This banner above was one of the first banners we had back in 2008 when we created the tracker part of the community. Not exactly high art but it worked...
Luckily we have fantastic members that have made much more amazing banners over the years. And we will always be grateful to all those that put in the hard work week after week to make the site a little more fun and beautiful!

Since then hundreds if not thousands of images have been made and used on the site. Its just fair and fun to bring some of them back again for us to reflect and gaze upon

So I thought I would be posting from 2 decades old artwork to more recent stuff in this thread now and then.

This one from 2009, made by the amazing artist lipekmm, was one of my favorite banners back then and a great reminder of the WEC time, suitable now that the last WEC fighter has left the gloves in the octagon, and in a spectacular way, just like WEC was, spectacular!



It doesn't feature Cub but two other amazing fighters who both came from WEC and made fantastic careers in the UFC, Faber vs. Pulver. And I remember thinking "wow thats a cool banner". The resolution might look low and the banner small today but back then we had smaller screens and everything was different.

Those where the days

Here is another classic! Sengoku was a really popular promotion back then, Im sure quite a few of you heard or watched some of the classic events. There should be a pack somewhere on the tracker...





This was after PRIDE but pre DREAM, and RIZIN of course. Kind of a middle chapter in Japanese MMA, but short-lived as it was, Sengoku still produced quite a bunch of famous fighters. Im sure you heard about a few of them!



Here are the most famous fighters who established or cemented their reputations in the Sengoku ring:


Global Stars and UFC Icons

Takanori Gomi: Already a legend from PRIDE, "The Fireball Kid" was one of Sengoku's biggest signings. He headlined several early events before eventually moving to the UFC.

"King" Mo Lawal: Before becoming a Rizin and Bellator champion, Lawal made his professional MMA debut in Sengoku. He went 4,0 with the promotion, showcasing the wrestling and charisma that made him a star.

Doo Ho Choi: "The Korean Superboy" began his rise to international fame here. His heavy-handed style in Sengoku eventually led to his high-profile UFC run.

Chan Sung Jung: Before he was the "Korean Zombie" in the WEC and UFC, he competed in the Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix, where his wild, durable style first caught the eye of Western fans.

Promotion Champions and Staples

Jorge Santiago: Perhaps the fighter most synonymous with Sengoku, Santiago was the promotion’s Middleweight Champion. He won the 2008 Middleweight Grand Prix and had a legendary rivalry with Mamed Khalidov.

Mamed Khalidov: One of the greatest fighters to never compete in the UFC, Khalidov was a Sengoku standout. His knockout of Jorge Santiago remains one of the promotion's most famous highlights.

Hatsu Hioki: Long considered one of the best featherweights in the world outside of the UFC, Hioki won the Sengoku Featherweight Championship by defeating Marlon Sandro.

Marlon Sandro: A Nova União powerhouse, Sandro was known for his terrifying knockout power in the featherweight division and was a perennial top contender in the promotion.

Other Notable Alumni

Satoru Kitaoka: A grappling specialist who became the inaugural Sengoku Lightweight Champion by submitting Takanori Gomi in a massive upset.

Akihiro Gono: Known for his elaborate ring entrances and technical brilliance, Gono was a major attraction for the promotion after his stint in the UFC.

Kazuo Misaki: A PRIDE veteran who remained a top-tier middleweight throughout his Sengoku tenure, involved in several "Fight of the Year" candidates.

Siyar Bahadurzada: Before his UFC career, he was a dominant force in Sengoku’s welterweight division.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Victory_Road