Well it’s that time of year again. 2011 will soon be just a memory, so the wistful staff at MMASucka decided to look back longingly at the year that was in MMA and give out our own Sucka Awards to those that were on top of the MMA world this year.
Fighter of the Year – Jon Jones
There is no doubt about who the fighter of the year is. If you haven’t guessed by now, it’s Jon Jones. The year began with Jones squaring off against a very game Ryan Bader. With Jones mauling through Bader and Dana White needing an opponent for Mauricio “Shogun” Rua when Rashad Evans was hurt and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson turned down the fight on six weeks’ notice. Jones defeated Rua in miraculous fashion and followed up with two title defences against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida. Jones’ 2011 year might not only go down the best year for him as a fighter, but it might be the greatest year in MMA history.
Fight of the Year – Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
The fight of the year between Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was dissected to the bone by the MMA world. Many MMA fans and media members believed the fight should have been scored a draw with Henderson winning rounds 1,2,3 (10-9) and Shogun winning round 4 (10-9) and round 5 (10-8). The final result of the fight had Henderson winning by unanimous decision (48-47). There was not one point in this fight where there was no action, the pace was on fire and you knew something special was happening.
Submission of the Year – Chan Sung Jung (The Korean Zombie) Twister vs. Leonard Garcia
The Korean Zombie was the first fighter to pull off Eddie Bravo’s world famous twister in a UFC match. Back in March “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung set up a slick submission known as “The Twister” against Leonard Garcia. There were plenty of sick submissions this year, but this had to top the list.
Breakout Fighter of the Year – Daniel Cormier
Daniel Cormier had a huge year in 2011 going 3-0 in the Strikeforce heavyweight division. He started off the year back in January with a decision win over Devin Cole and followed up with another decision victory over Jeff Monson in a reserve bout for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament in June. A surprised Cormier was called upon to take on Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in the semi-finals of the tournament when Alistair Overeem pulled out. Cormier was a huge under dog in the fight, but ended up pulling it off by KO in the very first round. He is now expected to take on Josh Barnett in the finals at some point in early 2012.
KO of the Year – Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry
This fight could quite possibly go down as the greatest comeback in MMA history. Pat Barry dropped Cheick Kongo early in the first round, when Barry rushed in for the finish, Kongo threw a one punch KO. The final result was Cheick Kongo defeating Pat Barry by KO at 2:39 of Round 1. He also took home $50,000 for KO of the Night honours.
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Agree? Disagree? Let us know who you thought deserved a Sucka Award.
