[EmpireWF]

Randy Couture Wins UFC Heavyweight Championship
Perhaps the most memorable night in MMA history took place back in March in Columbus, Ohio. UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia defended against UFC hall of famer and fan favorite, Randy Couture. Couture just so happened to be 43-years old and fresh out of retirement, but he fought like he was a hungry young kid. Couture immediately began the fight with a right hand to Sylvia, dazing the giant. The crowd roared and never left its feet for the rest of the nearly 1/2 hour fight. Couture dominanted the entire fight and was named UFC heavyweight champion via unanimous decision.

Randy Couture Coming Out of Retirement at UFC 68

Mirko Cro Cop Legend Collapses
Cro Cop was believed to be the second best heavyweight in the world, behind only Fedor entering 2007. Now, Cro Cop is likely not even in the top 10. He was one fight away from challenging Randy Couture for the UFC heavyweight title. However, he ran into a problem. Gabriel Gonzaga nailed him with a high leg kick (a Cro Cop staple), knocking out the Croation like he was hit with a bag of bricks. In his comeback from the shocking loss, he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Cheick Kongo. Cro Cop will likely return to the UFC in 2008, but his legend/aura is long gone.

Saving Cro Cop?

UFC Purchases PRIDE Fighting Championships
People expected it for months but it only came to fruition in mid-2007. The UFC's biggest competitor was the PRIDE Fighting Championships, who ran primarily in Japan. UFC's parent company, Zuffa purchased PRIDE and left fans dreaming of potential dream matches. Guys like Mirko Cro Cop, Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Antonio Rodrigo Nogeira, Sokoudjuo and others have since entered the UFC. However, the biggest PRIDE fighter, Fedor Emelianenko eventually signed with M-1 after length negotiations with the UFC. The former top heavyweight in the world will likely never enter the UFC octagon. Since the purchase, fans have dwelled on the negatives (namely, a lack of PRIDE's entertaining and larger than life shows and a large competitor to the UFC).

UFC Signs Mirko "Cro Cop" and Quinton Jackson

Randy Couture Quits/Retires & Forfeits Championship
Perhaps the (legit) most shocking event on this list because it literally came out of nowhere for fans. Randy Couture, after several months of being UFC heavyweight champion (and after a successful defense in August against Gabriel Gonzaga), faxed his resignation to the UFC. Couture cited the inability for the UFC to sign Fedor and personl conflicts with the promotion as reasons for his resignation. Several press conferences and phone/face-to-face meetings later, Randy Couture denied a fight offer and was stripped of the championship. Couture considers himself retired...for now, at least until his UFC contract runs out. Rumors say October 2008 but some believe the deal would be frozen until he completes his obligations. Legal battles are likely to take place, but Randy the Natural Couture remains one of the sports top athletes.

Randy Couture Quits UFC

UFC Press Conference

Randy Couture Press Conference

Matt Serra Shocks World With TKO of St. Pierre
Perhaps the most lopsided match-up to main event a UFC PPV in recent memory. At least that's what most fans (and pundits) thought. Matt Serra was believed to be your average solid fighter. A great ju-jitsu guy, but nothing special. He had just won the veteran's season of The Ultimate Fighter to earn the title shot. Georges St. Pierre was viewed as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Young, talented in all aspects of the game, in shape, strong, etc., the list goes on and on. However, Serra was not denied. He shocked the MMA world by knocking out St. Pierre via TKO in the first round. Serra was named the UFC welterweight champion and Matt Hughes (who was the #1 contender) was seen smiling and laughing like a school girl in the audience, ecstatic at the surprising turn of events. That eventual match was cancelled due to a Serra back injury. Instead, Hughes will fight St. Pierre at UFC 79 for the interim welterweight title.

UFC 69 SHOCKER....Results

Chuck Liddell Loses Two Consecutive Fights
The Iceman, Chuck Liddell had to be the hottest fighter entering 2007. He came off a huge TKO win over Tito Ortiz in the biggest UFC PPV success in December. Things only went down hill. In May, he lost his first fight in years and the UFC light heavyweight title to Quinton Rampage Jackson. In September against former Ultimate Fighter contestant, Keith Jardine, he lost via split decision. Chuck Liddell has not win in nearly a year. His next fight is against rival Wanderlei Silva (who is also riding a two loss streak). A third consecutive loss would be unthinkable...but is a possible reality. 2007 was such a shock to Liddell's fans, will 2008 give any relief?

Chuck Liddell Loses Again at UFC 76

Quinton Rampage Era Begins
The biggest success to come from the UFC's capitalistic mindset was Quinton Rampage Jackson. His contract purchased in the WFA take-over, the UFC found a future superstar. It just so happened that in his second UFC fight, against rival Chuck Liddell, Rampage did what nobody has done...he beat Chuck twice. Rampage's highlight reel knockout of Liddell in about a minute was highlighted all over ESPN. Rampage's star has taken off. He went on to defeat Dan Henderson to unify the UFC and PRIDE light heavyweight titles. Can Quinton Jackson be as much of a force in the UFC and sports media world as he was in 2007? Time will tell.

UFC 75 Makes TV HISTORY on Spike

ESPN/SI Coverage of UFC
Early 2007 was a godsend for the UFC in terms of mainstream sports coverage via Sports Illustrated and ESPN. The first MMA fighter to be featured on the cover of SI, Roger Huerta has remained undefeated in the UFC. ESPN featured Chuck Liddell on its cover prior to his UFC 71 fight against Quinton Jackson. The promotion for the big title fight was amazing on ESPN and ESPNews, which created an incredible buzz. Sadly, all that TV coverage by mainstream sports entities has seemingly come to a screetching halt. Hopefully in 2008, there will be more TV coverage of MMA along with the NFL, NBA and MLB.

SI Cover Makes It Official: UFC Is a Mainstream Sport - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

UFC Champion Chuck Liddell Graces ESPN the Magazine Cover - Associated Content

Positive Steroid/Drug Tests Galore; Sean Sherk Stripped of Title
Amidst all the talk of steroids and other drugs in the "major" sports in the United States, mixed martial arts has seemingly fallen under the radar. However, moreso than MLB or the NFL, more top names in the sport of MMA have tested positive for steroids or street drugs. From Royce Gracie to Sean Sherk to Phil Baroni, Nick Diaz, Kit Cope and several others were all names involved in drug issues this past year. We would like to think this is not a trend that will grow in 2008, but until we see otherwise...

MMA not immune to steroid issues - MMA - Yahoo! Sports

UFC Strips Sean Sherk of Lightweight Title

UFC Champion Fails Drug Test

Gracie Fails Drug Test, Suspended

MMA WEEKLY - Your #1 Source for Daily MMA News, Interviews, Multimedia, and More


2007: Upsets Galore
The past year has been chock full of upsets all over the globe. From Matt Serra knocking out Georges St. Pierre to Gabriel Gonzaga's unbelieveable highlight knockout of Cro Cop. The latest, arguably the best fighter in the world, Shogun Rua is submitted by Ultimate Fighter winner Forrest Griffin. If anything has been proven in 2007, it's that the difference between the "elite" in the sport and the "middle" guys is not as big as we thought. Will this change next year? Probably not.

Top 10 MMA Upsets Of 2007 - Mixed Martial Arts | CRAVEONLINE.COM

[azrael492]

Which fight was it where the fighter was kicked out of the league for not letting go of a choke hold.

[EmpireWF]

Originally Posted by azrael492

Which fight was it where the fighter was kicked out of the league for not letting go of a choke hold.

That was at a UFC show a few months back, Babalu Sobral held the choke too long on David Heath. Sobral was let go and then signed with Strikeforce in October.