86 2009 Awards Pt. I

  • Thursday, January 7th, 2010 at 2:43 am by Danny Acosta

The 86 2009 MMA Awards Pt. 1

By Danny Acosta

This the MTV Awards (circa Howard Stern) of FIGHT!’s yearly awards. So we say to 2009, you’re 86’d. Let’s rock 2010.

Fight of the Year: Josh Thomson-Gilbert Melendez II

A 25-minute scrap between top-10 155-pounders determined an undisputed Strikeforce Lightweight Champion. A complete mixed martial arts contest, each combatant was hurt through multiple tide changes until the closing ticks crowned Melendez king once again.

Honorable Mentions:

Diego Sanchez-Clay Guida: Ill-intentioned back-and-forth fight eventually found Diego Sanchez the victory.

Randy Couture-Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: A clash of former heavyweight champions, the Brazilian nearly finished “Captain America” but the old man’s legendary resilience saw him trading punches center cage en route to a courageous unanimous decision loss in a battle of giants.

Benson Henderson-Donald Cerrone: Cerrone nearly tapped Henderson throughout the bout but ultimately endured enough ground and pound to hand the upset to Henderson.

Submission of the Year: Toby Imada-Jorge Masvidal

A year full of fantastic submissions couldn’t come close to Imada’s inverted back-mounted triangle that left favorite Masvidal so unconscious he forgot to fall.

Honorable Mentions:

Shinya Aoki-Mizuto Hirota: Break someone’s arm with a submission you invented is a way to get attention.

Jake Shields-Robbie Lawler: Shields moved up from 170-pounds to 185-pounds and guillotined top-10 ranked Lawler with a vicious choke.

Demien Maia-Chael Sonnen: Chael Sonnen was at a loss for words about the way Maia “rolled” him when I spoke to him recently. Leaving an impression like that means Maia did something right.

Comeback of the Year: Scott Smith-Cung Le

Smith was on the wrong end of a flashy martial arts exhibition before he cemented his place as fighting’s miracle man with a third-round KO of the favored Le, who tired from beating Smith so handily for 13 minutes prior.

Honorable Mentions:

Scott Smith-Benji Radach: Smith started 2009 the way he ended it: with a world-class comeback KO.

Jorge Santiago-Kazuo Misaki: Santiago was able to navigate fifth round waters until Misaki drowned via rear-naked choke to pick up the Sengoku Middleweight Championship with less than 100 ticks left.

John “Doomsday” Howard-Dennis “Superman” Hallman: The super hero themed battle saw kryptonite prevail in the form of Howard knocking out “Superman” with 5 seconds left in the bout.

Knockout of the Year: Fedor Emelianenko-Andrei Arlovski

Emelianenko caught the former UFC Heavyweight Champion mid-air with a punch that left Arlovski napping face down like he was studying too hard for finals.

Honorable Mentions:

Nate Marquardt-Demien Maia: Remember how Mr. Perfect would spin after a big clothesline? Marquardt made Maia pay homage to that with a perfect counter to an overzealous leg kick.

Dan Hornbuckle-Akihiro Gono: Hornbuckle caught Gono’s leg and kicked him in the head like a baseball bat hit a leather medicine ball. Gut-wrenching.

Marius Zaromskis-Jason High: The best way to win a second fight in one night is to score a nastier version of the high kick KO you landed earlier in the night.

Jose Aldo-Cub Swanson: Aldo landed two knees on Swanson, who seen as his toughest test to date, and knocked him out in 8 seconds, leaving him with two deep cuts around one eye.

Dan Henderson-Michael Bisping: Big right hand for practical reasons, flying elbow drop for aesthetic reasons.

Yahir Reyes-Esteban Payan: Reyes’ spinning back fist made a smacking noise we’ll never hear again.

The Kayfabe Award: Feud of the Year: Jamie Varner-Donald Cerrone

The two WEC lightweights almost got into a rematch in the street before they did in the cage they were itching to fight so much.

Honorable Mentions:

Dan Henderson-Michael Bisping: A man of few words versus a man of many words results in a man of no words as Henderson’s lethal hands silenced Bisping.

Frank Mir-Brock Lesnar: Snarling professional wrestler versus confident martial artist divides MMA community and creates two major stars in the process.

The Marlon Sims 300 Award: Reality Star of the Year: Kimbo Slice

An American rags to riches story, Kimbo Slice finally landed under the bright—and steady—lights of the UFC to the highest ratings of their reality show’s history.

Honorable Mentions:

Jason “Mayhem” Miller: The only fighter to have his own TV show, Miller’s Bully Beatdown bolstered mainstream MTV’s airwaves while he snuck onto network TV with a Strikeforce Middleweight Championship fight.

Ross Pearson: The Ultimate Fighter: USA vs. UK lightweight winner Pearson edged out a tournament win after showing everyone his neat my-shoulder-sometimes-pops-out-of-place party trick.

Tiki Ghosn: ?

The Olivia Munn Award: Epic Fail of the Year: Michael Bisping Mouths Off to Dan Henderson

Bisping claimed he could out wrestle Henderson and wasn’t scared of his power. Henderson did his talking at the biggest pay-per-view in UFC history by stuffing Bisping’s takedowns and forever distorting London Calling songs in his brain with a gratuitous KO.

Honorable Mentions:

The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Kimbo Slice Second Fight Teaser/Evans-Jackson Non-Fight: Hype is fun, but there has to be at the fight at the end of the hype.

Thales Leites Fights Anderson Silva: At least Chris Leben’s butt scoot came after Silva knocked him out.

Anthony Johnson Misses Weight; Losses $60,000: Johnson’s scale woes cost him his Knockout of the Night bonus after UFC President Dana White acknowledged he had UFC 104’s best KO, but didn’t deserve it because the weight issue.

Fighter of the Year: Jose Aldo

Aldo’s 2009 was a non-stop highlight reel—a 4-0 four finish stretch that ended with the WEC Featherweight Championship by defeating dominant champion Mike Thomas Brown.

Honorable Mention:

Gilbert Melendez:Melendez hit the game winning triple with his first KO of his career over Rodrigo Damm, his systematic stoppage of the first man to defeat him in Mitsuhiro Ishida and avenging his other loss against Josh Thomson in a 25-minute Fight of the Year winner. If not for Aldo’s mind-boggling run, the Strikeforce Lightweight Champion’s well-crafted year would be a lock.

William H. Macy Award: Hard Luck Fighter of the Year: Kazuo Misaki

Tapping out in the fifth round of a title fight and an introduction to Melvin Manhoef’s sleep-inducing fists shot Misaki down further than his legal troubles.

Honorable Mentions:

Andrei Arlovski: Arlovski was knocked out twice in terrible fashion in two drastically different but painful fights. “Pitbull” was stopped mid-air by Fedor Emelianenko’s punch, dropping the greatest opportunity of Arlovski’s career. He then lost to a fighter he was supposed to defeat in Brett Rogers just 22 seconds into round one.

Josh Thomson: Injuries had Thomson withdrawl from fights twice before his December return, killing lots of the momentum he gained with a stellar 2008. He lost his title in his only fight of 2009—ouch.

Matt Lindland: Matt Lindland was knocked out so bad by Vitor Belfort he ended up in a neck brace for a minute. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza was more merficiful, beating “The Law” with an arm-triangle choke. At 39-years-old, an evaluation of the Olympian’s competitive fight future may be on the horizon.

Breakthrough Fighter of the Year: Ross Pearson

Fighting his way out of the UK’s stagnant fight scene, the English lightweight ran through The Ultimate Fighter and put the reality show behind him with an impressive performance against Aaron Riley, which ended on cuts but not before Pearson signaled he’s a lightweight that could make waves.

Honorable Mentions:

Lyman Good: Good was the beneficiary of Bellator’s welterweight tournament and emerged as one of the organization’s stars due to three finishes in three months. The New Yorker’s physical dominance marks him as one of the best young fighters to watch.

Luke Rockhold: The Strikeforce middleweight tapped Buck Meredith, blitzed Cory Devela and then tapped UFC veteran Jesse Taylor too. Rockhold, a brown belt under Dave Camarillo, is on a 5-fight win streak and is a dangerous southpaw.

The Charles “Mask” Lewis Award: Most Inspirational: Cole Escovedo

Escovedo overcame fought off death and paralysis after a severe staph infection halted the Californian’s career in the worst way. After roughly three years out of the sport, “Apache Kid” returned with an emphatic stoppage over Michael MacDonald at PFC 13—a fight he dedicated to his mother, who helped him survive the ordeal. He’s won an additional two bouts including a Strikeforce debut, something that would have never come to fruition without Escovedo’s iron will.

Tim Kennedy: Army Bronze Star recipient Tim Kennedy wants to pursue his fighting career full-time, but he’s not done serving his country, opting to stay involved in the military after years of sacrificing his fighting career for live, top-secret combat.

Pat Barry: Everyone will remember Barry’s admission he was eating rice and ketchup leading up to his UFC 104 KO of Antoni Hardonk, which earned him $120,000 in bonus cash. The life of a fighter isn’t easy and Barry’s emotional response to the victory let fans witness a man who took great risks for greater rewards.

Kyle Maynard: A congenital amputee, Maynard acted on his desire to fight in mixed martial arts despite a barrage of criticism.

Click here to read part II.

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One Response to “86 2009 Awards Pt. I”

  1. Oswaldo Niedzwiedzki says:
    January 8, 2010 at 12:41 am

    He’s defended against better guys in better fashion than the other two.

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