411’s Fighter Of The Month: February

Posted by  on 03.02.2009

It was a relatively light month in the world of mixed-martial arts, but that left the field wide open for some fresh faces to make their mark in this month’s voting. Do you think you know who won Fighter of the Month? The answer might just surprise you…

It was a rare month with no major title fights and only a handful of events, and as a result the 411 MMA staff had plenty of interesting selections to make for February's Fighter of the Month. We've got some new staff members making picks this month, so things got pretty interesting.

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

Jeffrey Harris

1) Demian Maia
Pretty undeniable at this point. Maia's got a 10 record at this point, 8 of those coming by submission, and five straight submission victories in all five of his UFC fights. His BJJ is off the charts amazing, and easily submitted the uncrowned WEC Middleweight Champion, Chael Sonnen. People complain about Yushin Okami not getting a title shot against Anderson Silva, hello Demian Maia.

2) Cain Velasquez - The dude's got it, plain and simple. Velasquez is a top NCAA wrestler, but he proved he had more than one dimension in his last fight against Denis Stojnic at Fight Night 17. His stand up and muay thai looked sick, slick, and deadly. That puts him 3-0 in the UFC. His next challenge is against heavyweight journeyman, Heath Herring. A possible win over seemingly perpetual gatekeeper, Herring, would definitely put Velasquez in title contention. People can say the UFC Heavyweight Division is dead, but that sounds ridiculous when you look at rising stars like Cain Velasquez and Shane Carwin.
3) Diego Sanchez - Sanchez has now dropped down two weight classes to a crowded welterweight division, but kept his composure and scored an impressive victory over TUF 2 winner, Joe Stevenson. Having won his last three fights in the UFC, Diego now has to try and define his place in such a crowded division with a champion who by the time he defends his belt will not have defended it in over a year.
4) Anthony Johnson - He liberated his heinous and unjust loss to Kevin Burns in December, and less than two months later got another win over Luigi Fioravanti, effectively ending that man's tenure in the UFC. Johnson has proven himself to be a strong knockout artist, as all four of his UFC wins ended via knockout or TKO. Johnson's presence in the welterweight division creates a lot of interesting possibilities, and he could be a couple wins away from a shot at the UFC Welterweight Championship.
5) Nate Marquardt - He rebounded nicely from the loss to Thales Leites nicely with two dominant, TKO victories over Martin Kampann and Wilson Gouveia. His stand-up and striking is looking very strong these days. He claims that he's not the same fighter that lost to Anderson Silva in 2007. That said, Marquardt still doesn't deserve a title shot right now. His poor conduct in how he almost murdered and broke the neck of Thales Leites should also make him wait longer if he continues to win fights. Has he even ever owned up to that despicable, rule-breaking act?

Scott Kuzcowski

1) Demian Maia
Maia closed down a very tough Chael Sonnen with relative ease and continued his perfect streak in the UFC. Though his standup game is still MIA, Maia will probably get a shot at Anderson Silva before the year closes.

2) Nate Marquardt - Nate continued his climb towards a rematch with Anderson Silva with an impressive victory over Wilson Gouveia. Nate will probably have to win one more before he gets another shot at Silva, perhaps over Maia or Henderson.
3) Cain Velasquez - Cain has established himself as a force to be dealt with in the UFC heavyweight division. His victory over Stojnic was impressive and I can't wait to see him do battle with Heath Herring.
4) Anthony Johnson - "Rumble" defeated Fioravanti in the first round with relative ease and looks to continue his climb up the welterweight ranks.
5) Diego Sanchez - His first fight at lightweight might not have been pretty, but it got the job done against a very game Joe Stevenson.

Jonathan Solomon

1) Demian Maia
The suplex/takedown into the submission looked like it came straight out of a textbook. Maia just better hope he doesn't fight any strong strikers with great takedown defense. Otherwise, the road to Silva continues.

2) Paulo Thiago - Talk about an upset. Koscheck may have overlooked the undefeated UFC newcomer but there is nothing you can say other than the guy was caught. What makes it funny is the fact that Joe Rogan was trashing Thiago's striking ability just as he landed the big punch.
3) Mike Easton - Despite being disrespected by Chase Bebee who didn't show up, he submitted Justin Robbins to become the first UWC Bantamweight Champion. Easton is one of the top prospects on the east coast so remember the name.
4) Diego Sanchez - Despite not being able to finish Joe Stevenson (or ever coming close, for that matter), Sanchez had a successful debut as a member of the lightweight division. His eyes are set on B.J. Penn and who am I to say he couldn't beat him?
5) Danny Babcock - I want to use this spot to talk about Babcock, a Florida-area fighter who lost a unanimous decision to Frank Trigg earlier this month. The issue though was that unknown to doctors or himself, Babcock went into the fight with the MRSA infection. The serious disease can be deadly if not treated but thankfully, doctor's finally discovered it, treated him after the fight and were able to discharge him the last I read. Hopefully Babcock can make a full recovery.

Jeremy Lambert

1) Nate Marquardt
Had one of the most spectacular finishing sequences in recent memory against a guy who hardcore fans considered one of the best Middleweights in the world. Came off looking like a legit threat to Anderson Silva and showed his all around skills.

2) Demian Maia - Easily submitted and even out wrestled a very good wrestler in Chael Sonnen. Another guy who came off looking like a threat to Silva, especially with his world class jiu-jitsu skills.
3) Paulo Thiago - Knocked out one of the top Welterweights in the world just moments after Joe Rogan criticized his stand up game.
4) Joe Lauzon - Turned in an impressive performance against Jeremy Stephens and submitted him with a beautiful armbar. Plus his back and forth with Hermes Franca on the message boards was good stuff as well.
5) Ken Shamrock - Won his first fight since the middle of 2004. Someone show this guy some type of love.

Daniel Plunkett

1) Demian Maia
Maia continued to show his incredible ability on the ground by submitting Chael Sonnen. With the win, he cemented himself as a legitimate title contender and one of the best middleweights in the sport.

2) Nate Marquardt - Marquardt moved one step closer to a rematch against Anderson Silva with his spectacular TKO win over Wilson Gouveia at UFC 95.
3) Paulo Thiago - Knocked out one of the best welterweights in the game, fluke or not, he deserves a spot.
4) Anthony Johnson - Anthony Johnson is going to be good, very good.
5) Diego Sanchez - Diego became a "nightmare" to a lot of lightweights with his win over Joe Stevenson.

Samer Kadi

1) Demian Maia
Makes it look easy everytime he steps inside the Octagon. That was one of the smoothest submissions in recent memory. While he still needs to work on his striking, the fact is the guy is winning fights and making his opponents look like amateurs in the process. He has gained many fans and looks ready for a title shot.

2) Nate Marquardt - I thought that was the most impressive performance of his career. That finish was a thing of beauty. I believe Marquardt when he said he's not the same guy who first fought Anderson Silva. Will the "new" Nate have what it takes to dethrone The Spider? Doubtful, but he has a chance. He's very well rounded and trains with the best camp in all of MMA.
3) Diego Sanchez - Made his Lightweight debut and came out victorious. I would have ranked him higher except it wasn't the dominating performance he needed to have in order to serve notice. As it stands, he looked good enough and should be a force in the 155 division.
4) Paulo Thiago - Made his UFC debut by knocking out top 5 welterweight Josh Koscheck. He's now in the Junior Dos Santos phase.
5) Joe Lauzon - Looked extremely impressive in his fight against Jeremy Stephens. Unfortunately for him, he's having surgery and looks to be out for over a year.

Larry Csonka

1) Demian Maia
Maia's destruction of former WEC standout Chael Sonnen is another example of why this man should be the next man to get a shot at Silva, in my opinion anyway. He has been dominant, finishes fights and is exciting. GIVE THIS MAN A TITLE SHOT!

2) Cain Velasquez - Cain Velasquez moves to 3-0 in the UFC and has looked impressive in each and every bout. He is one of the future stars of the UFC Heavyweight division to be sure.
3) Paulo Thiago - Scored a HUGE victory over Koscheck in his UFC debut to send a message that he is for real.
4) Anthony Johnson - Rumble Johnson is quickly becoming a force at welterweight with another impressive victory.
5) Nate Marquardt - Marquardt is looking for another title shot, and his most recent victory gets him a step closer.

Adam Tool

1) Demian Maia
He's the man being pegged by some as the guy that could beat Anderson Silva, and with his win over Chael Sonnen, Maia moves one step closer to getting his shot. In my opinion, he is unquestionably the top Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner in the modern day of mixed-martial arts.

2) Diego Sanchez - After winning season 1 of "The Ultimate Fighter" as a middleweight, Sanchez successfully moves down to the lightweight ranks with a dominant win over the always-tough Joe Stevenson. Given his name recognition and the wealth of talent he possesses, it may just be a matter of time before he's in line for a shot at lightweight gold.
3) Joe Lauzon - He was one of the stand-outs on season 5 of "The Ultimate Fighter," and now in his second main event appearance he gets the job done with a slick submission win over Jeremy Stephens.
4) Nate Marquardt - Deserves a spot on this list based solely on his third round surge to put away Wilson Gouveia. That finishing sequence was flat-out amazing.
5) Dan Hardy - He got a prime spot on a UFC card in his home country, and Hardy used it to catapult himself into instant stardom. We may be seeing the emergence of a new player in the elite ranks at welterweight.

The Results

Honorable Mention: Anthony Johnson

5th Place - Cain Velasquez (11 points)

Cain surges on towards prominence in the UFC heavyweight division.

4th Place - Diego Sanchez (14 points)

A successful lightweight debut in the main event for the very first "Ultimate Fighter" champion.

3rd Place - Paulo Thiago (15 points)

Came out of nowhere to upset Josh Koscheck and make himself an instant star in the UFC.

2nd Place - Nate Marquardt (21 points)

A hard-fought win over Wilson Gouveia moves Nate "The Great" closer to a second title shot.

Fighter of the Month for February - Demian Maia (39 points)

Not only did he get his fifth straight win in the UFC, he also set a new record as the only man in history to win four "Submission of the Night" bonuses. Right now it‘s all but certain that we‘ll see Maia fighting for UFC gold in 2009.

2009 Fighter Of The Year Standings

Demian Maia - 15 points
Georges St. Pierre - 15 points

Nate Marquardt - 12 points
Fedor Emelianenko - 12 points

Paulo Thiago - 9 points
Lyoto Machida - 9 points

Diego Sanchez - 6 points
Dan Henderson - 6 points

Cain Velasquez - 3 points
Jorge Sanitago - 3 points

Anthony Johnson - 1 point
Satoru Kitaoka - 1 point