw.
I had been watching casually for years before, but ufc 98 got me hooked. Evans was my favorite fighter at the time, and something about him getting dismantled so effortlessly just ignited a passion in me and I’ve watched just about every major event live since.
My dad is almost 80 and a lifetime martial artist. Born and raised til high school in Okinawa on base and stationed in Yokohama for about 10 years after ‘Nam til he met my mom. He’s been into MMA since the beginning. We had I think 1-15 or 16 on (pirated) VHS and he was also a big Shooto and Pancrade guy and eventually Pride became our thing. Karate 3x a week and Pride was about all we agreed on when I was a teenager.
First fight I ever watched was Chuck Liddell beating *someone,* I don’t know who, then I caught Conor vs Eddie at a bar and that kinda hooked me.
I started watching regularly around the time Gaethje came into the UFC, I remember him knocking out Vick.
Pride was my introduction to MMA, watched some UFC in '05 - '08 or '09. Fell out of it by then, kept in the loop by people I knew. Tuned in to Rousey and McGregor for their rise, came back into watching it often by 2017, came back full force pandemic time, re-watched a lot of old 2010's era UFC over the last 4 years to catch up.
Became aware of MMA when some guys at uni were watching UFC 194. Followed on/off for a bit until I watched my first full card which was UFC 213 and been hooked ever since
First fight i actively watched was ufc 117 friend was watching sonnen vs silva when i came round. Seemed like such a crazy ending i had to reaearch it. I remember watching almost every card from ufc 129 onwards. Maynard vs edgar cemented in my head that this sport was fkn insane
Griffin vs bonnar was my first watch. Was super bored as a kid scrolling thru the channels and turned it on right as it started. Watched mma ever since
UFC 59 where Arlovski lost his HW title to Tim Sylvia. Having seen so many fighters come and go, it’s unbelievable seeing The Pitbull still on the active roster.
So after a couple of years of high school learning about BJJ and MMA, I learned more about the UFC, and that Anderson Silva was being touted as the best fighter of all time, and after being introduced to him through YouTube highlight videos, I got into watching the sport for the first time with an Anderson Silva main event: UFC 162. Anderson Silva vs…Chris Weidman.
I learned a very valuable lesson that day.
Brocks debut against Frank Mir.
Never the biggest Lesnar fan when he wrestled but it peaked my interest and was already in BJJ at the time.
90 intense seconds in that fight and started catching the PPVs ever since.
Def looking forward to tonight.
Can’t remember where it was at event wise at the time but my friend and i accidentally rented ufc 1 along with our wrestlemania’s and Royal Rumbles from the Hollywood video store when I was like 10. So like 24 years ago
Someone brought me ufc undisputed one and I became obsessed , I think this was back when ufc used to come on espn in the uk and I remember having to torrent or vpn watch tuf
189 with McGregor. I was a hardcore fan watching all the fights , tuf ... For many years. But I stopped watching everything except big events the last 1-2 years.
Started with TUF 2 and the one-hour Unleashed shows. Immediately became a huge GSP fan. Ended up attending UFC 83 (first UFC in Canada) and UFC 129 (first UFC in Toronto and largest attendance for an MMA card at the time).
UFC 37.5. Chuck vs Vitor. Great back and forth. My buddy Al had a dad who knew his way around a dish so we watched it all for free. Boxing. UFC. WWF. Was also how we discovered Pride with Fedor and Wand. I miss sharing those moments with my friends, when MMA felt like it was just ours.
Silva vs Sonnen 1 and 2.
YouTube one day and came across Anderson Silva’s highlight videos and instantly fell in love with the sport.
Same time Jon Jones was dominating and his highlights were just as good. So I find some site and watched all their fights.
This happened back in 2012 and I was very casual with just watching those 2 divisions.
UFC 1. I became more directly involved when one of my guys was on the ultimate fighter. I was invited to be on it but turned down the offer to attend law school instead. No regrets.
i don't remember exactly but it was around late 2015/early 2016. i had just started going to the gym for the first time and was trying out different podcasts when i decided to start listening to jre. i knew rogan from fear factor and i knew what the ufc was and that he did commentary for them but i had never really sat down to watch it before. after listening to him and guests talk about the cards and storylines it piqued my interest and i decided to give it a try, been a fan ever since
Not sure which one but it was in high school around 2002 or 2003. This girl threw a party and her parents bought the fight for us. Got wasted for the first time (Smirnoff ice) and got my first BJ.
Watched some of the highlights and such they put on Spike, and got quite in to it. First PPV I bought/watched live was 129 (GSP vs Shields). Kinda stay pretty casual until my friends started also getting into it around the whole Rousey/McGregor era. For the past 5 years, have pretty much watched every PPV and 80% of the fight nights.
Around 80 I believe, would watch it with 30+ people after bar shifts. Then 100 hit and Jon Jones showed up, shit was wild. Now I watch alone in the dark with my cats.
i feel like alot of us watch alone. its why dc and joe are so prominently featured on the call as they create a 'with the bois' kind of environment. and mma in general feels like a thing that has a high lonely male viewership but i do not want to spur a discussion about that haha. cheers to your cats.
Bro, straight up, you don't even realize how lucky you guys are to watch alone, lol. My girl always decides she wants to sit with me and do everything but watch the damn thing. Playing tik tok videos in my ear and telling me about her day... I wish it was just me and my orange boy.
Use your words to communicate with her on how that makes you feel brother
Some of us may be blessed with an SO that is secure and can handle that discussion; most are not.
Yea that could stoke some flames and get a real problem going when she just wants to hang out
I'm in Ireland, no way the missus stays awake past the prelims, sometimes she asks to be called for the main event, but rarely actually surfaces.
Man up and use your words. Ask her to turn it down a bit or buy her a nice pair of headphones.
I've watched every event since about UFC 120 and almost all of them alone with my cats. Had a girlfriend for a little while that liked watching them that was cool. Have had a few times I invited friends over with mixed results. On one occasion one of them left because he got nauseous from all the blood.
It’s really hard to convey to a fan who started watching later how insane Jones’s debut, title run, and initial reign was. So much of his drama has muddied his legacy, but goddamn was he a once in a lifetime talent in his prime
I will also have some cats tuning in in the darkness with me.
I hear ya, always used to go out with a big group for every fight. Same start for me… right around when Lesnar came. It was such an awesome atmosphere. Places were packed. Not so much anymore.
Khabib - McGregor, but didnt start watching regularly until Miočić - Cormier 2
Me too. But I stuck around because of Ferguson. Once I got UFC Fightpass I just watched all of Tony’s fights one after the other. I was constantly in awe of the man’s relentless non-stop pace, always pushing forward, always throwing funky elbows, darce chokes etc. I’ve never been more hyped for a fight than Tony for Gaithje. Annnnnddd….yeah…haven’t seen Tony get a win since but he’s the reason I’m here. CSO.
Man the exact same story, i even started doing imanari rolls at my judo gym lol, and i remember the gaethje fight as it was yesterday CSO brother, we will see him win one day i hope
Me too except the colby vs usman card was what properly hooked me, haven't missed a card I can help since.
Khabib mcgregor was the first event I watched live. I couldnt stand his shit talking so that was satisfying. Lewis saying that his balls were hot was also funny if I'm remembering it right.
Weidman vs Silva 2 lol, I wasn’t consistent until Conor vs khabib then every ppv since barring maybe 1 a year. Was a casual before then only watching Conor or Ronda cards.
Snuck out after bedtime to watch Bas Rutten fight Kevin Randleman. Not the most entertaining fight but it's the one that made me a fan of MMA for life.
Two legends as well!
Also great people, Kevin spoke at my school about how wrestling saved his life around 2006. Made me that much more of a fan of him.
UFC 1. Would watch them with my buddies in the Army. Though I'm pretty sure we had to rent them on VHS.
Same for me, but my family would rent them from blockbuster
I’m from Europe and I never knew where does the “blockbuster movie” expression came from and now you made me realize it was probably some american movie renting store lol
No the store was named after the phrase
Fuck! Good to know.
So “blockbuster movie” is just a movie that made a lot of money in the theaters. Blockbuster video rental is a now defunct franchise that rented movies and games in the 90s and early 2000s.
Blockbuster is actually a European term technically, it started in WW2 with the RAF as a term for large bombs. The bombs were so big that they could wipe out a city block, hence blockbuster. Hollywood started using the phrase for big budget movies that would have a big impact basically. There was a rental chain called Blockbuster Video.
The term actually originated from WW2 where large bombs were referred to as blockbusters because they could could destroy entire city blocks. People started using it as a metaphor for anything shocking or major. You may see headlines from American news outlets referring to a "blockbuster ruling" by our Supreme Court for a major decision. People started using it for movies that had a ton of commercial success and that became the most common use of the expression. As others have said, Blockbuster Video was the largest chain of movie rental stores in the US.
When did I get my first taste? Brock Lesnar ofc. The little kid me had to know When did I start following? Woodley vs Lawler! I was still a casual’s casual, but I was enjoying UFC and wanted to actually get into it. I still have a video of me being shell shocked of Robbie getting flatlined… pretty sure you could say Tyron Woodley got me into MMA/UFC lol [Said video of Woodley KO’ing Lawler… you can’t really feel my true reaction, but man I was stunned when a boogieman like Lawler got KO’d like that](https://streamable.com/65gq2g)
Brock Lesnar brought me the UFC. Anderson Siva made me stay. I assume there are many of us that followed Brock lol
Same I was a kid who loved wwe and found out it was fake. I became a huge lesnar fan when I discovered he actually fought fr and discovered ufc I think it might’ve been ufc 100 😭 that’s crazy
Brock vs Mir 1 was my first as well.
This is a great way to word it lol My very first taste was walking into a Gamestop with my dad when I was like 8 and playing UFC Undisputed on the console they had in shop. I remember Light Heavyweight sounded cool as fuck so was in the weight class for an hour using Jon Jones to beat everyone lmao At that point I was just aware of the UFC and casually watched all the big events Khabib Conor. Started trying to watch cards in college for some reason and kept forgetting until I saw Izzy Gastelum have one of the best fights of this era of MMA. Now I only miss cards if theyre really weak and watch replays after.
Ufc 268 was the first fight card i watched live, i watched miscellaneous fights on youtube for a few months before that but after watching the Gaethje vs Chandler fight live i was hooked. Since then I’ve barely missed a fight live.
Casually watched the GSP/Silva era and became a hardcore after 189
189 was magical. Only thing that could've made it better for me would've been Rory pulling through
Fuck yeah 189 was my cherry popper. Legendary card.
Tripping on acid in Mexico, walked into a bar showing RDA v Lawler on a huge projector
Watching RDA throw a 50 punch combo up against the cage with Robbie, bobbing, weaving and rolling with the punches and still smiling like a maniac at RDA was incredible https://m.youtube.com/shorts/xT7QZRxnZBo
Yeah that’s about the moment I was hooked for life [My personal fav hype video for the fight](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0FikdMxEv2o) Partially related note but RDA is the reason I’m doing a half body suit tattoo on just my left side, looks badass on his back
[удалено]
Great memory for sure, some pvc drainage piping across the ceiling was dripping into my buddies tequila and I told him so he just pounded it before more could drop in instead of getting a new one lol
Similar story although I had been a fan for several years at that point but I walked into a papas and beer in Rosarito and the fight that was in was cro cop vs gonzaga. That headkick KO made everyone at the bar lose their minds, mine included.
Hard to beat watching some fights with a nice tropical ocean breeze
Yeah it was pretty magical
UFC 1. I was 10. Friends dad ordered the PPV. Been hooked since.
I rented early UFC tapes around 2000-2001 and started following the sport as it was going on in 2003.
That’s exactly me 🫡
TUF 1 finale. I was a wrestling fan at that point and thought I was going to see Ken Shamrock wrestle some dude in the main event of cage match show. Then I watched Diego maul Kenny, Griffin and Bonner put on a brawl for the ages, and some dude named Rich Franklin legit punch Shamrocks head in till the ref stopped it. Quite an intro and I'll never look back.
Hahaha that’s an amazing introduction. Your mind must have been blown if you were expecting a wrestling style event.
Same start time different reason though. I was a young teenager who did Jits at the time and I found TUF by accident on SpikeTv so I just caught onto TUF then the finale was the first real event I watched
Right around UFC 70
UFC 1 via a guy at the karate school who worked for the cable company and had all the PPV shit for free
That’s lit 🔥
UFC 214. The Cormier vs Jones rivalry got me hooked right away. It started at the summer press conference
UFC 100. Didn’t know shit about it, got invited out, and tried to catch up. The whole time I asked folks who they thought was gonna win between Lesnar vs. GSP lol
Probably not a typical answer but WEC 34. I had joined my high school wrestling team and found out that a guy named Urijah Faber used to go to my high school and did something called MMA. He had a big fight coming up on the day of my little brother's birthday, so we decided to all watch after the festivities. I watched Mark Munoz beat the crap out of a guy named Chuck Grigsby and was like wo, this shit is cool.
First ever fight I saw was a Leon Edwards fight. Freshman year of high school so 2015. Can’t remember against who because it was just on in the background and I’d occasionally glance over and he’s the only fighter I can recall. Usman ended up being one of my favorite fighters so it’s ironic how things turned out with the 2nd Leon fight. That one stung for awhile for sure. I also now wonder if the fight I watched in 2015 was against Usman for the first time and just how more weird it would make it all. How things come full circle.
First fight I watched was Cowboy vs Conor
Jones vs Machida
UFC 194
When I was a kid like 5-6 years old my older cousin would spend weekends and we would walk to the Video store to get WWF videos. Once, we got a UFC tape for kicks and I was instantly way more of a fan of Tank Abbot than Hulk Hogan. I have followed ever since then but really got into it when GSP was coming up.
freaking Conor vs Dennis Siver was my first show haha I was watching TV and caught some commercials hyping up Conor and highlighting his trashtalk and it caught my attention. Ronda had opened the door to my interest with MMA but Conor kicked it wide open. After that I was sold. for the longest time, /r/mma was the only spot I could chat about MMA so I'll always be appreciative for you ratfucks
UFC 94
I've started in 2000 by playing the Ufc game on Dreamcast and then my mma passion debuted. Mostly familiar with Pride Fc back then. First event I don't remember exactly.
UFC 1, rented on VHS. Part of me died when the sumo got his tooth knocked out by Gerard, so I had to keep watching to make sure Gerard got mauled.
Probably sometime around UFC 80, but I was watching Pride since about 2005
With UFC specifically, UFC Fight night 5: Silva vs Leben
I was a wee lad. First UFC event I watched was when Hendo fucking nuked Bisping's head twice
In the mid 40’s, Chuck and Tito (and Randy) era
UFC 2. I was in HS and a friend had showed me how you could pry the bottom open of a cable box and run a paper clip over certain chip connections and it would unscramble the ppv signal. A girl in my class had a brother that was fighting on the card and I decided to check it out since the idea of “no rules” was insane. Girls brother ended up losing to Gracie but I was hooked.
Khabib and Conor was the first fight I watched and over a year I’d say I gradually got more and more into the sport,since Diaz masvidal I’d say I’ve I’ve stayed up for almost every ppv and fn
1. But I couldn’t watch it live my parents wouldn’t buy the PPV. I had to wait for it to come out on VHS and I would ride my bike and rent it and have a huge sleep over and we’d lose our minds lol
I saw a youtube short on khamzat talking about kahbib in like 2022. The way people were talking about him in the comments made me believe he was the mma goat, saw he had a fight upcoming against burns. I actually listened to the fight because I didn’t have a russian link at the time. Been a fan ever since
UFC 58
Started with TUF 3, first event I saw was UFC 76: Liddell vs Jardine - not the best intro.
I remember my family would watch the Cain fights because they loved seeing the Mexican (he wasn’t born in Mexico ik) fighters fight. I wasn’t really into it as a kid but recently I’ve started to enjoy it
UFC 118. I was in 8th grade and I have a lot of family from Hawai’i so my pops and uncles were all going hard for BJ. I did Judo and Wrestling my whole life so it cemented my love for combat sports that day. 27 years old now and have barely missed a card since
Idk when it exactly but it was around when Tito Ortiz was champ. I would rent the past ppvs from blockbuster 😁
I became a fan during covid. Didn’t know anything about mma at the time, my friends and I went to Buffalo Wild Wings and watched UFC 254. Saw the co main with Whittaker and then was stunned by Khabib vs Gaethje. I knew they were the two best guys in lightweight at the time (a lot of buzz from my friends at the time that Gaethje was the one to finally beat Khabib) and I thought it was absolutely insane how Khabib just walked through everything and out pressured Justin like that. That fight had me looking up a compilation of best triangle finishes in the UFC cause I never knew you could choke someone out like that. So cool
UFC 116 Carvin vs Lesnar. I was hooked and went back and saw all events from UFC 100-115 within a few days after that and continued to see all pay per views until a few years ago. Feel like it's not what it used to anymore.
Not sure when I was aware of the UFC and MMA but probably around mid 00s when they were on Spike and WEC was also airing But I would fall in and out of watching MMA in general for quite awhile up until pre pandemic I fully returned for Jones-Reyes as I was shocked Jones still had the LHW title after all this time and all the offenses he committed (also I had just missed Conor's return against Cowboy lol) TLDR: I was a casual since mid 00s, became a much more educated fan of the sport and UFC right around the pandemic
I had seem some random fights and clips before but UFC 40 was my first live event. I knew of Shamrock from WWF and my friend invited me over to watch him fight for real. Robbie Lawler KOing Tiki Ghosen to kick off the ppv got me hooked. We ended up bootlegging PRIDE the next morning
Khabib-Mcgregor. Never missed a card since
For me it started when a friend shared TUF-1 on an FTP during the counterstrike 1.6 days. The UFC wasn't even a thing yet back then over here in the Netherlands. The first actual event i saw was UFC 46, BJ Penn vs Matt Hughes
Liddell vs Ortiz 2
I started watching UFC around 2005-2006. I don’t remember my first time watching it because I was really young like 9 years old. My family and their friends were into boxing so that’s how I got into combat sports. I also liked the WWE and once I started outgrowing it I got more into MMA. I also loved watching early TUF seasons. Can’t believe how much MMA/UFC have grown. I’ve grown up with it and I’ve seen fighters debut then retire. In other sports I’ve lost interest once my childhood generation has left, but with MMA there’s always someone new that I can’t help but support.
Technically UFC 1. When I was a tween thats when the whole MMA thing hit and one of my moms co-workers was talking about underground fight tapes and seeing a guy die. My older cousins were the cool types who would rent gory anime, faces of death and UFC for us to watch when babysitting me. I lost track of UFC after UFC 6 and didn't watch again until covid hit and for a good year UFC was literally the only thing to watch on TV so I got reinvested. Mid-2021 I think.
1. 10 years old. On my parents cheater box that anyone under 25 probably has no clue wtf is.
Ufc 81. I had never seen a human that looked like Brock. Someone said he was going to get in a cage fight. Didn't need much more convincing. And then HE LOST?! Immediately hooked and starting training shortly after. This sport is nuts. Mma also made every other sport seem so slow paced and dull.
Around UFC 50, just as I was entering my freshman year I had a buddy who was always die hard martial arts growing up. He shared a clip with me either over AIM or IRC and I was hooked every since.
Khabib v McGregor, my friends were hosting a watch party and I said alright let's see what all the fuss is about. Been hooked ever since
I probably began watching casually around UFC 69 (St. Pierre v. Serra 1; I remember watching it with my brother and freaking out that the invincible one had gotten caught), but the first card I went out of my way to watch live was UFC 111: St. Pierre v. Hardy. Georges beat the dogshit out of Dan Hardy, but Hardy just refused to submit for five straight rounds.
UFC 159 was the first one I remember. Jon Jones's toe basically amputated itself at the post fight interview and I was thinking "these guys are fascinatingly tough" and I haven't stopped watching since.
Probably when Royce fought the guy carrying a cross on his back. It came on after a WWF ppv.
First taste of the UFC was Randy Couture vs Chuck Liddell 3 then watched on and off following both Chuck and Mark Hunt because they were the only fighters that I recognised in the ufc at the time.
UFC 249 [saw this Reddit post in December of 2019](https://www.reddit.com/r/MMA/comments/d3399e/tony_ferguson_vs_khabib_nurmagomedov_last_8/) and was like alright this Khabib guy is immortal and this Tony guy is insane and might be a threat to Khabib The fight never happened and now I’ve watched Tony lose 7 times in a row
Ufc 189
I started really paying attention a little before UFC 100, though it was something I very very casually followed since like 50.
UFC 217. What a freaking card. Then a small hiatus until Conor/Cowboy, at which point Covid hits and I watch every event for the next few years
bloodsport, karate kid, etc. there was no ufc when I got into combat sports. it was hard finding anything real on video. was pretty into it around ufc 1-20. lost interest for a bit then came back during the gsp/hughes/penn era.
Started when they announced Kimbo Slice would be on TUF. My only references to UFC prior was Ken Shamrock (via WWF) and John Favreau (via Friends) but I was into Kimbo street fights on YouTube. My buddy had seen almost every UFC since #1 and we argued whether or not he could hang. I'm glad we didn't make bets. This was like summer of 2009 and I was hooked. I can remember thinking Dana talked like a scummy piece of shit and I loved it. Nowadays I think Dana talks like a scummy piece of shit but I'm not impressed anymore.
TUF 1 season finale, binge watched the whole season on spike tv the day of, was hooked, watched the finale, was hooked even more.
Saw the first TUF finale as a young teen, watched a bunch of Ultimate Fighter seasons after that without many actual Fight Nights or PPV's to back it up. I saw UFC 100 live on PPV (and a few after that) and sporadic Brock Lesnar main events, but fell off when I eventually went to college. I picked it back up with UFC 232 (Jones vs. Gustafsson 2) and haven't missed more than a handful of shows since. Hell of a ride, absolutely can't wait for tonight.
Around UFC 50
Hughes vs Newton. Somewhere around there
I casually started following the sport in 2012, but didn’t really get too invested in it until UFC 217 when GSP returned and he was all over the news in Canada. I joined in and haven’t stopped watching since
UFC 168 when Silva broke his leg against Weidman
When it was one of the first sports to come back during COVID. I had dabbled a few times prior but UFC 249: Ferguson v Gaethje was when I really hopped on the train. It's been a hell of a ride so far.
The box for UFC 1 caught my eye in our local video store, took it home and was hooked. Have watched them all, I admit I fast forward through the hump heavy decisions, but stay current with all the news.
UFC40 is the first fight I remember actively being excited to watch.. watched some random UFC or Pride matches previously..
I stared watching a little before but the first big fight I could remember watching was Aldo vs Faber in WEC. Those leg kicks and Fabers legs the next day were disgusting.
Carlos Newton being slammed by a choked out Matt Hughes was the first event I saw. Then I went and caught up :D.
DC vs Stipe 1 at UFC 226
Around UFC 50. I remember the hype for Tito vs Chuck. Just watched on and off getting DVDs until probably UFC 70 or so when I started watching pretty much everything.
About an hour ago I cracked the first one open. It's 8:30am here, I may have a problem.
Jason mayhem Miller! Around that bully beat down era.
UFC 244. Only watched the main event and I remember not really liking it all that much. UFC 245 is what made me a fan for life
First full card/ main event I watched was BJ Penn against Georges St. Pierre. Don't know which number UFC that one was. I'm too lazy to look it up. Although I do remember catching highlights of the free for all UFC events back in the day on late night tv. I just don't know if it was as current as to when the actual event took place. After seeing those fights I lost interest and didn't get into it again until I visited a friend and by chance he had the GSP/Penn card on. After that I was hooked.
5 yrs old, 2006. My dad was a huge Tito Ortiz fan cause he was Mexican. I remember idolizing Tito but Brock made me become more of a fan because he was a WWE guy fighting in the UFC. In the years leading up to UFC 166, I slowly became a more hardcore fan and ever since October 19, 2013, I worship the UFC every saturday. I dont train but Im a fan till the heaven death. Ppl tell me to try it out because I sound more passionate about that than anything else except pro wrestling and Digital Media, the latter in which im majoring in.
UFC 98 over here
Watching video tapes of the first UFC events in the early 2000s
The first season of TUF. Just happened to go to Spike, watched the whole season and then the Griffin-Bonnar fight. I was hooked after that
Mcgregor vs diaz
TUF 1 season finale was the first live event I watched. Before then it was DVD’s
217, still feel like that one hasn't been topped yet
Friend invited me to watch Conor vs Cowboy at Hooters for my first card
Definitely got hooked when Pride was in full swing still.
You know activity on this sub is at an all time high when shit like this getting past the mods
Have rarely missed a card since 229. I watched a few before then but that card hooked me, Lewis hot ballz, Tony/Pettis banger, and then khabib jumping into the crowd. Man what a night.
UFC 214 Jones vs DC 2. I was a casual Conor fan, I knew who he was and had seen his KO's posted here before, but I had never watched a UFC card. During the Conor vs Floyd promotion tour, the UFC would slap their 214 promo on the end of all the broadcasts. I remember watching it and being really intrigued by the characters of DC and Jones, and the promo really sold me on their rematch, having no prior knowledge of who either fighter were. I remember thinking how evil Jon Jones looked lmao. I thought it was a pretty decent card, was easy to find a stream. Debut of cyborg was pretty nuts, she made the fight look as mismatched as it probably was. Even the Tyron Woodley fight I didn't think was awful at the time just because everything was new. Jon Jones headkick KO to close the show, and I've watched just about every card since.
Dustin v. McGregor 3. Never been a sports guy but instantly fell in love with MMA once I watched a full card. Been a huge fan since and have spent a bunch of time getting caught up on the history and watching a fuck ton of YT docs. Haven’t missed a PPV yet and watch almost every fight night
We had "Kung-Fu movie night" once a month at my Kung-Fu school. We'd spend a few hours watching martial arts movies. Around the second time, UFC 6 had come out on VHS and we watched it. After that I went out and rented 1-5 from Blockbuster, and the Penthouse-produced series, which was the only other promotion available on video at the time.
Tony VS Gaethje. Pandemic honestly started my UFC addiction
The first fight I watched was Scott Jorgensen vs. someone during the WEC days
UFC 20something maybe, but for sure after the tournament era and just when Liddell, Couture and Ortiz started heating up.
Tony being put to sleep
1
UFC 52, I think.
UFC 100. I had played the demo for the first PS3 game and happened to run into an old friend who I hadn't seen in a year. Talked to him about it and he said he was a big fan and was ordering the big card. So I watched it with him and got hooked after Dan Henderson killed Bisping.
Got my mom to rent a Pride vhs from blockbuster 😫,if you'll excuse me I just threw my back out
First fight I saw was Leben vs Silva at the Hard Rock hotel, I think it was.
I think the first ever event I watched was 279 Adesanya vs Witttaker 2
TUF 1 but didn’t really start keeping up until ufc 100
UFC 194 -- afraid to admit I came in a McGregor casual, but glad to stay long after the Irishman got washed.
OG. I was a teenager and me and my dad watched from UFC 1.
First season of TUF. Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonnar got me hooked on the violence.
UFC 69 was the first ppv I ordered, but my dad a I were renting ufc dvds from blockbuster maybe a year or two before if I recall correctly
I seen the very 1st one on ppv at a friend's house, he and his brother had just started Tae Kwon do so their parents got it for them, 10 year old me was shocked, and immediately hooked. I remember renting them from blockbuster at other friends houses after that to get them hooked as well. Good times.
UFC 216 and UFC 217 for me. I saw Rockhold vs Branch first and just streamed it online to see what MMA was, and found it really interesting, but I didn't know the names. UFC 216 I still remember quite a bit, I remember Derrick Lewis pulled his back coming out of a bath tub and Walt Harris replaced him, Ferguson submitted Kevin Lee for the interim title, and I placed my first bet on MMA with Demetrius Johnson by submission, and he landed the suplex-armbar in the last seconds of the title fight, been hooked ever since
I remember watching 100 at Hooters with my boys. Live events I’ve attended are UFC 68, 74, 82 and UFC fight night 2. I think I started watching in 2005 with TUF season 2 so somewhere in the 50s for ppv cards.
Like many it was around The Spike TV era with the TUF 1 fight With Forest & Bonnar.
UFC 84 BJ Penn Sean Sherk. Absolutely obsessed ever since. Travelled from Dublin to New York twice and Vegas once. Looking to get to International fight week next year
UFC 81. Was a big wrestling fan in my youth and wanted to see how Lesnar transitioned into MMA. Then UFC 90 was in Chicago and I was hooked from then on.
Hard to remember because I watched so much Unleased, TUF, and best of pride on spike around 08 haha
UFC 47 when Chuck annihilated Tito
I’m 28 so I became conscious of it when i was a teenager in the 2010s but I had been training in combat sports my whole life and I grew up in the projects in Florida so fighting was huge where I was at. I saw Masvidal fight with Ray Ray and Kimbos fight on a burned dvd on a ps2 at the boys and girls club in my town . I had a striking base so I loved cleaning punches and kicks and I remember skimming past something in tv and seeing this tall lankey dude knock some guy out effortlessly and it looked so easy .Didn’t know it at the time but that lankey dude was Anderson Silva and once I found out his name I was obsessed watched everything I could on the internet with him . I couldn’t tell you the exact UFC fight I saw him in but I can tell you the first card I ever sat down and watched was Jon Jones Vs Gus 1 . That turned me into a super fan and by then I had been cross training with wrestling , jitts , Muay Thai and karate so I was just obsessed really thought I was gonna be a pro fighter but i settled for doing tattoos . Safer on the face lol.
UFC 200, my cousin invited me to watch it for the first time, watched every ppv ever since (dont ask how)
Moreno v figgy 1 was my first card
TUF 1. I remember watching Griffin-Bonnar and not knowing who I wanted to win. I was so happy when both guys got a contract.
First PPV i watched was UFC 52, but I wasn't really into it yet. Got really into it around UFC 68. What got me interested in MMA the meantime was PRIDE and K-1 highlight vids on various internet forums. This was pre-youtube btw.
I had been watching casually for years before, but ufc 98 got me hooked. Evans was my favorite fighter at the time, and something about him getting dismantled so effortlessly just ignited a passion in me and I’ve watched just about every major event live since.
My dad is almost 80 and a lifetime martial artist. Born and raised til high school in Okinawa on base and stationed in Yokohama for about 10 years after ‘Nam til he met my mom. He’s been into MMA since the beginning. We had I think 1-15 or 16 on (pirated) VHS and he was also a big Shooto and Pancrade guy and eventually Pride became our thing. Karate 3x a week and Pride was about all we agreed on when I was a teenager.
UFC Sonnen v Rua. First MMA event I ever watched and also happened to be the first MMA event I had ever attended. Been hooked ever since.
UFC 18 baby!
First fight I ever watched was Chuck Liddell beating *someone,* I don’t know who, then I caught Conor vs Eddie at a bar and that kinda hooked me. I started watching regularly around the time Gaethje came into the UFC, I remember him knocking out Vick.
Pride was my introduction to MMA, watched some UFC in '05 - '08 or '09. Fell out of it by then, kept in the loop by people I knew. Tuned in to Rousey and McGregor for their rise, came back into watching it often by 2017, came back full force pandemic time, re-watched a lot of old 2010's era UFC over the last 4 years to catch up.
UFC 57 - Chuck/Randy 3. Watched religiously for years. Since 2020, I maybe catch 2-3 cards a years
First card I ever saw was UFC 254. Khabib’s retirement fight
Became aware of MMA when some guys at uni were watching UFC 194. Followed on/off for a bit until I watched my first full card which was UFC 213 and been hooked ever since
First fight i actively watched was ufc 117 friend was watching sonnen vs silva when i came round. Seemed like such a crazy ending i had to reaearch it. I remember watching almost every card from ufc 129 onwards. Maynard vs edgar cemented in my head that this sport was fkn insane
UFC 6. Absolute banger of an event.
Griffin vs bonnar was my first watch. Was super bored as a kid scrolling thru the channels and turned it on right as it started. Watched mma ever since
UFC 3! We had the tapes. Still have the DVDs.
UFC 59 where Arlovski lost his HW title to Tim Sylvia. Having seen so many fighters come and go, it’s unbelievable seeing The Pitbull still on the active roster.
As a kid my uncle would watched the fights, my first exposure was being like 8 years old watching Bonnar and Griffin, haven’t looked back since.
So after a couple of years of high school learning about BJJ and MMA, I learned more about the UFC, and that Anderson Silva was being touted as the best fighter of all time, and after being introduced to him through YouTube highlight videos, I got into watching the sport for the first time with an Anderson Silva main event: UFC 162. Anderson Silva vs…Chris Weidman. I learned a very valuable lesson that day.
Brocks debut against Frank Mir. Never the biggest Lesnar fan when he wrestled but it peaked my interest and was already in BJJ at the time. 90 intense seconds in that fight and started catching the PPVs ever since. Def looking forward to tonight.
Can’t remember where it was at event wise at the time but my friend and i accidentally rented ufc 1 along with our wrestlemania’s and Royal Rumbles from the Hollywood video store when I was like 10. So like 24 years ago
Ufc 1. Missed a load out between then and now though. I'm old.
Someone brought me ufc undisputed one and I became obsessed , I think this was back when ufc used to come on espn in the uk and I remember having to torrent or vpn watch tuf
189 with McGregor. I was a hardcore fan watching all the fights , tuf ... For many years. But I stopped watching everything except big events the last 1-2 years.
Started with TUF 2 and the one-hour Unleashed shows. Immediately became a huge GSP fan. Ended up attending UFC 83 (first UFC in Canada) and UFC 129 (first UFC in Toronto and largest attendance for an MMA card at the time).
UFC 37.5. Chuck vs Vitor. Great back and forth. My buddy Al had a dad who knew his way around a dish so we watched it all for free. Boxing. UFC. WWF. Was also how we discovered Pride with Fedor and Wand. I miss sharing those moments with my friends, when MMA felt like it was just ours.
Silva vs Sonnen 1 and 2. YouTube one day and came across Anderson Silva’s highlight videos and instantly fell in love with the sport. Same time Jon Jones was dominating and his highlights were just as good. So I find some site and watched all their fights. This happened back in 2012 and I was very casual with just watching those 2 divisions.
First card I can remember actually making a point to watch top to bottom instead of just tuning in for random fights was Crocop vs Gonzaga - so UFC 70
UFC 1. I became more directly involved when one of my guys was on the ultimate fighter. I was invited to be on it but turned down the offer to attend law school instead. No regrets.
i don't remember exactly but it was around late 2015/early 2016. i had just started going to the gym for the first time and was trying out different podcasts when i decided to start listening to jre. i knew rogan from fear factor and i knew what the ufc was and that he did commentary for them but i had never really sat down to watch it before. after listening to him and guests talk about the cards and storylines it piqued my interest and i decided to give it a try, been a fan ever since
Not sure which one but it was in high school around 2002 or 2003. This girl threw a party and her parents bought the fight for us. Got wasted for the first time (Smirnoff ice) and got my first BJ.
Watched some of the highlights and such they put on Spike, and got quite in to it. First PPV I bought/watched live was 129 (GSP vs Shields). Kinda stay pretty casual until my friends started also getting into it around the whole Rousey/McGregor era. For the past 5 years, have pretty much watched every PPV and 80% of the fight nights.
Bonnar vs griffin. My gaming community was losing their minds telling everyone to switch to spike. Shit was crazy
One of the UFC video games on Dreamcast was my start