{"id":44895,"date":"2010-12-26T00:01:20","date_gmt":"2010-12-26T05:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=6317"},"modified":"2010-12-26T00:01:20","modified_gmt":"2010-12-26T05:01:20","slug":"brock-lesnar-the-2010-mma-awards-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=44895","title":{"rendered":"Brock Lesnar & the 2010 MMA Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Luigi Lizares Yunque<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the 1st decade of the new millennium is finally coming to an end, the year 2010 was probably one of the best year for Mixed Martial Arts. We saw some of the best knockouts, submissions, comebacks and surprise victories throughout the year.<\/p>\n

Fabricio Werdum pulled a rabbit in a hat when he submitted the fighter many consider as the best fighter in the world \u201cThe Last Emperor\u201d Fedor Emelianenko, to UFC\u2019s Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar\u2019s domination of the ones unstoppable Former UFC Lightweight Champion BJ \u201cThe Prodigy\u201d Penn.<\/p>\n

There was also the near loss of UFC\u2019s Middleweight Champion Anderson \u201cThe Spider\u201d Silva to the trash talking \u201cSteroid Using\u201d Chael Sonnen. The comeback win of Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar from the biggest and heaviest puncher in the UFC, former Interim Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin. The belt was at the tip of Carwin\u2019s fingers, but he let it slip away when he ran out of steam during the 2nd round. There were a lot of ups and downs.<\/p>\n

UFC legend Chuck \u201cThe Ice-man\u201d Liddell retired, to another legend who was hinting of retiring as of this writing, Captain America himself, Randy \u201cThe Natural\u201d Couture.<\/p>\n

2010 also saw the rise of the Heavyweights. In the UFC they called them the \u201c4 Horsemen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Led by the reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez, followed by the former Champion Brock Lesnar, to the top contenders, former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin, and finally the heavyweight they consider as having the best stand-up in the division, the Brazilian Junior \u201cCigano\u201d Dos Santos.<\/p>\n

These 4 Heavyweights I consider the equivalent to boxing\u2019s Fab Four, or the Four Kings (Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard). Like their boxing equivalent, either one of them can win at any given time.<\/p>\n

So the heavyweight division (UFC) is always an exciting fight to see, because no matter what the analyst or the professionals say you never really know who is going to win. Outside of the Four Horsemen, there is still one fighter I could add to the mix and his name is Roy \u201cBig Country\u201d Nelson.<\/p>\n

He is a former IFL (International Fight League) Heavyweight Champion, and was the winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 10. \u201cBig Country\u201d reminds me of UFC fighters of old like David \u201cTank\u201d Abbot and Scott \u201cThe Pit bull\u201d Ferrozzo. Not because of their skills (Big country, can KO both of them seconds after the opening bell.) but because of their build. Roy Nelson doesn\u2019t look like your \u201cElite\u201d Mixed Martial Artist, but he sure fights like one. During his last fight against #1<\/p>\n

Heavyweight Contender Junior Dos Santos, he took all of Dos Santos\u2019 best shots but kept on coming. I could not believe what I was seeing, it was either Dos Santos punches were not as heavy as I thought, or Nelson has a chin made of granite. After much debate, I will go for the latter. Roy Nelson\u2019s chin was proven on that fight, and I can see him still being a contender for years to come. He lost the fight and probably a couple of years of his life, but at the same time gained a lot of respect from the fans and me personally.<\/p>\n

In other promotions, there are 2 other fighters that I consider to be in the mix with the fighters I just mentioned. Both of them come from Strikeforce MMA Organization. We have the British born Dutch Mixed Martial Artist and Kickboxer Alistair \u201cThe Demolition Man\u201d Overeem. Alistair is the current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion and he is also the reigning K1 World Grand Prix Kickboxing Champion. The latter he just won December 11th of this year. I have seen him fight since his early days at Pride FC in Japan, and literally I\u2019ve seen him grow!<\/p>\n

When he fought Chuck Liddell at The Pride 2003 Grand Prix he was fighting as a Middleweight at 205 lbs, 7 years later he is now fighting as a Heavyweight weighing in at the limit of 260lbs. during his last outing. Some consider Overeem overrated, and the pundits have a reason. He never fought anyone significant in his weight division. I would like to see him fight any of top heavyweights coming out of the UFC. It will least likely to happen but we can all dream.<\/p>\n

Finally we have the Russian Fedor \u201cThe Last Emperor\u201d Emelianenko. Many consider Emelianenko to be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. At one time he held five major Heavyweight Championships Titles which include The RINGS Heavyweight and King of Kings Championships, the Pride FC World Heavyweight and Heavyweight Grand Prix Championships and the World Alliance Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) Heavyweight Championship Title.<\/p>\n

The problem is that the UFC and Fedor management team could never come up with a compromise, much like Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, JR. Until eventually Emelianenko lost to Fabricio Werdum in which he also lost his negotiating power. An Emelianenko bout against any of the UFC\u2019s Four Horseman will still be epic. If it\u2019s against the reigning UFC Champion Cain Velasquez though, my money is going to be with the reigning champion.<\/p>\n

There are a lot more stories to tell with what transpired during the year. But I will leave that to my succeeding articles so that I can give you the breakdown of what I consider \u201cThe Best\u201d of MMA 2010.<\/p>\n

I divided it into 7 different categories, mainly; Fight of the Year, Knock Out of the Year, Submission of the Year, Comeback of the Year, Upset of the Year, Beatdown of the Year, and finally The Fighter of the Year.<\/p>\n

Below are the fights and fighters I nominated for each category. These are all just my opinion. Everyone is free to comment…<\/p>\n

Fight of the Year nominees;<\/strong><\/p>\n

-Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Chris Leben
\nUFC 116, July 3, 2010
\n-Jung Chan-Sung vs. Leonard Garcia
\nWEC 48, April 24, 2010
\n-Diego Sanchez vs. Paulo Thiago
\nUFC 121, October 23, 2010<\/strong><\/p>\n

There were other fights that would be considered fight of the year, but these are the 3 that stood out to me. But there can only be one, and I give that honor to;<\/p>\n

Jung Chan-Sung \u201cThe Korean Zombie\u201d vs. Leonard Garcia<\/strong><\/p>\n

Knock Out of the Year nominees;<\/strong><\/p>\n

-Carlos Condit vs. Dan Hardy
\nUFC 120, October 16, 2010
\n-Robbie Lawler vs. Melvin Manhoef
\nStrikeforce Miami, January 30, 2010
\n-Chuck \u201cThe Iceman\u201d Liddell vs. Rich Franklin
\nUFC 115, June 12, 2010<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was supposed to give this fight to the Liddell vs. Franklin fight, but Chuck has been knocked out so many times that I couldn\u2019t keep track. So this one goes to\u2026<\/p>\n

Carlos Condit vs. Dan Hardy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Submission of the Year nominees;<\/strong><\/p>\n

-Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Chris Leben
\nUFC 116, July 3, 2010
\n-Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva
\nUFC 117, August 7, 2010
\n-Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin
\nUFC 116, July 3, 2010<\/strong><\/p>\n

This was a toss up between the Lesnar vs. Carwin and the Sonnen vs. Silva fight. Leben\u2019s submission victory over \u201cSexyama\u201d was great but the win of the other two fights were epic. Submission of the Year goes to\u2026<\/p>\n

-Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson \u201cThe Spider\u201d Silva<\/strong><\/p>\n

Comeback of the Year nominees;<\/strong><\/p>\n

-Mark \u201cThe Filipino Wrecking Machine\u201d Munoz vs. Kendall Grove
\nUFC 112, 02010-04-10 April 10, 2010
\n-Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva
\nUFC 117, August 7, 2010
\n-Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin
\nUFC 116, July 3, 2010<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, the Submission of the Year and Comeback of the year are more or less the same. If you saw this fight, you know why this is the winner. Comeback \u201cFrom the Grave\u201d winner\u2026<\/p>\n

Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson \u201cThe Spider\u201d Silva<\/strong><\/p>\n

Upset of the Year nominees;<\/strong><\/p>\n

-BJ \u201cThe Prodigy\u201d Penn vs. Frankie Edgar 1
\nUFC 112, 02010-04-10 April 10, 2010
\n-BJ \u201cThe Prodigy\u201d Penn vs. Frankie Edgar 2
\nUFC 118, 02010-08-28 August 28, 2010
\n-Fabricio Werdum vs. Fedor \u201cThe Last Emperor\u201d Emelianenko
\nStrikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum, 02010-06-26 June 26, 2010<\/strong><\/p>\n

The fought twice and I was literally upset twice. But the Upset of the Year Goes to the fight everyone thought would be another walk in the park. The winner for this category is\u2026<\/p>\n

Fabricio Werdum vs. Fedor \u201cThe Last Emperor\u201d Emelianenko<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beatdown of the Year nominees;<\/strong><\/p>\n

-Junior \u201cCigano\u201d Dos Santos vs. Roy \u201cBig Country\u201d Nelson
\nUFC 117, 02010-08-07 August 7, 2010
\n-Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez
\nUFC 121, 02010-10-23 October 23, 2010
\n-Jose Aldo vs. Urijah Faber
\nWEC 48, 02010-04-24 April 24, 2010<\/strong><\/p>\n

All three fights in my opinion are all winners. But the word \u201cBeatdown\u201d best describes the winner of this category. And that belongs to\u2026<\/p>\n

Junior \u201cCigano\u201d Dos Santos vs. Roy \u201cBig Country\u201d Nelson<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last on my list of the \u201cBest of 2010\u201d is the Fighter of the Year.<\/p>\n

The Fighter of the Year nominees;<\/strong><\/p>\n

-Frankie Edgar<\/strong><\/p>\n

-Cain Velasquez<\/strong><\/p>\n

-Mauricio \u201cShogun\u201d Rua<\/strong><\/p>\n

-Jose Aldo<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why four fighters instead of three? Well, all four of them showed dominance in every fight they\u2019ve been through this year. Some performed better than others. But with what they all accomplished this year, all of them definitely deserves to be here. The Fighter of the year is\u2026<\/p>\n

Frankie Edgar<\/strong><\/p>\n

After you defeat BJ Penn a fighter everyone considered to be unbeatable in the Lightweight division twice in one year, and win both fights as convincingly as he did, he definitely deserves the \u201cFighter of the Year\u201d honors.<\/p>\n

Let us see what 2011 has to offer. Even if it will just be at par with what 2010 has given us, it will still be another stellar year excitement and boredom, thrills and disappointments, winners and losers. I am looking forward to the \u201cBest of 2011.\u201d<\/p>\n

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