MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

There's only a couple FOTY candidates left in either sport, so let's hear what you guys have as your top fights of 2007. While I put them in the same thread, please keep boxing and MMA separate and refrain from the tired boxing vs. MMA debate.

I didn't watch much boxing this year outside of Mayweather/De La Hoya, Calzaghe/Kessler, the Contender finale, and Cotto/Mosley. Obviously, all of those fights have been touted as FOTY caliber.

I have watched a lot of MMA this year, so I'll go through a list of my favorites with a brief description:

Takanori Gomi vs. Nick Diaz from Pride 33 - Gomi comes into this fight as the consensus #1 lightweight in the world. Diaz had recently been let go by the UFC after finishing out his contract with 2 straight wins. Gomi absolutely rocks Diaz early and busts up his face (Diaz ended up with a broken orbital bone). Diaz is game though, and comes back after Gomi burns through his gas tank. Diaz ends the fight with only the second successful gogoplata in MMA history.

Quinton Jackson vs. Dan Henderson at UFC 75 for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title - Henderson is the only man to simultaneously hold two belts in different weight classes, while Rampage Jackson looks to continue his winning streak after rearranging his life and joining the camp of Juanito Ibarra. As many predicted, this one goes 5 rounds with tons of good action throughout. A good example of the diversity in MMA with solid action on the ground, on the feet, and in the clinch.

Roger Huerta vs. Leonard Garcia at UFC 69 - Huerta became a de facto UFC posterboy when he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. That cover comes from this fight. Three rounds at the usual 5th gear lightweight tempo.

Tyson Griffin vs. Frankie Edgar
Tyson Griffin vs. Clay Guida - Two fights that are absolute wars that help re-solidify the UFC lightweight division.

Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin at UFC 77 - Don't let the results fool you, Rich Franklin is a very solid fighter. Anderson Silva is just that good right now. Not a very competitive fight, but this is a good example of what elite-level striking looks like. Franklin shows how game he is when he comes out for round 2.

I'm missing some stuff, but I think that's a good start.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

You're missing Pavlik-Taylor.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

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You're missing Pavlik-Taylor.

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I did say I didn't watch much boxing, but I did see this and forgot about it. Weird considering I think this is > the fights I listed.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

Crocop vs G. Gonzaga. Not a very close fight, but I'll nominate it just for the huge upset and surprising ending.

I disagree about Henderson vs Jackson. I was in the crowd that night and I thought it was pretty boring with mostly half-guard/clinch neutralization.

Diaz vs Gomi was terrific but you gotta admit that Gomi running out of gas so soon in the fight was weird. Also the fight was turned into a no contest, which sucked.

Another fight I love to watch again is the Gray Maynard fight from the TUF Finale this year. I was also in the crowd. Man, what a slam, and what a crazy ending!

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

If I were going to pick a fight for upset value, it would be Serra/GSP. That's the only fight that still looks weird in hindsight.

I don't think Gomi running out of gas was that weird. It's pretty clear he took the fight lightly and probably had some jet lag.

Clinch and ground work =/= boring to me, especially when both fighters are active during both. This wasn't like Sylvia/Vera where Tim just leaned on Vera for over a third of the fight. It wasn't a crazy slugfest, but if you were hoping for that going in, you're nuts. I thought this fight was a very high level showing from two elite mixed martial artists.

Mods,

What's wrong with my links? They were fine when I previewed and I thought they were OK when I posted...why are they not formatted correctly now?

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

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Clinch and ground work =/= boring to me, especially when both fighters are active during both. This wasn't like Sylvia/Vera where Tim just leaned on Vera for over a third of the fight. It wasn't a crazy slugfest, but if you were hoping for that going in, you're nuts. I thought this fight was a very high level showing from two elite mixed martial artists.

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I love to see expert groundwork, but this fight is a bad example. Both Rampage and Dan are excellent wrestlers but they're not amazing when put on their backs. Look at their record, they've rarely finished a fight in that position or pulled off a submission from side control or half-guard. They're good at maintaining position, ground and pound, and defending ground and pound. That doesn't make a great fight! There are many more fights with BJJ experts that were far more exciting technically speaking (anything with KenFlo, Huerta, Filho.).

I have to agree that Serra vs GSP was the biggest upset of the year, but the fight itself wasn't great. Gonzaga really mauled Crocop before finishing him with that high kick from outer space. Not very artsy, right, but damn spectacular.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

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I love to see expert groundwork, but this fight is a bad example. Both Rampage and Dan are excellent wrestlers but they're not amazing when put on their backs. Look at their record, they've rarely finished a fight in that position or pulled off a submission from side control or half-guard. They're good at maintaining position, ground and pound, and defending ground and pound. That doesn't make a great fight! There are many more fights with BJJ experts that were far more exciting technically speaking (anything with KenFlo, Huerta, Filho.).

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That's all a matter of opinion. though. Just because you find more BJJ-oriented ground work more exciting than wrestling/GNP, doesn't mean everyone does.

I enjoy watching elite mixed martial artists go at it. Henderson/Jackson is in the top 5 fights of the year in terms of the level and ability of the two fighters. While the fight may not have been as aesthetically pleasing as a more BJJ-oriented fight, they both stayed active on the top and bottom, attempting subs, sweeps, and improving position. The added historical importance of unifying the UFC Light Heavyweight and Pride Middleweight titles pushes a solid fight into a FOTY candidate for me.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

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There are many more fights with BJJ experts that were far more exciting technically speaking (anything with KenFlo, Huerta, Filho.)

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At the risk of being a snob, if you would call Huerta a BJJ expert, then you probably don't know what you're talking about. Only two of his 19 victories have been by sub, and it's pretty clear from watching his fights that he's nowhere near a BJJ expert, even though he is an exciting fighter and competent on the ground. From a pure BJJ perspective, he got owned by Alberto Crane and gave up mount and his back several times. If Crane hadn't been in such bad shape and had fought an MMA fight in the last two years, he would have almost definitely subbed Huerta easily. Put Huerta against BJ Penn or even Joe Stevenson and see how much of "BJJ expert" he looks like.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

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At the risk of being a snob, if you would call Huerta a BJJ expert, then you probably don't know what you're talking about.

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You may be right about Huerta, I've always found him very impressive on the ground but that's probably because he's so athletic and good at defending submissions. BJ Penn and Stevenson are definitely better examples of exciting BJJ experts.

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Put Huerta against BJ Penn or even Joe Stevenson and see how much of "BJJ expert" he looks like.

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I think that if Huerta wins his next fight he's going to get very close to a title shot against the winner of Penn/Stevenson. I think he's got a really good shot.

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That's all a matter of opinion. though. Just because you find more BJJ-oriented ground work more exciting than wrestling/GNP, doesn't mean everyone does.

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Well, um, of course it's all subjective... Personnally I like fights that are very spectacular on the ground with a lot of position changes, sweeps, submission attempts etc. One guy holding the other down and occasionally striking doesn't do it for me. I also like it when fights don't go the distance.

Oh btw, once we get enough candidates we should have a vote in this thread for MMA fight of the year.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

Marquez-Vasquez fights have been the best this yr imo, altho the contender finale was probably the most fun/exciting.

Pavlik/Taylor and Cal/Kessler was also both excellent.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

I cant believe I see Kimbo Slice's name on the front page of Yahoo Sports. He is going to be fighting someone.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

The most recent Contender finale: Bika vs Codrington

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I cant believe I see Kimbo Slice's name on the front page of Yahoo Sports. He is going to be fighting someone.

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he fought Saturday and won through tap out due to strikes against Bo Cantrell , it was pretty ridiculous and it definitely looks like the match was thrown.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

Anderson Silva is so fun to watch.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

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he fought Saturday and won through tap out due to strikes against Bo Cantrell , it was pretty ridiculous and it definitely looks like the match was thrown.

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If this fight was thrown, it was Cantrell just wanting a paycheck without actually have to go toe-to-toe with Kimbo. I don't think there was any shady backroom deal.

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he fought Saturday and won through tap out due to strikes against Bo Cantrell , it was pretty ridiculous and it definitely looks like the match was thrown.

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Bo Cantrell is a total can. Kimbo is not. This is what happens when a total can fights decent opposition. Kimbo would've had a tougher time with Blu Cantrell.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

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he fought Saturday and won through tap out due to strikes against Bo Cantrell , it was pretty ridiculous and it definitely looks like the match was thrown.

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Bo Cantrell is a total can. Kimbo is not. This is what happens when a total can fights decent opposition. Kimbo would've had a tougher time with Blu Cantrell.

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no this is not what happens, I've seen almost every mainstream MMA event for the last 3 years and this is the only time ive seen anyone tap to one or two blows, and Bo isn't a super can, he HAS won 10 fights, super cans have records like 2-15. And its waaay to early to call kimbo decent opposition already.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

I can't believe we have a MMA thread going here and DannyOcean hasn't posted yet.

I'll have to think about the fight of the year, but I think the upset of the year was Serra over GSP and the surprise of the year (for me anyway) has been the introduction of Houston Alexander.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

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I can't believe we have a MMA thread going here and DannyOcean hasn't posted yet.

I'll have to think about the fight of the year, but I think the upset of the year was Serra over GSP and the surprise of the year (for me anyway) has been the introduction of Houston Alexander.

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Sokoudjou > Alexander, though I like Alexander more.

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no this is not what happens, I've seen almost every mainstream MMA event for the last 3 years and this is the only time ive seen anyone tap to one or two blows, and Bo isn't a super can, he HAS won 10 fights, super cans have records like 2-15. And its waaay to early to call kimbo decent opposition already.

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Cantrell won 10 fights, but he lost 10 (loved Quadros' quote: "Cantrell has infinitely more experience than Kimbo...but half that experience is in losing"). And he lost his last four coming in. And he's beaten no one worth mentioning. And look at this:

L...Brad Imes...Submission(Gogoplata)...Round 1...0:55
L...Dave Huckaba...KO...Round 1...0:05
L...Dave Huckaba...TKO...Round 1...0:26
L...Tim Persey...KO(Punches)...Round 1...1:33
L...Paul Buentello...KO(Punches)...Round 1...0:45
L...James Irvin...KO...Round 1...1:24

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

looks like he likes the paycheck

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

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no this is not what happens, I've seen almost every mainstream MMA event for the last 3 years and this is the only time ive seen anyone tap to one or two blows, and Bo isn't a super can, he HAS won 10 fights, super cans have records like 2-15. And its waaay to early to call kimbo decent opposition already.

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The people Cantrell won against were super cans. Nearly all of them have worse records than Cantrell.

The only difference between Cantrell's situation and an on-the-level decent MMA fighter is that they might not have tapped because it's just not in them. There was no way Cantrell was getting out of that position and he simply chose to end the fight before getting hurt. It's not like he couldn't have just sat there until the ref stopped it to make it look like less of a work.

And I called Kimbo decent opposition Vs. Cantrell, not the entire MMA world.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

Anybody else miss Wednesday and Friday Night Fights on ESPN ?!

1. Pavlik-Taylor
2. Vazquez-Marquez II
3. Coddrington-Bika(Contender)
4. Pavlik-Miranda
5. Katsidis-Amonsot
6. Nonito Donaire-Vic Darchinyan
7. Diaz-Morales
8. Cotto-Judah
9. JM Marquez-Barrera

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

Thanks for posting a list, goodguy.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

ive only been watching mma regularly for 6 months or so. last night i was looking through my dvds and saw that i had UFC 52. i don't remember buying it or watching it before . so i pop it in last night and it was pretty sick. i haven't seen a card that good before - are more and more ppv events just diluting the quality, or are the events just in a lull right now?


here was the card:
mike vanarsdale/john marsh - van arsdale is a beast where is he now?
patrick cote/joe doerksen - sick fight - where are these guys now?
ivan saleveryy/joe riggs - ended quick, but both guys were badasses
GSP/jason mayhem miller - god gsp is a beast - miller is also out of his mind and hilarious.
matt lindland/travis lutter - both guys are good but so boring.
matt hughes/frank trigg - first time ive ever watched matt hughes - he's a [censored] monster. trigg seems soft - should have finished hughes - had him in an awful spot.
babalu/travis wiuff - not too exciting, but both dudes were skilled.
lidell/couture II - i had only seen III prior to this and was shocked this fight was such a joke. randy doesn't even look like the same guy.

but again - sick card - we need more like this.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

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patrick cote/joe doerksen - sick fight - where are these guys now?

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Cote still fights for the UFC (recently defeated Kendall Grove), while Doerksen fights for the WEC.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

lapoker,

Pretty much every UFC PPV is on or just below the level of UFC 52. Maybe not so much the high-profile main event, but the cards from top to bottom (including prelims), are usually stacked with quality fighters.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

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lapoker,

Pretty much every UFC PPV is on or just below the level of UFC 52. Maybe not so much the high-profile main event, but the cards from top to bottom (including prelims), are usually stacked with quality fighters.


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well i've watched the last 4 or 5 and the quality was nowhere near ufc 52 - that was my whole question - weird that you disagree. maybe i am missing something.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

What do you mean by quality? Like the quality of the fights or the quality of the fighters?

If you're looking at it by quality of fighters, you're having the added benefit of looking in hindsight and seeing these guys as the stars they are now.

Take a card like UFC 74:

Prelims
Marcus Aurelio vs. Clay Guida
Thales Leites vs. Ryan Jensen
Frank Mir vs. Antoni Hardonk
Renato Sobral vs. David Heath

Main card
Kendall Grove vs. Patrick Côté
Joe Stevenson vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Roger Huerta vs. Alberto Crane
Georges St. Pierre vs.Josh Koscheck
Randy Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga

That stacks up very well with 52. IMO, every main card in the past 10 or so PPVs (UFC 72 excluded) has been extremely good and the prelims have usually been solid as well.

Also, UFC 52 wasn't happening on a regular basis.

Re: MMA and Boxing Fights of the Year
 

Hagler v. Hearns

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Gomi-Diaz for fight of the year. I said it the moment their fight was over.

I definitely thought Bo took a dive as well.