With WEC & Strikeforce going down last week that's just about all of the MMA for the year, so I figured I'd make a little list of some of the crazy shit that's happened this year. Feel free to add any of your own favorites.
10. Scott Smith does it again to TKO Cung Le
Similar to his fights against Benji Radach and Pete Sell, Smith got a beatdown for the duration of the fight and then pulled a comeback punch out of his ass to win a huge upset over one of Strikeforce's golden boys.
9. Gegard Mousasi makes Babalu see God
The look Mousasi gives the camera as the video starts basically describes his demeanor for fighting, and it showed with how fast and brutally he beat a guy on the ground who had wanted the fight to go there. This title comes from Babalu's face at the end of the video.
8. Marquardt KOs Maia for #1 contendership
Leading up to this fight the big question was whether Maia could get the fight to the ground as he had been on a roll submitting half of the UFC's middleweight division, and whether Marquardt would be able to expose Maia's shotty standup. Marquardt had a lot of answers with one punch.
7. Gardner says hello, gets choked out
This was basically the funniest thing to happen this year. Arguably the #1 lightweight in the world, Shinya Aoki was given a squash match to stay active, and his opponent was a journeyman named David Gardner who decided he wanted to say hello to the Dream audience in Japan while one of the best submission fighters alive had his back.
6. Marius Zaromskis becomes the new Cro Cop
With the second of his three head kick knock outs in a row, the dark horse to win Dream's welterweight tournament (+1200 odds) became the white mare against wrestler Jason High.
5. Aldo flies into Swanson's face knee-first
Edging out BJ Penn putting a vag in Diego's head with his shin for cut of the year because this actually finished the fight without the doctor, Aldo's double flying knee came out of nowhere and let people know he was as legit as the hardcore fans were claiming he was. It also set up his eventual championship win over Mike Brown and also led him to arguably being the fighter of the year. Here's the pic of the cut
4. Gono gets handled by Hornbuckle
If anyone remembers from the MMA thread, I was freaking out when this happened because I thought Gono was dead lol. Months later and he's back to fighting with a new passion because of the KO, but more noteworthy was the recognition it gave Hornbuckle as a legit threat to anyone in the welterweight division. A showdown with fellow headkick badass Zaromskis looked to be on the horizon with Dream and Sengoku partnering up, but Hornbuckle has since signed to fight in next year's Bellator tournament.
3. Arlovski gets air against Fedor
Solidifying his place as the best fighter alive, Fedor shut up all of the critics saying he wouldn't be able to stand with Arlovski whose boxing was supposed to be the difference maker. Freddie Roach begged Fedor to "fight like a man" by keeping it on the feet, but he should've told Andrei not to leave his after he was KO'd going for a flying knee off a push kick which was the only major blow landed by either fighter leading up to that point.
2. Toby Imada shakes up Bellator tourney
A showdown in Bellator's lightweight tournament seemed inevitable for Jorge Masvidal and Eddie Alvarez, but in the semi-finals Toby Imada had other plans landing a fucking inverted triangle on Masvidal after getting his ass kicked for a large portion of the fight. Sub of the year, without a doubt.
1. Hendo wins one for America
After seeing Bisping act like an ass for most of the season on The Ultimate Fighter as well as the UK fighters winning both of the contracts, most Americans were praying for Henderson to hand him an ass beating and show that the US still has the better fighters. What we got was knockout of the year and the Bisping overhyped train was derailed.
Honorable Mentions: Imanari's hybrid omoplata-crossface from this past weekend, Fedor decapitating Rogers, Paulo Thiago upsetting Koscheck, Cannibal Khalidov TKOing Santiago from his back, Duffee KOing Hague for a new UFC record
10. Scott Smith does it again to TKO Cung Le
Similar to his fights against Benji Radach and Pete Sell, Smith got a beatdown for the duration of the fight and then pulled a comeback punch out of his ass to win a huge upset over one of Strikeforce's golden boys.
9. Gegard Mousasi makes Babalu see God
The look Mousasi gives the camera as the video starts basically describes his demeanor for fighting, and it showed with how fast and brutally he beat a guy on the ground who had wanted the fight to go there. This title comes from Babalu's face at the end of the video.
8. Marquardt KOs Maia for #1 contendership
Leading up to this fight the big question was whether Maia could get the fight to the ground as he had been on a roll submitting half of the UFC's middleweight division, and whether Marquardt would be able to expose Maia's shotty standup. Marquardt had a lot of answers with one punch.
7. Gardner says hello, gets choked out
This was basically the funniest thing to happen this year. Arguably the #1 lightweight in the world, Shinya Aoki was given a squash match to stay active, and his opponent was a journeyman named David Gardner who decided he wanted to say hello to the Dream audience in Japan while one of the best submission fighters alive had his back.
6. Marius Zaromskis becomes the new Cro Cop
With the second of his three head kick knock outs in a row, the dark horse to win Dream's welterweight tournament (+1200 odds) became the white mare against wrestler Jason High.
5. Aldo flies into Swanson's face knee-first
Edging out BJ Penn putting a vag in Diego's head with his shin for cut of the year because this actually finished the fight without the doctor, Aldo's double flying knee came out of nowhere and let people know he was as legit as the hardcore fans were claiming he was. It also set up his eventual championship win over Mike Brown and also led him to arguably being the fighter of the year. Here's the pic of the cut
4. Gono gets handled by Hornbuckle
If anyone remembers from the MMA thread, I was freaking out when this happened because I thought Gono was dead lol. Months later and he's back to fighting with a new passion because of the KO, but more noteworthy was the recognition it gave Hornbuckle as a legit threat to anyone in the welterweight division. A showdown with fellow headkick badass Zaromskis looked to be on the horizon with Dream and Sengoku partnering up, but Hornbuckle has since signed to fight in next year's Bellator tournament.
3. Arlovski gets air against Fedor
Solidifying his place as the best fighter alive, Fedor shut up all of the critics saying he wouldn't be able to stand with Arlovski whose boxing was supposed to be the difference maker. Freddie Roach begged Fedor to "fight like a man" by keeping it on the feet, but he should've told Andrei not to leave his after he was KO'd going for a flying knee off a push kick which was the only major blow landed by either fighter leading up to that point.
2. Toby Imada shakes up Bellator tourney
A showdown in Bellator's lightweight tournament seemed inevitable for Jorge Masvidal and Eddie Alvarez, but in the semi-finals Toby Imada had other plans landing a fucking inverted triangle on Masvidal after getting his ass kicked for a large portion of the fight. Sub of the year, without a doubt.
1. Hendo wins one for America
After seeing Bisping act like an ass for most of the season on The Ultimate Fighter as well as the UK fighters winning both of the contracts, most Americans were praying for Henderson to hand him an ass beating and show that the US still has the better fighters. What we got was knockout of the year and the Bisping overhyped train was derailed.
Honorable Mentions: Imanari's hybrid omoplata-crossface from this past weekend, Fedor decapitating Rogers, Paulo Thiago upsetting Koscheck, Cannibal Khalidov TKOing Santiago from his back, Duffee KOing Hague for a new UFC record
