From the vault: Conor McGregor vs Marcus Brimage, Kimbo Slice vs Houston Alexander, Mark Schultz vs Gary Goodridge, and more
Jon Fitch, Frank Trigg, Stephan Bonnar, and Brandon Vera are also featured
From the Vault is a feature on Forever a Contender where I hand pick some of the more notable fights in the history of combat sports for your viewing pleasure, whether they might be favorites of mine, relevant to an upcoming fight, or just something that you might want to know about.
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Conor McGregor vs Marcus Brimage
UFC on Fuel TV 9
April 6, 2013 | Stockholm, Sweden
Very few people watching the Facebook prelims on the undercard of UFC on Fuel TV 9 in April 2013 realized they were witnessing history before their eyes, but as it turns out, the debut of then-Cage Warriors featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor was more important than we ever could have imagined.
McGregor kicked off his UFC career with the same zest for a highlight-reel finish that he would display throughout the course of his time inside the octagon, scoring a quick finish of Ultimate Fighter alumnus Marcus Brimage, who entered the fight a winner of his first three UFC bouts.
Kimbo Slice vs Houston Alexander
TUF 10 Finale
December 5, 2009 | Las Vegas, Nevada
After getting shocked by Seth Petruzelli in EliteXC’s final show and then subsequently stopped with strikes at the hands of Roy Nelson on The Ultimate Fighter 10, Kimbo Slice had lost some of the luster he had gained following his street fights spiking in popularity on the internet and defeating Tank Abbott and James Thompson on premium cable and then national television.
Still, Slice moved forward with his goal of competing in the UFC, signing to take on light heavyweight brawler Houston Alexander on the main card of the The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale. While the fight admittedly isn’t the greatest, it is one of only two appearances Slice had inside the octagon during what was a booming time for the growth of the sport.
Mark Schultz vs Gary Goodridge
UFC 9
May 17, 1996 | Detroit, Michigan
In his only MMA fight, Olympic wrestling gold medalist Mark Schultz took on UFC and Pride veteran Gary Goodridge at UFC 9, which took place in May 1996 at the Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan. It was the last UFC pay-per-view to be widely available prior to US Senator John McCain convincing cable television providers to begin dropping the UFC due to its violent content.
Schultz, who at the time of his UFC debut was serving as the head wrestling coach at Brigham Young University, replaced Canadian junior freestyle wrestling champion Dave Beneteau on just 24 hours notice to face Goodridge in his first professional fight. Goodridge entered the bout coming off of his own UFC debut at UFC 8, where he defeated Paul Herrera and Jerry Bohlander before losing to Don Frye in the tournament finals.
Jon Fitch vs Jeff Joslin
Freedom Fight 2005
July 9, 2005 | Hull, Quebec, Canada
Prior to finding their way into the welterweight division of the UFC, future UFC welterweight title challenger Jon Fitch and Canadian martial arts pioneer Jeff Joslin first met at the Freedom Fight 2005 event in July of that year, where they engaged in a close battle over three hard fought rounds.
It was Fitch’s final bout on the regional circuit before embarking on an 8-year run with the UFC. The American Kickboxing Academy product was already the owner of victories over MMA veterans Jorge Ortiz and Shonie Carter at that point, and a split decision over Joslin in this matchup was part of a 16-fight win streak that spanned over five years for Fitch.
Frank Trigg vs John Phillips
BAMMA 6
May 21, 2011 | London, England
Following his second and final stint with the UFC, which ended with consecutive losses to Josh Koscheck and Matt Serra, Pride and World Fighting Alliance veteran Frank Trigg fought a handful of times internationally before calling it a career to become an actor and MMA referee.
Here in one of those fights, Trigg takes on Cage Rage product John Phillips at BAMMA 6 in May 2011. Phillips would eventually go on to become the BAMMA middleweight champion and spend time in Cage Warriors before making it to the UFC himself. However, this fight serves as an example of the brutal ground-and-pound that Trigg could dish out and Phillips was unfortunately on the receiving end.
Gerard Gordeau vs Teila Tuli
UFC 1
November 12, 1993 | Denver, Colorado
This is the fight that changed everything. It’s the first fight in UFC history but it is also the first no-holds barred/mixed martial arts fight that captivated the attention of North America enough to allow the sport to start to gain traction.
In true MMA fashion, viewers were shocked when Gerard Gordeau sent Teila Tuli’s tooth flying and busted him wide open with the first and only kick that he landed in the first fight at UFC 1. The bout was Tuli’s only MMA fight; he’s better known these days by his acting name of Taylor Wily as he stars as Kamekona Tupuola on CBS shows Hawaii Five-0, MacGyver, and Magnum P.I.
Stephan Bonnar vs Jay Massey
Ultimate Athlete 1
January 27, 2002 | Hammond, Indiana
Years before he appeared on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, UFC Hall of Famer Stephan Bonnar sharpened his craft on the Chicago regional scene, primarily alongside Miguel Torres and Jeff Curran in Ironheart Crown, where they were fan-favorites.
In this fight from January 2002, Bonnar competes in his third professional bout against fellow Midwestern veteran Jay Massey at Ultimate Athlete 1, which took place at the Hammond Civic Center in Hammond, Indiana. It was a show loaded with talent as notable names such as Pete Spratt, Steve Berger, Bart Palaszewski, Cole Escovedo, and Homer Moore all competed on the card.
Brandon Vera vs Igor Subora
ONE FC 23
December 5, 2014 | Pasay, Philippines
Following his UFC departure in the summer of 2014, which came after an 8-year stint with the promotion, Brandon Vera looked to fulfill a lifelong dream of competing in his family’s homeland of the Philippines when he signed a contract with ONE Championship.
Vera made his ONE debut in December 2014 against Universal Reality Combat Championship heavyweight title holder Igor Subora. It would be Vera’s only non-title bout with the promotion as he would go on to win and defend the ONE heavyweight title as well as compete for the light heavyweight belt.