'Tis the Season for Brackets

In the spirit of March Madness, and UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz nearly topping the PokerStars Championship Panama Main Event Day 1A chip counts, ESPN is getting fight fans involved in bracket season. The UFC has been around since 1994 and ESPN’s Brett Okamoto wants to know the “Greatest Fight in UFC History”.

VOTE: We seeded the top @ufc fights ever, 1-16. Now it’s up to you to determine who moves on.https://t.co/7tC92pT84R#MMABracket pic.twitter.com/11gOhQkD9H

— ESPN MMA (@ESPNMMA) March 15, 2017

The top 16 selections for the bracket were announced today and over the next few weeks, voters will be able to pick their favorites until an ultimate winner is crowned next month. While any Ortiz bouts are missing from the bracket, plenty of UFC legends are represented.

Poker and mixed martial arts have crossed paths before. Forrest Griffin, who is a former Light Heavyweight Champion, has made some appearances at the World Series of Poker, and Chuck Liddell, one of the most well-known UFC fighters in history, participated in this winter’s Poker Central Charity Shootout. Rumors are also swirling about a potential pre-summer fight for Conor McGregor, against Las Vegas and boxing legend, Floyd Mayweather.

Fighters having ties to the felt or Las Vegas isn’t a one-way street though. Last year, poker professionals JC Alvarado and Olivier Busquet competed in an MMA fight for $270,000. Busquets ended up winning but unfortunately, their bout didn’t make ESPN’s top 16 cut.

To fill out another bracket this March, head to ESPN.com.