411's Fighter of the Month 1.10.12: December’s Winner & FOTY Announced
Posted by Larry Csonka on 01.10.2012
Jon Jones defeated Lyoto Machida, Alistair Overeem retired Brock Lesnar and more! But who is the fighter of the month for December and who sits atop the list to take the 2011 Fighter of the Year title? Check out the full article to find out!
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 Larry Csonka
1) Jon Jones: With his victory over Lyoto Machida at UFC 140, Jon Jones was easily my fighter of the month and may have completed the greatest year by an MMA fighter ever. This is the Jon Jones era, and we're just living in it.
2) Frank Mir: Frank Mir silenced critics that said he could only beat Big Nog when he was sick as he submitted him at UFC 140. Mir has now finished Nog via strikes and submission, well, ripping an arm off really. With Nog falling, Carwin injured, Lesnar retired and Velasquez coming off a loss, Mir is 3-0 in his last three fights, and looking for a title shot.
3) Alistair Overeem: Alistair Overeem made quick work of Brock Lesnar, sent him into retirement and earned a title shot in his UFC debut. That's a good day at the office.
4) Johny Hendricks: Johny Hendricks ended Fitch in 12 seconds, and with that finally took out the man that has had a claim on the #2 WW spot for seemingly the last 100-years.
5) Nate Diaz: Diaz derailed the Cerrone express and made it 2-0 to end the year.
Robert Winfree
1) Jon Jones:
There really can't be any doubt here. Jon Jones, in his fourth fight of the year and his third consecutive against a former champion, made it look easy. The first round was close because Jones decided he didn't want to use his best attribute and wrestle with Machida. In the second, when he did wrestle, it immediately became evident he's just on a whole other level. A nasty elbow opened a cut on Machida, a solid strike and a standing guillotine later and Machida dropped unconscious to the canvas. No one really came close to Jones this month.
2) Alistair Overeem: The fight between Overeem and Brock was generally viewed as a coin-flip depending on what each man did. Brock didn't wrestle, and the result became obvious as soon as he tried standing with Overeem. Making a successful debut against one of the premier draws in the main event of the last UFC ppv of the year gets him the second spot.
3) Johnny Hendricks: Hendricks became the first man to stop Jon Fitch with strikes, the first to finish him in his UFC career, and instantly shot himself damn near into title contention. Awesome performance from "Big Rig."
4) Frank Mir: Frank Mir joins the legendary Fedor Emelianenko as the only man to beat Big Nog more than once. Mir is the first man to stop Nogueira with strikes, and the first to submit him, breaking his arm in the process. Good month for Mir.
5) Nate Diaz: Diaz was an underdog in his fight with Donald Cerrone, many people thinking it was just too big a step up in competition. Diaz proved us all wrong and battered "Cowboy" for three rounds earning a unanimous decision victory. Diaz seems to have finally found his stride, and that could spell trouble for the rest of the lightweight division.
Scott Kuczkowski
1) Jon Jones:
"Bones" defended his Light Heavyweight Title at UFC 140 against the very tough Lyoto Machida. Although Machida kept the fight close for the first round, Jones dominated him in the second, first busting him open with some ground and pound and then putting him to sleep with a standing guillotine. This was Jones' fourth fight of 2011, his fourth finish, and he becomes the first Light Heavyweight Champion since Chuck Liddell to successfully defend the title more than once.
2) Alistair Overeem: "The Demolition Man" defeated Bock Lesnar in the UFC 141 main event to become the #1 contender for Junior Dos Santos' Heavyweight Title. Not only did Overeem successfully debut in the UFC, he proved all his doubters wrong by handily dismantling the former Heavyweight Champ. No doubt hoping to be the next UFC Heavyweight Champion, Overeem will have his work cut out for him when he faces Dos Santos this summer.
3) Frank Mir: A lot of people thought Frank's win over Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera at UFC 92 was a fluke due to Big Nog's supposed staph infection. Well, Mir silenced those critics when he defeated him in their rematch at UFC 140. Although Big Nog managed to stagger Mir on the feet, the tide quickly changed when the two hit the ground and Mir locked in a tight kimura and broke his arm. Perhaps Mir should be known as "The Arm Collector" from now on.
4) Johny Hendricks: In what was easily the biggest win of his career, Hendricks knocked out Jon Fitch in the first minute of their fight at UFC 141. This win extended his winning streak to three in a row and puts him on the cusp of a title shot. Hendricks now sits firmly near the top of the Welterweight rankings and should earn a title shot with one more win in 2012.
5) Diego Brandao: Although winning the Ultimate Fighter might not carry the prestige that it once did, Diego Brandao and Dennis Bermudez put on a Fight of the Night performance that wowed the live and home viewing audiences. Brandao looks to have a bright future in the UFC Featherweight Division, as both his standup and submission skills are stellar.
Jeffrey Harris
1) Jon Jones:
Jones passed his arguably toughest test and match-up UFC-wise at UFC 140 as he impressively finished Lyoto Machida in the second round of their light heavyweight title bout. The bout everyone wants to see next for Jones is either Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson, equally tough tests as well. This was a great fight for Jones because he had to overcome some adversity as Machida was finding some success with his elusive style in the first round. However once Jones got it to the ground and started laying into Machida with his vicious elbows it was the beginning of the end. The image of Machida crumpling to the ground after referee John McCarthy called for the bout to be stopped from Jones' choke will be an enduring image for the sport for years.
2) Alistair Overeem: Alistair Overeem made an impressive UFC debut making short work out of Brock Lesnar at UFC 141. This fight would determine who would be the next title contender at heavyweight and for Overeem coming off such a disappointing win over Werdum, anything short of a knockout finish would've drawn huge criticism and would've been unacceptable. Overeem's striking and kicks looked good and he looks like he will make a good challenge to Junior dos Santos for the title. Not only that, but the initial controversy surrounding Overeem before the fight was deflated as Overeem fulfilled all the requests of being granted his "conditional license" by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
3) Frank Mir: For the second time people underestimated Frank Mir and his credentials for his rematch with Nogueira. Frank Mir gained another accolade by not just being the first fighter to ever knockout and stop Nogueira, he was the first guy to ever submit Minotauro as well. After surviving a near TKO barrage by Big Nog, Nog jumped in for a guillotine choke. Mir was able to fight back and roll through the submission attempt into a kimura and Nogueira refused to tap until it was too late and his arm had been snapped. This will be another classic moment of the sport for years as well.
4) Johny Hendricks: ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE! Not many people except me picked Hendricks to win this fight. But I also doubt many people if any predicted that Hendricks would in the fashion that he did. In just 12 seconds, Hendricks finished Jon Fitch and became the first man to ever stop the perennial welterweight contender inside the Octagon. And so Hendricks did what no fighter in the UFC ever could, not even Georges St. Pierre over the course of 25 minutes.
5) Nate Diaz: Diaz picked up what is probably the biggest win of his career thus far by beating the highly touted Donald Cerrone who went into their fight riding a huge win streak and had a ton of momentum. The pre-fight heat between the two was intense and palpable, but in the end it was Diaz who got the better of the striking exchanges and Cerrone refused to capitalize on the openings he would make in the fight. Diaz now ascends in the rankings with this win in a very interesting and competitive lightweight title picture.
Jonathan Solomon
1) Frank Mir:
No longer will Mir have to hear about Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira being ill/injured in their 2008 fight. Not after Mir had as definitive a win as you can have at UFC 140. Despite being bombarded with strikes early, Mir took advantage of a Big Nog mistake (going to the ground) and made him pay for it. If anyone ever expected to see Minotauro forced to submit or put in a position where a limb would be ripped off, I'd call you a LIAR! But, that's exactly what happened and Mir will forever be known as the Minotauro killer.
2) Alistair Overeem: Although his presence has been overshadowed by the end of Brock Lesnar's MMA career, Overeem looked good in his UFC debut. Was it enough to say he'll walk through heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos? No, but it should be a great battle nonetheless.
3) Johny Hendricks: BOOM WENT THE DYNAMITE! Right across Jon Fitch's chin as Hendricks did what no other UFC fighter could in knocking out the #2 ranked welterweight. Now, Hendricks is a bonafide player at 170.
4) Jon Jones: Bones continued looking tremendous as he ended up choking Lyoto Machida until he was unconscious. He looks as close to unstoppable as any human can.
5) Bibiano Fernandes: Bibiano tore through the DREAM bantamweight tournament on New Year's Eve, overcoming Rodolfo Marques Diniz and Antonio Banuelos. Neither fighter even put the former featherweight in a trying predicament. He continues to show why he's one of the most complete fighters in his division.
Stewart Lange
1) Jon Jones
No argument from me here. Jones completes what can only really be described as the biggest year in the career of ANY mixed martial artist with a massive win over Lyoto Machida. Some well deserved time off to start 2012, me thinks.
2) Alistair Overeem: Overeem finally made it to the UFC and announced himself immediately by retiring media favorite Brock Lesnar. He's now set to fight Junior Dos Santos in what will be a SCARY match up, certainly a tough one to predict.
3) Johny Hendricks: How do you stop Jon Fitch from "Fitching" you? Knock him out cold before he can lay a hand on you, that's how. Hendricks put the Welterweight division on notice.
4) Nate Diaz: Credit where it's due here, Diaz looks awesome back at 155. He decimated Donald Cerrone over three rounds and while he could learn to check leg kicks, that seems to be all he was lacking here.
5) Frank Mir: Mir became only the second man to beat Big Nog twice, with a crazy come-from-behind submission that broke Nogueira's arm and may have retired the best Heavyweight of all time.
Wyatt Beougher
1) Jon Jones:
Anyone who picked someone other than Jones here is either delusional, trolling, or has no idea of what this feature is supposed to be. (Hi, Solomon! You're right - Mir doesn't have to hear about how Big Nog was sick! Now he gets to hear about how Nog was kicking his ass and got overconfident! Worked out well for Werdum when he beat Fedor, didn't it?) Bones won four fights this year, and the Machida fight may have been the most impressive. It's the first time in his UFC career that he's really been in trouble, and the second round showed that he's able to make adjustments to his gameplan when things aren't going the way he wants them to, and also disproved his critics who said he was so cocky that he'd try to beat his opponents at their own game, which would be his undoing. Give Machida credit - he won a round against Jones, something no one else in the UFC can claim, but in the end, he's just another highlight on Jones' impressive resume. Based on Mir's peformance, I still wouldn't favor him to beat JDS, Cain, or Overeem, but I can't see anybody in the light heavyweight division who can beat Bones based on his last three performances, so he gets the nod.
2) Johny Hendricks: Hendricks was the 25th-ranked welterweight coming into his fight with the 4th-ranked Fitch (both according to FightMatrix, with Fitch only dropping to fourth based on Diaz and Condit fighting for the interim title) and he needed only 12 seconds to end Fitch's campaign for a rematch against GSP. I'd say Hendricks can make a case for fighting the interim welterweight champion if GSP can't return in time to unify the belts before a title defense is needed, and considering that he is 9-1 under the Zuffa umbrella and fights in a division where wrestlers (which he is) have traditionally done well. I don't know if Hendricks is Fitch with KO power or not, but I'd much rather see him contending for the title than Fitch (and I say that as a Fitch fan who can acknowledge that Fitch hasn't added anything to his game that makes me think he could beat GSP).
3) Alistair Overeem: The 'Reem finally made his UFC debut and sent Brock Lesnar into retirement in the process. And while Dana and the Zuffa brass can't be happy that they lost their biggest PPV cash cow, Overeem has the look and the tools that should make him an easy sell as number one contender to the UFC heavyweight title.
4) Jimy Hettes: Raise your hand if you expected Jimy Hettes to DOMINATE Nam Phan the way he did. Yeah, I didn't think so either (the 411 staff picked 3-3 for the fight, and no one thought he'd make Phan look like a rookie in his first fight).
5) Frank Mir: Mir's a cocky turd, and I hate that he's the only man to knock out or submit Big Nog, but I'll give credit where credit is due - he capitalized on a mistake in Big Nog's approach and made the legend pay for it. As I said before, I don't think Mir could beat any of the UFC's top three heavyweights (or Brock), but he deserves his moment in the sun, especially after Fabricio Werdum did basically the same thing against Fedor and actually WON Fighter of the Month (again, look how that turned out for him, as he'll be facing "Big Country", a guy Mir already beat).
Alex Watt
1) Jon Jones:
Jonny "Bones" Jones rounded off perhaps the greatest single year for a Mixed Martial Artist in the history of the sport with a second round submission win over Lyoto Machida. Forced to weather the storm for the first time in his career, Jones was out struck in the opening round. Showing his toughness, strength of character and raw talent, Jones returned strong in the second round and secured the takedown on "The Dragon", before cutting him with a nasty elbow. Ultimately, it was a slick left hand, which dropped Machida and one of the tightest standing guillotines you are likely to see which got the job done for the young champion. The image of Machida flopping unconscious to the floor is just another visceral image, which encapsulates the dominance of Jones' championship reign. With his fourth win of the year, Jones also became the first UFC Light Heavyweight Champion to make a second defense of the belt since the legendary Chuck Liddell. Could 2012 be even better for the 24 year old?
2) Frank Mir: Became the first man to ever submit the legendary "Minotauro" Nogueira with that brutal kimura, which broke Big Nog's arm. Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, Mir finds himself once more on the cusp of title contention.
3) Alistair Overeem: Finally made his UFC debut and it was a highly successful one. "The ‘Reem" scored the win over Brock Lesnar with a brutal liver kick with just 2:26 gone in round one. With the win Overeem retired Lesnar and moves himself towards a shot at the UFC Heavyweight Championship in 2012.
4) Johny Hendricks: Used his sledgehammer of a left hook to knock out the consensus No. 2 welterweight in all of MMA Jon Fitch in a mere 12 seconds. A fantastic performance which sees Hendricks in the talk for a title shot.
5) Nate Diaz: Used his fantastic boxing to pick Donald Cerrone apart in their grudge match. Largely dominating the contest, Diaz looks to be finally coming into his own as a fighter and could be about to make a serious run in the UFC's deep 155lbs division.
HM – Diego Brandao & John Dodson: Rounding off an entertaining season of TUF 14, Brandao and Dodson both looked impressive in their first round wins at the Finale. Both "Ceara" and "The Magician" look like potential future UFC stars.
THE RESULTS
Honorable Mention: Jimy Hettes (2 points)
5th Place Nate Diaz - (6 points)
4th Place - Johny Hendrix (21 points)
3rd Place - Frank Mir (23 points)
Ripped off Big Nog's arm and took it home with him, respect Frank Mir.
2nd Place - Alistair Overeem (28 points)
Defeated Brock Lesnar in convincing fashion and UFC 141, sending the former champion into retirement and earning a shot at the UFC Heavyweight Title.
411's Fighter of the Month for December - Jon Jones (37 points)
Jon Jones did it, he defeated Lyoto Machida and won your wrestler of the month award for December. Not only did he win the bout, but he finished the former champion in the second round.
FINAL 2011 Fighter Of The Year Standings
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. AND YOUR FIGHTER OF THE YEAR IS…Jon Jones - 54 points (UFC)
Dan Henderson - 39 points (UFC)
Junior Dos Santos - 30 points (UFC)
Anderson Silva - 30 points (UFC)
Nick Diaz - 24 points (UFC)
Frankie Edgar - 21 points (UFC) Michael Chandler - 21 points (Bellator)
Frank Mir - 9 points (UFC) Charlie Brenneman - 9 points (UFC) Rick Story - 9 points (UFC) Lyoto Machida - 9 points (UFC) Richard Hale - 9 points (Bellator) Phil Davis - 9 points (UFC) Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza - 9 points (Strikeforce) Luke Rockhold - 9 points (Strikeforce)
Mark Munoz - 3 points (UFC) Carlos Condit - 3 points (UFC) Jorge Masvidal - 3 points (Strikeforce) Demetrious Johnson - 3 points (UFC) Rory MacDonald - 3 points (UFC) Jim Miller - 3 points (UFC) Pat Healy - 3 points (Strikeforce) Gray Maynard - 3 points (UFC)
Urijah Faber - 2 point (UFC)
Jimy Hettes - 1 point (UFC) Cheick Kongo - 1 point (UFC) Travis Browne - 1 point (UFC) Patricky Freire - 1 point (Bellator) Alexis Vila - 1 point (Bellator) Liz Carmouche - 1 point (Strikeforce) Brian Bowles - 1 point (UFC) Brian Ebersole - 1 point (UFC) Chris Lytle - 1 point (UFC) Jose Aldo - 1 point (UFC)
Year-End Rankings Key:
UFC Contracted Fighters are represented in BLUE.
Strikeforce Contracted Fighters are represented in RED.
Dream Contracted Fighters are represented in MAROON.
Bellator Contracted Fighters are represented in GOLD.
Sengoku Contracted Fighters are represented in GRAY.
