Weidman-Silva I at UFC 162 tops ‘UFC Tonight’ list of 50 best 2013 moments

As the 2013 calendar year in the UFC draws to a close this week with UFC 168, the folks at FOX Spots 1's “UFC Tonight” put together their list of the definitive moments of the year.

Earlier this week, the show counted down the top 50 UFC moments in the UFC in 2013. But the question may be, with Saturday’s rematches between Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva and Ronda Rousey-Miesha Tate left to go, will the list need to be adjusted?

We’ll find out in a couple days. But until then, take a look at the Top 50 moments in the UFC in 2013 from “UFC Tonight.” Did the show leave anything out? Or has it nailed things fairly spot-on?

50-41

• 50. UFC on FOX 8: Robbie Lawler KOs Bobby Voelker; Melvin Guillard stops Mac Danzig.
• 49. UFC 158: Johny Hendricks beats Carlos Condit by unanimous decision to get title shot.
• 48. UFC on FX 8: Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza submits Chris Camozzi in his UFC debut.
• 47. UFC 164: Chad Mendes becomes the first fighter to stop Clay Guida by TKO.
• 46. UFC 162: Cub Swanson runs his winning streak to five with a “Fight of the Night” TKO of Dennis Siver.
• 45. UFC Fight Night 28: Glover Teixeira gets a TKO win against Ryan Bader in his native Brazil – and, ultimately, a title shot.
• 44. UFC 156: Demian Maia dominates in what would be former title challenger Jon Fitch’s final fight in the UFC before a surprise release.
• 43. UFC 159: Roy Nelson knocks out Cheick Kongo in the first round in Kongo’s final UFC fight before signing with Bellator MMA.
• 42. UFC Fight Night 29: Dong Hyun Kim stuns Erick Silva to win “Knockout of the Night” in Silva’s home country of Brazil.
• 41. UFC Fight Night 26: Matt Brown got his second straight bonus and sixth straight win when he stopped Mike Pyle in just 29 seconds for “Knockout of the Night” in Boston.

40-31

• 40. UFC 158, UFC 166: Nate Marquardt capped off a rough 0-3 2013 with knockout losses to Jake Ellenberger and Hector Lombard back in the UFC after losing his Strikeforce welterweight title in January.
• 39. UFC on FOX 7: In his UFC debut and first fight at middleweight, Yoel Romero picked up a knockout bonus thanks to a flying knee against Clifford Sparks.
• 38. UFC 156: Jose Aldo’s dominance over the featherweight division continued with a win over a gritty Frankie Edgar, who was making his featherweight debut.
• 37. UFC 166: In a back-and-forth fight, Jessica Eye picked up a split-decision win in her UFC debut against Sarah Kaufman.
• 36. UFC 157: In a strong early candidate for “Fight of the Year” that has held up on most year-end lists, Dennis Bermudez got a split-decision win over Matt Grice in a “Fight of the Night” war.
• 35. UFC on FUEL TV 7: Michael McDonald gave him a good early test, but Renan Barao came on strong for a “Submission of the Night” win in his first defense of the UFC interim bantamweight title.
• 34. UFC 157: Robbie Lawler returned to the UFC after a lengthy absence and did so with authority, stopping Josh Koscheck in the first round.
• 33. UFC on FOX 7: Matt Brown’s fifth straight welterweight win was a second-round “Fight of the Night” stoppage over the highly touted Jordan Mein.
• 32. UFC on FOX 7: Benson Henderson defended his lightweight title against former Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez, then proposed to his girlfriend in the octagon. She said yes.
• 31. UFC 160: With a lightweight title shot on the line, T.J. Grant upset Gray Maynard fot a “Knockout of the Night” bonus.

30-21

• 30. UFC on FOX 7: Josh Thomson became the first to stop “TUF 5? winner and recent title challenger Nate Diaz with strikes. Ultimately, the win got him a title shot – though that shot was scrapped when Anthony Pettis was injured.
• 29. UFC on FUEL TV 9, UFC Fight Night 26: Conor McGregor made a big early impact in the UFC with a 67-second stoppage of Marcus Brimage in his UFC debut, then a decisive win over Max Holloway despite suffering a knee injury in the second round.
• 28. UFC 164: Josh Barnett returned tot he UFC after a lengthy absence, and announced his heavyweight presence with authority with a quick TKO win over Frank Mir.
• 27. UFC on FOX 8: After being criticized by some for his decision wins, flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson defended his belt with a fifth-round submission win over John Moraga.
• 26. UFC on FOX 6: Thanks to a brutal shot to the body, Anthony Pettis took out Donald Cerrone in Chicago and got a lightweight title shot. He would go on to pass on it for a featherweight title shot, instead. He then got injured and had to miss that fight, but stepped in for T.J. Grant for a shot at 155 pounds a month later, coming full circle.
• 25. UFC Fight Night 31: At the UFC’s third “Fight for the Troops” show, military hero Tim Kennedy nailed Rafael Natal with a left hand for a bonus in the main event as the troops erupted. He then gave a touching post-fight victory speech to the troops on hand.
• 24. UFC 163: In yet another defense of his featherweight title, Jose Aldo stopped Chan Sung Jung, “The Korean Zombie,” in the fourth round in his home country of Brazil.
• 23. UFC 159: After their coaching stints opposite each other on Season 17 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Jon Jones tore through Chael Sonnen in the first round – breaking his toe while defending his l ight heavyweight title.
• 22. TUF 17 Finale: Cat Zingano stops Miesha Tate in the third round to earn a shot at Ronda Rousey’s women’s bantamweight title and a coaching spot on “TUF 18.” But an injury later kept her from both.
• 21. UFC 158: Georges St-Pierre defended his welterweight title with a dominant performance against Nick Diaz in his home city of Montreal.

20-11

• 20. UFC 167: Georges St-Pierre picked up arguably the most controversial win of his career with a split-decision win over Johny Hendricks at the UFC’s 20th anniversary show. Most had the fight scored for Hendricks. St-Pierre a few weeks later would step away from MMA indefinitely and vacate his title.
• 19. UFC Fight Night 33: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, with talk swirling around him about the need to drop to middleweight or consider retiring, quieted his doubters with a knockout win over James Te Huna in Australia.
• 18. UFC Fight Night 27: In Indianapolis, Carlos Condit stopped Martin Kampmann in the fourth round of their rematch for his third straight “Fight of the Night” bonus win.
• 17. UFC on FOX 9: Demetrious Johnson continued to silence critics of his finishing ability with a stunning first-round knockout of Joseph Benavidez to emphatically defend his flyweight title on FOX once again.
• 16. UFC 160: With a big kick, Junior dos Santos knocked out Mark Hunt in the third round to advance to another title shot against Cain Velasquez.
• 15. “TUF 17?: It’s not on his official record, but Uriah Hall’s knockout of Adam Cella on Season 17 of “The Ultimate Fighter” put Cella in the hospital and had UFC President Dana White calling it the most intense knockout in the show’s history.
• 14. UFC Fight Night 30: Stepping in on a month’s notice for Michael Bisping in England, Lyoto Machida stopped friend and sometimes training partner Mark Munoz with a head kick in the first round – then stopped short of drilling him with unnecessary extra punches on the ground.
• 13. UFC 156, UFC Fight Night 26: Alistair Overeem’s return didn’t go as planned. He was knocked out by Antonio Silva, then was stopped by Travis Browne for his first losing skid in more than six years.
• 12. UFC 165: Renan Barao defended his interim bantamweight title for a second time with a spinning back-kick finish of Eddie Wineland in Toronto.
• 11. UFC on FUEL TV 8: Mark Hunt continued to boggle minds, including Stefan Struve’s, with a knockout that broke Struve’s jaw in Japan.

10-1

• 10. UFC on FX 7, UFC on FX 8, UFC Fight Night 32: Vitor Belfort picked up “Knockout of the Night” wins over Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold and Dan Henderson, all in his home country of Brazil.
• 9. UFC Fight Night 26: Chael Sonnen got back on track after two title losses with a “Submission of the Night” win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in Boston.
• 8. TUF 18 Finale: Julianna Pena became the first female “Ultimate Fighter” winner by stopping Jessica Rakoczy.
• 7. UFC on FUEL TV 8: Fighting in Japan for the first time since his legendary PRIDE days, Wanderlei Silva knocked out Brian Stann for a double bonus win. The fight would be Stann’s last before retiring from the sport to work as a broadcaster for FOX Sports.
• 6. UFC 164: Anthony Pettis remained Benson Henderson’s Kryptonite, stopping the champ with a first-round armbar in his home town of Milwaukee to win the UFC lightweight title.
• 5. UFC 166: Cain Velazquez and his dominant victory over Junior Dos Santos paired with Gilbet Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez.
• 4. UFC Fight Night 33: Mark Hunt and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva fought in what was instantly lauded as the greatest heavyweight fight of all time – a majority draw. Silva, though, would test positive for elevated testosterone after the fight, marring the instant classic in many eyes.
• 3. UFC 157: Ronda Rousey made history by defending her bantamweight title in the first female fight in the UFC, stopping Liz Carmouche with – yup, a first-round armbar – after a tense early moment.
• 2. UFC 165: Jon Jones defended his light heavyweight title against Alexander Gustafsson in a “Fight of the Year” candidate five-round war in Toronto that left Jones bloodied and battered. Many thought Gustafsson did enough to win the fight.
• 1. UFC 162: No real surprise: Chris Weidman upset Anderson Silva to win the middleweight title. The two rematch Saturday in Las Vegas.

(Pictured: Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva, UFC 162)