2012 has come and gone, but now that the year is officially
done we can look back to its most memorable moments. Here are my picks for the
top fight, knockout, submission, and event of the year 2012, along with my
picks for runners-up in each category.
Fight of the Year: Georges St-Pierre vs. Carlos Condit, UFC 154
I’ve already wrote about this fight in greater detail here on MMARatings.net, but I’ll repeat it again:
the best fight of 2012 was Georges St-Pierre vs. Carlos Condit at UFC 154, and
I feel very confident in stating that.
Yes, I know I’m biased since I was at the event live (and as a
fan for this one, too, as I was in-between jobs at the time), but I’ve seen a
lot of great fights in person — most notably Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick at
UFC 129 — and St-Pierre vs. Condit is the one that stands out the most.
For five rounds St-Pierre and Condit showed why mixed martial
arts is the most exciting sport on the planet. For example, even when St-Pierre
took Condit to the mat and used his wrestling, he was still able to make the
crowd stand up every single time he landed a takedown. And on the feet, the
striking exchanges were brilliant, and produced a great moment when Condit
nearly finished St-Pierre with a head kick in the third round.
The background and context of the bout, the crowd and the
energy in the arena, and the fact this was St-Pierre’s first fight back after
such a long layoff contributed to making this fight so entertaining, but it was
the action that we’ll remember it for. Yes, it did go to decision, but so what?
A fight doesn’t have to be finished to be good, and St-Pierre and Condit proved
just that at UFC 154. Epic stuff.
Runners-up: Jamie Varner vs. Joe Lauzon, UFC on FOX 4; Jim Miller vs. Joe Lauzon, UFC 155
Knockout of the Year: Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim, UFC 142
There is no doubt in my mind that Edson Barboza’s stunning
spinning wheel kick knockout of Terry Etim back at UFC 142 was the knockout of
the year. I remember sitting on my couch watching the fight, thinking it was a
pretty evenly-contested bout halfway through the third round, and then all of a
sudden Barboza unleashed the most brilliant kick I have ever seen in all my
years watching mixed martial arts – that’s right, even surpassing many of Mirko Cro Cop’s best moments from the PRIDE days.
I jumped up and started screaming at the TV, thinking about how
glad I was that I was in the comfort of my own home and not on media row as a
press member, where cheering and booing isn’t allowed. I couldn’t imagine not
having screamed during the moment Barboza landed the kick, because it was such
an incredible visceral image that will always be etched in my mind.
It’s knockouts like Barboza over Etim that reaffirm how amazing
and unpredictable of a sport MMA is. Yes, we knew that Barboza had the kick in
his arsenal, but to actually connect and knock Etim out stiff with one swift
blow was a jaw-dropping experience for anyone who saw it. Nearly one year after
the fact and I still find myself saying “Wow.”
Runners-up: Cung Le vs. Rich Franklin, UFC on FUEL TV 6; Lyoto Machida vs. Ryan Bader, UFC on FOX 4
Submission of the Year: Chan Sung Jung vs. Dustin Poirier, UFC
on FUEL TV 3
The most important submission of the year was no doubt Ronda Rousey’s armbar on Miesha Tate, but I don’t think it was the most exciting
submission of the year. Instead, I would argue that was Chan Sung Jung’s
fourth-round D’arce choke tapout of Dustin Poirier at UFC on FUEL TV 3 in what
was then being billed as a title eliminator in the UFC’s featherweight
division.
For four rounds, Jung and Poirier battled back and forth, with
the fight’s ebbs and flows and twists and turns making it all the more
memorable. A massive underdog going into the fight, Jung submitting Poirier
with the Louisiana native’s own signature move couldn’t have been predicted by
anyone. It was the fight that cemented Jung’s reputation as one of the most
exciting fighters in the UFC, and one that earned him a title shot at Jose Aldo.
Although Jung ended up having surgery, which is delaying his
shot at the 145-pound strap, the submission on Poirier won’t be forgotten
anytime soon, and will ensure he remains at the top of the division’s food
chain when he comes back from injury in mid 2013. Remember, Jung had the
Submission of the Year in 2011 as well for his Twister on Leonard Garcia, so
when he does come back in 2013, we may see something even more amazing from
him, which just blows my mind to even consider.
Runners-up: Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate, Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey; Matt Wiman vs. Paul Sass, UFC on FUEL TV 5
Event of the Year: UFC on FOX 4
In my opinion the best event of the year was UFC on FOX 4,
especially if we’re giving more weight to main cards, which I believe we
should. Four great fights on paper produced four great finishes, making this
not only the best UFC event of the year, but the best event in all of MMA in
2012.
In the first fight on the main card Mike Swick returned from a
long injury hiatus and knocked out DaMarques Johnson in the second round of a
back-and-forth fight. Then it was Jamie Varner and Joe Lauzon going hard for
nearly three full rounds in an epic battle before Lauzon got the finish with
only minutes left in the contest. And then you had Lyoto Machida starching Ryan Bader with one punch, and Brandon Vera and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua going to war for nearly four rounds before Rua finished the bout off with strikes. Plus, the
undercard produced some big upsets.
All four main card bouts were extremely exciting, and although
there were some other great MMA cards this year, UFC on FOX 4 was the most
consistent of them all, and I feel comfortable awarding it the Event of the
Year honour.
By the way, can you believe this is the one MMA event of 2012
that my PVR forgot to save? Ouch.
Runners-up: UFC 144, UFC 152, UFC 142, UFC 153
