Doggy Bag: A Different Standard

I just returned from Bellator's Dayton show and saw the best fight ever. When Toby Imada came back from certain defeat to lock on the sweetest submission I've ever seen, I nearly fainted from excitement and jubilation. What is the best MMA fight that you have ever seen in person, and why? TRIANGLE CHOKEEEEE!
-- Don

Greg Savage, radio host: First off, that was an amazing submission from Toby Imada. He is a guy I have been watching fight for well over a decade and it was good to see an old-timer teach one of the sport’s promising young prospects a lesson or two.

Now on to your question, after thinking about all the fights I have been to I realized I couldn’t narrow it down to just one. Instead, I will give you the top three fights, excitement-wise, that I have witnessed in person.

In no particular order they are Nick Diaz-Takanori Gomi, Matt Hughes-Frank Trigg II, and Tito Ortiz-Ken Shamrock I.

The Diaz-Gomi fight was amazing with both fighters going back and forth until Diaz took over after Gomi gassed out. The real highlight for me was the gogoplata finish. It was something I never envisioned seeing live and when it happened I was literally shocked.

Hughes’ second victory over Trigg was a feat of sheer determination. After suffering what he thought was a low blow, Hughes found himself completely defensive as he struggled to catch his breath. Trigg was hammering away and then all of the sudden; up he goes into the air.

Hughes had scooped him up onto his shoulder before carrying him across the Octagon and slamming him to the mat. He locked up a rear naked (shocker there, I know) to notch his second win over Trigg.

The final bout, Tito-Shammy I, might seem a little out of place here, but I assure you it was one of the most exciting bout to witness live. It was a defining moment for UFC and for my career. This was the fight that let everyone know MMA was on the map in North America. I know it was a one-sided beating but the energy in the building was amazing, it was the first UFC I attended that had a legitimate big-time sporting event feel. It was the moment I realized this was something I really wanted to pursue for the long-term.

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