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Jul
31
9. Ken Shamrock
Shamrock was just as cocky and abrasive as Tito Ortiz, only long before Tito knew who he was, let alone us knowing who Tito was. Shamrock was a brawler with an anger issue, and would channel his anger into one hell of a great fighting career. Shamrock started early on being trained as a pro wrestler, but eventually fell into Pancrase, a version of MMA and hybrid wrestling (not pro wrestling), where he became a fierce competitor. Shamrock competed in the first UFC competition in 1993, where he made it to the semi-finals, but lost to eventual tournament winner, Royce Gracie. Within his first 25 MMA contests, Shamrock amassed a great record of 19 wins, 4 losses, and two draws.
Shamrock proved to be quite a force in MMA, then, in what appeared to be his prime fighting years, Shamrock abandoned real fighting in favor of pro wrestling and the WWE (WWF at that time). This might have seemed ridiculous, but people underestimate the loyalty of pro wrestling fans. When Shamrock ultimately came back to the MMA circuit, he brought thousands of fans with him. Shamrock single-handedly introduced MMA to hundreds of thousands of people who otherwise wouldn’t have even thought twice about MMA…
8. Forrest Griffin & Stephan Bonnar
These two put on one of the most memorable fights in MMA history. This abandoned 
much of the technical side of MMA in favor of the method of “I’m going to punch you in the face until I can’t punch anymore, or until my hand falls off,” and what made it more exciting was the fact that both men could take a serious punch. This fight was the finale of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality TV series. These were the two finalists in the competition and they were battling it out on live cable TV to see who was going to be awarded a six-figure contract with the UFC. Griffin ultimately won a close victory, but not until he pummeled Bonnar, and got pummeled by Bonnar himself. Not only did Griffin win the contract, but the UFC thought Bonnar deserved a contract as well, and they gave him one just for showing heart and being part of this exciting fight. This fight ranks as one of the most watched MMA events on non-PPV live TV, and is responsible for turning thousands of “casual” fans into “die hard” fans.
7. Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta
In 2001 the Fertitta brothers, Las Vegas businessmen and multi-millionaires, invested two million 
dollars in an almost bankrupt fighting promotion known as the UFC, then created Zuffa LLC, the parent company of UFC. After dropping two big clams to purchase an almost dead company, they hired boxing promoter, Dana White, and the rest is history.
After purchasing the UFC they then bought out their two main sources of competition. In 2007 The Fertittas purchased Pride Fighting Championship (PRIDE) and World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and made them partner companies to UFC, which now allowed them to easily create “super fights” with the rosters of all three companies at their disposal. This might be looked at by some as being as significant as when the NFL overtook the AFL to own the American football market, or when the NBA absorbed the ABA to corner the basketball market.
These gentlemen need to be commended for their long term vision for the company and for the sport, however, I don’t think even these two could imagine what their company would become, and further yet, what their company would help do for the sport of MMA.
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