A look back at UFC 100 & UFC 200 ahead of historic UFC 300 event

UFC 300 is the biggest UFC event in the company's history. Three titles are on the line to top the main card and 12 former or current UFC champions appear throughout.

To explain the magnitude of the line-up, former champions Deiveson Figueiredo and Cody Grabrandt are set to open the early prelims as the first fight on the card. This is the kind of card you watch from the opening bell. 

But before UFC 300 could even be thought of, UFC 100 and UFC 200 had to happen. Those respective cards were milestones for the promotion at the time. 

What happened at UFC 100? 

UFC 100 took place on July 11, 2009, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and was headlined by UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar putting his title on the line versus Frank Mir.

The fight was a bit of a revenge match for Lesnar since he'd lost to Mir via submission at UFC 81. At the time, Mir was the first and only man to defeat Lesnar.

The co-main event featured a title defense for legend even then Georges St-Pierre. He defeated Thiago Alves via decision making it his third successful title defense in a row.

But perhaps one of the most historic moments on the card was the epic knockout of Michael Bisping at the hand of Dan Henderson. That KO is listed in several of the best-of-highlight videos even now, 15 years later. Worthy of note is that a young Jon Jones appeared on the prelims of the card. He fought and defeated Jake O'Brien via submission in the second round. It was only Jones' third fight in the UFC. 

What happened at UFC 200? 

UFC 200 took place on July 9, 2016, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and was headlined by a women's bantamweight title fight between then-champion Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes. The card overall had quite a few of hiccups. 

Jon Jones was supposed to be on the card but was popped for steroids and suspended. Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz was also supposed to be on the card but instead McGregor "retired". It was a wild time for the UFC to say the least. The event was also the first event the UFC held at the newly built T-Mobile Arena and was the last event held in the Zuffa era before being sold to WME-IMG. 

Anderson Silva was brought in to replace Jones but the fight turned out to be a bit of a disaster and wasn't popular amongst the fans. Brock Lesnar made his return to the UFC and fought Mark Hunt. He won the bout but the decision was overturned when Lesnar flagged for steroids. That fight jump started a legal battle between Hunt and the UFC which was just recently finished and not in Hunt's favor. 

The main event, criticized at the time for being two women at the top, ended up delivering when Nunes dethroned Tate via a first-round submission. That fight made Nunes a star and catapulted her towards eventually becoming the UFC's only female double champion. 

UFC 300 may mean more to fans in 10 years than it does now, as is the case with both UFC 100 and 200. It's difficult to predict how some of these fights will go and how they will play into the overall legacy for the fighter or the promotion. You're just going to have to stick around to find out. 

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