Frank Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz

While he has been largely written out of the UFC history books as a result of personal problems with Zuffa management, Frank “The Legend” Shamrock was once considered one of the best fighters in the world. In fact, he was the first-ever UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, though his “natural” weight class was closer to 185 than 205 lbs.

In the most impressive performance of his career, Shamrock defended his title for a fourth time with a come-from-behind victory over future champion Tito Ortiz in the main event of UFC 22. The fight, which took place in 1999, was considered the greatest fight in MMA history at the time.

While Ortiz clearly lacked the maturity and fight experience of the champion, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” was the larger, stronger, and more aggressive fighter. For the first three rounds, these factors let him control Shamrock. Ortiz handled himself well enough on the feet to get the fight to the ground, where his powerful frame and incredible wrestling base made him virtually immoveable from the top position.

Staying busy throughout the fight, whether it was on the feet or on the bottom position, Shamrock began to wear on the larger fighter in the championship rounds. Finally, after almost 20 minutes of fighting, Ortiz submitted to a steady stream of elbows, punches, and hammer fists, ending the fight motionless on both knees and elbows with his head tucked beneath his shoulders. The come-from-behind win led announcers to dub Shamrock the greatest fighter to date in UFC history.

Throughout his career, Shamrock has been questioned about his fight with Ortiz. On multiple occasions, he has stated that it was the greatest physical and mental challenge of his career, as he was forced to use all of his martial arts knowledge to overcome a fighter endowed with greater physical gifts than him.