In early 2020, the sports world was paralyzed due to the coronavirus pandemic and the global spread of the COVID-19 infection it caused. Most of the competitions were stopped, and the Absolute Fighting Championship was among the victims. The leadership of the most popular promotion has already canceled a number of tournaments, and in the near future it risks losing the main event of the spring - the champion lightweight champion fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.

11 years ago, humanity had already faced a problem similar to the current one. Then the outbreak of swine flu H1N1 that began in Mexico turned into a pandemic, according to various sources, from 18 thousand to 575 thousand people became victims of this year. The epidemic began in March-April and ended only in August 2010, but the mortality rate was then much lower than now. Perhaps that is why world sports organizations almost did not have to adjust their calendar.

As for the UFC, 11 years ago it was still gaining momentum and was not as global a phenomenon as it became in the second half of the 2010s. This is evidenced by only 19 tournaments held per year, while in 2019 the promotion organized 43 shows, two of which were held in Russia.

In addition, the situation was more scarce in terms of divisions. At that time there were only five of them, and before the opening of the semi-light and lightest, more than a year remained. Only at the end of 2010, the UFC completed the merger with its subsidiary World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) promotion and headed for the development of categories that in the future will give it stars such as Conor McGregor, Jose Aldo, Dominic Cruz, TJ Dillashow, Zabit Magomedsharipov , Peter Jan and others.

About fights involving women in 2009, there was not even a word. Dana White himself openly stated that he did not intend to conduct battles between the fairer sex in the octagon, but subsequently changed his mind. This was largely facilitated by the popularity of Ronda Rousey, who became the first UFC bantamweight champion. Over the next years, the American made a splash in the world of MMA and paved the way for other female fighters.

Brock Lesnar (heavy weight)

In the most prestigious category, the belt was owned by a former WWE wrestler and the most popular fighter at that time. Brock Lesnar made his mixed martial arts debut in mid-2007, but ended up on top in the largest MMA promotion on the planet. Of course, it was not without the help of the leadership who wanted to see him with the title, but it is impossible to deny the talents of the athlete himself. The American was a pile of muscles, which, together with the solid experience of playing in the first division in the NCAA wrestling, gave him an advantage over his rivals.

Despite this, he began his career at the UFC with a resounding defeat from Frank World. Lesnar was considered a clear favorite and started the fight perfectly, but fell on the knee lever at the 90th second. True, this did not prevent him from becoming a champion after nine months. He first dealt with Heath Herring, and then prevailed over Randy Couture. At that time, the legendary athlete turned 45 years old.

After the start of the swine flu epidemic, Lesnar entered the cell for the fifth time and took more than confident revenge from the World. The battle lasted a little over two rounds, during which Brock completely dominated the enemy. He used all his physical power and wrestling skills, flattering it, albeit inept, but bearing fruit ground and pound. The referee was unable to observe the beating of Frank and stopped the bout. The duel took place at the UFC 100 tournament, which until 2016 held the lead in the number of broadcasts sold (1.3 million).

It is possible that the next opponent of Lesnar could become Fedor Emelianenko. At that moment, he had not yet managed to sign a contract with Strikeforce, because of which the UFC was considering the idea with the involvement of the Last Emperor. This was later openly spoken by Dana White, who admitted that the promotion offered the Russians a fabulous fee for those times for the sake of fighting the American. But in the end, it was not possible to agree, and dreams of a superfight did not materialize.

Lioto Machida (light heavyweight)

Unlike heavyweight, light heavyweight champions changed more frequently. So, from 2007 to 2009, four fighters owned the belt and only two of them held at least one successful defense. The first was Quinton Rampage Jackson, whom many fans know from a recent duel with Fedor Emelianenko, and the second is Lyoto Machida. Rashad Evans was most afraid of kicking a Brazilian karate player, but eventually fell from a left hook.

In those days, Machida was considered one of the most talented representatives of light heavyweight, he was promised a long stay at the top. He was distinguished from his opponents by a unique and unpredictable striking technique based on sotokan karate and Muay Thai. Over the next years, this combination will bring him success in battles with such stars as the same Couture, Ryan Bader and Vitor Belfort.

The battle with Evans took place in May 2009, after the outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus, and at the end of the year he held his first defense. As often happens, Machida could not meet the expectations of the public, and his battle with compatriot Mauricio Rua turned out to be one of the most disappointing in history. Fans were waiting for a vivid battle between two drummers, and saw excessive caution and lack of action. The judges gave the victory to Lioto, but already in May, his counterpart took a convincing revenge. But only in order to later lose the current champion John Jones.

Anderson Silva (middle weight)

If fighters reigned in the above-mentioned divisions, who failed to gain a foothold in the status of the indisputable stars of their category, then in the middle belt the greatest middleweight in UFC history owned. In recent years, many of Anderson Silva's records have been broken, but he still remains the leader in the number of early victories in title fights (9) and the duration of the belt (2457 days). Moreover, in terms of the number of defenses (10), it is second only to Demetrius Johnson (11).

By the time the H1N1 pandemic began, he managed to carry out four title defenses in middle weight, and in April he added a fifth to the collection. Despite the fact that the Brazilian could not finish the duel ahead of time with Thales Leites, he looked very confident and expectedly got the better.

And in August, one of the legendary victories in Silva's career took place. He again decided to try his hand at light heavyweight and fight with ex-champion Forrest Griffin. But already in the first round, it became clear that the American was not his rival. Within the first three minutes, he was twice on the floor, and after 23 seconds he was knocked out with the help of a filigree-filled jab that came right in the jaw.

Georges Saint-Pierre (welterweight)

Georges Saint-Pierre is still considered one of the strongest fighters not only in the history of his category, but also in MMA as a whole. The Canadian became the champion in two divisions and has a series of 13 victories in a row. However, his last defeat dates back to 2007, when he sensationally lost to Matt Serre.

In 2009, Saint-Pierre was in the prime of life. He managed to regain the title of champion and hold two defenses. The second of them took place at the very beginning of the year, and BJ Penn, the holder in the lightweight belt, became his opponent. At that time, this battle was considered one of the most high-profile in history and ensured the sale of 920 thousand PPV.

After the start of the swine flu pandemic, Saint-Pierre once again entered the octagon. Like Lesnar, he was a member of the UFC 100 tournament and performed in the second most important match. His rival was Tiago Alves, who did not possess the necessary set of skills to provide him with decent resistance. Georges was always famous for his ability to transfer opponents to the floor, after which he could bring down a flurry of blows on them. Subsequently, this scheme with small additions was successfully used by Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Perhaps this is precisely due to the fact that at one time Nurmagomedov’s entourage was actively lobbying for the battle with Saint-Pierre. In style, these athletes are very similar - they fight great and keep their counterparts in the stalls. True, if the former relies on painful and suffocating techniques, the latter relies on ground and pound. Apparently, the Russian wanted to show who is the main specialist in this aspect, but this fight is hardly destined to take place. Despite the fact that Georges continues to actively keep fit, his best years are long gone.

BJ Penn (Lightweight)

The same can be said about the holder of the title in lightweight at that time. True, the peak of Penn's career turned out to be noticeably shorter than that of his eternal rival, and the ending turned out to be discouraging. After a failure in the battle with Saint-Pierre, he lost nine of 13 battles, which almost destroyed his legacy. Another fly in the ointment turned out to be his participation in a brawl at a nightclub, during which BJ was again knocked out.

In 2009, Penn was still considered one of the most talented athletes in the history of MMA and dominated his division. Undoubtedly, this is largely due to the low level of competition, as a result of which strong middle peasants became opponents of the champion. Despite this, BJ went down in history as the first lightweight to defend the title three times. So far, no one has succeeded in surpassing his achievement, and only Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson have managed to repeat. Nurmagomedov could replenish this list if he sorted it out with Ferguson.

After losing to St. Pierre in January, Penn twice defended the title in duels with Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez. At the same time, both of them were marked by fans and were recognized as one of the most memorable in 2009. However, already in April 2010, he twice lost to Edgar and moved to the welterweight, where he was unable to achieve results due to modest dimensions.