PROMO: The 10 Best MMA Bouts Of All Time

The martial arts originated somewhere back in ancient history, but about 30 years ago, the world seemed to sense that it was time bring all the various techniques together into one kick-ass convergence of styles, and Mixed Martial Arts was born. With the invention of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the United States was introduced to Brazillian Jiu Jitsu and Japanese shoot wrestling, along with combinations of a host of other fighting forms, and the old U.S. of A. would never be the same.

In salute to MMA, here is a breakdown of the sport's ten greatest bouts. So mouthpieces in, and please no eye gouging.

These two lightweights traded punishment in a way that no one saw coming—conventional wisdom had defending title-holder Edgar using his superior quickness to dominate Maynard. But "The Bully" did not back down; in fact, Maynard spent much of the fight on the offensive, and more than once escaped sure doom to earn a draw. This has gone on to become one of the UFC's premier rivalries

While the UFC dominates the American MMA conversation, the Japanese Sengoku sees some intense action in its own right. This 2010 bloodbath saw middleweight champ Santiago defend his title against challenger Misaki, even after Misaki dominated the early rounds. Santiago's comeback was so complete, the match ended :30 early due to Misaki's side throwing in the towel.

Ok, so this is a guilty pleasure on the list. Basically, Anderson "The Spider" Silva obliterated trash-talking Leben in 48 seconds, beating him like he was his stepson. Silva is without question one of the greats the sport has ever known, and sometimes with fighters like that, it's best just to celebrate the butt-whippings.

These two monsters of the UFC, both past heavyweight champs, squared off in Portland, Oregon, giving the hipster capital a reason to go beserk. Couture and Nogueira will make almost any list of the best individual fighters in the history of the sport, and when these two old dogs met, it was everything a clash of the titans should be. Nogueira won a unanimous decision, but Couture showed why he is one of the game's greats.

This was a fight that Filipovic "The Croation Cop" begged for, and maybe he should have thought twice, since Pride heavyweight champ Emelianenko handled him. Nonetheless, it remains a heavyweight bought for all time, and Filipovic moved on from the loss by heading into the Croatian Parliament.

So first there is the fight, a non-title bout between two premiere lightweights. While Gomi seemed off his game, he made it a contest until Diaz trapped him in only the second successful Gogoplata submission in Pride history. But then there was the aftermath, when it was revealed that Diaz's THC levels were through the roof prior to the fight, and it was alleged he had partaken of some herb in order to numb the pain he was set to endure. As rare as a Gogoplata is, calling weed a performance enhancing drug is even less common.

Royce Gracie is key to the UFC for a couple reasons. One, he was its first great champion, but two, he proved that in MMA, you cannot judge a book by its cover. The slender Brazillian just knew how to kick ass and take names, seemingly without breaking a sweat. Leopoldo came into this bout outweighing Gracie by 50 lbs, and he still could not escape Gracie's armbar.

Many have called this bout #1. It was the finals of the light-heavyweight division in the first season of UFC's reality series "The Ultimate Fighter," and to say it met the league's expectations would be a serious understatement. By fight's end, both fighters were exhausted and bloody, and when Forrest Griffin was named the victor by unanimous decision, Bonnar collapsed in sheer disbelief.

This was the moment for French-Canadian welterweight St. Pierre. He had attempted to take down Hall of Famer Matt Hughes at UFC 50 and failed, but had since proven he was among the best in the sport. It all came together for him at UFC 58 when he beat former champ BJ Penn in a split decision to become the #1 contender, all set for his rematch with Hughes. It didn't come right away, due to a St. Pierre injury, but eventually he got his shot at Hughes and handled him easily.

Both of these fighters came into this match after long careers and with heavy chips on their shoulders, and it was clear once they got down to business that there was no love lost between the two. After a slow feeling out process, this turned into one of those bloody, brutal affairs between two of the best known fighters in the entire sport. Liddell won by decision, proving the "Iceman" still had the goods.