The 2018 UFC Arena Awards

With the UFC holding their first event of 2019 tomorrow, (their debut event on ESPN, a Fight Night headlined by Henry Cejudo vs. TJ Dillashaw for the UFC Flyweight Championship) I figured it was about time I get my shit together and put together the 2018 UFC Arena Awards. Even though I write about it less, I did see 95% of the UFC's 2018 output, only missing a few prelims on the smaller Fight Night shows. The pedants among the people reading this may note that I'm using "UFC" rather than "MMA"- that's because I honestly don't keep up with the other MMA promotions. While I've caught Bellator fights here and there, and will likely give One Championship a look when Mighty Mouse and Eddie Alvarez debut, I honestly don't have enough time in my schedule to see everything. Family commitments, social commitments and ever-looming work commitments as the school year is set to start, means I'm stretching my free time pretty thin to keep up with all WWE"s content, as well as UFC, and occasionally trying to watch shows that aren't WWE or UFC- really enjoying Netflix's You, and need to catch up on Suits, and I've been meaning to delve into Vikings forever. But I digress.

UFC KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR

The nominees are:

Daniel Cormier KOs Stipe Miocic- UFC 226- July 7, 2018

Justin Gaethje KOs James Vick- UFC Fight Night: Gaethje vs. Vick- Aug 25, 2018

Derrick Lewis KOs Alexander Volkov- UFC 229- Oct 6, 2018

Yair Rodriguez KOs Korean Zombie- UFC Fight Night: Zombie vs. Rodriguez- Nov 10, 2018

Amanda Nunes KOs Cris Cyborg- UFC 232- Dec 29, 2018

And the winner is:

Yair Rodriguez KOs Korean Zombie- UFC Fight Night: Zombie vs. Rodriguez- Nov 10, 2018

There were several great nominees for this award- you can see many of them in this attached video- but ultimately had to go with this insane moment in Zombie vs. Rodriguez. In watching the fight, I believe Zombie was ahead on the scorecards, but he let his guard down for literally one second and got taken out with a ridiculous reverse elbow at 4:59 of the 5th round. Incredible way to end a high level main event fight, and while it was a Fight Night, it carried more gravitas than your usual free UFC show as it was the UFC's 25th anniversary show. Could not have ended any better for the UFC, and of course for Rodriguez, who had a tumultuous year with the UFC to say the least... injuries, contract disputes, getting fired then re-hired... he bounced back in style with this comeback victory.

UFC SUBMISSION OF THE YEAR

The nominees are:

Paul Craig subs Magomed Ankalaev- UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Volkov- March 17, 2018

Adam Wieczorek subs Arjan Bhullar- UFC on Fox: Poirier vs.Gaethje- April 14, 2018

Ovince Saint Preux subs Tyson Pedro- UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Edwards- June 23, 2018

Tyron Woodley subs Darren Till- UFC 228- September 8, 2018

Khabib Nurmagomedov subs Conor McGregor- UFC 229- October 6, 2018

And the winner is:

Khabib Nurmagomedov subs Conor McGregor- UFC 229- October 6, 2018

There are a number of factors I like to consider when determining the best finishes of the year. One of those is skill level, which is why Wieczorek places on the nominees. One of the small handful of omoplata submissions in UFC history, it's a very difficult submission to get under MMA rules, and is typically used as a sweep technique to get back to their feet or establish top position. A couple of other entries are for a combination of skill and dramatic effect. Craig got the triangle choke submission at 4:59 of the third and final round, in a fight he was losing. OSP locked Pedro in a kimura after almost getting finished himself in a wild one round fight. And the final two entries are a combination of the other factors, along with historical significance and high stakes. While Woodley's D'Arce Choke on Darren Till was extremely impressive, I ultimately went with Khabib subbing Conor because it was the biggest fight of the year, for the Lightweight Championship that Conor never lost in the Octagon. And while it was apparent in the early going that Conor had worked extremely hard on defence and counters for Nurmagomedov's ground attack, Khabib's strength and pressure were just too much. The Russian grinded his way to victory over the Irishman, and finally secured the submission with a neck crank. It wasn't a traditional choke, but the squeeze was just too great, and McGregor was forced to tap from the pain. Then of course, the post-fight melee which only added to the legend of the fight and the event as a whole.

Honorable Mention: Charles Oliveira for his submissions over Christos Giagos and Jim Miller, first breaking the UFC submission record of Royce Gracie then extending it.

UFC FIGHT OF THE YEAR

The nominees are:

Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje- UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje- April 14, 2018

Robert Whittaker vs. Yoel Romero- UFC 225- June 9, 2018

Anthony Pettis vs. Tony Ferguson- UFC 229- October 6, 2018

Yair Rodriguez vs. Korean Zombie- UFC Fight Night: Zombie vs. Rodriguez- Nov 10, 2018

Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega- UFC 231- December 8, 2018

And the winner is:

Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega- UFC 231- December 8, 2018

All the nominees were excellent fights. I was convinced that my boy Robert Whittaker had FOTY sown up with his hard fought victory over Yoel Romero. Then Anthony Pettis and Tony Ferguson stole the show at UFC 229... seriously, if it wasn't for that post-fight chaos, everyone would have been talking about those two instead of Khabib and McGregor. Absolute violence personified. Then on one of the last PPVs of the year, Max Holloway put the featherweight strap on the line against the undefeated Brian "T-City" Ortega. What resulted was a masterclass in counter-striking and effectively using reach, distance and head movement to his advantage, as the champ picked apart the challenger. Undeterred, Ortega kept coming forward like the goddamn Terminator, even with an increasingly swollen and bloody face. The doctor finally put a stop to things at the end of the fourth round, but those two men went to war for 20 minutes to determine who the best 145er was. The best was "Blessed", but Ortega had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, a damn near superhuman effort.

UFC BREAKOUT STAR OF THE YEAR

The nominees are:

Brian Ortega

Israel Adesanya

Alexander Volkanovski

Alexander Hernandez

Henry Cejudo

And the winner is:

Israel Adesanya

So this category goes to a fighter who is either new to the UFC in 2018, or made significant strides in his career during 2018. Israel Adesanya fit the billing for both. Debuting in the UFC in February 2018- UFC 222 in Perth- Adesanya dismantled Rob Wilkinson with ease before cutting a memorable and hilarious post-fight promo where he likened himself to a dog pissing all over the yard and marking his territory... that of course, being a metaphor for the Octagon. Israel fought 4 times in 2018, going from his debut on the prelims to headlining the TUF Finale on International Fight Week and dismantling Brad Tavares over 5 rounds. His split decision win in between those two fights was a little lackluster, but a victory nonetheless, and he capped off his year strongly with a 1st round decimation of top middleweight contender Derek Brunson- and in the World's Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden, no less. Israel Adesanya has gone from complete unknown making his UFC debut (well, unknown to the casual majority) to being slated for a co-main event against his idol, Anderson Silva, next month at UFC 234. An unprecedented rise to the top. Almost gave it to Volkanovski, being fresh in my mind taking out Chad Mendes, and Cejudo can't be discredited for toppling Mighty Mouse, but the accomplishments of Adesanya in a 12 month span are unmatched in the UFC.

UFC FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

The nominees are:

Amanda Nunes

Daniel Cormier

Dustin Poirier

Khabib Nurmagomedov

And the winner is:

Daniel Cormier

Look, there will always be a segment of UFC fans that dislike Daniel Cormier. That's been very apparent if you've paid attention to MMA social media over the last year or so. Some think he'll always be second best to Jon Jones (conveniently ignoring the failed drug tests as soon as UFC started working with the stricter USADA testing), and memes are made of the time he cried after being knocked unconscious. All that BS aside, Cormier is an exceptionally talented mixed martial artist, and incredibly accomplished athlete. One thing that can't be discredited is his heavyweight title victory over Stipe Miocic. DC fights at heavyweight really above his weight class. He packs on the extra fat in order to fight with the big boys, and gives up height and reach to basically all of them. He went in with a good strategy of getting inside and clinching, and boom, lights out, the dominant record-breaking reign of Miocic ended at the hands of the smaller, older Cormier. Before that, he defended the Light Heavyweight Championship against Volkan Oezdemir, and after that he defended the Heavyweight Championship against Derrick Lewis. At 39 years old, the most active champion in UFC in 2018... and in between fights he managed to be an excellent commentator on a number of UFC events. Daniel Cormier is the man. Should he stick to his retirement plans, we will get one final UFC fight from him this year, and he'll walk away as one of the best champions UFC has had, inside and outside the cage.

And that was the best of UFC in 2018. Looking forward to seeing how strong the world leader in MMA comes in this year! A new deal with ESPN, some tasty fights on the horizon, and new championship belts! Okay, I'm not too keen on the new belts. But the championship fights themselves should be of excellent quality, and I can't wait to see champions and contenders battle inside the Octagon.

Until next time, take care,

Mick