In 2007 we saw some of the best match ups in MMA history. We got to see fights such as Quinton Jackson versus Chuck Liddell, Roger Huerta versus Leonard Garcia, Diego Sanchez versus Jon Fitch and the ultimate light heavyweight bout between Wanderlei Silva and Chuck Liddell.

The top promotions continued to impress into 2008 with fights like Rob McCullough versus Jamie Varner, Anderson Silva versus Dan Henderson and Gesias Calvancante versus Shinya Aoki. With all of the amazing talent out there it isn’t hard to find great match ups that will make for explosive and dynamic fights.

That being said there have been some match ups in the past that fell a little short of the mark and in my opinion should have never taken place.

Here is my list of the top 4 fights I believe should not have taken place starting with number 4.

#4 Ken Shamrock vs Tito Ortiz 3
Fight number four was the end to another pointless trilogy involving the former "World’s Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock and the "Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz. Like the Sakuraba Silva trilogy this was another example of a pointless third fight. If you demolish somebody twice, I really don’t see the need for a third fight unless there are extremely special circumstances. It was obvious from the first two fights that Ortiz had Shamrock’s number and his number wasn’t ever going to be in the win column.

The whole saga involving Tito and Ken started when Tito avenged his loss and defeated Lion’s Den fighter Guy Mezger at UFC 19. After the fight Tito jumped up and gave Guy’s corner the finger. Shamrock took it very personal and thus the story began. In their first fight Ken was overwhelmed and destroyed by Tito’s signature ground and pound for three full rounds. Shamrock literally looked like he stuck his head in a mulcher chipper shredder and the doctors were forced to stop the fight. After a lot of trash talk from both parties a rematch was inevitable and therefore took place at UFC 61 "Bitter Rivals". Tito took Ken down and smashed Ken with elbows. It only took Tito 1:18 to defeat Ken via TKO. The fight became controversial when Ken argued with the referee claiming the fight was stopped too early.

Whether it was or wasn’t stopped early really didn’t make a difference as far as a third fight goes. Tito clearly dominated Shamrock in both fights and there was no need for a third fight in my opinion. Everyone knew exactly what would happen when they met each other once again inside the octagon. I honestly felt bad for Ken Shamrock by the time the third fight took place. Tito had made him look bad twice. He was obviously the better fighter. Did we really need to see a repeat of the second fight which is exactly what happened.

The third fight took place at UFC "The Final Chapter" and was free for viewers on Spike TV. It’s a good thing to because the fight was over in exactly 2:23 due to , you guessed it, TKO from strikes. It was a sad finish to the trilogy for the UFC legend Ken Shamrock who had worked so hard to build his reputation as "The World’s Most Dangerous Man".

#3 Fedor Emelianenko vs Hong Man Choi (video)
Number three on the list involves one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world taking on a guy who had 1 pro MMA fight under his belt. This is probably one of the worst match ups in the history of the sport and should never have taken place. This fight transported us back to the days of Ultimate Fighting when matches like this were the norm. In the early UFC’s you wouldn’t be surprised to see a fight with a regular sized man taking on a goliath but this is now and that was then. The sport has since developed into something respectable and highly esteemed. This is the exact opposite of the way in which we would like this sport to be perceived by the public.

As a true fan of the sport I am game for pretty much anything but this was a debacle. Fedor Emelianenko, a guy who has 25 fights in a row without losing, fighting a guy with exactly 16 seconds of experience as a pro in the ring. There was a virtual gallery of fighters who would have made great match ups for the "The Last Emperor" including Josh Barnett, Ben Rothwell, Tim Sylvia, Antonio Silva and Ricco Rodriguez to name a few.

The outcome of this fight was so obvious that nearly every prediction I saw in the MMA forums was correct. Fedor Emelianenko will win via armbar. He obviously wasn’t going to stand and trade with a 7′2 352 lb giant and risk taking a blow from a fist the size of a watermelon. Even a slap from Hong Man would have sent his head flying into the upper deck of the arena. So everyone knew he would take down the giant and that is exactly what he did with a little help from Choi of course. It only took him 1:54 to topple Choi and sink in the armbar finishing the fight.

This fight absolutely never should have happened and because of this fight Fedor has since dropped in the pound for pound rankings on many of the top MMA news sites. Many fans of MMA are upset that he hasn’t fought tougher competition in recent years and that he hasn’t fought often enough. I recently lowered him on my pound for pound list to make room for Anderson Silva who is fighting top notch fighters and defending his rank.

#2 Kazushi Sakuraba vs Wanderlei Silva 3 (video)
Number two on the list is a fight that involved one of my favorite fighters of all time and a legend in his own right, Kazushi Sakuraba. Saku took on "The Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva for the third time in his career and once again things would turn out to be anything but pretty for the "Gracie Killer" in this third and final meeting. One thing I can say about Japanese fighters is that they will not give up no matter what the consequence as was the case at Pride Total Elimination 2003.

This triple header began at Pride 13 where Saku and Wanderlei met for the first time inside the Pride ring in March of 2001. In the first fight Silva obliterated Sakuraba with punches and kicks getting the TKO in less then 2 minutes flat. It was a complete domination and total destruction of the Japanese sensation. Silva devastated Saku with punches, knees and kicks, finishing him off with a soccer kick to the face. In their second meeting Saku held his own until finally getting viciously slammed by Wanderlei. Due to a broken collar bone, Saku could not continue the fight.

Wanderlei Silva had beaten Sakuraba in both matches. Was there really a need for a third? We all knew what was going to happen. It was basically just a matter of how much damage Kazushi would suffer in their third bout. Silva had Saku’s number and I knew once again that Saku would not give up no matter how much damage Silva inflicted. It was basically like watching one of my favorite fighters being forced into a blender that was set to "ice crush" three times. It was extremely hard to watch.

The third fight in this trilogy was no different from their first two encounters. Only this time when Saku came out he looked like he had been to war with bandages on both knees and one on his right ear. Silva knocked him out flat on his back with a big right hand at 5:01 in the first round.

#1 Royce Gracie vs Matt Hughes
Topping the list at number one is the legend himself, Royce Gracie taking on the most dominant UFC welterweight champion of all time, Matt Hughes. From the second I heard about this fight I knew it was going to be a complete disaster. Sometimes it is just better to let sleeping dogs lie and let your reputation speak for itself. Unfortunately for Royce he wasn’t about to turn down a chance to prove once again that Grace Jiu-Jitsu is still the dominant style in mixed martial arts.

Sure back in Royce’s hay day this would have been a great match up. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master versus the All American wrestler. But this is 13 years later and MMA has evolved in leaps and bounds. This is the era of a new type of fighter. Matt Hughes is in his prime and Royce is not the same fighter as he was back then. I think everyone pretty much knew what was going to happen in this bout. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Royce Gracie would basically be fighting for his life in this match. I was honestly upset with Matt Hughes for taking this fight. He knew what would happen and he knew what the outcome would be.

It was honesty extremely hard for me to watch, having so much respect for Royce Gracie and his family. The fight went exactly how I thought it would with Hughes eventually getting the takedown and punishing Royce on the ground. He caught Gracie in a vicious kimura but eventually let it go and finished him with punches. Hughes completely dominated the legend and made it look easy. But what do you expect? It wasn’t the same Gracie that we witnessed back in the first UFC’s.

To sum things up I think it was a bad decision on the part of the UFC and strictly done for $elfish reasons. They knew this fight was dangerous and they made it happen anyway. I will never forget the look on Royce Gracie’s face after he lost. I have never seen someone so dejected in my entire life.