UFC on YouTube, the Beginning: Rampage, Cro Cop and Silva vs. Lutter

The UFC has probably done more to market itself on YouTube than any other sports organization, and since it's a slow news day, I thought it would be fun to take a stroll back through memory lane to January 26, 2007, when the UFC first launched its YouTube channel. Above is the preview video posted that day for UFC 67, with a main event of Anderson Silva vs. Travis Lutter, and below are a couple videos promoting the UFC debuts of Rampage Jackson and Mirko Cro Cop, both of whom were making their Octagon debuts at UFC 67.

Dana White calls Cro Cop "a heavyweight Chuck Liddell" and Joe Rogan says Cro Cop might be the best fighter in the world:


Rampage Jackson vs. Marvin Eastman set up as a grudge match:


Watching the videos, you can clearly see that the UFC considered the debut of Cro Cop to be the real draw at UFC 67. Silva vs. Lutter was technically the main event, and Rampage was obviously a star on the rise, but the major story was Cro Cop -- who, as things turned out, would have a less than stellar career in the UFC.

UFC 67 was also the debut of Lyoto Machida in the Octagon. Machida, like Rampage, came to the UFC when Zuffa purchaesd the World Fighting Alliance. But the UFC apparently didn't know what a future star it had on its hands, as Machida wasn't promoted at all, and his fight didn't even make the televised card.