The last portion of my year-end awards list ends with the most exciting part of them all. There were so many tremendous fights this year that it was actually a challenge to pick between from two to five. You can take any of the fights in the top five this year and they would have been the best fight in 2012. This year was just so refreshing for mixed martial arts as a whole. Hopefully you take it for granted because who knows what could potentially happen in 2014 in terms of injuries.
There wasn’t any unique way in ranking these fights. I’ve ranked the fights by pace, close finishes, and technique. If you read my past articles, I’m critical of any fight that has nonsensical brawling. Every fight is so important to win, which is why I don’t understand why fighters throw wild punches and don’t care about getting hit. Sure the bonuses are great, but you constantly hear about how crucial it is to win every fight. If there were any honorable mention that deserves recognition, I’d give it to Michelle Waterson versus Jessica Penne at Invicta 5 for the atom weight championship.
10. UFC on Fox 6- Flyweight title: Demetrious Johnson vs. John Dodson
This fight has fallen under the radar unfortunately. It fell on the same night that Anthony Pettis made Bas Rutten proud knocking Donald Cerrone out with a liver kick. Also it was the last fight ever for Rampage Jackson in the UFC. John Dodson was extremely confident and was connecting with his left hook at will. Eventually by the second round, he knocked Demetrious Johnson down after wobbling him.
One of Johnson’s best qualities is how resilient he is. He kept pushing the pace and not allowing Dodson to get much power on his patented left hook. By the fourth round, Dodson started to fatigue and Johnson kept pouring on the pressure landing countless knees against the fence. How he managed to recover from the beating he took in the second round was incredible. Dodson never faded away and kept looking for the knockout, but it became clear that he couldn’t hang with Johnson for five rounds. It was an impressive comeback by the 2013 fighter of the year in what was a compelling fight on a stacked Fox card.
9. UFC 168- Bantamweight Women’s title: Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate
Some people may complain that one-sided fights shouldn’t ever be on a top ten list. Besides the last two minutes, it couldn’t have been more obvious that Gilbert Melendez outclassed Diego Sanchez in a one-sided affair yet that fight is adored by everyone. If you want to look back on 2012, George St. Pierre versus Carlos Condit was mostly one-sided and it was one of the most memorable fights from that year. The argument of one-sided fights shouldn’t be on a top ten list because the scorecard says so is nothing more than a myth.
This was the biggest test of Ronda Rousey’s career, since we all know that Miesha Tate is nearly impossible to finish. Despite her preposterous game plan, Tate got the better of Rousey in the standup department and landed several clean punches. It was a great effort by her, which even included one successful takedown. Eventually Rousey made her pay for trying to shoot in for a predictable takedown. She had to work extra hard for it, but the arm bar was successful in the third round. Their season of TUF may have made fans disinterested in their rivalry. That all changed after the first round in what was a highly entertaining bout.
8. UFC 160: Junior Dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt
What is sadly forgotten with some fans is that not all great fights have to be full of wild action. It can be a chess match, where fighters are trying to dissect each other by finding openings to knock out their opponent. They know they have one-punch knockout power and it could all come down to a certain faint or counter punch to change the outcome. That is how Junior Dos Santos and Mark Hunt put on one of the best heavyweights bouts in UFC history.
Dos Santos was clearly getting the better of Hunt landing that huge over hand right in the first round that knocked him down. You saw Dos Santos mixing up his boxing more by attacking the body rather than utilizing the same jab constantly. Hunt rattled Dos Santos at a few points, including a flurry in the second round that led to Dos Santos having to go for a takedown to ruin his momentum. Eventually Hunt was fatigued and Dos Santos started to take over. He finished him off with the infamous spinning heel kick to knock out arguably the toughest heavyweight of all time. It was a terrific fight that doesn’t get enough credit by analysts and fans.
7. TUF 17: Cat Zingano vs. Miesha Tate
Ronda Rousey submitting Liz Carmouche was a huge moment for women’s MMA, but this was the fight that made skeptics realize how special women’s fights can be. The pace to start the fight was absolutely ridiculous. It caught me off guard seeing Miesha Tate that aggressive in a number one contender’s fight. She mixed up her strikes with takedowns and seemed to be overwhelming Zingano. Just when you thought the fight was either going to be over or Tate was going to control her on the ground, Zingano got up and wasn’t backing down.
Tate’s aggressive style seemed to take a toll on her and Zingano started landing some nasty elbows after securing top position on the ground. What made the fight so exciting was that they weren’t just standing and trading. They were looking to taking it to the ground and securing top position to look for better ways to end the fight. Both fighters had an agenda rather than foolishly throwing wild punches at each other. Eventually Zingano landed some brutal knees to finish off Tate. The stoppage did come a bit early, but that shouldn’t take away from what was the best female fight of 2013.
6. UFC 157: Dennis Bermudez vs. Matt Grice
Before the stretch of tremendous fights in the fall, this was a contender to be fight of the year. While re watching it now, it falls off a few notches. It’s not because it was a preliminary bout. There were just simply better fights. Similar to Sanchez-Melendez, the third round alone makes this fight one of the best fights of the year. On three occasions, it seemed like Matt Grice was finished. Then he would rise up again and continue to push the pace.
Grice did land a nice counter left hook in the first round that clearly rocked Dennis Bermudez. That was his high point, before Bermudez started to take control in the late second round and dominating the third. He had the cardio edge and used that to decimate Grice in the third with a flurry of punches. At a time, where undercard fighters needed to step up after 16 fighters were cut from the UFC that week. Both fighters tore the house down to set an example on how to get fans excited for all of your fights.
5. UFC 166: Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez
It seemed all fine and dandy throughout the first 13 minutes. Gilbert Melendez was showing off his precise striking and excellent head movement. On almost every exchange, you saw Diego Sanchez take a punch or kick while Melendez came out unscathed. Most people expected him to remind everyone why he’s one of the top lightweights in the world. He showed that for the first 13 minutes, but started to lose momentum. Sanchez started feeding off the energy from the crowd and began to back Melendez up against the cage.
Out of nowhere, Sanchez knocked Melendez down and it seemed to be one of the most unlikely comebacks was going to happen. For a moment, it seemed like Sanchez was in prime position to finish him with a guillotine choke. Melendez is a black belt in BJJ and wasn’t going to let a second consecutive fight get away from him. After several wild exchanges that had everyone going insane, the bell rang with both fighters swinging for the fences. While it was one-sided for most of the fight, the last two minutes was absolute pandemonium. This fight will never be forgotten and it has joined a long list of epic fights that Sanchez has been a part of.
4. UFC 158: Johny Hendricks vs. Carlos Condit
Another fight that doesn’t get enough the publicity that it deserves. When I heard MMA radio shows or articles not mention this fight for fight of the year, it boggles my mind. What more do you want from a fight, after watching these two compete? It was clear that both fighters had a game plan to follow and it ended up being three rounds of mayhem. Johnny Hendricks was successful with his takedowns on a consistent basis, while Carlos Condit kept getting up without taking any significant damage. Hendricks landed a few clean shots in the first two rounds from those wild flurries, where he throw wild punches with no hesitation. Condit never cracked and seemed to be getting stronger, as the fight continued.
What made the fight even more special was that Hendricks fought with a broken left hand for the second and third round. Everyone knows that his left hand has knocked out several fighters. He was still throwing that wild left hook knowing how important the fight was for him. Eventually, Condit started finding his range and had Hendricks wobbly at one point. The non-stop action and battle to implement their respective game plans made it even more special to me. Hendricks clearly wanted the takedown or throw his devastating left hook, while Condit wanted to keep being unpredictable with his striking and backing him up against the cage. I remember standing up after this fight to giving it a round of applause. Hopefully you all did because it was that spectacular.
3. UFC Fight Night 33: Mark Hunt vs. Antonio Silva
Mark Hunt fighting into the latter rounds of a fight and actually winning the last round decisively? Those are two things that I never thought were even imaginable. Then it happened and Hunt managed to last against one of the top heavyweights in the world. Antonio Silva seemed to be getting the better of Hunt early by knocking him down in the first with a right hook and then landing a nasty leg kick in the second round. After seeing Hunt react to the leg kick, it seemed like it was inevitable that Silva was going to decimate Hunt. Hunt is slow to begin with, how would he manage to dodge Silva’s punches?
Somehow the leg kick didn’t even affect him in the latter rounds and Hunt dominated the third round. His grappling and ground game had improved greatly from past fights. After knocking Silva down with a straight right hand, he kept him grounded and land some punches from the top to close out the round. Eventually Silva did the same in round four, where everyone was surprised to see that Hunt survived. Silva was in full mount and dropping several hammer fists. Then to round off an incredible fight, Hunt went on a flurry and brutalized Silva in the fifth round. Who knows what would have happened, if the ref didn’t stop the fight due to Silva losing heavy amounts of blood. From his grappling to utilizing short elbows in the clinch, Hunt showed how much he’s improved as an all-around mixed martial artist. Despite failing the post-fight drug test, Silva showed how durable he was after taking countless punches by one of the most devastating strikers in heavyweight history.
2. Bellator 106- Lightweight title: Eddie Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler
The expectations were high for this fight and it still exceeded expectations. A five round high-paced battle that couldn’t have been closer. It was the type of fight that Bellator needed following several one-sided fights that went to decision. Eddie Alvarez didn’t miss a beat, after being out of action for over a year. His jab was precise and played an integral part in making Michael Chandler’s left eye completely shut. Despite his eye being practically shut, Chandler showed why he’s considered one of the best lightweights in the world.
He slammed Alvarez almost every round, which was one of the main indicators on why he should have won the fight. The flying knee that he threw in the fourth round was unbelievable and it started the dominant round that I thought won him the fight. I’m not going to ramble on about who won, because the judges did a poor job to no one’s surprise. What made the fight even more special was how Alvarez recovered from the beating he took in the fourth round to do the exact same thing to Chandler in the fifth round. He landed even more ground-and-pound, along with attempting a rear naked choke of his own near the end of the round. Both fighters didn’t try to play it safe, they were looking for the finish and both ended up coming close in separate championship rounds. That is why fans love this rivalry so much is because both fighters are always looking to finish the fight rather than play it safe or point strike. I’m expecting the trilogy of this rivalry to be a contender for fight of the year in 2014.
1. UFC 165- Light Heavyweight title: Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson
What’s more left that needs to be said? This was the only award this year that shouldn’t have any debate. When you factor in how big of an underdog Alexander Gustafsson was to how he pushed Jon Jones to the limit, it made for one of the greatest fights in UFC history. Everyone believed that Jones was going to eventually overpower him or catch him slipping when the fight was standing.
It took a variety of kicks and having better cardio for Jones to win by decision. He was getting outclassed in the striking department and wasn’t able to take Gustafsson down till the fifth round. Everything you can ask for a fight, it happened. The fight had non-stop action, drama, great technique, trying to execute game plans, and a near finish in the fourth round. This was an easy choice for fight of the year. Similar to Alvarez versus Chandler except that it’s not official yet. We can see Jones and Gustafsson fight in 2014 and potentially duplicate what their first fight was. I know neither fighter wants that, but they are so evenly matched that it seems to be a foregone conclusion that the fight will at least go to the championship rounds at minimum.
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