The MMA 5 & 1 12.28.11: The Year End Edition
Posted by Stewart Lange on 12.28.2011
Georgia Graham is your "& 1" Model of the Week, a look back at Maynard and Edgar as a Fight of the Year candidate and the idea of superfights being made out of Zuffa's purchase of Strikeforce, Chael Sonnen as Douche of the Year and more!
It's the middle of the best week of the year so I'm sure you're all feeling well fed, watered, spoiled and rested! Unless, of course, you're me, in which case you've spent the holidays being a taxi driver whilst only having 36 hours off work. Still, complaining too hard isn't in my nature so I'm looking forward to this weekend, when I can chill out, put my feet up, play the games I got for Christmas and drink some beer. You'll notice a couple of features will be abridged a little, they'll be back to normal next week, I promise.
Not only that, but I still have a column to write. I'm undecided on what I'll cover this week, so I'll be WINGING it. Hopefully I don't encroach on the year-end stuff too much, but hey, I'm not given as much free reign on the staff columns. So, on that note, let's have the.......
It's the Evan Rachel Wood mailbag!!
Why is nobody talking about the Belfort vs. Rumble match from UFC 142? I think it could be a potential show stealer. I'm a Rumble fan, and I am very curious to see how he fares at a more natural weight.
Posted By: Todd Vote (Guest) on December 21, 2011 at 11:00 AM
I wasn't doing a full preview of the 142 card, so didn't touch on the Belfort/Johnson fight. I'm quite excited for that fight too, despite not being a huge Rumble fan I do like myself some Vitor so hopefully it's going to be a "barnburner"
I'm honored to accept the Dan Henderson award. A fitting award named after the greatest fighter of all time.
Posted By: Jeffrey (Registered) on December 21, 2011 at 11:07 AM
No problem. I'm just happy one member of the staff acknowledged their award.
I actually like Pat on commentary, the other two I can't quite listen to. I've even heard Mauro on a podcast with Dave Lagana and he actually comes off as a fan of MMA and wrestling but damn the dude is horrible to listen to. There is something about Frank Shamrock I just don't like so it was fun to hear Pat put him in his place often.
"Man those numbers were pretty close." -Frank
"How? His had 5 times more power strikes than the other guy." - Pat
"Yeah, but I still think he was doing more damage." Frank
Dana, really just look at the photos.
Posted By: midz (Guest) on December 21, 2011 at 02:34 PM
Gotta agree, Pat seems to know what he's talking about... Frank seems genuinely clueless, which baffles me.
Posted By: DB (Guest) on December 21, 2011 at 05:39 PM
The numbers they were talking about btw, the numbers SHOWING on the screen, were 55-8. To Frank Shamrock those are apparently pretty close values.
Posted By: JK (Guest) on December 22, 2011 at 01:10 AM
Frank Shamrock is a mathematical genius. I'm pretty certain that Shamrock was inferring those numbers are indeed close, in the grand scheme of things. Really though, I generally like Pat too, but he had a bug up his butt the whole broadcast the other week, so I'm not sure what was up with him. Maybe he just doesn't like Mauro Ranello. He wouldn't be alone.
No Versus this week everyone, but I'm going to have a new Grand Prix for you to vote on next week.
I will take the space to say that you gotta make sure and vote for your favorites on this one, because it's going to be a big one. If you want to suggest a fighter for the brackets, please let me know via the usual means. I may even start 2012 with a bang and make it the biggest tournament yet!
Missing out this week:
All The News- It's Christmas, so I'm not covering the news. There isn't really any at this point anyway.
This weeks 5 & 1 will be focused on stuff I found awesome in 2011 in MMA. Not year-end awards or anything, just cool stuff. Enjoy.
Five Rounds Work!
A picture tells a thousand words
The two men pictured above, for those of you who may not be aware, are Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Dan Henderson. These two men had an absolute war only a few weeks ago, the aftermath of which is seen above. This would be the first real example that the decision the UFC made to make all Main Event fights without a title involved five rounds instead of three completely worthwhile.
Not all main event matches are exciting fares, or even risk going past the third round, but the fact that the UFC is giving us a chance to see their main event caliber fighters go 25 minutes with one another is a great step and as we saw in this fight, sometimes it will give us true fight of the year candidates.
With us to get Lesnar Vs Overeem in a couple of days, which again, will be a five round fight should it be needed (doubtful), it could prove a huge benefit. Lesnar is a legit casual draw and at this time of year, when people are looking for any sort of excuse to have a bit of a knees up- say with a popular sporting pay-per-view, if the fight needs those extra ten minutes, it could be huge for the company.
Finish Of The Year
I love this. Absolutely amazing.
Two Fight of The Year Contenders?
Brilliance, doubled.
At the very start of the year, Grey Maynard and Frankie Edgar took their UFC Lightweight title fight to a five round draw, in a fantastic battle that threw down a very early gauntlet to the rest of the roster: BEAT THAT. Quickly marked as a potential fight of the year, the rematch was guaranteed although delayed by injury. Eventually, we got the promised fight and suddenly, the interest factor in the fight was far higher than the first 2011 bout between the pair.
We saw the first round play out like a carbon copy of the first five minutes of the 125 bout with Maynard rocking Edgar and taking a 10-8 round against the champion. While the first fight saw Edgar rally and the end being very, very close; this time we saw Edgar finish the previously "unfinishable" Grey Maynard (who hadn't been stopped since his TUF tenure) and show the world that his two wins over BJ Penn were NO fluke. I've not picked my Fight of The Year yet, but I can't even decide if I can pick one of these fights over the other. Outstanding,
The 411 MMA Podcast
No podcast this week, but the team will be back on New Years Day with sore heads no doubt, so expect Jeffrey Harris to be on TOP FORM. It's unfortunately around 4pm UK time (11 eastern for you Americans) and I have my last Christmas dinner of the year (yep, on New Years Day) to deal with so for those of you that YEARN for my sexy voice, I'll not even be phoning in. Sorry. Listen anyway though, yeah? Cool. Deal.
Superfights?
With the UFC purchasing Strikeforce (and recently announcing an amalgamation of both of the Zuffa Heavyweight divisions), many fans were able to envisage some of the many superfights that we could see. When the deal was signed, we started wondering if we would soon be seeing Gilbert Melendez Vs Frankie Edgar (or Grey Maynard, a candidate at the time), Nick Diaz taking on GSP (so, so close), Overeem against Velasquez (well, Lesnar/Overeem shouldn't be bad) or you know, erm, Luke Rockhold taking on Anderson Silva.
In all seriousness, not only was there a sudden possibility of all these Champion Vs Champion battles could become a reality, we also starting seeing some Strikeforce stalwarts making the move across to the "big pond" of the UFC. While that tide slowed in the later half of the year, I think that it won't be long before the big Strikeforce names will all feature in the UFC, while "Strikeforce" will exist as no more than a feature for lesser known talent, as fans, we want to see the big, BIG fights and this year, we got a bit closer to that.
Douche Of The Year!
The Future Ex-Mr. Bossmew
While he didn't have a full series of the Ultimate Fighter to prove how un-likeable he is, 2011 was the year that everyone decided they didn't like Chael Sonnen.
If you don't know why, then please, don't ask me to explain. But he is the only candidate for Douche of The Year. Mr. Sonnen, all hail, king of the Douche-bags.
WEC ROOLZ
Classic WEC match up
The UFC/WEC merger is not this year's news. It was the last big news story of 2010, and had many critics wondering how the 155lb and smaller stars would fare in the UFC. While the Feather and Bantamweights are still going strong, two WEC veterans have become the can't-miss fighters in the world's Premier MMA organization.
Benson Henderson and Donald Cerrone have had exceptional years. Henderson came off a loss to Anthony Pettis in the last ever WEC fight to being the number two 155lb Lightweight fighter in the UFC this year, while Donald Cerrone has won all three possible Awards in KO, submission AND Fight of the Night in ONE CALENDAR YEAR. He fights for an unprecedented FIFTH time in two days time against Nate Diaz and I hope he smashes him so he will have a perfect UFC record and the second best year bar Jon Jones.
Got a twitter? Click the above links for up to date news from across the 411 spectrum, plus, be sure to follow me for ongoing fun and shenanigans!
A Few Thank-Yous
Irrelevant. But awesome.
Separate from my staff awards last week, I'd like to take the opportunity to make a couple of real thanks here, since it's my last column of 2011 and all.
First, I'll take the chance to thank Mrs. Csonka for the fantastic column header. She's the unsung hero of 411 as you'll see her work on more columns than many of the writers. Cheers to you!
Also a big thanks to Kyra for the Five and One banners below, including my awesome ever-updating Versus banners. Follow her on twitter @bossmew, so thanks again my friend, have a drink for me!
Final thanks go to Larry and Ashish for having me here in the first place and allowing me to go from predicting fictional "super-fights" to starting the sites very first MMA 5 & 1. I hope you guys are at least a fraction as pleased with my work as I am to be here, so I wish both of you and your families all the best for 2012.
BAMMA girl, Twitter pal of mine and totally gorgeous, this week I present to you- Georgia Graham!
The Post-Fight Press Conference
That's it for another week here in the 5 & 1, so I hope you enjoyed the column! Please, leave a comment below and be sure to check some of the other amazing work here on the 411.
Give me a message below everyone, I appreciate all of your comments! Please, suggest fighters for the NEXT Superfight Grand Prix- I want it to be HUGE. DO IT, DO It, DOOOOO IT!
Also, have a fantastic New Year, thanks for reading and see you next week!
"While he didn't have a full series of the Ultimate Fighter to prove how un-likeable he is, 2011 was the year that everyone decided they didn't like Chael Sonnen. "
Not sure what you're definition of everyone is, but if you've seen the UFC on Fox press conference or public Q & A's he has done recently, Sonnen seems to get a lot of cheers. Are there plenty of people like you who think he's a douchebag? Yes. But there's just as many people, if not more, that still love the guy. I'm not arguing with you thinking he's a douchebag because I understand that opinion, but don't say everyone decided to hate him this year because that's simply not true.
Posted By: Jimjoebob (Guest) on December 28, 2011 at 01:23 AM
Georgia Graham looks really hot. But is there a full version of that pick of her from the front page?
Posted By: Jeffrey (Registered) on December 28, 2011 at 01:27 AM
My apologies for not posting here and accepting my award last week. I am quite honored to receive one, and you're doing a wonderful job with the 5&1 franchise here in the MMA zone.
Posted By: Robert Winfree (Registered) on December 28, 2011 at 12:46 PM
Stewart you forgot to add in the Gaming 5 & 1! I had my first column last week and will have another one tomorrow too. Just letting ya know for the future. Great one as always.
Posted By: Sean Garmer (Registered) on December 28, 2011 at 12:53 PM
Bravo! Always a great read and gives me a taste of MMA goodness!
Posted By: stevethegoose (Registered) on December 28, 2011 at 02:16 PM
i freaking love chael sonnen
Posted By: wylun (Guest) on December 28, 2011 at 03:17 PM
Like Stuart said - you should all follow me because I'm female, I like mma and I swear like a drunken sailor!
Also I am amazing :D
Chael 'my-future-husband-but-it-probably-won't-last-because-I'm-a-lefty-and- he's-a-republican-*crying-face*' Sonnen is a douche but you have to admire his ability to piss off several nations in one year
Posted By: bossmew (Guest) on December 28, 2011 at 04:20 PM
"While he didn't have a full series of the Ultimate Fighter to prove how un-likeable he is, 2011 was the year that everyone decided they didn't like Chael Sonnen. "
Wrong. I didn't.
Posted By: Colin (Guest) on December 28, 2011 at 05:42 PM
I like Chael because he is a douchebag, give me this guy over some Tebow(sorry Larry) anyday. He will actually say something of worth not just praising his team, family, fans, his dog, and god.
I don't understand the hate for Jones, I mean the kid really could come out like many other young professional athletes and proclaim himself to be gods gift to the sport but he doesn't. Its not like anybody has proven him wrong on how good he actually is.
Posted By: midz (Guest) on December 29, 2011 at 11:02 AM
Copyright (c) 2011 411mania.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
Click here for our privacy policy. Please help us serve you better, fill out our survey.
Use of this site signifies your agreement to our terms of use.
