The Justin Bieber Award: Love Him or Hate Him He’s Had a Damn Good Year
Fighter of the Year: Jon Jones
There is really no way around it. Jones has 4 wins in 2011, all four his biggest wins to date. He won the title from Shogun and defeated against two ranked opponents. Hell, Jones might have had the biggest year for any fighter in the sport’s history and may just be the future poster-boy of mixed martial arts. As Dana White and company build their product and expose it to new audiences Jon Jones must seem like a golden goose. He has it all: the skills, the charm, the looks… Jon Jones has arrived and it looks like he might be here to stay.
The AC/DC Award: Even Your Friends Who Hate Music Will Like This Show
Fight of the Year: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs Dan Henderson at UFC 139: Shogun vs Hendo
The year was full of instant classics, some on the big stage and some in the background. None brought together everything like Shogun vs Hendo though. Aside from being a 25-minute brawl that saw two of the sports biggest active legends batter each other with everything they had (what more could you want from a fight), this clash featured an absolutely heroic performance from Shogun, coming back from dream street to finish the fight in dominant position. To counter, an ailing Hendo willed his way to hold on and stay in the fight of his life despite appearing the brink of collapse in the final round. It was the combination of it all that brought this one to the fore: the legends, the fight, the heart, the blood, the fans. If I had to pick right now, I would say this was the greatest fight I have ever seen.
The New Kids On The Block Award: Dated but Appropriate Reference
Breakout Fighter of the Year: Mark Munoz & Ben Henderson
Mark Munoz has had his ups and downs and they have mostly been ups but 2011 saw him finally hit his stride at 185 pounds. He started the year by disposing of C.B. Dollaway in less than a minute. Following that performance he defeated Damian Maia in a very impressive unanimous decision and then capped the year with a second round corner stoppage of tough as nails Chris Leben. Those three wins led to him being lined up against number one contender Chael Sonnen at UFC on FOX 2, a premier spot for fighters breaking into the top tier. A fantastic 2011 has set Munoz to earn a title shot in 2012.
Ben Henderson can’t be ignored and he certainly hasn’t. His success in 2011 earned him a title shot against reigning champion Frankie Edgar in Japan. Hederson has three UD victories in 2011 all over game opponents and all packed full of excitement. After defeating the Mark Bocek he went on to snap the impressive 7 fight win streak of Jim Miller and then defeat perennial contender Clay Guida. Some fighters get jeered for decisions but I don’t know anyone who tires of seeing Henderson fight.
The Gallagher Brothers Award: Drama, Trash talk, and Some People Can’t Turn Away
Feud of the Year: Jon Jones vs Rampage Jackson
It resembled a WWE fight buildup. There was trash-talk. There was controversy. There was a space-age training camp. The fight didn’t live up to the hype, although it was a better fight than one might think if they listened to the likes of Joe Rogan. Rampage always builds good ethos around a fight. He more or less called Jones out for being untested, soft, and for planting spies in his camp. Jones was typical Jones: humble, sly, and a little snarky. Put on that Rampage’s high tech space age training grounds and Jones being part of the most famous camp in the sport and you got Hollywood narrative. If Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen had continued there banter and signed a contract to fight they likely would have won the spot but Rampage and Jones went through the entirety of their feud in 4 months and capped it with a world title fight.
The Lady Gaga Award: One Phenomenon, Lots and Lots of News
Story of the Year: UFC buys Strikeforce
This resonated throughout the entirety of the sport and still does to this day. The most important piece of this move is the massive consolidation of power within the sport, placing the two most important organizations in the world under the Zuffa banner. However, the ramifications aren’t just abstract and business related. Fights like Nick Diaz vs B.J. Penn and The Legendary Dan Henderson vs Shogun Rua would not have been possible without this move. Additionally the year ends with Brock Lesnar vs Alistair Overeem in the same vain. Strikeforced looked to be on the verge of collapsing until Showtime agreed to take up the organization again and now it looks like Zuffa plans to rebuild the organization. Strikeforce’s HW tournament, its results, and the fall out will be quite telling about just what Strikeforce’s role will be in the sports future.
The Jay-Z/Kanye West Award: Didn’t Do Much But The King of What They Do
Comeback of the Year: Chael Sonnen
He only fought once but man did he make waves. After crushing Brian Stann Sonnen called out the greatest fighter in the world and demanded that the MMA world pay attention to him once again. Sonnen now gets a number one contender fight against Mark Munoz who fights like a younger version of himself. The fact of the matter is, Chael Sonnen is important to the sport. Guys like him, who don’t care to be the bad guy, who don’t care to pick on the big boys, are going to help MMA break into the mainstream and even though I will root against him almost every time I am glad he is back at it.
No comments:
Post a Comment