Fights of the Mid-Year 2008 (6-10)

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's only, and do not necessarily reflect the stance of Bloody Elbow or its staff.

With half of the year passed, let's take a look at the top fights of 2008 so far.

Honorable mentions:

B.J. Penn vs. Sherk Sherk @ UFC 84
Josh Thomson vs. Gilbert Melendez @ Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson

I felt both of these fights were too one-sided and just narrowly missed the top 10.

10. Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar @ UFC 81

While on the list more for its mainstream appeal and the atmosphere of the live crowd, this fight packed a wide range of emotions into a short 90 seconds of action.  The contest opened as some had predicted with Lesnar overwhelming Mir early, knocking him down with a right hand and following with a Donkey Kong ambush on the ground.  Referee Steve Mazzagatti controversially halted the contest to deduct a point from Lesnar for strikes to the back of the head.  After the re-start, the fight hit the ground again, but this time Lesnar made a rookie mistake.  Leaving his leg exposted, Mir grabbed a hold of it and Lesnar had no choice but to tap.

9. Caol Uno vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida @ Dream 3

For the first five minutes, Uno had prevented Ishida from taking him down, busted his nose, and briefly rocked him with a right hook.  Things looked grim for the "Endless Fighter," but the second half of the round looked a lot more like what people had expected - Ishida taking Uno down and controlling him on the ground.  The second round started as cautiously as the first, until Ishida took Uno's back.  Greed took the best of him; while trying to put his hooks in, Uno reversed the position which allowed him to slap on a fight ending rear-naked choke.  The win put Uno, a fighter with popularity comparable to fellow Japanese stars "Kid" Yamamoto, Takanori Gomi, and Kazushi Sakuraba, back in the spotlight.

8. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Tim Sylvia @ UFC 81

If UFC fans didn't know what "Minotauro" was about before this fight, they knew quickly after.  In a vintage performance, Nogueira took two rounds of punishment from Sylvia, including being knocked down in the opening period.  However, with 3 more rounds to finish the fight, the Brazilian was able to pull guard in the third round, putting Sylvia in territory he desparately did not want to be in.  After sweeping the "Maine-iac" he was able to secure a guillotine choke to become the first man to have held both the UFC and Pride Heavyweight Titles.

7. Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith @ EXC on CBS

With the sport in the country's spotlight, MMA needed a fight to capture the public's imagination.  It came so close.  The fight looked like a laugher after one round of action.  Lawler dominated Smith, holding him away with a jab, and then visibly hurting Smith with a liver kick before unloading a flurry of strikes as the period came to a close.  Smith needed the help of the fence to get back to his corner.  The second round showed the gameness of the challenger who cleared his head and unloaded punishment of his own.  With the fight shaping up to be EXC's version of Griffin/Bonnar, an accidental thumb in the eye caused it to be stopped by the cageside doctor in round 3.

6. Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le @ Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le

An aging MMA legend.  A decorated San Shou kickboxing convert.  Two local boys with a hot, split crowd.  All the recipes for an exciting fight, and it did not disappoint.  Shamrock and Le fought a closely contested fight for 3 rounds with Le utilizing his San Shou background while Shamrock attempted to counterstrike and throw barrages on the inside.  Frank showed his usual showmanship, playing to Le and the crowd even getting Cung to come out of his shell for brief moments.  After round 3, Shamrock withdrew from the fight after suffering a broken arm as a result of Le's high kicks.