Jose Aldo: Fighter of the Year
By George Hernandez
Here are some of the best fighters, shows, and bouts of the year:
Fight of the Year:
Runner up: Nate Quarry over Tim Credeur – UFC Fight Night 19 (9/16/09): Quarry and Credeur put it all on the line. Quarry came out on top with a Unanimous Decision victory.
Winner: Diego Sanchez over Clay Guida – The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale (6/20/09): After a dominating first round for Sanchez that saw him almost knockout Guida with a head kick, the fight ended up with a split decision for Sanchez after Guida took it to him the next two rounds.
Most Exciting Fighter of the Year:
Runner up: Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (WEC Lightweight Contender) – Cerrone only went 1-2 in 2009. He lost to WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner by technical split decision after an injury to Varner forced the decision to go to the judges score cards early. Cerrone also lost an interim title shot to Ben Henderson in a war. He finished up the year with a rear naked choke victory over Ed Ratcliff in a fight that had a lot of fireworks.
Winner: Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith (Strikeforce Middleweight Contender) – Smith went 2-1 in 2009 with comeback wins over Benji Radach and Cung Le. He also went to war with Nick Diaz but ended up getting submitted by rear naked choke in the third round.
Event of the Year:
Runner up: Strikeforce: Evolution – December 19, 2009
Scott Smith defeats Cung Le by knockout (punches) at 3:25 of round 3.
Gilbert Melendez defeats Josh Thomson by unanimous decision to unify the Strikeforce lightweight title.
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza defeats Matt Lindland by submission at 4:18 of round 1.
Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal defeats Mike Whitehead by knockout at 3:08 of round 1.
Winner: UFC 103 – September 19, 2009
Vitor Belfort defeats Rich Franklin by knockout (punches) at 3:02 of round 1.
Junior dos Santos defeats Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic by submission (punch) at 2:00 of round 3.
Paul Daley defeats Martin Kampmann by TKO (punches) at 2:31 of round 1.
Josh Koscheck defeats Frank Trigg by TKO (punches) at 1:25 of round 1.
Tyson Griffin defeats Hermes Franca by TKO (punches) at 3:26 of round 2.
Efrain Escudero defeats Cole Miller by knockout (punch) at 3:36 of round 1.
Tomasz Drwal defeats Drew McFedries by submission at 1:03 of round 2.
Jim Miller defeats Steve Lopez by TKO (injury) at 0:48 of round 2.
Ricky Story defeats Brian Foster by submission at 1:09 of round 2.
Beatdown of the Year
Runner up: B.J. Penn over. Diego Sanchez – UFC 107 (12/12/09): Penn made Sanchez look like an amateur with a five round beating. Penn landed over 150 strikes to Sanchez’ 8. The ref was forced to stop the fight in the fifth round when Penn landed a head kick that opened up a nasty cut on Sanchez’ forehead.
Winner: Brock Lesnar over Frank Mir – UFC 100 (7/11/09): Mir took their first fight a year an a half earlier, in Lesnar’s first UFC bout. Lesnar, now more experienced, took it to Mir and dominated him for a round and a half and beat Mir into a bloody-pulp. With the win Lesnar claimed the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship.
Breakout Fighter of the Year:
Runner up: Cain Velasquez (7-0) – Velasquez went 3-0 in 2009 and showed he is a force to be reckoned with in the UFC Heavyweight division with dominating wins over Ben Rothwell and Chieck Kongo. He also beat journey man Denis Stojnic.
Winner: Jose Aldo (16-1) – Aldo went a dominating 4-0 in 2009 and captured the WEC Featherweight title from formally number one ranked 145’er Mike Brown in just over two rounds. Aldo finished off top contender Cub Swanson in only eight seconds, and took out Rolando Perez and Chris Mickle in the first round.
Upset of the Year:
Runner up: Brett Rogers knocks out Andrei Arlovski – Strikeforce “Lawler vs. Shields” (6/6/09): Rogers came in as a big underdog against the #2 heavyweight Arlovski. Rogers didn’t waste any time. He faked a punch and then threw a big right hand that rocked Arlovski, and then capitalized and finished off Arlovski in less than one minute.
Winner: Brian Bowles knocks out Miguel Torres – WEC 42 (7/9/09): Torres was one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world and was predicted to make easy work of Bowles. Bowles pulled it out and ended up knocking out Torres in less than four minutes in the first round. Bowles also captured Torres’s Bantamweight title.
Fighter of the Year:
Runner up: Georges “Rush” St. Pierre (19-2) – St. Pierre went 2-0 in 2009 beating two top pound for pound fighters. He dominated UFC Lightweight champion BJ Penn. St. Pierre then went five rounds with Thiago Alves and won every round.
Winner: Jose Aldo (16-1) – Aldo went a dominating 4-0 in 2009 and captured the WEC Featherweight title from formally number one ranked 145’er Mike Brown in just over two rounds. Aldo finished off top contender Cub Swanson in only eight seconds, and took out Rolando Perez and Chris Mickle in the first round.
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