The Sunday Sprawl 1.11.08: Volume 24 - My 2008 MMA Awards

Posted by Alex Mattis on 01.11.2009

This week we look at the highlights of 2008. The fights, the knockouts, and others. Come on in and review the huge year in MMA that was 2008!

Hello all and welcome back. Welcome to the year end edition of "The Sprawl." This week I'll be giving out the recognition to those who delivered the goods in 2008. We've got "Fight of the Year,""KO of the Year," and a smattering of others. Here's to hoping that '09 is as good as '08... LET'S GET DOWN TO IT!!!

Top Five Fights Of 2008

5: Nate Marquardt Vs. Thales Leites
I don't know why this fight doesn't get more love. It was an excellent back-and-forth contest between to very talented middleweights. I understand that the questionable ending could have put a somewhat souring effect on the fight, but what happened from bell to bell was great. Leites dropped Nate, Nate worked his way back, Leites got off some more offense, then to close out the bout Nate pulled off a piledriver on Thales that brought back memories of Sapp-Nog. If you haven't seen this fight I highly recommend it as I feel it was the great fight that got lost in the mix in 2008.

4: Forrest Griffin Vs. Rampage Jackson
Nothin' like a little drama to help build a fight. During the Team Forrest Vs. Team Rampage season of TUF fans waited for the inevitable clash between Griffin and Jackson. Throughout the season hell breaking loose lingered in the air but nothing outside of some verbal taunting went down. The season ended and it was time for the showdown. For the record I gave Forrest no chance in this fight, I thought Rampage was going to steamroll through him... again... WRONG. The first round went as I expected it to go with Rampage headhunting and dropping Griffin. 2nd round Forrest took over; brutal leg kicks and completely schooled Jackson on the ground. More back and forth action as the fight progressed but nearing the 25 minute mark I knew that Forrest had won it. This fight surpassed all the hype that surrounded it and instantly became a classic.

3: Joachim Hansen Vs. Eddie Alverez
Just a good ol' fashion brawl here. Alverez has been turning heads and rising through the ranks little by little for the majority of his career, and the always game Hansen had looked as if he rejuvenated his career and proved to be one of the top 155er's in the world. So when these two were set to collide, people knew to expect fireworks. Well this stand-up war gave us just that. Alverez won a decision here but both men should be heralded for the performances they gave in one of the year's top fights.

2: Urijah Faber Vs. Jens Pulver
I saw this fight on TV while I was in Vegas for my birthday. Being the big spender that I am I threw 20 bones down on Fabie for this fight and come the second round I didn't care about my 20 double cheeseburgers anymore because I was getting my moneys worth with this fight. I kept thinking "I can't believe what a war this has turned out to be." I expect Faber to wreck Jens with ease but that wasn't the case at all. Pulver took all that was thrown at him and kept coming. The 2nd round of this fight was astounding. For sure one of the most exciting fights of 2008 and was a perfect main event for the stellar WEC 34 card.

1: Frank Shamrock Vs. Cung Le
Strikeforce hyped their balls off for this fight to the point where I was saying it couldn't live up to it. Well like someone who actually gave Tim Sylvia a chance against Fedor, I was wrong. All the doubts about Cung Le were answered in the first 2 rounds of this middleweight title fight. He controlled Frank; Frank still got some offense off but was pretty much dominated. Then came Round 3. I consider this to be one of the best rounds of MMA I've ever seen. Toward the end of the round Frank rocked Le with a hellacious blow and shit got wild and crazy. Frank went in for the kill but was caught with an enormous head kick, he seemed to shuck off, that back up Shamrock right before the horn sounded. Instantly Frank fell to the mat in pain and it was later found out that his arm was broken when he attempted to block the head kick. It was a great dramatic ending to the most dramatic and exciting fight of 2008. This is one of those fights that I could watch over and over again.

Top Three Knock Out's Of 2008

3: Jeremey Stephens Brings Home an extra 60K
I've been following Jeremey since his UFC debut at UFC 71. I've just been drawn to him for some reason. He brings a raw brand of energy and excitement to his fights. Even in his losing efforts his fights have been a joy to watch. So going into UFC 91 I just hoped the UFC would find time to put his prelim fight on the main show. Well they did... and I'm sure they're damn glad they did. Jeremey seemed to be in the whole during his fight with Rafael dos Anjos, it was a pretty competitive fight but I had dos Anjos ahead on the scorecard leading into round 3. Well Stephens said "fuck it" came out, stormed his opponent and landed the most devastating/effective uppercut I've seen in MMA. After a few more brutal shots the fight was stopped and UFC 91 had its "Knockout of the Night."

2: Rampage Exercises The Demon
For years Quinton Jackson was haunted by the two crushing defeats he suffered in PRIDE to Wanderlei Silva. After their second fight their careers went in separate directions. Wanderlei with his shaky road and Rampage reaching the top of the 205 ladder, but the losses to Wand were always reflected upon and mentioned. Well their paths crossed once again. This was an incredibly important fight for both men's careers and was going to prove what each had left. Well it didn't take to long to answer any questions because within round 1 Rampage leveled Wand with a huge hook and put his ass to sleep. An absolutely devastating blow, much like the one that took out Chuck Liddell in 2007. Rampage was finally able to fend off the ghost from his past and earn himself one of the greatest KO's of 2008.

1: Evans KO's Liddell
This is still hard to think about for me. Iceman fans don't come much bigger than me and this was a devastating loss, but Jesus you'd be crazy to not award that cocky sumbitch Rashad Evans KO of the year. In what was a rather highly anticipated fight; not much happened up until that overhand-right from hell. It was one of the hardest punches I've ever seen landed. "I think it broke his neck!" my buddy exclaimed following the stop of the fight. Chuck can take some shots and had never been knocked out cold, so this proved that Rashad's striking is to be feared. This earned Evans a crack at the light heavyweight title, which he won, solidifying his spot of one of the top fighters of 2008.


The Other Sprawl Awards!!!
Things that happened in MMA in 2008 that deserves recognition...

Bloodiest Fight Of The Year: BJ Penn Vs. Joe Stevenson
Not only did I find this to be the bloodiest fight of this year, it was the downright beatdown of the year. BJ Penn controlled this entire fight and absolutely brutalized Joe Stevenson leaving him in this state:


Upset Of The Year: Mike Brown dethrones Urijah Faber
Since I've been watching MMA I believe this to be the biggest upset I have witnessed. I expected Faber to destroy Brown, I saw Faber as a smaller, more chiseled, poon magnet, bro-dude version of Fedor. Someone who owned his whole division. Well when you're on top for so long you can get sloppy and think you can get away with some crazy shit. Well this fight should serve as proof that underestimating or taking a fight lightly can cost you everything. I know Faber will be an absolute monster upon his return and get his strap back, but for the time being give all the props in the world to Mike Brown the winner of "Upset of the Year."

Submission Of The Year: The Aoki-plata
Shinya Aoki has never been known as the most conventional fighter, but his unorthodox style has led him to many memorable victories and his win over Katsuhiko Nagata is no exception. For Christ's sake he came up with a new submission on the fly:

Dream 4 - Shinya Aoki vs Katsuhiko NagataUploaded by villleee

The "Greatest Thing I Saw In MMA In 2008" Award

fedor Emelianenko vs Tim.SylviaUploaded by chuteboxe57

I literally cannot get tired of seeing this...

Well that's it for my Year End Awards. Don't feel shy; leave your pick for Fight of the Year, KO of the Year, whatever you want.

Comeback next week for the final five of the Twenty Greatest Fighters in MMA history.

Remember feedback as always is welcome at [e-mail] or directly below.

Take care and I'll see you back here next week.

-Alex