411’s Fighter Of The Month: December

Posted by Dan Plunkett on 01.06.2010

Kimbo Slice defeated Houston Alexander, Roy Nelson became the Ultimate Fighter, Frank Mir choked out Cheick Kongo, BJ Penn defeated Diego Sanchez, Gilbert Melendez avenged his loss to Josh Thomson, Scott Smith knocked out Cung Le, Donald Cerrone submitted Ed Ratcliff, and Shinya Aoki broke Mizuto Hirota's arm, but who is 411's Fighter of the Month? Check out the full column for details.

December saw the first Zuffa vs. Strikeforce battle as WEC 45 went up against Strikeforce: Evolution, but that wasn't all that happened in the month. The UFC came to Memphis for a lightweight title bout, but not before deciding the Ultimate Fighter in Las Vegas. Dynamite!! ended the year with a bang featuring 12 MMA fights and many more kickboxing bouts. Let's see who the 411 MMA staff crowns as the Fighter of the Month! First though, here's a reminder on the format:

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

Scott Kuczkowski

1) BJ Penn
Diego Sanchez was supposed to be BJ's toughest title defense, but it actually ended up being a one-sided beatdown, as BJ demonstrated to fans and fighters alike that it's his world; we're just living in it. At no time in the fight did BJ ever appear in trouble or even concerned about Diego's offense (what little of it there was). With this victory Penn again demonstrated why he is considered one of the Pound for Pound greats and statisticians are now struggling to figure out who can even pose a challenge to him.

2) Roy Nelson - He wasn't pretty and he didn't have the best attitude to make the fans cheer for him, but Roy Nelson did what he needed in order to become Season 10's Ultimate Fighter. Brendan Schaub was supposed to be a tough challenge for him, but "Big Country" caught Schaub with a stiff punch and put him to sleep. What impact Nelson will have on the UFC's Heavyweight division is still a mystery, but fans should expect to see him fighting this spring.
3) Gilbert Melendez - He defeated Josh Thomson to unify the Strikeforce Lightweight Titles and become the Undisputed Champion. This fight was a long time coming due to injuries on Thomson's part, but once inside the cage they both laid it all on the line and put on a "Fight of the Year" candidate.
4) Scott Smith - The "Comeback Kid" was getting punished by Cung Le for two and half rounds until Cung gassed and Smith demonstrated why he should never be counted out. This was a great win for Smith and was almost ironically typical for the "Never Say Die" slugger.
5) Frank Mir - Not many people thought Cheick Kongo would pose much of a threat to Mir once the fight went to the ground, but no one thought Mir would be able to beat Kongo to the punch to get the fight to the ground. Mir simply choked out the big Frenchman and continued on his trek to again challenge for the Heavyweight Championship.

Samer Kadi

1) BJ Penn
Without a doubt the fighter of the month. BJ Penn defended his title against Diego Sanchez in what many believed would be his biggest test in the lightweight division. Instead, BJ dominated "The Nightmare" for five rounds, eventually landing a brutal headkick that opened a nasty cut over Sanchez's head and forced the stoppage.

2) Gilbert Melendez - "El Nino" comes in at second place due to his fantastic performance against Josh Thomson. Melendez made the necessary adjustments from their initial encounter and edged out "The Punk" in one of the best fights of the year.
3) Roy Nelson - Silenced the critics with a first round knockout of Brendon Schaub, thus becoming the season 10 Ultimate Fighter.
4) Frank Mir - Frank Mir talked a big game coming into his bout with Cheick Kongo and boy did he back it up. Thirty seconds into the fight, Mir dropped Kongo with a big overhand left and put him to sleep with a guillotine. The performance seems to have earned him a crack at the interim title against Shane Carwin.
5) Scott Smith - Smith deserves a mention for his fantastic comeback against Cung Le. Smith was getting destroyed for two rounds but as he often does, found a way to pull off the upset with a trademark haymaker.

Jeffrey Harris

1) BJ Penn
BJ Penn has now officially cemented himself as the most dominant UFC Lightweight Champion of all time. Penn looked absolutely fantastic, going almost a full five rounds against Diego Sanchez and looking fresh and ready at the start of every round. Penn proved he is an amazingly well rounded, multi-dimensional fighter and his American style boxing looked world class. Not to mention he threw one of the first head kicks of his career and that was enough to badly cut Sanchez and end the fight.

2) Gilbert Melendez - On August 15, after avenging a previous loss to Mitsuhiro Ishida, Melendez said, "One down, one to go." And he did exactly as he said he would. Melendez got back a previous loss when he lost his Strikeforce Lightweight Title to Josh Thomson in a fight that almost looked like it would never happen when it was constantly derailed by injuries. Melendez and Thomson both brought it, but it was Melendez who has incredibly stepped his game up as of late that came out on top.
3) Frank Mir - Mir went back to the drawing board and pumped up a lot for this fight that had fans chomping at the bit to see Mir get destroyed by Cheick Kongo. Mir much like in the Nogueira fight disappointed ungrateful keyboard warriors once again by putting Kongo down to the mat with a big shot and then choking Kongo out. The win was enough to possibly put Mir back in the title hunt after getting smashed by Brock Lesnar at UFC 100.
4) Roy Nelson - Say what you want about his belly, but Nelson's a good fighter and the dude can fight. And probably much to the chagrin of Dana White, Nelson is now officially The Ultimate Fighter. And while I was do not hold as much disdain for this season as many fans do, I was definitely not expecting Nelson to pull off the win as he did. Nelson finally made it to the UFC and strengthens the heavyweight division whose champion is now out of action.
5) Joseph Benavidez - Benavidez looked super impressive taking out the BJJ artist Rani Yahya at WEC 45. Now Benavidez has an even tougher challenger ahead in the hungry and former bantamweight champion, Miguel Torres.

Jonathan Solomon

1) Gilbert Melendez
Involved in a war with Josh Thomson, Melendez is the undisputed Strikeforce lightweight champion. Now his future may include "invaders" from Japan in 2010. With his improved striking and always solid wrestling base, he may be the best non-UFC lightweight sooner than later.

2) B.J. Penn - Utter dominance. As a lightweight, Penn is the most unstoppable force in MMA. Nobody even touches the man.
3) Frank Mir - If there were any doubts about him, he erased them with a quick knockout of Cheick Kongo. Mir may be in the best shape of his life and has his eyes set on Brock Lesnar, down the road.
4) Shinya Aoki - Fighting in the deciding DREAM vs. Sengoku battle, he dominated Sengoku champion Hirota. He did not just dominate, he took Hirota's arm with him.. I don't think I've ever seen a hammerlock used like he did earlier in the fight.
5) Scott Smith - If he loses to undefeated Cung Le, he's just another guy who happens to have interesting fights. He never quit and knocked out Cung Le. Now he's known as an entertaining fighter who is always one punch away from victory.

Daniel Bonnizzio

1) Gilbert Melendez
Nearly 14 months in the making, the rematch for the Strikeforce Undisputed Lightweight Championship was as much of a match as it could be. El Nino especially shined with his much improved, well, everything. He really solidified himself as a top-5 lightweight, and honestly, if in the future we do see an Aoki/Melendez fight and Melendez comes out on top, I would have no problem referring to him as the #2 lightweight in the world.

2) BJ Penn - Eight shots was all Diego landed in their fight as BJ landed so many I stopped caring. The damage he did was so severe that Diego needed to go to a cosmetic surgeon to get some fixing done. I can see no lightweight on Earth right now who can touch him.
3) Frank Mir - 72 seconds was all Frank needed to land a huge left and choke out the kickboxer-turned-fighter Cheick Kongo. While many will still detract from his success, fact is that Frank beat Cheick in his natural habitat and then proceeded to choke him unconscious. It sets the stage for him to return to the title scene, and I am all for that.
4) Shinya Aoki - The man did some serious damage. He took Mizuto down in the opening seconds, proceeded to entangle every limb Hirota had, punch him repeatedly in the face, then use a hammerlock of all things to either break Hirota's arm or seriously pop his shoulder out of place. Either way, something snapped, and the post-fight antics made it all the more awesome. To see Aoki flip off someone who didn't respect the tap is priceless.
5) Roy Nelson - He won TUF10, much to Dana's chagrin. Right now I don't see him gunning for the Heavyweight title, but he is definitely up there in ranking terms and could take on more than a few of the middle to top UFC heavyweights. Plus, we get to see the belly rub inside the Octagon. Sweetness.

Larry Csonka


1) Gilbert Melendez
For the month of December I have to give Gilbert Melendez the top spot. After waiting what seemed like an eternity, the man avenged both of his career losses, the last was defeating Josh Thomson in a FOTY candidate to unify the Strikeforce Lightweight Titles. Not only did he unify the titles and put on a great fight, but he turned the tables on Thomson and dominated him this time around, proving that he is a new man in the cage. It's just a shame that such a small audience watches Gilbert Melendez.

2) Roy Nelson - When it comes to the FOTM award, I look at it much like the WOTW award in the wrestling zone. Title wins are important, as are dominant performances and also how the fight changes your career. Roy Nelson went from a guy that Dana White wanted nothing to do with due to his look and attitude and went into the Ultimate Fighter. He won the final fight, won the contract and has finally arrived after going through all of the obstacles. WAR BIG COUNTRY!
3) BJ Penn - BJ Penn once again proved that he is the man at 155 as he decimated a very game Diego Sanchez at UFC 107. BJ Penn is simply the man right now, and when he is motivated, no one can stop him at 155.
4) Frank Mir - We should all know by now that Frank Mir is a great man. Not only did he completely own Kongo, he also got into great shape as he continued his quest for revenge against Brock Lesnar. All of this earned him an interim title shot, so right now, it's good to be Frank Mir.
5) Ikuhisa Minowa - SUPER HULK REPRESENT!

Dan Plunkett

1) BJ Penn
Ultimately, the deciding factor for me giving this month's crown to BJ Penn was, he basically cleaned out the lightweight division with the win. There are certainly top lightweights that he hasn't beaten in the UFC, namely Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar, but does anyone really think either has a legitimate chance at beating Penn? I certainly don't.

2) Gilbert Melendez - Melendez has now avenged each of his two career losses. As a bonus, he won the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship in a great fight against Josh Thomson.
3) Frank Mir - Mir destroyed Cheick Kongo at UFC 107 and made a very strong case for a rubber match against Brock Lesnar.
4) Jon Jones - He lost by DQ, but he dismantled Matt Hamill.
5) Scott Smith - Came from waaaay behind to knock out Cung Le in the third round.

The Results

Honorable Mention: Shinya Aoki

5th Place - Scott Smith (5 points)

Expect the unexpected when you see Scott Smith fight, as "Hands of Steel" always seems to pull off the win just when you think he's done for.

4th Place - Roy Nelson (14 points)

"Big Country" went in the Ultimate Fighter house as the favorite and lived up to expectations.

3rd Place - Frank Mir (17 points)

Quickly submitted Cheick Kongo to earn a shot at the interim heavyweight title.

2nd Place - Gilbert Melendez (30 points)

Became the undisputed Strikeforce Lightweight Champion with a decision victory over Josh Thomson.

Fighter of the Month for December- BJ Penn (31 points)




The #1 lightweight in the world dominated Diego Sanchez at UFC 107.


This is usually the part where I give you the current standings, but seeing as next week we will crown the Fighter of the Year for 2009, I'll let the anticipation build.