Ryan Bader is now 11-0 with his TKO victory over Keith Jardine.
Ryan Bader showed that he can dig deep when it counts most in a MMA fight. He showed that in his third round TKO victory over veteran Light Heavyweight Keith Jardine Saturday night. Bader looked like the tank was on empty but showed the will and resilience that it takes to secure a victory in the UFC. It is this combination of skills and will that will make him a serious contender to the Light Heavyweight title…
Bader won the first round with the combination of his wrestling and striking skills. He is a superior wrestler and has the striking power to get the TKO at anytime. The second round went to the cage veteran Jardine. Jardine used his awesome kicking skills to keep Bader at bat and secure the second round. With the fight even, it comes down to who wants it more in the decisive third round. Bader wanted it more. Bader looked tired from the kick beating in the second round but mustered up the strength and percision to land a right hand and then followed it up with a ledt hok to get Jardine to the ground anc get the victory at 2:10 of the third round.
While this is Jardine’s third stright loss, he was a fighter that was desperate for a victory and that makes him all that dangerous. Bader can use this victory to bukd confidence and set his eyes on Light Weight Champion Lyoto Machida down the road. He does not have what it takes to beat Machida right know, but does have the skills and drive to contend i the future.
Bader is now 11-0 and his future shines brightly in the MMA worls. I enjoed watching him on the Ultimate Fighter and become champion. I would love to see him eventually become Light heavyweight Champion. Watch out for the Darth Vader.
Cain Velasquez cemented his standing as a top contender in the Heavyweight division to Brock Lesnar with a stunning knockout victory over veteran Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Velasquez (8-0) connected with a right hook to the chin which floored Nogueira (32-6-1) instantly, ending the bout at 2:20 of the first round.
Velasquez Scores Knockout Victory
The unbeaten Velasquez, an All-American wrestler at Arizona State made the strategic decision to keep the fight on his feet against the Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu expert Nogueira. Despite weaknesses in his stand up in previous fights, most memorably against Cheick Kongo, the strategy paid off.
Velasquez had Nogueira surprised by his strategy from the opening bell. Velasquez was able to connect on a handful of shots early on, causing Nogueira to regroup after an early combination that caught him flush. As Nogueira came forward to unleash a combination, Velasquez was able to counter and land his right hook just before Nogueira’s right hook, rocking the veteran and sending him crashing to the canvas. Velasquez would pounce and land five unanswered shots to the head before referee Herb Dean could stop the fight.
For Velasquez, this is a signature win but questions still surround his skills and preparedness for the next level of competition. Tonight’s fight unfortunately didn’t allow for a gauge on exactly how good Velasquez is, as he was just the guy that landed his wild right hook first.
Regardless, Velasquez has taken on and beaten all comers in the division and his time has arrived for a major headline fight. We’ll probably look to Velasquez taking on the winner of the upcoming Mir-Carwin bout, with the winner getting a crack at Lesnar.
Wanderlei Silva desperately needed a solid victory and got one in Sydney, Australia at UFC 110. Silva dictated the pace of the fight from the opening bell, scoring a unanimous decision over Michael Bisping by 29-28 on all three judges’ scorecards. The victory for Silva (33-10-1) was his first in almost two years, while Bisping (18-3) registers his second loss in three fights.
Silva Score Close But Unanimous Victory
The fight was a rejuvenation for the MMA legend known as the Axe Murderer. Silva had stumbled recently, scoring just one victory in his past six fights, leading many to speculate whether Silva’s best days had past. Silva dropped to the Middleweight division for the first time in his career, shedding nearly twenty pounds and looking extremely fit after an eight month layoff due to a nose surgery.
Silva dictated the pace throughout the fight, using his leg kicks to rattle Bisping and keep a comfortable distance. In the first round, Bisping was able to establish the jab and utilize it to setup two strong takedowns. Silva was quick to return to his feet, nullifying Bisping’s takedowns. As the round came to a close, Silva landed with a vicious flurry of punches along the cage wall to take the round.
The second round was much of the same with Silva landing leg kicks and Bisping connecting with jabs and scoring takedowns only to see Silva quickly scramble back to his feet. Bisping went for a takedown late in the round and was caught by Silva in a guillotine choke. While Silva tightly cinched it with an arm tied in, he improperly applied the choke, allowing Bisping to escape the round.
The pace of the fight picked up in the third round with both fighters believing they needed the round. Silva showed he was game, landing some solid blows and fending off weaker takedown attempts by Bisping. The fight was delayed twice during the round due to a kick in the groin and an eye poke, both delivered by Bisping. The second injury timeout gave Silva a second wind, as he roared back and attacked Bisping with a range of shots. As the round wound to a close, Silva unleashed a flurry of punches, connecting with a right hook to the jaw that floored Bisping. Silva pounced with a couple of blows on the ground as the bell sounded.
The difference in the fight came down to experience and awareness. Silva was patient throughout the fight, waiting for openings and unleashing a flurry when they presented themselves. He closed out each round in solid fashion, taking what appeared to be close rounds and turning them in his favor.
Silva’s debut at Middleweight may rejuvenate what appeared to be a career on the decline and on the way to retirement. With a solid victory over Bisping, Silva immediately throws himself into the conversation of title contender in a weight class without much competition for the current champion Anderson Silva.
The long-awaited showdown between the legendary Brazilians may soon be a reality.
Former UFC champion Randy Couture (18-10) put another notch on his belt with a dominating victory over another former UFC Champion Mark Coleman (16-10). The fight featured two of the oldest fighters in the sport, Couture at age 46 and Coleman age 45, both Hall of Famers with the UFC despite their active status. Couture took the victory by rear naked choke submission at 1:09 of the second round.
Couture Wins In Dominating Fashion
Couture dominated from the opening bell to the stoppage by referre Steve Mazzagatti. Coleman was able to rock Couture with combination left hook, right cross early in the first, but Couture responded. Landing a hard right, Couture stunned Coleman and pushed him into the cage wall. Applying his Greco-Roman dominance, Couture feasted on Coleman with shot after shot coming from all directions. Coleman was able to survive the assault and take it into Round 2.
The second round was more of the same. Couture came out swinging landing a sharp left that rocked Coleman back into the cage wall. Couture pounced for a body lock and took Coleman down to the canvas. Couture immediately gained a full mount position and began raining down hard blows. Coleman scrambled to his base to avoid the shots and Couture quickly took his back and cinched the rear naked choke. Coleman fought gallantly, refusing to tap out. Mazzagatti called a halt to the fight when Coleman’s body went limp.
The fight was Couture’s second fight of a lucrative five-fight contract that will likely close out his illustrious MMA career. Couture once again showed the game planning that has made him one of the toughest fighters in the game. Couture patiently waited for his openings and got Coleman into the Greco-Roman pummeling positions that gave him the advantage.
Despite getting longer in the tooth, Couture looked solid in victory. Crisp, clean punches and a wrestling style that completely neutralized Coleman’s fantastic double-leg takedowns. Couture clearly still has gas left in the tank and is due a serious contender fight for his next matchup at light heavyweight.
As a fan of mixed martial arts, I admit I am a purist. I remember sitting down as a teenager with my dad and brother watching the very first UFC 1. I love the sport and catch as much action on television as I can. As I see it, the more successful promotions out there, the better for the MMA fan.
Joe Soto Is A Champion, Not A Prospect
So here’s my gripe.
All the supposed MMA fans and bloggers are out here cursing over not getting see the bouts they want to see. I’ve never seen this level of strife like this before online. We want Fedor vs Lesnar. We want BJ vs Aoki. Blah. Blah. Blah. There is a reason why we aren’t getting these fights. Because Dana White and Zuffa are blocking them from happening.
It is important to remember that the UFC is just a promotion, they are not a league. Their champions are actually paper champions, not real champions. Champions are crowned by sanctioning bodies, not the Don King of MMA. White has taken the purity of UFC 1 and turned the UFC into biggest sports entertainment rival to WWE.
What irks me most are bloggers and MMA columnists that push this drivel that a fighter can only earn his stripes by fighting under the Zuffa banner, either UFC or WEC. In a column I ran across yesterday on BleacherReport.com by correspondent Ken Foss, he pastes Bellator’s current champion Joe Soto as a prospect and that “Because Bellator has slumbered, Joe Soto’s stock has stagnated. Even so, he’s still arguably the top prospect at 145 pounds, and it’s only a matter of time before we see this 22-year-old beating up on WEC featherweights.”
BleacherReport’s Foss goes right for the jugular on Bellator, diminishing their accomplishments and asserting that Soto has made a mistake in fighting for them instead of WEC. As pointed out in a response comment to the story, Joe Soto was the highest paid featherweight fighter in the world in 2009. Needless to say, it impossible to be a prospect when you made more money than anyone else at your weight class.
Foss then tries to compare a salary paid to a failed NFL player to try and back up his point while sticking to his guns that Soto isn’t the best until he fights in WEC. Too bad that correlation makes no freaking sense at all since fighter pay is tied to success in the cage and NFL players get their first contract before they ever take the field and its based on their draft order.
It’s this kind of naivete that really hurts the sport. Bellator is one the bright spots in MMA. Guys like Foss, who hase probably never watched any of Bellator’s fight cards or attended one of their events are instantly experts that Bellator is bush league and piss all over it. In their minds, you are nothing until you kiss Dana White’s ring.
In my opinion, kudos to Joe Soto for controlling his fighting destiny and bucking the ranks. Bellator is primed for a great second season and Soto is the man to watch. And I’ll put my money down right now that next year, Foss will be eating his words, because money talks and bullshit walks. Bellator pays more and they will get the better fighters in the long run at featherweight.
In an interview with the Vancover Sun, the UFC has vowed to take legal action against both the companies broadcasting the pay-per-view events illegally across the web as well as the individuals who knowingly are watching these broadcast to avoid paying fees associated with the event.
UFC Preparing Piracy Crackdown
Zuffa head and casino magnet Lorenzo Fertitta recently testified in front of the US House Judiciary Committee during a referendum on internet piracy of sporting events. Fertitta shared on the record that his company monitored internet activity and uncovered 271 illegal streams of UFC 106, which aired on November 21, 2009. The streams had generated over 140,000 viewers.
Sites such as these have proliferated the web. One of the more visible players in this space is Justin.TV. Most of website are hosted in foreign companies, making it difficult for broadcast to bring legal suit in countries where copyright infringement is given a pass. These companies utilize blog boards to post comments and links to their websites that will air the fight illegally.
(At BenchwarmersUnited.com, it is our policy to delete comments promoting these illegal practices and we can share that we deleted more that 150 comment post over the last 2 weeks leading up to UFC 108 promoting internet piracy)
UFC President Dana White told the Vancouver Sun, “It’s going to be a battle, man, but I’m ready to [expletive] fight. We’re gonna go after them, we’re gonna go after them hard, and we’re gonna hurt them. When people start going to jail, people will stop doing it.”
The timing of UFC announcement that they plan to crackdown on internet piracy is interesting to say the least. The organization is struggling to generate the quality fight cards it once did, its top stars are aging and the UFC has been hit heavily by the injury bug.
While UFC boasts PPV sales in the six-digit neighborhood, most industry observers believe the numbers fall quite short of these figures given that UFC refuses to allow a third-party audit their books. Following a head-to-head competition in September between the Mayweather/Marquez boxing match and UFC 103, Golden Boy Promotions President Rich Schaefer challenged UFC to an audit of PPV sales after Dana White said the UFC would outsell them that night. The UFC declined the invitation as rumors circled that sales were less than 20% of the boxing card. That night’s headliner was a “contender” fight between soon-to-be-retired Rich Franklin and previously-UFC-banished Vitor Belfort,
More concerning are the inroads being made by other organizations in obtaining television deals that offer fans MMA fights for free or at less substantial costs. Strikeforce has struck a deal with Showtime and CBS to air its events. Bellator scored a major deal with FoxSports Network, Univision and NBC. And Dream and Sengoku have deals with HDNet to air their events. Free mixed martial arts is proliferating the television cable box.
The once mighty UFC is facing strong competition like never before and it has found itself in the middle of a struggling economy where consumers will choose free MMA rather than paying $50 per event, especially when the pay-per-view cards don’t carry a title fight. The announcement of fighting piracy comes about shortly after what most industry observers deemed a lackluster event at UFC 108.
Is the timing a coincidence. We shall know more as 2010 plays out and UFC is stuck with a second-tier TV broadcasting arrangement with Spike TV.
The big matchup between the lightweight champions of DREAM and Sengoku took place New Year’s Eve with Shinya Aoki recording a devastating technical submission via hammerlock against Mizuto Hirota. The fight was halted by the referee upon Hirota’s violent screaming after his arm was snapped broken. A video replay of the Dynamite – Power of Courage 2009 fight can be viewed below.
Generally considered the #2 and #3 lightweight fighters in the world, the fight was one of the most anticipated in Japan in years. Words between the fighters camps had heated up leading into the fight, with both fighters wanting to make a statement in the fight. Aoki would be the one that placed his stamp.
Right from the bell, Aoki attacked with a single leg that he switched off to an ankle pick for a takedown. He then worked up the body for a lock and was able to pin Hirota’s arm behind his back. Aoki then teed off with a barrage of punches in a full mount position. Hirota’s only defense was to move to his base to avoid the shots.
Aoki then ratched up the hammerlock to break Hirota’s base. Aoki was able to slip in a scissor body lock with the hammerlock and snap Hirota’s arm with the contrasting pressures. The arena was filled with Hirota’s shriek of pain as the referee jumped in. Aoki then stood over top of the fallen fighter, delivering the middle finger to the disabled Hirota. The crowd reigned down boos on Aoki and he then turned his middle finger to the arena.
The actions of Aoki were clearly intentional and aimed at injuring Hirota. His dominant display was diminished by his display of poor sportsmanship after the serious injury. Aoki is clearly amped up by the negative catcalls from the UFC and he intended to send a message to Dana White and B.J. Penn.
Message heard and received.
Is the UFC ready to co-promote this one or will it continue to shield the UFC fighters from true tests? We’ll find out in 2010.
Mixed martial arts had a tremendous year om 2009. The UFC put on more fights, garnered its largest attendance levels and generated the most revenue in the history of the company and the sport. Everything was clicking on all cylinders and mixed martial arts is on the cusp of a breakthrough. All of this in spite of a struggling economy
Happy New Year UFC
With all the success, Dana White and his organization have still not reached the pinnacle, that being reaching a mainstream sports audience. To reach that “tipping point”, as defined by Malcolm Gladwell in his famous book, White and the UFC must make a few changes to its business to make mixed martial arts. Once those changes are implemented, the unstoppable force will come into line and take MMA mainstream.
The following are a few New Year’s Resolutions for the UFC to consider that will finally get mixed martial arts into the mainstream.
Resolution #1 – Pay The Fighters
If the UFC is the elite promotion, then it should pay fighters correlative to the gate. Over the course of 2009, many other promotions are sharing the proceeds at events at a much higher rate. Bellator Fighting Championship guaranteed its tournament champions $150k over the course of three fights. Strikeforce’s recent Evolution event featured on Showtime paid out $481k on a gate of $634k (76% of gate went to the fighters).
In contrast, Zuffa took in $818k at WEC 41 while paying out salaries of $216k or 26% of gate. For UFC 106, they took in a live gate of $3.00M and paid salaries of $1.02M, or 33% of the gate. At UFC 104, they took in a live gate of $1.9M and paid out $922k, or 48% of the gate. These revenue figures do not include PPV revenue and sponsorship fees. When included, this doubles to triple the gross receipts. What we can surmise is that fighters appear to be getting about 10%-20% of revenue. The remainder goes into Zuffa’s pockets.
The UFC needs to begin improving its payouts into the 75%-100% neighborhood of live gate. The fighters are being paid peanuts in relation to the revenue they are generating. If improvements don’t occur, expect more defection like that of Dan Henderson in 2010.
#2 – Fine Tune or Cancel “The Ultimate Fighter”
The original concept of The Ultimate Fighter served as a launching pad for the organization in 2005. It introduced the sport to new fans and found a special recipe of connecting the fighters personally with the fans. The most recent season jumped the shark and has shown that the reality show is not about creating a training ground for new fighters, it’s just Big Brother in a cage where losers of the fight are banished from the house.
Not since 2007, Season 5, has the show produced a quality contender. The focus has shifted to personality rather than fighting ability. Season 10 epitomizes the problem. While scoring record-level ratings with its media barrage of Kimbo Slice, his time in the house helped him little and he displayed why he should not have been considered for the show during the TUF 10 Finale.
Either the show needs to return to its roots of seeking out talent or the UFC should shut it down. The Ultimate Fighter is part of the branding of MMA, and the circus-like stench of the show lowers the sport to the ranks of professional wrestling.
Resolution #3 – Make The Best Championship Fights By Cross Promoting
The UFC’s biggest issue for 2010 is the lack of bonafide championship belt matches. Outside of the light heavyweight division, there are no interesting championship bouts on the horizon. Anderson Silva, George St. Pierre, BJ Penn and Brock Lesnar are head and shoulders ahead of their competition. Simply put, who is left in the UFC for these guys to beat?
Fans want to see Lesnar hook up with Fedor Emelianenko. They want to watch Penn hook it up against Shinya Aoki or Eddie Alvarez. They are aching for GSP to fight Marius Zaromskis or Jay Hieron. Or how about Anderson Silva against Jake Shields or Gegard Mousasi?
For the good of the sport, the UFC must break its stance on cross-promotion that will help the sport as a whole breakthrough. The upcoming “Dynamite” event in Japan that pairs DREAM and Sengoku’s best fighters is the road map for the future. If the UFC’s champs are truly that great, then what is the issue?
Resolution #4 – Expand The Number Of Fighters Under Contract
While the UFC has expanded the number of events it hosts, the number of new fighter signings have not increased at the same rate of growth. This has left the UFC to regurgitate the same fighters over and over again on its PPV broadcast. You can really only enjoy so much of the same guys until it gets old…and old quickly.
The great thing about combat sports is the belief that there always somebody coming up the ladder behind you to take your belt. As noted previously, none of this is happening in the UFC. The champs stand at the top and the contenders are a few rungs below, not one. This can only be turned around by signing new fighters and developing them.
Recent contract cancellations for Jake Rosholt and Brock Larson are key examples of bad judgment by the UFC. These guys were thrown to the lions immediately and tossed out with the garbage after two losses. If you want to develop fighters, black marks eventually have to occur on their record. Every UFC champ has a blemish on their record. Its better these blemishes occur in the UFC rather than elsewhere.
It’s the end of the year. Its the end of a decade. Nothing great ever ends without a list and a debate over that list. Today, we focus on the 10 best sports stories of the 2000 decade and their impact on sports in America.
10. Emergence of Mixed Martial Arts
In January 2001, Zuffa LLC purchased the fledgling, close-to-bankruptcy MMA promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship for $2 million. They then secured state sanctioning with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Zuffa struggled for a few years to emerge from the shadows of the negativity that surrounded MMA until it secured a reality TV show called The Ultimate Fighter which first aired in January 2005 on Spike TV. The sport then exploded with a multitude of competitive promotion both regional and national. The sport is now on the brink of generating near $1 Billion in revenues per year and is on the cusp of mainstream acceptance. Love him or hate, Dana White is responsible for making MMA the sport it is today.
9. Rulon Gardner Upsets Alexander Karelin
Do you believe in miracles? Most fans of the Olympics are familiar with that saying and its forever bond with the 1980 USA Hockey team’s upset of Russia. In the Summer Olympics of 2000, a much more unimaginable upset of a Russian occured when Rulon Gardner shocked the world with his stunning victory over undefeated superstar Alexander Karelin. Coming into the finals, Karelin had not lost a match in 15 years and had not even surrender a point in the last 10 years. Gardner pulled out a 1-0 victory and delivered the most stunning upset in Olympics history against the 3-time gold medal winner that was deemed to be invincible.
8. New England Patriots Near-Perfect Season
The New England Patriots were the darlings of the 2007 NFL season, putting together the first perfect regular season in a dominating fashion never before seen in the sport. One toughed out victory against Baltimore and a valiant effort by the New York Giants in the final game of the season were as close as anyone got during the regular season. The Patriots then carved out two solid, conservative victories in the playoffs, setting up a rematch with the upstart New York Giants to end the season 19-0 and go down in history as the greatest team ever. An Eli Manning circus-like pass to and catch by David Tyree will forever be remembered in NFL lore that drove the nail into the coffin of this special team that was denied greatness. And in the process, the Patriots scored the largest Super Bowl viewing audience in the history of the game.
7. Red Sox Break The Curse
Buck F-ing Dent. Bill Buckner. Aaron Boone. The Red Sox were perhaps the unluckiest team in professional sports. Down 3-0 to their bitter rival New York Yankees in the 2oo4 ALCS, the Red Sox forged the biggest comeback in baseball history to defeat the Yankees and go on to win their first World Series since 1918, the year before they traded Babe Ruth away to those very same Yankees. Curt Schilling pitched one of the most courageous game ever by a pitcher, his bloody sock on display in Cooperstown for all to remember the pivotal moment of that amazing playoff season.
6. Roger Federer Streak at Top Ranking
There having been many great tennis players over the years. Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Bjorg, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. Federer did something that none of them ever did, holding the #1 ranking in tennis for almost four and half consecutive years between February 2, 2004 to August 17, 2008. During that span, Federer won 65 straight matches at Wimbeldon and holds a 72-1 record on grass over the past seven years. Federer also holds the record for most Grand Slam titles at 15, while finally earning his first French Open championship this past year. Without question, the greatest tennis player in the history of the game and he still has a lot left in the tank to set records that may never be matched.
5. Tiger Woods Wins Four Straight Majors
Woods made history in April 2001 winning his 2nd Masters championship. With that victory, he became only one of five player in the history of golf to win all four major titles in his career. To one up them, Woods won the championships consecutively, becoming the first ever to hold all four major golf championships at the same time, earning him a pseudo Grand Slam. Woods has gone on since that point to win 8 more majors, bringing his career total to 14, leaving him just four shy of the all-time record of 18 held by Jack Nicklaus.
4. 2001 World Series
With the country reeling from the recent terrorist attacks that had taken over 3,000 lives, Major League Baseball gave grieving Americans an outlet to cope with their losses. The New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks provided perhaps the most exciting World Series in history, filled with riveting National Anthems, seventh-inning stretches echoing to God Bless America and some of the most unbelievable ends to World Series games ever seen. In Game 4, Tino Martinez hit a game-tying two run homer in the bottom of the ninth and Derek Jeter closed the game with an opposite field walk-off homer in the 10th to win the game. The very next night, Scott Brosius hit a game-tying home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth that would lead to another extra inning victory. The magic would fade in Game 7 though, as Mariano Rivera would surrender two runs in the bottom of the ninth to end the Yankees consecutive World Series run. A truly magical World Series for the ages at a time when America needed its pastime the most.
3. Major League Baseball Steroids Scandal
In a sport defined by stats and where Hall of Fame hitters fail 7 out of 10 times, baseball has been defined by its statistical records and comparison of current ballplayers to those in its past. At the end of the last decade, MLB treated its fans to the most compelling drama in years when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa battled it out to surpass Roger Maris’ single season home run record. At the turn of the decade came BALCO, a book by Jose Canseco and revelations that MLB owners and execs turned a blind eye to rampant steroids abuse. After a humiliating Congressional hearing where Mark McGwire pleaded the 5th Amendment so, baseball was forced to implement drug testing. The Mitchell Report would then follow, containing over 100 names that were linked to steroids, many of them the biggest names in the sport. In the end, we are left with era that will forever be scarred and represents some of the darkest hours in the sport’s history.
2. Michael Phelps’ 8 Olympic Gold Medals
The swimming star from Baltimore MD had prepared for this moment all his life, but nobody expected the drama that would go down at the pool in Beijing. Phelps and his relay teammates were heavily favored in six of his eight races. The remaining two races will go down in Olympic history forever. Teammate Jason Lezak would anchor the final leg of the 4 x 100, facing off against Alain Bernard of France, the current world record holder in the 100 freestyle. The Frenchman was provided an ample lead for the final leg, all but assuring Phelps quest being over. But in the final 25 meters Lezek tracked Bernard down for the gold. The drama was even more amazing a few days later, as Phelps dug deep in the final 25 meters of the 100M butterfly to defeat Serbian Milorad Cavic by 1/100 of a second for his seventh gold medal. You can be assured most Americans will not forget that moment as they cheered and screamed in front of their TVs trying to help will Phelps to victory.
1. Lance Armstrong Winning 7 Tour De France Titles
Armstrong lays claims to the greatest story of the decade. In a sport dominated by Europeans, Armstrong did the unthinkable…he dominated them at their own game. Armstrong set the record of seven victories, besting the previous record of five held by Miguel Indurain. A survivor of testicular cancer, Armstrong became an American hero in a sport that most in this country rarely followed or cared much about. With his unbelievable climbing ability in the mountains and untouchable time-trial sprinting, Armstrong dominated the competition like nobody before him. His victories spawned an explosion of interest in cycling in America and his story gave hope to everyone around the world that you can beat cancer and strive forward to be the best in your craft.
Another year has come and gone with MMA broadening it fan base while moving closer to mainstream acceptance in the sports marketplace. UFC hosted it 100th major event, Strikeforce brought Fedor to CBS and Bellator came out of nowhere to deliver some of the best fights all year. It was a year of milestone and big fights.
Here are this year’s awards winners:
Fighter of The Year
Fighter Of The Year
Lyoto Machida (UFC)
2009 was the Year of The Dragon, as Machida laid claim to the title of best light heavyweight in the world. All he did was dispatch two previously undefeated fighters in Thiago Silva to earn a title and Rashad Evans to win the UFC championship belt. He then fought a tightly contested matchup versus former Pride champion Mauricio Rua and earned a controversial unanimous decision. Machida recently underwent surgery on his hand, but a rematch versus Rua is on the schedule for early 2010
Fight Of The Year
Donald Cerrone vs. Benson Henderson (WEC 43)
Unquestionably the best display of mixed martial arts skills in any fight this year amongst top-tier fighters. While other may point to Sanchez vs Guida or Melendez vs Thomson as their pick, those bouts were merely street fights in a cage. Albeit entertaining, they are not representative of true MMA skill sets. The Cerrone/Henderson was a back and forth war between the athlete (Henderson) and the technician (Cerrone). Henderson would be the aggressor and land his shots and get his takedown, then Cerrone would turn the tied with his great defense and submission moves. It was every MMA fans true delight to watch this match and most cannot wait for the rematch of this tightly contested fight.
Knockout of the Year – Dan Horbuckle vs Akihiro Gone (Sengoku)
This was a tough decision, as there were some fantastic knockouts in 2009. UFC’s Dan Henderson’s drilling of Michael Bisping was one of the best punches delivered in a long-time. Bellator’s Yahir Reyes’ spinning backfist of Estevan Payan rates high purely based on the sound of the crack of that hit. In the end, you gotta give the kudos to Dan Hornbuckle for his leg kick to the head of Akhiro Gono. Rarely do you see a guy knocked cold from a leg kick like the one delivered by Hornbuckle. When you watch the super slow motion replay of the kick, you really feel Gono’s pain.
Submission of The Year – Toby Imada vs. Jorge Masvidal (Bellator)
The was the easiest to pick, simply because MMA has never seen such a move applied in its history. Imada had everything thrown at him but the kitchen sink by Jorge Masvidal. Imada never quit and Masvidal let his cockiness supercede sensibility. Masvidal lifted Imada off the ground for a slam, and in the process got himself choked unconscious while standing on his feet. It wasn’t just the submission of the year, it was the greatness submission of all time.
Breakthrough Fighter Of The Year
Breakthrough Fighter
Jose Aldo (WEC)
Jose Aldo was a relative unknown to most MMA fans to start the year, just another featherweight in the stacked WEC. His body of work was questionable as well, having fought mostly guys that had many losses on their records. He caught the attention of fans with his highlight reel flying double-knee knockout of top contender Cub Swanson and followed that up with a dominant victory over WEC champion Mike Brown. While’s Aldo longevity at the top is still questioned by many industry observers, his rise in 2009 from a preliminary bout fighter to close out 2008 to champion.
In January 2001, Zuffa LLC purchased the fledgling, close-to-bankruptcy MMA promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship for $2 million. They then secured state sanctioning with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Zuffa struggled for a few years to emerge from the shadows of the negativity that surrounded MMA until it secured a reality TV show called The Ultimate Fighter which first aired in January 2005 on Spike TV. The sport then exploded with a multitude of competitive promotion both regional and national. The sport is now on the brink of generating near $1 Billion in revenues per year and is on the cusp of mainstream acceptance. Love him or hate, Dana White is responsible for making MMA the sport it is today.
Do you believe in miracles? Most fans of the Olympics are familiar with that saying and its forever bond with the 1980 USA Hockey team’s upset of Russia. In the Summer Olympics of 2000, a much more unimaginable upset of a Russian occured when Rulon Gardner shocked the world with his stunning victory over undefeated superstar Alexander Karelin. Coming into the finals, Karelin had not lost a match in 15 years and had not even surrender a point in the last 10 years. Gardner pulled out a 1-0 victory and delivered the most stunning upset in Olympics history against the 3-time gold medal winner that was deemed to be invincible.
The New England Patriots were the darlings of the 2007 NFL season, putting together the first perfect regular season in a dominating fashion never before seen in the sport. One toughed out victory against Baltimore and a valiant effort by the New York Giants in the final game of the season were as close as anyone got during the regular season. The Patriots then carved out two solid, conservative victories in the playoffs, setting up a rematch with the upstart New York Giants to end the season 19-0 and go down in history as the greatest team ever. An Eli Manning circus-like pass to and catch by David Tyree will forever be remembered in NFL lore that drove the nail into the coffin of this special team that was denied greatness. And in the process, the Patriots scored the largest Super Bowl viewing audience in the history of the game.
Buck F-ing Dent. Bill Buckner. Aaron Boone. The Red Sox were perhaps the unluckiest team in professional sports. Down 3-0 to their bitter rival New York Yankees in the 2oo4 ALCS, the Red Sox forged the biggest comeback in baseball history to defeat the Yankees and go on to win their first World Series since 1918, the year before they traded Babe Ruth away to those very same Yankees. Curt Schilling pitched one of the most courageous game ever by a pitcher, his bloody sock on display in Cooperstown for all to remember the pivotal moment of that amazing playoff season.
There having been many great tennis players over the years. Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Bjorg, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. Federer did something that none of them ever did, holding the #1 ranking in tennis for almost four and half consecutive years between February 2, 2004 to August 17, 2008. During that span, Federer won 65 straight matches at Wimbeldon and holds a 72-1 record on grass over the past seven years. Federer also holds the record for most Grand Slam titles at 15, while finally earning his first French Open championship this past year. Without question, the greatest tennis player in the history of the game and he still has a lot left in the tank to set records that may never be matched.
Woods made history in April 2001 winning his 2nd Masters championship. With that victory, he became only one of five player in the history of golf to win all four major titles in his career. To one up them, Woods won the championships consecutively, becoming the first ever to hold all four major golf championships at the same time, earning him a pseudo Grand Slam. Woods has gone on since that point to win 8 more majors, bringing his career total to 14, leaving him just four shy of the all-time record of 18 held by Jack Nicklaus.
With the country reeling from the recent terrorist attacks that had taken over 3,000 lives, Major League Baseball gave grieving Americans an outlet to cope with their losses. The New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks provided perhaps the most exciting World Series in history, filled with riveting National Anthems, seventh-inning stretches echoing to God Bless America and some of the most unbelievable ends to World Series games ever seen. In Game 4, Tino Martinez hit a game-tying two run homer in the bottom of the ninth and Derek Jeter closed the game with an opposite field walk-off homer in the 10th to win the game. The very next night, Scott Brosius hit a game-tying home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth that would lead to another extra inning victory. The magic would fade in Game 7 though, as Mariano Rivera would surrender two runs in the bottom of the ninth to end the Yankees consecutive World Series run. A truly magical World Series for the ages at a time when America needed its pastime the most.
In a sport defined by stats and where Hall of Fame hitters fail 7 out of 10 times, baseball has been defined by its statistical records and comparison of current ballplayers to those in its past. At the end of the last decade, MLB treated its fans to the most compelling drama in years when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa battled it out to surpass Roger Maris’ single season home run record. At the turn of the decade came BALCO, a book by Jose Canseco and revelations that MLB owners and execs turned a blind eye to rampant steroids abuse. After a humiliating Congressional hearing where Mark McGwire pleaded the 5th Amendment so, baseball was forced to implement drug testing. The Mitchell Report would then follow, containing over 100 names that were linked to steroids, many of them the biggest names in the sport. In the end, we are left with era that will forever be scarred and represents some of the darkest hours in the sport’s history.
The swimming star from Baltimore MD had prepared for this moment all his life, but nobody expected the drama that would go down at the pool in Beijing. Phelps and his relay teammates were heavily favored in six of his eight races. The remaining two races will go down in Olympic history forever. Teammate Jason Lezak would anchor the final leg of the 4 x 100, facing off against Alain Bernard of France, the current world record holder in the 100 freestyle. The Frenchman was provided an ample lead for the final leg, all but assuring Phelps quest being over. But in the final 25 meters Lezek tracked Bernard down for the gold. The drama was even more amazing a few days later, as Phelps dug deep in the final 25 meters of the 100M butterfly to defeat Serbian Milorad Cavic by 1/100 of a second for his seventh gold medal. You can be assured most Americans will not forget that moment as they cheered and screamed in front of their TVs trying to help will Phelps to victory.
Armstrong lays claims to the greatest story of the decade. In a sport dominated by Europeans, Armstrong did the unthinkable…he dominated them at their own game. Armstrong set the record of seven victories, besting the previous record of five held by Miguel Indurain. A survivor of testicular cancer, Armstrong became an American hero in a sport that most in this country rarely followed or cared much about. With his unbelievable climbing ability in the mountains and untouchable time-trial sprinting, Armstrong dominated the competition like nobody before him. His victories spawned an explosion of interest in cycling in America and his story gave hope to everyone around the world that you can beat cancer and strive forward to be the best in your craft.
