The Ultimate Writer 01.04.09: The Year-End Extravaganza

Posted by Dustin James on 01.04.2009

2008 is officially in the books and we have arrived in 2009! However, before we move on with our lives and leave 2008 in the past, join 411's Dustin James as we take a look back at the year that was 2008. It's "The Ultimate Writer's Year-End Extravaganza" and we have everything you need here! We have predictions for 2009, 2008 year-end awards, a year-in-review of 2008, and so much more. It's all here in the latest JAM-PACKED edition of "The Ultimate Writer".....

Welcome back to the latest edition of "The Ultimate Writer" and man, do I have a plate full of delicious snacks for you today or what? The very first 2009 edition of "The Ultimate Writer" is easily the biggest one yet seeing as I tried to cover the entire 2008. It was a long and difficult task, but I think I managed to pick out the best and worst of 2008 in MMA and I will share it all with you here. For those of you who hate year-end stuff, I would suggest going somewhere else right now. However, if you are like me and LOVE year-end awards, predictions, etc...then this one is for you.....

HAVE A GREAT 2009!

LET'S GET IT ON.................

*Due to this HUGE year-end edition of "The Ultimate Writer", "The Week That Was" feature will be put on hiatus this week but don't worry....it will be back!

*Also note that the "Fighter of the Month" is my own personal opinion and totally separate from 411's actual "Fighter of the Month" award.

"The Ultimate Writer" 2008 Year-In-Review

The year-in-review is a pretty simple formula actually. I will go through every month of the year and present YOU with the 3 biggest news stories of the month, the fighter of the month, as well as the 3 biggest wins and 3 biggest losses of the month and an explanation as to why I consider them huge wins/losses. It will be fun indeed......



January:


Fighter of the Month:


BJ Penn

Penn defeated Joe Stevenson for the UFC Lightweight Title and became a real contender for best pound-for-pound fighter in MMA. It was a great fight and Penn showed us why he is considered one of the World's best fighters.

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3 Biggest News Stories of the Month:

Evan Tanner Announces Return To The UFC: At first this wasn't considered a huge news story, but months later we would find out why.

Ken Shamrock Signs With EliteXC: And the beginning of the end begins for EliteXC.....

Takanori Gomi Signs With World Victory Road: And Gomi puts to rest those rumors of him flirting with the UFC by signing with the new promotion "World Victory Road". Months later Gomi would be upset by Sergey Golyaev and the promotion would reward him with a shot at the lightweight title.

---

3 Biggest Wins of the Month:

-BJ Penn over Joe Stevenson at UFC 80 (Penn wins UFC Interim Lightweight Title)

-Fabricio Werdum over Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 80 (Werdum is widely considered the #1 contender to the UFC Heavyweight Title)

-Nate Diaz over Alvin Robinson at UFC Fight Night 12 (Diaz continues his win streak in the UFC)

3 Biggest Losses of the Month:

-Gabriel Gonzaga loses to Fabricio Werdum (Gonzaga WAS considered a top contender to the UFC Heavyweight Title)

-Kendall Grove loses to Jorge Rivera at UFC 80 (Grove is the winner of "The Ultimate Fighter" season 3 and hasn't showed much in his UFC career)

-Josh Burkman loses to Mike Swick at UFC Fight Night 12 (Boring fight, and the loser should have been fired)

---

February:


Fighter of the Month:



Frank Mir

When we all sat down to watch Mir vs. Lesnar at UFC 81 last February nobody was expecting much. However, Mir pulled off a huge win and gave Lesnar his only loss in MMA. Almost a year later and these two are widely considered the two best heavyweights in the UFC. For Mir, it all started with this win here over Brock.

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3 Biggest News Stories of the Month:

Mirko Cro Cop Released From The UFC: Whether it was mutual or not, the fact that he was one of the top 10 heavyweights in the UFC and was now officially gone was huge. It made some room for some new blood in the division (Carwin, Velasquez) but Cro Cop had some name value that could potentially make you some money.

Randy Couture/UFC Drama: The UFC/Randy Couture drama really exploded in February. We had the UFC suing Couture, HDNet suing the UFC, me wanting to blow my brains out. It was a fantastic time.

EliteXC Announces Deal With CBS: This was HUGE for MMA at the time. EliteXC's live MMA shows on CBS would be the first time a live MMA show would be shown on prime time broadcast television. It's just too bad the end result wasn't pretty.

---

3 Biggest Wins of the Month:

-Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira over Tim Sylvia at UFC 81 (Nog wins the UFC Interim Heavyweight Title)

-Jamie Varner over Rob McCullough at WEC 32 (Varner defeats "Razor" Rob for the WEC Lightweight Title)

-Miguel Torres over Chase Beebe at WEC 32 (Torres defeats Beebe for the WEC Bantamweight Title)

3 Biggest Losses of the Month:

-Brock Lesnar loses to Frank Mir at UFC 81 (It's hard to believe that it was only a few months ago that Lesnar lost his first UFC fight and there were rumors the UFC was considering releasing him)

-Tank Abbott loses to Kimbo Slice at EliteXC: Street Certified (When you lose to Kimbo, it's time to hang them up)

-Bob Sapp loses to Jan Nortie at Strikeforce "At The Dome" (Really Sapp? REALLY)

---

March:


Fighter of the Month:



Anderson Silva

Silva had one thing to do in March....defeat Dan "Hollywood" Henderson to unify the PRIDE and UFC Middleweight Titles. Guess what? He accomplished his task and still looks unbeatable to this day.

---

3 Biggest News Stories of the Month:

World Victory Road's "Sengoku" Debuts: While the card was less-than-impressive, it was huge news that a new Japanese based MMA promotion was running it's first card.

Strikeforce Signs Deal With NBC: One month after EliteXC signs a deal with CBS, Strikeforce announces it has signed a deal with NBC! Two MMA companies on prime time television, and neither one of them are named "UFC". Wow...

Tim Sylvia Released From The UFC: And Sylvia is gone from the UFC. This surprised me because I personally thought Sylvia would be with the UFC for some time.

---

3 Biggest Wins of the Month:

-Anderson Silva over Dan Henderson at UFC 82 (Silva unifies the title!)

-Brian Stann over Doug Marshall at WEC 33 (Stann defeats Marshall for the WEC Light Heavyweight Title)

-Cung Le over Frank Shamrock at Strikeforce "Shamrock vs. Le" (Le defeats Shamrock for the Strikeforce Middleweight Title, and he hasn't defended it yet)

3 Biggest Losses of the Month:

-Cheick Kongo loses to Heath Herring at UFC 82 (Bummer deal for Kongo, he was on a roll)

-Frank Shamrock loses to Cung Le at Strikeforce "Shamrock vs. Le" (In my opinion, Shamrock needs to rematch Le and prove to the world that he can beat him)

-Doug Marshall loses to Brian Stann at WEC 33 (It's never a good deal when you lose your title in your first defense)



April:


Fighter of the Month:



Georges St. Pierre

St. Pierre was defeated by Matt Serra in 2007. However, GSP learned from that defeat and came back stronger than ever when he defeated Serra to regain his title at UFC 83.

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3 Biggest News Stories of the Month:

YAMMA Pit Fighting Debuts: Why was this such huge news? Probably because of how awful it was. Seriously....horrendous.

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia Officially Announced: And we had the beginning of the Affliction promotion starting....

UFC Releases Travis Lutter, Kalib Starnes, and Joe Doerksen: The UFC had good reason for releasing each fighter. Lutter and Starnes were coming off horrible performances and Doerksen was on a losing streak.

---

3 Biggest Wins of the Month:

-Georges St. Pierre over Matt Serra at UFC 83 (GSP regains his title!)

-Thiago Alves over Karo Parisyan at UFC Fight Night 13 (Alves streak continues.....)

-Gegard Mousasi over Denis Kang at DREAM 2 (HUGE upset for Mousasi!)

3 Biggest Losses of the Month:

-Denis Kang loses to Gegard Mousasi at DREAM 2 (At the time of the fight, Kang was considered a huge favorite.)

-Kalib Starnes loses to Nate Quarry at UFC 83 (Quarry chases Starnes around the ring, mocking him in hilarious fashion. Starnes is then fired by the UFC for being a chicken shit.)

-Gesias Cavalcante loses to Shinya Aoki at DREAM 2 ("JZ" was widely considered the #1 lightweight in the world at the time of this fight)

---

May:


Fighter of the Month:



BJ Penn

Penn defeated Sean Sherk and OFFICIALLY became the UFC Lightweight Champion. I say "OFFICIALLY" because Sherk was the previous champion who had been stripped of the title. Penn himself didn't really classify himself as champion until he defeated Sherk.

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3 Biggest News Stories of the Month:

EliteXC Debuts on CBS - If I really have to explain why this was one of the biggest news stories of the month, then you sir are not truly a hardcore MMA fan. It was the first LIVE show on prime time television. Whether you hate EliteXC or not, this was a huge moment in MMA history.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira & Frank Mir Announced As Coaches On "The Ultimate Fighter": A lot of people, me included, were disappointed with this selection. Mostly because it involved Frank Mir. All I can say is, wow...how wrong were we?

Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring Confirmed For UFC 87: And the beginning of Lesnar's dominance in the UFC begins...

---

3 Biggest Wins of the Month:

-BJ Penn over Sean Sherk at UFC 84 (Penn defeated the previous champ and crowned himself the top lightweight in MMA!)

-Caol Uno over Mitsuhiro Ishida at DREAM 3 (This was a huge upset, believe me)

-Wanderlei Silva over Keith Jardine at UFC 84 (Very explosive KO win for Silva)

3 Biggest Losses of the Month:

-Mitsuhiro Ishida loses to Caol Uno at DREAM 3 (Like I said before, huge upset)

-Keith Jardine loses to Wanderlei Silva at UFC 84 (Jardine was on a roll with his win over Liddell but failed to beat the man who just lost to Liddell)

-Tito Ortiz loses to Lyoto Machida at UFC 84 (This loss sent Ortiz right out of the UFC and he REALLY needed it for contract bargaining reasons)

---

June:


Fighter of the Month:



Thiago Alves

Alves defeat Matt Hughes in what many would consider a "major upset". Not only did he beat Hughes, but it was a pretty brutal KO as well.

---

3 Biggest News Stories of the Month:

Andrei Arlovski Signs With Affliction: Huge signing for Affliction! Especially once we learned that Dana White never wanted to lose Arlovski in the first place.

Rashad Evans vs. Chuck Liddell Booked For UFC 88 in September: 411mania broke this story, and it was the fight that led Evans to the UFC Light Heavyweight Title.

UFC Announces Special "Fight Night" Show To Counter Affliction's "Banned" PPV: Everyone remembers the "HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT!!" promised by the UFC months back. There were rumors such as Floyd Mayweather to the UFC, Fedor signing with the UFC, etc etc. In the end, the huge announcement was a Fight Night special on Spike headlined by Anderson Silva to counter Affliction's "Banned" PPV.

---

3 Biggest Wins of the Month:

-Thiago Alves over Matt Hughes at UFC 85 (Well, duh!)

-Urijah Faber over Jens Pulver at WEC 34 (Great fight and a huge win for Faber)

-Josh Thomson over Gilbert Melendez at Strikeforce "Melendez vs. Thomson" (Thomson defeated Melendez for the Strikeforce Lightweight Title)

---

3 Biggest Losses of the Month:

-Matt Hughes loses to Thiago Alves at UFC 85 (This fight may have proved that Hughes doesn't have what it takes to hang with the top talent anymore)

-Nathan Marquardt loses to Thales Leites at UFC 85 (Perhaps if Marquardt was victorious over Leites here, he would be rematching Anderson Silva in 2009)

-Gilbert Melendez loses to Josh Thomson at Strikeforce "Melendez vs. Thomson" (Melendez was considered a top 5 lightweight before this loss)

---

July:


Fighter of the Month:



Forrest Griffin

Griffin's dream came true when he defeated Quinton "Rampage" Jackson for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title at UFC 86. It may not have been the most impressive win, but it was a big win!

---

3 Biggest News Stories of the Month:

UFC Announces BJ Penn vs. Winner of GSP/Jon Fitch: The UFC announced the UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn would return to the UFC's welterweight division and would face the winner of the GSP/Fitch fight at UFC 87. As we all know, GSP won that fight and we are all now anticipating GSP vs. Penn at UFC 94 on January 31.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson Loses His Title And Then His Mind: We all know this story...no reason to reflect on it.

EliteXC Holds Second CBS Special: EliteXC helds it's second CBS special, and the show was loved by MMA fans...yet the ratings stunk.

---

3 Biggest Wins of the Month:

-Forrest Griffin over Quinton Jackson at UFC 86 (See what I said above about this fight)

-Joachim Hansen over Shinya Aoki at DREAM 5 (Hansen came in as an alternate in the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix and ended up winning the whole thing. Good for him)

-Fedor Emelianenko over Tim Sylvia at Affliction "Banned" (Fedor chokes out Sylvia to capture the WAMMA Heavyweight Title and in the process becomes more of a "name" amongst the American mainstream fans)

3 Biggest Losses of the Month:

-Quinton Jackson loses to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86 (This loss sent "Rampage" over the edge as previously mentioned)

-Ricardo Almeida loses Patrick Cote at UFC 86 (I have been impressed with Almeida's comeback to the UFC and this was a bummer deal for him)

-Anthony Johnson loses to Kevin Burns at UFC Fight Night 14 (Of course Johnson lost to Burns via "eyepoke KO". All was not lost though because we saw what would happen in the rematch later in the year)

---

August:


Fighter of the Month:



Georges St. Pierre

GSP was able to defeat his #1 contender, Jon Fitch, in a five-round war. Not only was GSP able to retain his title, but he was able to become the first fighter to defeat Fitch in the UFC.

---

3 Biggest News Stories of the Month:

Tito Ortiz Signs With Affliction.....Oh Wait, Nevermind: Sports Illustrated reported online that Tito Ortiz had signed with Affliction and was set to become the highest paid MMA fighter ever. Of course that report was a little rushed, because it wasn't true. They came close but contract issues with the UFC terminated all talk between the two sides.

KJ Noons/EliteXC Drama: The KJ Noons/EliteXC drama really started in August. EliteXC wanted Noons to have a rematch with Nick Diaz, yet Noons was not happy with the pay. It all ended with Noons being stripped of his EliteXC Lightweight Title and we haven't seen the guy since.

EliteXC Announces Ken Shamrock vs. Kimbo Slice as Main Event on Next CBS Special: And it's the beginning of the end.....

---

3 Biggest Wins of the Month:

-Georges St. Pierre over Jon Fitch at UFC 87 (St. Pierre defeats his #1 contender as mentioned)

-Brock Lesnar over Heath Herring at UFC 87 (Lesnar shocks the MMA world and defeats Herring in a unanimous-decision battle)

-Steve Cantwell over Brian Stann at WEC 35 (Cantwell defeats Stann to become the new WEC Light Heavyweight Champ)

3 Biggest Losses of the Month:

-Jon Fitch loses to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 87 (Not only did Fitch lose his shot at the UFC Welterweight Title with a loss to GSP, but the loss also ended his 8-fight win streak in the UFC)

-Roger Huerta loses to Kenny Florian at UFC 87 (Speaking of guys who DIDN'T need a loss. Huerta was having contract issues with the UFC at the time and really needed a win to back up his mouth)

-Brian Stann loses to Steve Cantwell at WEC 35 (In Stann's first title defense, he loses the title. Yikes)

---

September:


Fighter of the Month:



Rashad Evans

Evans made HUGE waves in the MMA world in the month of September. Evans defeated Chuck Liddell with a vicious KO that made people all over the world pop some Tylenol. The win also made Evans the #1 contender to the UFC Light Heavyweight Title.

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3 Biggest News Stories of the Month:

UFC Confirms Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Couture For UFC 91: In news that broke my heart (UFC 91 was prematurely scheduled to be held in my hometown of Portland, Oregon) the UFC announced that Randy Couture was returning to the company and would face Brock Lesnar for the UFC Heavyweight Title in November. My how things change over the course of a few months.

Evan Tanner Found Dead: Huge loss for MMA and a huge loss for the Tanner family in general. Still depressing to talk about to this day.

Affliction Cancels "Day Of Reckoning" In October: Wow. Just months after a successful PPV debut with "Banned", Affliction was forced to cancel it's "Day Of Reckoning" PPV due to low ticket sales. I guess the demand for some FEDOR EMELIANENKO was too much.

---

3 Biggest Wins of the Month:

-Rashad Evans over Chuck Liddell at UFC 88 (As mentioned above, a highlight KO is always a good thing)

-Gegard Mousasi over Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza at DREAM 6 (Mousasi defeated Jacare to win the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix. That, and he sky rocketed up the middleweight ladder)

-Rich Franklin over Matt Hamill at UFC 88 (Franklin showed that he still has it, no matter what weight class)

3 Biggest Losses of the Month:

-Chuck Liddell loses to Rashad Evans at UFC 88 (Liddell was one fighter who didn't need a loss)

-Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza loses to Gegard Mousasi at DREAM 6 (Souza lost in the finals of the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix. You tell me that isn't a huge loss!)

-Jason Lambert loses to Jason MacDonald at UFC 88 (Lambert loses and finds himself out of the UFC. Beautiful!)

---

October:


Fighter of the Month:



Thiago Alves

I'm giving this award to Alves because after seeing Koscheck destroy Yoshiyuki Yoshida in December, his loss to Alves make "The Pitbull" look THAT much better.

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3 Biggest News Stories of the Month:

EliteXC Goes Out Of Business: Just weeks after the third and final CBS special for EliteXC, the company folded. What happened exactly? Most of the blame falls on the head of Kimbo Slice. His main event fight with Ken Shamrock was canceled and he took a fight against a fighter that he knew nothing about, but was heavily favored over Slice. Not a wise business move by either EliteXC or Slice.

Anderson Silva Plans To Retire Soon: It was revealed during the month of October that UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva had intentions on retiring when he reached the age of 35. Rumors are rampant that Silva wants to give professional boxing a go, but we should all just sit around and see what happens. You can't trust rumors.

Affliction Announces "Day Of Reckoning" Will Go Down In 2009: So Affliction canceled the show in September, but in October they announced the show would go down in 2009.

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3 Biggest Wins of the Month:

-Anderson Silva over Patrick Cote at UFC 90 (Silva successfully defends his title and continues his dominance in the UFC)

-Thiago Alves over Josh Koscheck at UFC 90 (Alves continued his hot streak in 2008 by defeating Koscheck in a great fight)

-Seth Petruzelli over Kimbo Slice at EliteXC "Heat" (Don't think this win was huge? One fight could have killed an entire company)

3 Biggest Losses of the Month:

-Kimbo Slice loses to Seth Petruzelli at EliteXC "Heat" (Man oh man, if there was ONE person EliteXC couldn't afford to have lose a fight.....it was Kimbo)

-Fabricio Werdum loses to Junior dos Santos at UFC 90 (After the fight Werdum is out of the UFC and dos Santos is considered a top prospect in the UFC's heavyweight division. How the world turns....)

-Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou loses to Luis Cane at UFC 89 (This loss to Cane sent Sokoudjou right out of the UFC and made lots of people cry....me included)

---

November:


Fighter of the Month:



Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar surprised the world (well, at least me) with his huge win over Randy Couture at UFC 91 for the UFC Heavyweight Title. Not only that, but Lesnar became possibly the biggest name in PPV with that win.

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3 Biggest News Stories of the Month:

UFC Releases Jon Fitch.....Or Do They?: What drama this story was. Most of us went to bed one day, went to work, and came home to read "Jon Fitch Back With UFC" only to go...."I DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS GONE???"! What a 24 hour deal it was for Fitch and the UFC. Not only did this almost lead to the release of Fitch, but it almost lead to the release of Josh Koscheck, Cain Velasquez, and others.

Zuffa Releases Paulo Filho: Man, what a month it was for Paulo Filho. Before his fight with Chael Sonnen at WEC 36, Filho was hoping to join the UFC and show the world why he was widely considered the #2 middleweight in the world. Then the fight with Sonnen went down and WOW! You want to know the end result? Filho doesn't join the UFC because Zuffa releases him and sends him packing. We haven't heard a peep from Filho since.

Chris Leben Fails Drug Test: Big surprise here as Leben was looking JACKED in his fight against Bisping. He will be out nine months...SAY IT AIN'T SO LEBEN, SAY IT AIN'T SO!!!

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3 Biggest Wins of the Month:

-Brock Lesnar over Randy Couture at UFC 91 (As previously mentioned, Lesnar is a beast right now in MMA)

-Mike Brown over Urijah Faber at WEC 36 (Huge win for Brown here. Not only did he become the new WEC Featherweight Champion but he became the #1 featherweight in the World in a lot of people's eyes)

-Jorge Santiago over Kazuhiro Nakumura at Sengoku 7 (Santiago is on a roll right now and I can see a comeback to the UFC in 2009)

3 Biggest Losses of the Month:

-Paulo Filho loses to Chael Sonnen at WEC 36 (Not only did this loss cause Filho to lose his WEC Middleweight Title, but he pretty much dropped out of everyone's top 10 rankings, and lost his chance at glory in the UFC. OUCH!)

-Takanori Gomi loses to Sergey Golyaev at Sengoku 7 (There is no explanation for this loss. Gomi was a HUGE favorite and loses via decision to Golyaev. How does World Victory Road repay him? With a shot at becoming the first Sengoku Lightweight Champion)

-Jorge Gurgel loses to Aaron Riley at UFC 91 (And it's BYE BYE Gurgel from the UFC)

---

December:


Fighter of the Month:



Frank Mir

While both title wins at UFC 92 were impressive (Evans over Griffin, Mir over Nog), I have to give the advantage to Mir here based on the fact that his win was considered a bigger upset. Mir dominated Nog the whole fight and has now made the world beg in anticipation of a Mir/Lesnar rematch in 2009. What a year for Frank Mir.

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3 Biggest News Stories of the Month:

Justin Levens Murder-Suicide: To some it resembled the Chris Benoit/WWE murder suicide from 2007. It was a horrible story and one that people are still trying to piece together.

Justin Eilers Murdered: Another horrible story for MMA in December. Eilers was murdered on Christmas day after a domestic dispute with his mother's boyfriend. Tragic news....

Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites Likely For UFC Show In April: Can Thales Leites become the first man to stop Anderson Silva in the UFC? Highly unlikely, but hopefully a Silva victory will lead up to a potential Silva vs. GSP "super fight" for the end of the summer.

---

3 Biggest Wins of the Month:

-Shinya Aoki over Eddie Alvarez at FEG FieLDS Dynamite!! 2008 (Huge win for Aoki here. Alvarez was on a roll coming into this fight and Aoki defeated him quickly to become the first ever WAMMA Lightweight Champion)

-Rashad Evans over Forrest Griffin at UFC 92 (And Evans not only becomes the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, but he becomes the #1 light heavyweight in the world in a lot of people's eyes)

-Frank Mir over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92 (Don't believe this one was considered a huge upset? Mir himself said even he didn't think he could beat Nogueira. NOW tell me this one wasn't a HUGE upset!)

3 Biggest Losses of the Month:

-Wanderlei Silva loses to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 92 (Silva not only lost the fight against Jackson, but he probably blew a potential rematch with Chuck Liddell in the process)

-Mark Hunt loses to Melvin Manhoef at FEG FieLDS Dynamite!! 2008 (Manhoef took this fight on literally HOURS notice. Not only that, but Manhoef is a middleweight and Hunt is a heavyweight. It didn't matter as it only took Manhoef 18 seconds to knock Hunt out)

-Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira loses to Frank Mir at UFC 92 (Nogueira not only loses his UFC Interim Heavyweight Title, but he also loses the chance for a big pay day against Brock Lesnar in 2009)

---

The Ultimate Writer Year-End Awards

These of course are my PERSONAL awards. If you don't agree with them, who cares. That's why they are MY awards.

2008 Upset Of The Year

Runner Ups:

3. Thiago Alves over Matt Hughes at UFC 85
2. Mike Brown over Urijah Faber at WEC 36
1. Rashad Evans over Chuck Liddell at UFC 88


Winner: Frank Mir over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira - UFC 92 "Ultimate 2008" - December 27, 2008

Perhaps it's because this fight JUST happened, but if you would have told me a year ago that Frank Mir would be the first guy to ever finish Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira....I would have laughed at you and probably slapped you. However, it's true. Mir was able to do something that not even Fedor Emelianenko could do (and he tried twice!), and that was finish Nogueira. Talk about a huge upset. This fight wasn't even listed when I did my original nominations because I wasn't even considering it. That's how huge of an upset it truly was....

2008 Card Of The Year

Runner Ups:

3. Affliction "Banned"
2. DREAM 3
1. UFC 84


Winner: UFC 92 "Ultimate 2008"

Once again, perhaps I'm still on a high from this show...but I loved every minute of it! We had upsets galore, great fights, great KO's, and basically everything you could ask for on an MMA card besides an awesome submission finish. It was a tremendous effort by the UFC and a card that I could watch again in a second.

2008 Story Of The Year

Runner Ups:

3. Death of Evan Tanner
2. Debut of Affliction
1. Rise of Brock Lesnar


Winner: EliteXC Debuts On CBS, Then Folds

2008 was full of great stories. You had the debut of Affliction, Strikeforce debuting on NBC, the Randy Couture/Fedor Emelianenko/UFC drama, & the horrible death of Evan Tanner. But in the end, you have to give the nod to EliteXC. I believe, when people think 2008 MMA, they will think Kimbo Slice & EliteXC. EliteXC became the first MMA promotion to showcase a live MMA show on broadcast television in the United States. They pimped Kimbo Slice to be the next "Fedor", and that's what eventually bit them in the ass. Their cash prize was knocked out by a guy who couldn't even win "The Ultimate Fighter". By the end of 2008, EliteXC was out of business and trying to sell what was left of the company off. Will EliteXC return in 2009? I highly doubt it, but if Kimbo has his way....it just might.

2008 Promotion Of The Year

Runner Ups:

3. EliteXC
2. Affliction
1. Strikeforce


Winner: UFC:

Was there ever any doubt? While it looked like the UFC may be getting competition from EliteXC that didn't happen. Affliction looked promising until their fighter salary information was released. Strikeforce is a great little promotion, but that's exactly their problem...they are still considered "little". DREAM and World Victory Road continue to make progress in Japan, but haven't exactly set the world on fire. And of course we would all be better off if we just didn't discuss YAMMA Pit Fighting. UFC is the #1 promotion in the world, and it was the #1 promotion in 2008.

2008 Knockout Of The Year

Runner Ups:

3. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson over Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92
2. Thiago Silva over Matt Hughes at UFC 85
1. Josh Koscheck over Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC Fights For The Troops


Winner: Rashad Evans KO's Chuck Liddell at UFC 88

This could be one of those moments I remember for the rest of my life. I remember thinking "Man, Rashad could be in for a long night thanks to the sprawling abilities of one Chuck Liddell". Man, was I humbled. Rashad came out and stood up with Liddell and ended up with the KO OF THE YEAR in my opinion. Trust me. You will see this KO on highlight reels for years to come.

2008 Submission Of The Year

Runner Ups:

3. Demian Maia over Ed Herman via triangle choke at UFC 83
2. Ricardo Almeida over Rob Yundt via guillotine at UFC 81
1. Dustin Hazelett over Josh Burkman via armbar at Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale


Winner: Shinya Aoki over Katsuhiko Nagata via gogoplata at DREAM 4

This wasn't the flashiest submission like Hazelett over Burkman, but watching Aoki's gogoplata from top mount on Nagata is a thing of beauty. I remember hearing about it the next day and having to track down a clip just to see the submission for myself. It truly is a thing of beauty and it's a crime that we may never see Aoki fight in the UFC.

2008 Most Improved Fighter Of The Year

Runner Ups:

3. Thiago Alves
2. Kenny Florian
1. Brock Lesnar


Winner: Frank Mir

Talk about a guy who nobody gave a chance to anymore. At the beginning of 2008 Frank Mir was all but a memory for most MMA fans. Now here it is, the beginning of 2009 and Frank Mir is the UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion and is widely considered a top 10 heavyweight fighter again. 2008 was great for Mir and he looks dangerous once again.

2008 Fight Of The Year

Runner Ups:

3. Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch at UFC 87
2. Miguel Torres vs. Yoshiro Maeda at WEC 34
1. Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver at WEC 34


Winner: Joachim Hansen vs. Eddie Alvarez at DREAM 3

What else can I say about this fight that already hasn't been said? If you haven't seen it, track it down! You will not be disappointed and you will thank me later.

2008 Fighter Of The Year

Runner Ups:

3. Gegard Mousasi
2. Anderson Silva
1. Frank Mir


Winner: Rashad Evans

Plenty of fighters had outstanding years, but I believe that "Sugar" Rashad ended up with the best year overall. Evans not only was able to defeat a UFC legend in Chuck Liddell, but he also beat Forrest Griffin in impressive fashion. Of course, a Forrest Griffin coming off wins over Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. So, if you throw out some technicalities...with his wins over Liddell and Griffin, Evans has defeated every top guy in the division basically. How is that NOT having a great year? Can "Sugar" Rashad top it off with a tremendous 2009? We shall see......

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"The Ultimate Writer" Predictions For 2009

Everybody loves predictions and the ones I did last year were actually not bad. I would say I hit about 80% of them so you may want to pay close attention to these predictions......

Rashad Evans will face Quinton "Rampage" Jackson sometime around May or June and defeat him. - Yes, yes, yes! I said it! Can you believe it? As much of a "Rampage-fanboy" as I truly am, I actually will predict that Evans will defeat him in 2009. Why? Because I have picked against Evans in his last 3 fights and I'm not doing that again until the man loses.

Bobby Lashley will sign with the UFC - Call me crazy, but I can see Lashley earning two more victories in MMA before the UFC decides to gamble on the guy. A Lashley/Lesnar fight could do huge numbers on PPV.

Denis Kang will make an impact in the UFC's Middleweight division and face Anderson Silva by year's end - If you know MMA then you know that the signing of Kang was huge for the UFC. I can see Kang earning two or three victories and perhaps facing Anderson Silva at the year end show for the UFC Middleweight Title.

Georges St. Pierre will defeat BJ Penn at UFC 94 and the UFC will listen to demands for a Anderson Silva/GSP fight - The UFC isn't stupid guys, they KNOW that this fight would sell. As much of a monster as Anderson Silva is, the man doesn't sell PPV's. GSP however, does. If Silva was able to defeat GSP, he would become a massive name amongst the mainstream MMA fans.

Gina Carano will face Cris "Cyborg" Santos on an Affliction PPV in the summer - This is one that HAS to happen. It was kind of weak of EliteXC to not capitalize on the amount of heat for this fight, but that's one reason they are no longer around. I can see the two women squaring off at an Affliction show possibly in July.

Randy Couture will fight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the fall - Couture will be out of action for awhile filming a movie and probably won't be back until the fall. The one fight that he has left in the UFC that everybody wants to see is him and Nog. I can see Nog fighting sometime in the spring or summer against someone like Antoni Hardonk and then facing off against Couture in the fall.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua will return to the top of the light heavyweight division - Once again, consider this one that I REALLY want to happen. I miss "Shogun" and I'm glad UFC 93 is just around the corner. I can't wait to see if he has returned to the "Shogun" of old. Hopefully Rua will fight 3-4 times this year and become a #1 contender to the UFC Light Heavyweight Title in 2010.

Tito Ortiz will return to the UFC - Call me crazy, but something tells me Ortiz misses fighting in the Octagon.

The UFC will release Wanderlei Silva, Joe Stevenson, Yushin Okami, & Matt Serra - Oh, don't get me wrong. The UFC will release a HELL of a lot more than that, but those are my predicted "big name releases/guys who want out" names. As for each fighter?

Silva: I can see the UFC scheduling a Silva/Liddell rematch with Liddell emerging the victor. That would then give Silva two straight losses in the UFC and he could find himself in Affliction.

Stevenson: Stevenson REALLY needs a win. If he loses to Diego Sanchez in February that would make him 1-3 in his last 4 fights. He could potentially be released if that happens.

Okami: I can see Okami fighting Silva for the UFC Middleweight Title, losing, and then the UFC releasing Okami...which sucks because Okami is a great fighter.

Serra: If Matt Hughes defeats Serra in 2009, what else is left for Matt Serra in the UFC??? Exactly.

The UFC will sign Gegard Mousasi, Robbie Lawler, Alistair Overeem, Jorge Santiago, Jake Shields, Eddie Alvarez, Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante, and Josh Thomson -

Here's an explanation for each fighter:

Mousasi: Probably a top 3 middleweight and could be an immediate contender to Anderson Silva

Lawler: Lawler has indicated that he would like to return to the UFC and the UFC seems to be willing to let that happen.

Overeem: There have been rumors that Overeem wants in the UFC and the UFC is always looking to expand it's heavyweight division.

Santiago: One of the most improved fighters in MMA right now. Santiago would make an interesting challenger to Anderson Silva.

Shields: Shields wants in the UFC and the UFC wants Shields. It's only a matter of time before contracts get worked out.

Alvarez: Alvarez will fight a few times on ESPN Deportes and then will decide to come to the UFC for the fame.

Cavalcante: One of the best lightweight fighters in MMA and pose an interesting challenge to BJ Penn.

Thomson: The Strikeforce Lightweight Champion has UFC star written all over him.

Affliction will struggle financially - Is this really much of a gamble? I just can't wait to see the fighter payroll for Affliction "Day Of Reckoning" in January.

Kurt Angle will continue to insist he's planning on fighting in MMA....yet won't compete in 2009 - This one is a given. I predicted the same thing last year and I was correct so I may as well gamble again.....

Predicted UFC Champions For The End Of 2009 - Here are the fighters I think will be holding the titles by the end of 2009. The only reason I'm doing this is because I want to be able to laugh at how wrong I was a year from now:

UFC Heavyweight Champion: Brock Lesnar (That's right, he's going to DOMINATE 2009!)

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion: Lyoto Machida (Let the hating begin....!)

UFC Middleweight Champion: Anderson Silva (I mean....c'mon now)

UFC Welterweight Champion: Georges St. Pierre (I just can't see him losing the title)

UFC Lightweight Champion: BJ Penn (I can't see anybody beating him in the lightweight division)

Now that I'm done with that, I noticed that I only have ONE title switching hands all year. While this probably won't happen it's just impossible to pick against Penn, GSP, Silva, or Lesnar right now.

Matt Hughes will retire and the UFC will induct him into the Hall-Of-Fame - What's left for Hughes to do in MMA besides bash Matt Serra's head in?

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Random Top 10 List Time!

Here you will see a random top 10 list put together by yours truly. It may be Top 10 submission fighters, Top 10 stand-up fighters, or hell, even Top 10 ways that Anderson Silva could kill you. Seriously, don't mess with that man. He's dangerous.

Top 10 Fighters Who Could Break Out In 2009: (Watch out for these guys in 2009.......)

ARE YOU READY?

(This list is in no particular order)


10. Gegard Mousasi - I can see Mousasi becoming more of a force in 2009 than he already is.

9. Shinya Aoki - He's coming off a very successful 2008 and will continue the momentum in 2009.

8. Jose Aldo - You may not know much about this WEC featherweight, but you may by year's end.

7. Demian Maia - I'd look for Maia to submit at least three more guys at some point this year.

6. Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante - If he can finally gets his hands on "Hellboy" Hansen, "JZ" may be in for a treat in 2009.

5. Diego Sanchez - Uh oh. Diego's a lightweight now. Watch out lightweight division.

4. Jake Shields - If Shields finally signs with the UFC, he could have a hell of a year.

3. Rich Franklin - Franklin could become a force in the UFC's light heavyweight division.

2. Denis Kang - Watch out UFC middleweight division......

1. Lyoto Machida - If he defeats Thiago Silva at UFC 94, he will get his shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Title.

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Current Champions:

This feature is pretty self explanatory. I list the current champions in each relevant promotion, and you guys sit and read. Easy enough for ya?



Brock Lesnar - UFC Heavyweight Champion

Won the title from Randy Couture back on November 15 at UFC 91.

Frank Mir - Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship

Won the title from Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira back on December 27, 2008 at UFC 92

Rashad Evans - UFC Light Heavyweight Champion

Won the title from Forrest Griffin back on December 27, 2008 at UFC 92

Anderson Silva - UFC Middleweight Champion

Won the title from Rich Franklin back on October 14, 2006 at UFC 64

Georges St. Pierre - UFC Welterweight Champion

Won the title from Matt Serra back on April 14, 2008 at UFC 83

BJ Penn - UFC Lightweight Champion

Won the title from Joe Stevenson back on January 19, 2008 at UFC 80



Alistair Overeem - Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion

Won the title from Paul Buentello back on November 16, 2007 at Strikeforce: Four Men Enter, One Man Survives

Renato "Babalu" Sobral - Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion

Won the title from Bobby Southworth back on November 21 at Strikeforce: Destruction

Cung Le - Strikeforce Middleweight World Champion

Won the title from Frank Shamrock back on March 29, 2008 at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le

Josh Thomson - Strikeforce Lightweight Champion

Won the title from Gilbert Melendez back on June 27, 2008 at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson



Gegard Mousasi - DREAM Middleweight Champion

Won the title from Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza back on September 23, 2008 at DREAM 6

Joachim Hansen - DREAM Lightweight Champion

Won the title from Shinya Aoki back on July 21, 2008 at DREAM 5



Carlos Condit - WEC Welterweight Champion

Won the title from Mike Pyle back on March 24, 2007 at WEC 26

Jamie Varner - WEC Lightweight Champion

Won the title from Rob McCullough back on February 13, 2008 at WEC 32

Mike Brown - WEC Featherweight Champion

Won the title from Urijah Faber back on November 5, 2008 at WEC 36

Miguel Torres - WEC Bantamweight Champion

Won the title from Chase Beebe back on February 13, 2008 at WEC 32



Fedor Emelianenko - WAMMA Heavyweight Champion

Won the title from Tim Sylvia back on July 19, 2008 at Affliction "Banned"

Shinya Aoki - WAMMA Lightweight Champion

Won the title from Eddie Alvarez back on December 31, 2008 at FEG FieLDS Dynamite!! 2008

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Upcoming Events:

Here are a few of the upcoming events in the wonderful world of MMA:



UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson - January 17 at The O2 in Dublin, Ireland

-Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson

-Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Mark Coleman
-Denis Kang vs. Alan Belcher
-Chris Lytle vs. Marcus Davis
-Rousimar Palhares vs. Jeremy Horn
-Martin Kampmann vs. Alexandre Barros
-Eric Schafer vs. Antonio Mendes
-Thomasz Drwal vs. Ivan Serati
-Nate Mohr vs. Dennis Siver
-John Hathaway vs. Tom Egan

Affliction: Day Of Reckoning - January 24 at The Honda Center in Anaheim, California

-Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski (WAMMA heavyweight title)
-Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel
-Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort
-Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Sokoudjou
-Dan Lauzon vs. Chris Horodecki
-Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
-Jay Hieron vs. Jason High
-Paul Buentello vs. Kiril Sidelnikov
-Antonio Duarte vs. Albert Rios
-Mark Hominick vs. L.C. Davis
-Brett Cooper vs. Patrick Speight

WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone - January 25 at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California)

-Jamie Varner vs. Donald Cerrone (WEC Lightweight Title)
-Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver
-Jose Aldo vs. Fredson Paixao
-Charlie Valencia vs. Seth Dikun
-Ed Ratcliff vs. Anthony Njokuani
-Blas Avena vs. Jesse Lennox
-Dominick Cruz vs. Ian McCall
-Hiromitsu Miura vs. Edgar Garcia
-Danillo Villefort vs. Mike Campbell
-Scott Jorgenson vs. Frank Gomez

UFC 94: St. Pierre vs. Penn - January 31 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada

-Georges St. Pierre vs. BJ Penn (UFC Welterweight Title)
-Lyoto Machida vs. Thiago Silva
-Stephan Bonnar vs. Jon Jones
-Karo Parisyan vs. Dong Hyun Kim
-Nate Diaz vs. Clay Guida
-Jon Fitch vs. Akihiro Gono
-Thiago Tavares vs. Manny Gamburyan
-Chris Wilson vs. John Howard
-Jake O'Brien vs. Christian Wellisch
-Matt Arroyo vs. Dan Cramer

UFC Fight Night 17 - February 7 at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida

-Hermes Franca vs. Joe Lauzon
-Mac Danzig vs. Josh Neer
-Amir Sadollah vs. Nick Cantone
-Cain Velasquez vs. Denis Stojnic
-Rich Clementi vs. Gleison Tibau
-Alessio Sakara vs. Jake Rosholt
-Rob Emerson vs. Kurt Pellegrino
-George Sotiropoulos vs. Matt Grice

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UFC Undisputed 2009 Update:



It's no secret that I'm a huge UFC and video game fan. I currently own an Xbox360 and a Wii, and will gladly take a PS3 if it's offered to me. With that out of the way, I can't WAIT for the upcoming UFC Undisputed 2009 video game. Therefore, "The Ultimate Writer" will be your headquarters for all the updates and news on the upcoming video game!

Will Be Released: Spring of 2009

Platform: Xbox360, PS3

Current Updates: Nothing new this week.

Current roster for UFC Undisputed 2009: (These are the confirmed fighters in the game thus far. The game is rumored to feature over 80 fighters.)

Heavyweight:
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Brock Lesnar
Randy Couture
Frank Mir

Light Heavyweight:
Forrest Griffin
Wanderlei Silva
Quinton Jackson
Chuck Liddell
Rashad Evans

Middleweight:
Anderson Silva
Amir Sadollah
Michael Bisping

Welterweight:
Georges St. Pierre
Jon Fitch
Matt Hughes

Lightweight:
BJ Penn
Roger Huerta
Kenny Florian
Joe Stevenson

UFC Legends:
Royce Gracie

Non-playable Characters:
Mike Goldberg
Joe Rogan
Bruce Buffer
Mario Yamasaki
"Stitch" Duran
Arianny Celeste
Juanito Ibarra

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Current 411mania.com MMA Rankings:

These are the current MMA rankings as voted on by the staff of 411mania.com. You can catch the updated version every Thursday on 411mania.com!

Heavyweight: (last voted on November 27, 2008)

1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
3. Andrei Arlovski
4. Josh Barnett
5. Brock Lesnar
6. Randy Couture
7. Gabriel Gonzaga
8. Alistair Overeem
9. Frank Mir
10. Tim Sylvia

Light Heavyweight: (last voted on December 11, 2008)

1. Forrest Griffin
2. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
3. Lyoto Machida
4. Rashad Evans
5. Wanderlei Silva
6. Thiago Silva
7. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
8. Keith Jardine
9. Chuck Liddell
10. Luis Cane
11. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
12. Rich Franklin
13. Vladimir Matyushenko
14. Tito Ortiz
15. Renato "Babalu" Sobral

Middleweight: (last voted on December 18, 2008)

1. Anderson Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Robbie Lawler
4. Yushin Okami
5. Matt Lindland
6. Gegard Mousasi
7. Nathan Marquardt
8. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza
9. Yoshihiro Akiyama
10. Denis Kang
11. Kazuo Misaki
12. Thales Leites
13. Frank Trigg
14. Michael Bisping
15. Demian Maia

Welterweight: (last voted on December 26, 2008)

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Thiago Alves
4. Jake Shields
5. Josh Koscheck
6. Carlos Condit
7. Matt Hughes
8. Mike Swick
9. Diego Sanchez
10. Marcus Davis
11. Dustin Hazelett
12. Matt Serra
13. Karo Parisyan
14. Brock Larson
15. Nick Diaz

Lightweight: (last voted on December 4, 2008)

1. BJ Penn
2. Shinya Aoki
3. Eddie Alvarez
4. Kenny Florian
5. Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante
6. Sean Sherk
7. Takanori Gomi
8. Josh Thomson
9. Gilbert Melendez
10. Joachim Hansen
11. Tatsuya Kawajiri
12. Mitsuhiro Ishida
13. Nate Diaz
14. Jamie Varner
15. Tyson Griffin

Pound For Pound: (last voted on December 30, 2008)

1. Anderson Silva
2. Fedor Emelianenko
3. Georges St. Pierre
4. BJ Penn
5. Miguel Torres
6. Lyoto Machida
7. Urijah Faber
8. Rashad Evans
9. Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto
10. Quinton Jackson
11. Eddie Alvarez
12. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
13. Kenny Florian
14. Forrest Griffin
15. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

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Thank you for joining me again for this wonderful column. I hope you continue to read every week and don't forget to check out the other wonderful columns here on 411mania.com, which is updated daily because that's how we roll.