Penick's Take
PENICK: Key moments in Zuffa history leading to Saturday's UFC on Fox debut
Nov 12, 2011 - 9:30:16 AM PENICK: Key moments in Zuffa history leading to Saturday's UFC on Fox debut

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Saturday night marks the UFC's 18th birthday, and they're celebrating with the single biggest moment in the organization's history to date: the Heavyweight Championship live on Fox. In those 18 years, the Octagon has housed a number of historic fights and memorable moments, and many important milestones that have led to Saturday's first foray onto network television.

Though the early years of the UFC created the brand and began the development of what would become the sport of mixed martial arts, the major strides bringing the sport and the UFC to where it is heading into this weekend began with Zuffa purchasing the promotion back in 2001. With that purchase as a starting point, let's take a look at a timeline of key moments for the UFC in bringing them to this historic network debut.

May 4, 2001 - UFC 31 "Locked and Loaded": Though the first event following Zuffa's purchase of the UFC was actually February 2001's UFC 30 card, this event in May of that year was the first true Zuffa production, as they came on board briefly before UFC 130. Featuring a fantastic night of fights - including Randy Couture's 25-minute classic with Pedro Rizzo, Chuck Liddle's KO of Kevin Randleman, and Shonie Carter's infamous spinning back fist on Matt Serra - the card set the stage for the type of excitement fans would come to find in the new UFC more often than not.

September 28, 2001 - UFC 33 "Victory in Vegas": Though this will go down as one of biggest disappointments in all of UFC history, this event was a huge deal in the first year of Zuffa ownership. The event marked the organization's return to pay-per-view after being forced off years before, and it also marked the very first UFC event in Las Vegas, which has now become the organization's home base. Though the event ran long with three boring title fights and was cut off for customers at home, it was a landmark and an important date in terms of Zuffa's history with the UFC.

June, 2002 - UFC 37.5: The event took place on June 22, but it was the broadcasting of an exciting fight between Roger Huerta and Steve Berger on Fox Sports Net that made this a noteworthy mention. The UFC's first fight on cable television was the beginning of an ongoing relationship with FSN's Best Damn Sports Show Period, and helped boost the profile of the organization a little further as they continued attempting to make their way from the brink.

November 22, 2002 - UFC 40: Vendetta: The first showdown between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock turned "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" from a brash Champion into a bona fide star for the UFC, at least as far as the sport was concerned in 2002. It was somewhat of a passing of the torch moment, and Ortiz moving up in stature from this fight helped make his fights with Chuck Liddell down the line even more than what they might have been.

January 17, 2005 - The Ultimate Fighter: The UFC's now-staple reality series begins on Spike TV, introducing a crossover audience from the WWE's Monday Night Raw to the world of mixed martial arts and UFC light heavyweight stars and coaches Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture. The ensuing three months of television would culminate in our next moment.

April 9, 2005 - The Ultimate Fighter Finale: The UFC couldn't have scripted the conclusion to the first season of the reality show any better. Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar, who hadn't entirely stood out in the house during their time on the show, put on a fight the UFC deemed the best fight in their history just two years ago. It was certainly the most important, as it gained viewers as it continued on, with the back and forth brawl cementing a whole throng of new fans that would help the UFC explode in popularity.

May 27, 2006 - UFC 60 "Hughes vs. Gracie": This was the original MMA legend Royce Gracie meeting the legend-in-the-making Matt Hughes in a massive fight for the UFC. It drew over 600,000 pay-per-view buys, which at the time set a record for the UFC, a record that would be broken twice more that year, but it was a monumental fight showcasing the evolution of the sport in the 13 years since Gracie won the first UFC tournament.

December 30, 2006 - UFC 66 "Liddell vs. Ortiz II": This would be the benchmark pay-per-view for the UFC over the next several years, as they topped the one million buy mark for the first time in a grudge match between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. The UFC's biggest feud to date culminated in a second TKO finish for Liddell against Ortiz, and began a run of record business year after year for the next three.

September 8, 2007 - UFC 75 "Champion vs. Champion": The highest rating the UFC has received on Spike TV for an event came with this card from London, where Quinton "Rampage" Jackson defeated Pride Champion Dan Henderson in a classic five round fight. The event peaked with nearly 6 million viewers in what still remains the highest non-Ultimate Fighter drawing fight on cable for the UFC.

July 11, 2009 - UFC 100: The UFC's most successful pay-per-view event ever was stacked with a fantastic fight card, headlined by the unquestionable top draw for the organization in Brock Lesnar. The event drew nearly 1.8 million pay-per-view buys, and the culmination of two top draws, a third fight with Ultimate Fighter coaches, and having the numbered events hit three digits made for a special card that hasn't come close to being reached.

May 29, 2010 - UFC 114 "Rampage vs. Evans": After coaching the most-watched season of the Ultimate Fighter (thanks in large part to Kimbo Slice), the bout between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Rashad Evans became the first non-title fight in UFC history to break the million buy barrier for the UFC.

November 12, 2012 - UFC on Fox 1: Exactly 18 years after the UFC came to pay-per-view for the first time, the UFC enters a new frontier on network television. Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos are set to bring forth the best Heavyweight Title fight in UFC history, and the UFC will spring into the next level of exposure for the organization as they embark on this seven-year television deal Fox.