As the year is drawing to a close it's time to look back to the insane year that was 2018.
POSTERS OF THE YEAR
MALE FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
FEMALE FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
BREAKOUT FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
FIGHT OF THE YEAR
KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR
COMEBACK OF THE YEAR
SUBMISSION OF THE YEAR
WALKOUT OF THE YEAR
GYM OF THE YEAR
REFEREE OF THE YEAR
ANALYST/COMMENTATOR OF THE YEAR
CEO/PROMOTER OF THE YEAR
This was a close one. Khabib leaping out of the Octagon, and Floyd Mayweather going to Rizin to beat up a tiny Nasukawa is up there. But the one that takes the cake is the entire Jon Jones storyline of 2018, especially where USADA decides to cut down his suspension in exchange for him giving valuable information, which he then does not do? question-mark? then USADA decides that for this fighter they'll give a pass for having picograms (the word of the year) of Turinabol in his system. So now all fighters can have very small traces of Turinabol in their system? or get suspended, then they'll forever have an excuse to be microdosing? POSTERS OF THE YEAR
Lots of crap, generic poster from the UFC this year. Super disappointing.
Next year is looking a little better with UFC 234.
Next year is looking a little better with UFC 234.
MALE FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
After a rocky end of 2017, Daniel Cormier bounced back by first beating #1 Light-Heavyweight Contender Volkan Oezdemir, then beating all-time great Heavyweight Stipe Miocic to become the second man in UFC history to hold two active belts in two weight classes. aaand topping it all off by defending it against Derrick Lewis (who had won 9 of his last 10). None of the fights saw 3rd round.
FEMALE FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
Man, I don't wanna give Nunes this award. why? Cuz this double champ **** has got to go. You're supposed to defend your belt, not go up to a non-existent division. But wait.... Nunes did defend her belt this year, finishing her opponent. And that non-existent division? It was built for the greatest female fighter of all time.... Whom Nunes utterly destroyed in 51 seconds. Nunes has now retired Miesha Tate, and Ronda Rousey, and KO'd the Female GOAT. Long live the new Queen.
BREAKOUT FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
Israel Adesanya was one of those fighters lucky enough to be pushed hard by the UFC. Brash on the mic, and with exciting stand up skills. Of course, you still have to perform when the cage door closes. And perform he has. a total of 4 fights in 2018, with his next already booked for early 2019. The Last Stylebender has fought all legit tough contenders who were ready to derail the hype. But the train rolls on.
FIGHT OF THE YEAR
Jesus Christ... I was thinking about other fights this year like Poirier vs Gaethje, or Ferguson vs Pettis, but honestly, if I could show my friends only one fight (of any year) it would be this one. Korean Zombie vs Yair Rodriguez. It had it all, the flashy flair from Yair, the Rocky chin of Korean Zombie, the championship rounds, and of course the hollywood ending...
KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR
It had to be this one. I know, I know, Brian Ortega's uppercut was a sight of beauty, but Yair pulled of a move no one has ever done, at the very last second of the fight of the year (a fight he was losing). It had to be the most insane elbow I have ever seen.
COMEBACK OF THE YEAR
Although Yair was actually behind on the scorecards it was such a close fight we could see it going either way. That was not the case with Paul Crag vs Magomed Ankalaev. Paul Craig was getting his *** handed to him for every second of 3 rounds. Then at the very last second of the fight he managed to pull off a miracle as he triangle chocked Magomed to a finish.
SUBMISSION OF THE YEAR
There's something about Zabit. The way he talks, the way he kicks, and the way he pulls of whatever the hell this is. It's written down as a "Modified Kneebar". whatever you say, wikipedia, whatever you say....
WALKOUT OF THE YEAR
In the age of Endeavour and Reebok it can be hard to stand out for a fighter, with generic walkouts and walkout music. Darren Till however, must be some sort of genius, cuz in his fight against Stephen Thompson he decided to have Liverpool crowd favorite "Sweet Caroline" in his hometown. the rest is history: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqmrWpvWuAo&t
GYM OF THE YEAR
The race was close with American Kickboxing Academy and American Top Team. American Top Team has been on a winning streak and still sports dominant champion Tyron Woodley. however, AKA did pull off the win by currently housing the Pound for Pound #1 and #2 in DC and Khabib. It's the gym to beat.
REFEREE OF THE YEAR
We rarely hear when a referee does something good, only when it's a late stoppage, an early stoppage, or whatever the hell Yves Lavigne was doing to Joseph Benavidez. Big John McCarthy has been the gold standard for a long time, until his retirement early this year. Marc Goddard is one of the few who has remained almost squeaky clean this year. Check out Cyborg vs Nunes for what a great stoppage is supposed to look like.
ANALYST/COMMENTATOR OF THE YEAR
This was a close race between DC and Dan Hardy. Both bring their own style and genres to the commentator booth. Dan Hardy makes the complex easy to digest and brings unique insight which he shares better than the other analysts. I love Luke Thomas, but my god doesn't he go: "he pivots to the right, while pulling the arm under the left of the right of the left side of the..." you get my point... The Inside the Octagon with John Godden is a joy to watch before any fight and I hope to see Dan provide more live commentating in the future.
CEO/PROMOTER OF THE YEAR
Of course UFC, and Dana White are still the supreme leaders of the MMA world, with their big move to ESPN almost landing them the award. However will ESPN be a better home than FOX? Why are we still stuck in this PPV/TV channel/Fight pass limbo that makes watching cards a small nightmare? The PPV model has turned sour, and with ESPN, the saturation of the market is not going away any time soon.
Bellator is reaping the benefits of a horrible Reebok deal, and with a successful Heavyweight tournament is having a great year. But this year's award goes to ONE and CEO Chatri Sityodtong for making big moves with acquiring the GOAT Demitrious Johnson alongside big names like Eddie Alvarez, Sage Northcut Miesha Tate, and Yoshihiro Akiyama, while also setting up their own broadcast contracts and models that work a lot better. It looks like everyone is moving towards a sports-netflix model except the UFC.
Bellator is reaping the benefits of a horrible Reebok deal, and with a successful Heavyweight tournament is having a great year. But this year's award goes to ONE and CEO Chatri Sityodtong for making big moves with acquiring the GOAT Demitrious Johnson alongside big names like Eddie Alvarez, Sage Northcut Miesha Tate, and Yoshihiro Akiyama, while also setting up their own broadcast contracts and models that work a lot better. It looks like everyone is moving towards a sports-netflix model except the UFC.
WTF MOMENT OF THE YEAR
On top of all that, Jones finishes Gus in a dominant fashion to win the LHW title. Jones is back! except he's not? or is he? the WTF moment of 2018.
Thank you for reading my awards show.
check out https://kellmartin.net/ if you wanna read more stupid ramblings.
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