3. Maurice Smith
Smith's heavyweight title-winning debut against Mark Coleman takes the bronze medal finish here. Personally, I disagree completely. Not only did I have it at No. 1 but think it's so far ahead of every other debut that No. 2 is likely closer to No. 20 than it is to Smith's debut. In fact, we may have never had a previous top 10 where I considered the disparity between first place and the rest to be so great. Smith defeating Coleman isn't just the biggest upset in UFC championship history, it's the biggest upset in UFC and MMA history the likes of which will never, ever be equaled. There weren't odds back then, but Coleman may well have been a -10000 favorite for the contest. It's not just that there was no way for Smith to win, but that the manner in which he could hypothetically do so was inconceivable, as a striker had never defeated a good wrestler at that point in MMA history. Never mind that Smith had a losing record of 5-8, or that Coleman was a golden god with a record of 6-0 who appeared to be completely unstoppable, including decimating other top wrestlers in Don Frye and Dan Severn. What unfolded at UFC 14 was pure magic, because MMA fans had never seen or imagined anything like it. Smith not only introduced a number of brand-new techniques and proved that a striker could beat a good grappler, but he emphatically defeated the very best grappler MMA had ever seen. Did I mention that he also won the UFC heavyweight crown and cemented himself as the best fighter in the world? All for a guy who had come into the UFC with a losing record and had been thoroughly dominated in the Pancrase organization. A Hollywood screenwriter couldn't conjure up anything as uncanny, miraculous, and perfect as Maurice Smith's debut. And given how much more we know about MMA now, with far fewer discoveries to be made, it's one that will never be matched.
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