From epic brawls to incredible comebacks to a slew of five-round classics, 2014 had its fair share of memorable fights. Here are sportsnet.ca’s best UFC fights of 2014.
1) Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler, UFC 171/UFC 181
If Hendricks and Lawler fought once a month, we’d never get sick of seeing it. These welterweights fought twice in 2014, engaging in championship-calibre MMA for 50 total minutes. They first met at UFC 171 with the vacant title on the line and Hendricks edged out Lawler with an ultra-close unanimous decision win in which a fifth-round takedown was the difference on the scorecards.
Their rematch at UFC 181 was equally as entertaining and another close decision. This time it was a split decision that went in Lawler’s favour.
The trilogy will be completed in 2015 and we can’t wait.
2) Chris Weidman vs. Lyoto Machida, UFC 175
If you appreciate the idiosyncrasies of mixed martial arts, you loved this fight. The first two rounds started slowly with Weidman pressuring Machida and cutting off angles effectively, but the final 15 minutes were back-and-forth fireworks. This tilt got better as it went along and although Machida poured it on in the final two rounds, he fell short on the judges’ scorecards — he likely did enough to warrant another title shot down the road, though.
3) Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes, UFC 179
In an anticipated rematch almost three years in the making, these featherweight rivals left nothing on the table. The top two 145-pounders in MMA went toe-to-toe for 25 minutes in what was essentially a high-level, technical brawl — their fast-twitch muscles are off the charts. Mendes landed more effective combinations on the feet than any other fighter has against Aldo in the Octagon, but the champ had an answer for everything.
4) Matt Brown vs. Erick Silva, UFC Fight Night 40
In front of his hometown fans in Ohio, Brown put on a brilliant display of resiliency, relentlessness and clinch work. Silva hurt Brown early in the first round with a beautiful kick to the liver, took his back and worked for a rear-naked choke. However, Brown defended, got back to his feet and began an onslaught of punches, elbows, knees and submission attempts over the next two rounds. It was an exhausting pace that Brown set and Silva was unable to keep up and succumbed to strikes in the third round.
5) T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao, UFC 173
This is considered one of the biggest upsets in UFC history and it was arguably the most complete individual performance of 2014 as Dillashaw picked apart Barao — who many felt at the time was unbeatable — for 22 minutes before finishing him off in the fifth round. It was an exceptional display of footwork, timing, precision striking and creativity from Dillashaw and one of the most memorable moments in the Octagon this year.
6) Abel Trujillo vs. Jamie Varner, UFC 169
This is the type of donnybrook that casual UFC fans pine for when they lay down some shekels to watch a pay-per-view event. Varner controlled the action early as the two threw bombs, but got reckless in the second round and you can’t afford to be reckless against a knockout artist like Trujillo.
7) Robbie Lawler vs. Matt Brown, UFC on FOX 12
As you can see from above, Lawler and Brown are no strangers to putting on entertaining shows for the fans and this one lived up to the hype. In what was a No. 1 contender’s bout, Lawler and Brown stood in the pocket and traded for five rounds with Lawler coming out on top.
8) Junior dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic, UFC on FOX 13
When men this big, who hit as hard as they do, connect on huge strikes and no one hits the canvas, you know you’re in for something special and that’s what we saw when these top heavyweights clashed in mid-December. This scrap was 2014’s version of the epic five-rounder Mark Hunt and Antonio Silva took part in last year.
9) Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio Rua, UFC Fight Night 38
When these two MMA legends met at UFC 139 in 2011, they put on arguably the greatest fight in UFC history. When the rematch was set nearly three years later, expectations were high. Both men are nearing the end of their careers but showed they’ve still got plenty of fight left in them. Rua dominated the first two rounds, almost finishing the fight after dropping Hendo several times, however the 44-year-old was able to land a right hand that rearranged Rua’s face.
10) Tarec Saffiedine vs. Hyun Gyu Lim, UFC Fight Night 34
In the first main event of 2014, these two underappreciated welterweights set the stage for the handful of five-round main events you see above. Saffiedine was in control for most of this one, battering Lim with vicious leg kicks and a flying knee that dropped him, but Lim made things interesting with a flurry in the dying seconds of the fifth round that had Saffiedine on wobbly legs.
Honourable mention: Rory MacDonald vs. Demian Maia, Alex Caceres vs. Sergio Pettis, Max Holloway vs. Andre Fili, Kevin Souza vs. Mark Eddiva, Kelvin Gastelum vs. Rick Story, Dustin Poirier vs. Akira Corassani, Joe Lauzon vs. Michael Chiesa, Cathal Pendred vs. Mike King, Dustin Ortiz vs. Justin Scoggins, Tae Hyun Bang vs. Kajan Johnson