2013 has kicked off with plenty of
interesting bouts, and surprising results. As the we have passed the
halfway mark for the year it is a good time to pause and reflect on
the best of the first six months.
At the halfway point here are my awards
for 2013.
Fighter of the Half-Year
Vitor Belfort is the only fighter to
knock off two top five fighters thus far in 2013. He is the
unquestioned leader for Fighter of the Year at the halfway point of
the year.
Belfort TKO’d Michael Bisping in
January, and followed that up with one of the best knockouts in UFC
history against Luke Rockhold.
Belfort may campaign for a title shot
next, and he definitely has earned that opportunity. Time will tell
if he challenges for the gold at 185 pounds, but Belfort is on his
way to earning the rare distinction of being the best fighter in
2013.
Fight of the Half-Year
Invicta FC Atomweight Championship:
Michelle Waterson vs. Jessica Penne (Invicta FC 5)
There have only been a small number of
fights that are worthy of consideration in 2013. Wanderlei Silva vs.Brian Stann and Matt Grice vs. Dennis Bermudez are two of those.
However, at the midway point of the year it is the ladies who are
leading the way.
Waterson vs. Penne had it all. A
back-and-forth title bout, incredible technique and a surprising
finish.
If you missed this fight you should
seek it out. Waterson and Penne put on one hell of a show, and their
fight was the class of the first six months of the year.
Submission of the Half-Year
Michelle Waterson armbars Jessica Penne (Invicta FC 5)
After proving she could hang with Penne
on the ground early in the fight, the champion rebounded and started
to gain control against Waterson. At one point, Waterson had to
defend a near armbar from Penne. The Fight of the Mid-Year was
already underway with both women having their moments.
It was capped off with Waterson
catching Penne in an armbar out of nowhere. A shocking result.
“The Karate Hottie” pulled off the
upset, claimed gold, and now has the best submission through six
months.
Knockout of the Half-Year
Vitor Belfort’s spinning heel kick and punches vs. Luke Rockhold (UFC on FX 8)
It may be predictable to select this as
the Knockout of the Mid Year, but when something special happens that
is often the case.
Belfort’s knockout may be his best yet,
and that is saying something. We have started to see more spinning
techniques in MMA, and the old dog of the organization added some to
his repertoire. After he dropped Rockhold with the spinning heel
kick, Belfort pounced and finished Rockhold off brutally. The
totality of the KO moves it to the top of the list.
Upset of the Half-Year
#3: Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva defeats Alistair Overeem by KO (UFC 156)
Entering UFC 156 this bout was seen as
a lock for Alistair Overeem. He was a sizeable favorite (-450 at Bovada.lv),
and would earn a title shot with a victory.
For the first two rounds Overeem teed
off on Bigfoot. He was unable to truly hurt Silva for the finish, but
there was no debating who took those first two rounds. He was
confident in his striking, which progressed into being cocky as the
fight drew on.
That would cost him in the third frame.
Bigfoot rallied and put together a
brutal slew of punches to upend the former K-1 champion and steal his
title shot.
#2: Michelle Waterson defeats
Jessica Penne via Submission (Invicta FC 5)
For many, this fight may have been the
top upset of the half-year. Penne walked in to the cage as the
Invicta FC Atomweight Champion, and as high as a -580 favorite
(5Dimes.com). Her improving striking, length, and excellent ground
game seemed like a solid bet.
Waterson’s surprising performance
wasn’t a come from behind fairy tale. She begun from the opening
bell. “The Karate Hottie” won the first round, and won the
grappling exchanges against the supposed superior grappler.
Penne would rebound to make this a
Fight of the Year contender. It was a fight that had everything: High
drama and championship stakes.
Why is this not the top upset of the
first half of the year? Michelle Waterson.
While Waterson entered as a heavy
underdog, everyone in the know of women’s MMA knows what kind of
fighter she is. She was a legitimate top five atomweight who was
undeserving of such big odds. Those odds spoke more to the
oddsmakers’ lack of knowledge of the women’s game than Waterson’s
chances.
It was an upset, but it wasn’t as big
of one as the odds indicated.
#1 Upset of the Half-Year:
Kelvin Gastelum defeats Uriah Hall by split decision (The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale)
Uriah Hall was The Golden Child of The Ultimate Fighter 17.
From the premiere he was edited to look
like a legitimate threat to any top middleweight. He received high
praise from both coaches, as well as UFC President Dana White. Hall
was supposed to mow through the young Kelvin Gastelum.
Gastelum was unassuming. He had several
excellent performances on the show, but he failed to match the flash
and devastation of Hall. The mild-mannered wrestler was just going to
be Hall’s final victim before they handed him the hardware.
The undefeated prospect had other
ideas.
Training and living with his opposition
during the course of filming surely helped remove the aura of
invincibility, and thus gave Gastelum more confidence heading in to
the fight. Not only that, but Hall had all the pressure on his
shoulders.
It was a close fight, one that could
have been scored for Hall, but at the end of the day Gastelum picked
up the victory. He used the tools allotted to him to control Hall for
a lot of the fight, and take down the crown for The Ultimate
Fighter.
Gastelum did what virtually no one
thought he could do. And in the process he ruined all the momentum
that Hall had built. There was talk of him potentially fighting some
of the middleweight elite, and Gastelum halted that silly notion.
Upsets are more than big underdogs
winning, and they are more than someone coming from behind on the
scorecards. Gastelum had to sit through months of hype, suffered
through a media circus surrounding his opponent, and did not get much
love from pundits or oddsmakers, but at the end of the day he stepped
through the cage doors and won.
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Click here for additional 2013 Half-Year Award Winners.
