411’s Fighter Of The Month: October
Posted by on 11.03.2009
It was a wild month of MMA with a controversial UFC 104, a Fight Of The Year candidate at WEC 43, and two explosive shows from DREAM! Who got more votes, Machida or Shogun? Was the best performance of the month from Benson Henderson, Shinya Aoki, Bibiano Fernandes, Cain Velasquez, or someone else? The 411 MMA staff has made their picks, now see who took the top spot!
This month's round of voting was not easy on the writers of 411mania. We had Henderson and Cerrone light things up for five glorious rounds with Henderson winning a razor-thin decision. Lyoto Machida retained his UFC Light Heavyweight Belt over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in the most controversial decision of the year. DREAM crowned two new champions, as Bibiano Fernandes gave an amazing performance to win the Featherweight Grand Prix while Shinya Aoki scored a last-second submission to take the lightweight belt from Joachim Hansen. We also can't forget Cain Velasquez's dominant win over Ben Rothwell, Mackens Semerzier scoring a huge upset over Wagnney Fabiano, and MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba getting back-to-back wins in the same month.
How It Works
Each staff member picks five fighters and ranks them. I'll assign a point value to those rankings. Points are determined as:
1st - 5
2nd - 4
3rd - 3
4th - 2
5th - 1
The fighter with the most points is our Fighter of the Month and then new points are assigned that will go towards Fighter of the Year. Those points are:
1st - 15
2nd - 12
3rd - 9
4th - 6
5th - 3
6th - 1
The Voting
Jonathan Solomon
1) Ben Henderson
What a performance from Smooth in the biggest fight of his career. There were at least three points in his fight with Cowboy Cerrone where most fighters would have tapped out or passed out. Somehow, Henderson escaped every time and came back stronger. With great wrestling and cardio, this man will give Jamie Varner his toughest challenge to date.
2) Cain Velasquez - Any questions about the gym warrior were put to rest when he flat out dominated Ben Rothwell. It was not even a close fight. Velasquez is a beast and may just be the future champion of the UFC heavyweight division.
3) Mackens Semerzier - Holy crap! A virtual unknown, he stepped foot into WEC and forced BJJ black belt Wagnney Fabiano to tap out. Unbelievable.
4) Marius Zaromskis - Months after winning DREAM's welterweight grand prix, he followed it up with ANOTHER head kick knockout. He is not Croatian, but people are already calling him Little Cro Cop.
5) Bibiano Fernandes - Won a battle against Hiroyuki Takaya, a fight that saw neither man quit. As entertaining a fight as you will see out of Japan this year.
Patrick Mullin
1) Ben Henderson
In a fight of the year candidate where he was seen as a guy who was supposed to be a stepping stone for a Cerrone-Varner rematch, Ben Henderson edged out Donald Cerrone over 5 tough rounds and claimed the WEC Interim Lightweight title. Henderson was seen as a guy who was going to give Donald a fight but not win. He shocked the MMA world and did it in style.
2) Shinya Aoki - The DREAM lightweight champion avenged an earlier loss to top lightweight Joachim Hansen with a clutch armbar submission to retain his belt.
3) Bibiano Fernandes - Give the man credit for winning two fights in one night, but both were controversial and that keeps him from the top.
4) Mackens Semerzier - Complete and total upset and an impressive one at that.
5) Marius Zaromskis - The DREAM welterweight champion adds another highlight reel KO to his resume.
Larry Csonka
1) Benson Henderson
Benson Henderson won a very close decision against Donald Cerrone at WEC 43 to win the Interim Lightweight Title. Henderson survived around 57 sick submissions to take the victory, and his stock really is on the rise. The fact that he was able to survive, and escape so many submissions that would have ended another man easily says something. He is 10-1, hasn't lost since 2006 and constantly is improving. Plus, Benson is a cool ass name.
2) Cain Velasquez - As I mentioned in the R's last week, Velasquez did a lot of things at UFC 104 to earn him the #2 spot this week. First of all he won a fight against a very good heavyweight in Ben Rothwell. Secondly he came off like a superstar in his domination. Thirdly he showed that even as an undersized heavyweight, he could overpower a bigger man. For all of the doubters, myself included, the man showed that he has the potential to be a true contender and a true top heavyweight.
3) Bibiano Fernandes - Bibiano Fernandes defeated Joe Warren and Hiroyuki Takaya to take home the DREAM Featherweight Championship.
4) Mackens Semerzier - An impressive and VERY surprising submission victory over Wagnney Fabiano at WEC 43 earns him the #3 spot this month.
5) Kazushi Sakuraba - The man pulled off two wins in October, and I am a mark for Sakuraba, so he gets some love from me.
Daniel Bonnizzio
1) Lyoto Machida
Love the decision or hate it, Machida is the only fighter this month to both have a championship bout and successfully defend his title, especially so in a division which hasn't had a successful defense since Rampage/Henderson back at UFC 75. Though he went back to his timid 'do-just-enough-to-win-and-don't-get-hit' in the process, Machida still reigns supreme over the 205 pounders and it gets him the number 1 spot.
2) Benson Henderson - A true as can be war ensued in San Antonio, TX on October 10th between this young man and his opponent Cowboy Cerrone. In the end, after staving off submission attempt after attempt and delivering huge bombs of his own, Henderson clinched the win from Cerrone's outstretched hands to become the Interim WEC Lightweight Champion and earned the right to face off against the Worm at a later date.
3) Shinya Aoki - Becoming a champion is always a great thing, but to become the first ever Japanese champion in a promotion that calls Japan home is something even better, and Shinya Aoki grabbed the chance and ran with it as he submitted Hellboy Hansen in the closing seconds of the second round to become the new DREAM Lightweight Champion and be the only DREAM champion to hail from Japan.
4) Bibiano Fernandes - Defeating the bookmakers' favorite in Joe Warren with a swank armbar in the opening minute of the fight and then going toe to toe with Takaya for 15 full minutes to become DREAM's inaugural featherweight champion and to win the 2009 DREAM Featherweight GP in one night is impressive, so the only DREAM champion representing this side of the Atlantic earns a spot here.
5) Mackens Semerzier - I'll admit, despite seeing this guy fight live in Cagefest just an hour south of here, I would never have picked him to win over Wagnney, and to submit him no less is even more impressive, so the WEC newcomer manages to clutch the last spot on this list.
Jeffrey Harris
1) Shogun
This is the first and probably only time I will ever put a "loser" in the fighter of the month list. There were a lot of criticisms going against Shogun for this fight. Even after the Liddell win. And with this fight, Shogun answered and surpassed all his criticisms and made a gigantic statement by proverbially derailing the Machida era despite not "winning" the decision in their title bout and not walking away with the title. Before the fight, Machida never lost a round in his career. The adulation on the Machida era was riding high. Machida was an unbeatable, invincible puzzle and even more Machida was this mystical, immortal dragon. He was the second coming of Bruce Lee. Shogun destroyed all those views and turned a crowd that was solidly behind Machida in LA against the champion. People can say Machida won the decision, Machida got the better of some exchanges, but at the end of the fight, I saw a damaged Machida staggering back and that could barely stand on spaghetti legs. Shogun proved he's still one of the best fighters in the world.
2) Benson Henderson - Henderson was the underdog for sure going into this fight. He was supposed to be nothing more than a proverbial stepping stone for Donald Cerrone so the WEC could book their blockbuster lightweight title rematch between Cerrone and champ Jamie Varner. Henderson however didn't care what the fans and the WEC wanted. All he cared about was walking away with the win and the interim title. Henderson fought the fight of his life and made the fight his own. Henderson took advantage of Cerrone's weak takedown defense and dominated well over half the fight. Some people think Cerrone did just enough to squeak by with the win with the submissions and the last couple rounds. However, Henderson never gave up surviving some of the nastiest submissions ever and came out a champion in one of the best fights of the year.
3) Joe Stevenson - Stevenson has been looking new and improved ever since he started training with Greg Jackson. Everything paid off with Stevenson's fight against Fisher, taking control in the second round and working a great position in the pocket and just nailing Fisher with some vicious elbows on the way to a TKO victory. Stevenson's now got a nice little winstreak going over two big opponents in the UFC. He's probably still got a ways to go from another title shot, but Stevenson's stock seems to be gradually on the rise once again.
4) Cain Velasquez - I'm honestly sick and tired of hearing people trash Cain saying he's got no power. I'd love for anyone to step into the cage with Cain and take his punches to see if they hurt or "have no power." Cain looked fantastic in his brutal destruction of Ben Rothwell. The place of the stoppage did look bad much like it did with the Stojnic win, but what can you do? People will overlook Cain's other wins, but I'd say Cain's definitely in the title hunt now easily.
5) Chael Sonnen - Before the fight with Sonnen, fans constantly whined that UFC did not give Yushin Okami enough respect and Okami should be a title contender and fighting Anderson Silva. Really, you think so? Regardless, Sonnen stepped up and took the fight with Okami and dominated him from start to finish. Sonnen pretty much bullied Okami and never gave him a chance to get anything going. His kicks and standup looked very impressive. Despite a disappointing lost to Demian Maia, Sonnen's UFC career is now looking pretty good with wins over two prolific middleweights like Dan Miller and Okami.
Samer Kadi
1) Benson Henderson
Henderson became the WEC interim lightweight champion with a fight of the year performance against Donald Cerrone. Henderson displayed tremendous heart by fighting through a barrage of submissions, many of which looked locked and ready to seal the deal.
2) Bibiano Fernandes - Henderson was not the only fighter to take part in a potential fight of the year candidate this month as Bibiano Fernandes' battle with Hiroyuki Takya was almost as epic. But perhaps more impressively, Fernandes also submitted rising star Joe Warren in the same night on his way to capturing the DREAM featherweight title.
3) Lyoto Machida/Shogun Rua - Ok I know I'm cheating here but honestly you can't have one fighter on the list without the other. In my opinion, Shogun deserves a spot simply for showing that Machida is not unbeatable and putting on a great performance that many felt had earned him the title. On the other hand, like it or not, Machida IS the official winner of the fight and retained the belt.
4) Cain Velasquez - Anticlimactic ending aside, Cain Velasquez looked like an absolute beast in his fight with Ben Rothwell and could well be on his way to a heavyweight title shot.
5) Shinya Aoki - Cemented his status as one of the world's top lightweights with a submission victory over Joachim Hansen to become the DREAM lightweight champion.
Dan Plunkett
1) Bibiano Fernandes
October 6 was quite a day for Bibiano Fernandes. First, he submitted breakthrough fighter of the year candidate Joe Warren in under a minute. Later, he won a decision in a great fight against Hiroyuki Takaya earning him the DREAM Featherweight Championship.
2) Benson Henderson - Came out on top after an epic five round battle against Donald Cerrone. With the win, he won the Interim WEC Lightweight Championship and will fight Jamie Varner for the undisputed belt sometime in the near future.
3) Shogun Rua - I like to rank these lists on a number of factors, one of which is what the fighter did for his or her career. Going into UFC 104, few believe Shogun had much of a chance against the seemingly unstoppable Lyoto Machida. At UFC 104, Shogun took Machida to his limit, tarnishing the champions invincible aura, and showed that the Shogun of 2005-2007 was still there. After UFC 104, many disagreed with the judges decision, and so Shogun will get an immediate rematch for the title. Had he won the belt, I would have ranked him at #1, but with the decision going the other way he falls 2 spots.
4) Shinya Aoki - Submitted Joachim Hansen to win DREAM's lightweight title.
5) Chael Sonnen - I'd love to put Sakuraba in this spot, but Chael Sonnen deserves this spot more. Sonnen defeated top middleweight Yushin Okami at UFC 104, skyrocketing him in his standing in the division.
Adam Tool
1) Lyoto Machida
I've already made my case for why I believe Machida deserved to have the decision go his way, although I give "Shogun" a ton of credit for making this one so close. At the end of the night Machida retained his belt, as well as his place atop the 205 lbs. rankings.
2) Benson Henderson - The five-round classic between Henderson and Donald Cerrone is my pick for "Fight of the Year" thus far, and Henderson showed a championship-caliber performance by surviving several close submissions throughout the night. He didn't let up for 25 minutes and is now one of the biggest rising stars in the lightweight division.
3) Bibiano Fernandes - He wasn't the favorite when the night began, but Fernandes got two tough wins in one night to become the first DREAM Featherweight Champion.
4) Cain Velasquez - I've had quite a man-crush on Big Daddy Cain for some time, so it's nice that everybody else is starting to really take notice of his skills.
5) Shinya Aoki - He's one of the best lightweights in the world, and now he's DREAM's first Japanese champion.
Mackens Semerzier - 1 point
Efrain Escudero - 1 point
Tom Lawler - 1 point
Sarah Kaufman - 1 point
Hideo Tokoro - 1 point
Scott Smith - 1 point
Anthony Johnson - 1 point
Satoru Kitaoka - 1 point
Aoki might of won that fight but i'm still pissed at him for taking 5mins cause he's a bitch. WTF was that really fight still gets me riled up
Posted By: Guest#8833 (Guest) on November 02, 2009 at 10:47 PM
aoki would have been dumb not to take the 5 rules is rules its more bitchmade to throw the upkick than to take the break that said fighter of the month should be tank abbott for his 1996 knockout of steve nelmark
Posted By: kingkongstudley (Registered) on November 03, 2009 at 12:09 AM
rua should have won isntead of that nobody
Posted By: das (Guest) on November 03, 2009 at 07:05 AM
Good calls guys, especially giving due props to the less than fashionable and less than well known Bensom Henderson, who really made his name this month.
For my money..
1- Benson Henderson
2- Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua
3- Joe Stevenson
4- Marius Zaromskis
5- Cain Velasquez
Posted By: chris.crowing (Registered) on November 03, 2009 at 06:37 PM
