It’s the final day of 2009, and what better time to look back at the most memorable fights in the world of MMA in the past 12 months?
Actually, I had planned to write a blog about this earlier in the week. But then I thought, I might as well wait until after the New Year’s Eve show in Japan to see if there might be any to add to the list. After all, that event WAS part of the calendar year. Don’t you just hate it when people release lists of the year’s top moments but the year isn’t over yet? (Oh, I might be stepping on some toes here.)
But seriously, MMA Connected had a fantastic year-end show on Monday, where (Showdown) Joe Ferraro and guest co-host Georges St. Pierre looked back at 2009 and revealed the 10 best stories, 10 fights of the year, and the year’s top 10 fighters. (If you didn’t catch the show, you’ll have the opportunity to watch it right here on Sportsnet.ca starting Friday.)
So, in the spirit of Top 10s, I present my own list of memorable moments for 2009. But to avoid duplication, I will instead present my 10 “year-end awards.” Some of the categories are the typical ones (such as top knockout), but some are a little different. And in some cases, I include some honourable mentions (if I deem them worthy).
Enjoy, and have a happy new year. (And as always, I encourage your own debates and nominations.)
1. UPSET OF THE YEAR: Brian Bowles beats Miguel Torres at WEC 42, August 9
WEC bantamweight up-and-comer Brian Bowles produced the shocker of 2009 in August when he dethroned the previously untouchable Miguel Torres, halting the latter’s 17-fight win streak in the process. And it wasn’t by split decision or anything like that. During an early flurry from Torres, Bowles knocked out the champion with a right hook counter that dropped his advancing opponent to the mat for the quick KO, just before the four-minute mark of the first round.
Honourable mention:
Jose Aldo dethrones Mike Brown at WEC 44, Nov. 18
Paulo Thiago TKO’s Josh Koscheck at UFC 95, Feb. 21
Paul Daley TKO’s Martin Kampmann at UFC 103, Sept. 19
Joe Warren wins decision over Norifumi (Kid) Yamamoto at Dream 9, May 26
2. RALLY OF THE YEAR: Scott Smith beats Cung Le at Strikeforce, Dec. 19
If Smith’s stunning knockout of Le at Strikeforce’s final show of 2009 isn’t a candidate for upset of the year, it is certainly the definition of a big-time rally. Smith was getting manhandled by the kickboxing machine for two rounds, and it appeared Le was going to cruise through the final frame to victory. But Smith hung in there and one punch completely changed the tide of the match. Smith, after absorbing so many huge shots, took advantage of the sudden opening and with a few more punches was able to pull out a TKO victory — and destroy the announcer’s lungs in the process.
Honourable mention:
Martin Kampmann defeats Carlos Condit by split decision at UFC Fight Night 18, April 1
3. SUBMISSION OF THE YEAR: Shiny Aoki submits Mizuto Hirota at Dream vs. WVR, Dec. 31
See, I knew it was worth it to wait. Aoki made big noise (and I’m not just talking about the sound of Hirota’s arm breaking) with a snazzy submission in the final bout of the night at the Saitama Super Arena Thursday night in Japan. After getting an early takedown he worked his opponent’s arm behind his back, yanked it, twisted it and rolled it over for the highlight-reel hammerlock before the ref separated him from the visibly broken limb of Hirota. Unfortunately, Aoki soured the solid performance by running up to Hirota and giving him the middle finger as he lay there in pain.
Honourable mention:
Toby Imada defeats Jorge Masvidal by inverted triangle choke at Bellator 5, May 1
Demian Maia defeats Chael Sonnen by triangle choke at UFC 95, Feb. 21
Jake Shields defeats Robbie Lawler by guillotine choke at Strikeforce, June 6
Shinya Aoki defeats Joachim Hansen by armbar at Dream 11, Oct. 6
4. KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR: Nate Marquardt beats Demian Maia at UFC 102, Aug. 29
Nate Marquardt emphatically proved that he could strike with the best of them, when he made a submission specialist look silly for trying something unexpected. Facing the undefeated Demian Maia, Marquardt countered a high kick from Maia with a straight right that planted Maia on the ground. His 21-second knockout may have taken three times as long as the UFC record-setting, seven-second KO that Todd Duffee accomplished earlier in the night against Canadian Tim Hague, but Marquardt’s was clearly the more impressive result.
Honourable mention:
Todd Duffee TKO’s Tim Hague in 7 seconds at UFC 102, Aug. 29
Brett Rogers KO’s Andrei Arlovski in 22 seconds at Strikeforce, June 6
Dan Henderson KO’s Michael Bisping at UFC 100, July 11
Ikuhisa Minowa TKO’s Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at Dream vs. WVR, Dec. 31
5. STATEMENT WIN OF THE YEAR: Anderson Silva beats Forrest Griffin at UFC 101, Aug. 8
After two straight lacklustre, albeit successful, defences of his middleweight belt, The Spider became the prey of fans and media alike. Dana White wondered if he was motivated enough or simply not feeling challenged. So the UFC decided to throw him in against Forrest Griffin at light-heavyweight, where he had only fought once before. It took Silva less than four minutes to emphatically put away any doubt as to his desire — and his place among the top pound-for-pound. Now one wonders if there’s anyone out there who could challenge him at all.
Honourable mention:
B.J. Penn submits Kenny Florian at UFC 101, Aug. 8
Brock Lesnar TKO’s Frank Mir at UFC 100, July 11
Fedor Emelianenko TKO’s Brett Rogers at Strikeforce, Nov. 7
Gegard Mousasi TKO’s Renato Sobral at Strikeforce, Aug. 15
6. DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR: Georges St. Pierre beats Thiago Alves at UFC 100, July 11
GSP made it looks oh so easy against a guy in Alves that many thought might represent a danger for the welterweight champ. For five rounds, St. Pierre took Alves down at will, avoided dangerous situations and ground out a fantastic five-round shellacking. What made it even more impressive is what we found out afterward, that he fought for the final three rounds with pulled abductor muscle in his groin. His post-fight comments, where he said his trainer Greg Jackson told him after he told him he thought he’d pulled his abductor muscle, “I don’t care! Hit him with it!” is one of the most memorable quotes from that night, or the year for that matter. Right up there with Brock Lesnar’s “Coors Light” moment.
Runner-up:
B.J. Penn TKO’s Diego Sanchez at UFC 107, Dec. 12
7. MOST CONTROVERSIAL RESULT: Lyoto Machida beats Mauricio Rua at UFC 104, Oct. 24
This one is a no-brainer. Pretty much everyone who watched that fight — save for the three judges who were cage-side — thought Mauricio (Shogun) Rua was robbed of a decision victory, and the belt that would have come with it. There are a select few who subscribe to the notion that “in order to become the champ, you have to beat the champ” and feel Rua didn’t do enough, justifying the unanimous decision for Machida. However, if you sat down and scored the bout, you’d have to conclude he did do enough. This fight increased the volume of the voices calling for a reform of the judging system in MMA.
Runner-up: Forrest Griffin defeats Tito Ortiz by split decision at UFC 106, Nov. 21
8. CLOSEST FIGHT OF THE YEAR: Randy Couture beats Brandon Vera by decision at UFC 105, Nov. 14
Some thought this was yet another instance of bad judging — or at least controversial judging — but it was really a case of a very tough fight to score. In every round, except for the third, you could make a great case for either fighter winning. It just depended on whether you score more for strikes or takedowns, aggression or precision, Octagon control or overall damage, and so on. While close, I personally agreed with the three judges and thought Couture won, and I was surprised when Vera said he was shocked he didn’t win. A poll on Sportsnet.ca asking readers a few days after the fight who they thought should have won was exactly 50-50. You can’t get any closer than that.
Runner-up:
Ben Henderson wins unanimous decision over Donald Cerrone for interim lightweight title at WEC 43, Oct. 10
9. THREE-ROUND DECISION OF THE YEAR: Diego Sanchez beats Clay Guida at TUF9 finale, June 20
When discussing “Fight of the Year” candidates, a non-championship bout is at an inherent disadvantage to a five-rounder, for obvious reasons. Thus I decided to separate the two. (Ulterior motive: it made it so I didn’t have to pick between the top two I had in mind!) Note: only fights that last all the way to the final bell were considered (ie. decisions).
The Sanchez-Guida fight was a back-and-forth slugfest that ultimately went to the judges’ decision. Sanchez emerged victorious by basically the slimmest of margins (29-28, 29-27, 28-29). This fight was not surprisingly voted the fight of the year at the World MMA Awards and was the top three-round fight on MMA Connected’s Year in Review Top 10 list.
Runner-up:
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeats Randy Couture by unanimous decision at UFC 102, Aug. 29
10. CHAMPIONSHIP DECISION OF THE YEAR: Gilbert Melendez beats Josh Thomson, Dec. 19
I might be guilty of a little short-term memory here, but I really thought the Melendez-Thomson rematch, which unified the Strikeforce titles, beat out all previous contenders for the top fight of 2009. It featured lots of twists, a combination of different tactics, and pretty much every round could have gone either way. Melendez took four of the five rounds on two of the judges’ scorecards, but it was much, much closer than those totals indicate.
Runner-up:
Miguel Torres defeats Takeya Mizugaki by unanimous decision at WEC 40, Apr. 5