As Labor Day fades into the rear view mirror, we have to embrace the fact that yet another summer has passed. Pools are closing, ice cream trucks are parking, and birds are heading south for the rest of the year. However, mixed martial arts is a year-round sport, and fans expect exciting moments no matter what point of the year we are in. Even still, as we look back at the summer* that was, these five fights stood out amongst the heap:
5. Miesha Tate vs. Julie Kedzie
Miesha Tate needed a come from behind effort to pull out a win over Julie Kedzie at Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman. The two women went back and forth throughout the bout, each one putting herself in position for victory on more than one occasion. Kedzie’s striking damaged the former champion for much of the first round, and she took that frame in dominating fashion. During the second, Tate came back to threaten with two choke attempts, but her opponent was able to survive the round. The turning point came in the third, when Kedzie landed a jarring head kick that sent Tate to the floor. In an effort to finish the fight, Kedzie jumped into Tate’s guard and started throwing punches. However, Tate was able to grab an arm and transition into an armbar. After fighting the move for an extended period of time, Kedzie was forced to tap out at the 3:28 mark of that round. Miesha Tate and Julie Kedzie put on quite a show, in a bout that many are calling the best women’s MMA fight to date.
4. Joe Lauzon vs. Jamie Varner
While their fight wasn’t the main attraction on the UFC on Fox 4 card, Jamie Varner and Joe Lauzon stole the show with their performance, bringing forth an intense pace that was appreciated by the fans from start to finish. Both of these athletes are very technical strikers, and they put that on display throughout the bout, as they exchanged blow for blow. However, in the third round, Lauzon was able to capitalize on his advantage in the grappling department, and forced a submission out of the former WEC world champion. This is the type of bout that creates new fans, but has come to be expected from both Varner and Lauzon.
3. Nate Marquardt vs. Tyron Woodley
This was a fight for validation and redemption for both Tyron Woodley and Nate Marquardt. In the past year leading up to this contest, both fighters had faced a bevy of criticism for a variety of reasons. Woodley was ostracized for being a boring wrestler who did nothing more than take his opponents down and lay on them for fifteen minutes. Marquardt, on the other hand, was trying to recover from a nasty split with the UFC that left him out of competition for a year. He was welcomed back into the Zuffa fold with an opportunity to win the Strikeforce welterweight title, and this bout did not disappoint at all.
Woodley was able to hurt Marquardt early in the fight as the two exchanged blows. He was never able to get his wrestling game flowing, and was forced to stand with the former King of Pancrase, but found himself out of his element. As the fight went on, Marquardt took control before finishing him off with a stunning elbow combination in the fourth round.
2. Benson Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar II
The rematch for the lightweight title was meant to give closure to the logjam at the top of the division. Frankie Edgar was getting an opportunity to regain the belt from Benson Henderson after a close bout at UFC 144 removed it from around his waist. The rematch, however, was just as close as the first affair, and the so-called ending only created more outcry.
The fight itself brought back and forth action for the duration of 25 minutes, and many individuals felt that Edgar did enough to win the bout, although there was never that one true dominating moment to cement the victory for either fighter. When the judges’ scorecards were read, Henderson was declared the victor by split decision. The ramifications of this bout will be felt across two divisions, as new contenders to the 155 title are now being pushed to the forefront, while Edgar will make his debut as a featherweight at UFC 153.
1. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II
The buildup to this fight was exactly what the sport of MMA needed. Media outlets across the sports world had latched onto the rematch between Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva, as it received front page coverage from sites such as ESPN.com. This was the biggest bout that the UFC has promoted to date, and the sports world knew it.
The bout started off much the same way as their first bout, with Sonnen scoring a big takedown and maintaining position through the first round. However, the second was starkly different, as Silva was able to avoid a takedown and land shot after shot. A big knee set up the finish, as Sonnen became another TKO notch on Silva’s belt. Silva cemented his position as arguably the greatest of all time, and it became apparent that the ability to promote a fight had become tremendously important within the world of mixed martial arts.
As you dust off your jackets and coats for the coming cold months, take a moment to look back at these fights, and reminisce about when the action in the cage was just as hot as the weather outdoors.
*Summer was defined as June 1 through August 31 for the purpose of this article.
