My own personal MMA Awards/Rant/Thank You 2010

Hello! And welcome to my first and hopefully annual (see how it goes first) end of year MMA awards for 2010. It’s basically where I can big up the things I enjoyed and vent some frustration at the things I didn’t. It’s going to hopefully include everything in the world of Mixed Martial Arts that impacted me in 2010 as well as maybe a small mention to the epic K1 WGP. I know that there are still two major MMA events to go in this calendar year. As the Dynamite NYE show probably won’t provide us with that many of the big talking points in MMA in 2010 (unless they successfully kill off my hero Sakuraba) I don’t mind doing this before. And I do make a special mention to the WEC later on. I will mention now that this thing does get wordy and tedious so if you want to just read one award every now and again or just click off this page immediately here is your chance. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya. Some awards will be serious, given to things that I really enjoyed or hated and some will just be having some fun. Anyway before I put everyone to sleep lets get this started!!

Time for the first award of the show and this award is for Fighter of the Year. Let’s get a big one out the way. Runners up are Cain Velasquez, Frankie Edgar, Jose Aldo and Anderson Silva. And the winner is…… Georges St.Pierre! Boring I know but after winning ten straight rounds in 2010 and looking on another level to all challengers (one under matched, one legit contender) the guy is only getting better and better. The guy also keeps getting MMA mainstream attention which is great and the guy is so humble with everything and that is why he is getting my award. Wow the seriousness of that has bored me so now for something completely different.

Next up is the award for Love/Hate personality of the Year. This award is for a guy who I just can’t decide if I’m a fan of or can’t stand them. My opinion on them changes daily and will probably change once I have wrote this down. The runners up are Anderson Silva, Josh Koscheck and Roy Nelson/Shane Carwin. And the winner is Chael Sonnen! There really could only be one winner for this award. Every time this guy opens his mouth and says something that I laugh that ("A black belt from the Nogueira brothers is like a free toy in your Happy meal") he follows it up with something that annoys me ("Wanderlei Silva used to be a fighter"). Even though I can’t decide whether to love or hate him, he definitely entertains me. He was involved in one of the most exciting fights of the year, which I will mention later, and involved in some of the best MMA videos online this year. His Q and A highlights video and the now infamous video of him and Wand in a car will forever stay in my favorites tab. So here’s your award Chael and please keep me entertained throughout 2011. Also, if I had to choose his next opponent it would be Bisping as TUF coaches. As much as I would love to see Wand put up a fight I can’t see it in 2011 and the trash talk between the two would be immense and result in a great fight as well. Plus seeing either one of them get beat up would be sweet.

Ok after that award going over its allotted time it’s now time for the Card of the Year award. A very prestigious award given only to a card that delivers RELEVANT and EXCITING fights. And the runners up are UFC 116, 117, 123, Strikeforce Henderson vs. Sobral 2, WEC 51 and 52. And the winner is Aldo vs. Faber Fighting Championships (aka WEC 48). What hasn’t already been said about this epic card? You want slugfests? You want smart submissions? You want Crazy unexpected knockouts? You want to see one of the greatest fighters in the world pick apart a former world champion. This card delivered all that and more. Well what are you waiting for, go and buy the DVD!

The next award goes to the most Uninspired Matchmaking of the Year. Ok, so this award may look like Strikeforce bashing and I’m trying really hard for it not to be as I’m a fan but some stuff they do can be questioned. This award is for when a match up is announced  and up all the way to the fight taking place you are left thinking ‘why oh why did they put this fight together’. The runners up are Brett Rogers vs. Alistair Overeem. Anyway you look at it you can’t warrant a knockout loss with a title shot. GSP vs. Dan Hardy. Why would they match up one of the world’s elite with a one dimensional guy who hasn’t beaten anybody worthwhile or looked exciting doing so? Oh I just saw his passport. My bad. Randy Couture vs. James ‘Phat’ Toney. Did that shit even happen? Thought it was just a bad dream. And the winner is Cung Le vs. Scott Smith 2. This may be controversial to some but I think it wins this award hands down. When something like Le vs. Smith 1 happens it is a thing of beauty and something Strikeforce is lucky to have had under their organization. The Comeback Kid making his nickname come true by being punished by kicks for the whole fight to secure the KO victory in the final round. Awesome fight. Then Strikeforce makes the rematch no one wanted to see. The exact thing happens that should have happened the first time and completely takes all the fun out of rewatching Smith’s great comeback ever again. Thanks Strikeforce for ruining one of my favorite fights your organization has put on in recent years.

Ok, time for some quick fire awards. Here we go…

‘Will they? Won’t they?’ Award – Nick Diaz and Jason Miller

For god’s sake just get a hotel room and be done with it already.

‘Wish I Hadn’t Seen You Naked’ Award – Arianny Celeste

So much better in my dreams.

‘Where the Hell Did that Come From’ Moment Award - BJ Penn knocks out Matt Hughes in 21 seconds

He’s back baby, look out whoever is next. Oh, never mind. Fitch via unanimous decision.

‘Two Sport Athlete’ Award – Alistair Overeem

You thought I was going to give it to James Toney didn’t ya? Here’s hoping The Reem has got it out of his system now and we get to see him in MMA more often.

Now for an intermission. Please enjoy these selected photos from our sponsors.

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Ok. After that completely gratuitous use of ring girls to get me in your good books it’s now time for the award for Best Fight of the Year Award. Runners up are Leben vs. Akiyama, Lesnar vs. Carwin, Korean Zombie vs. Lucky Bastard and Jorge Santiago vs. Kazuo Misaki. And the winner is Silva vs. Sonnen. I don’t have to tell you why this is an epic fight because everyone knows the story by now. I can still watch this fight weekly and still get chills. I remember watching it live and it being the first fight that I was standing for the entire duration. I still feel how my jaw dropped when Sonnen dropped Silva in the first round. And when THAT submission got slapped on I almost had a heart attack. This fight is the reason why I love this sport.

Now I would just like to give some special mentions to things I enjoyed in the world of MMA in 2010 (I already know I’m going to miss so many).

• K1 WGP 2010. Not MMA but who cares. Congrats to The Reem for winning. You were the only reason I stayed up until 11.45am (started at 7am) when I had to pack everything I owned to move house the next day. If you had lost then my reason for being zombified the next day wouldn’t have been so valid.
• Fabricio Werdum. Well done on shocking the world. Again, this goes back to my point about Le/Smith, why are you so verbal on wanting a rematch instantly? (post fight interview actually). You beat him fair and square. If he knocks you out next time it takes away from you great submission. Plus wouldn’t it be better to have Werdum vs. Overeem for the title and then let Fedor get a win under his belt so we can hype the rematch even more. Maybe he is just that confident in his BJJ skills that he wants to keep submitting Fedor over and over again.
• Jose Aldo. God I love this kid. He fights like Pride Wand and Shogun combined and then once he wins acts like a little kid let loose in a sweet/candy shop. Looking forward to see him fight in the UFC and a potential super fight with Frankie Edgar. The two clashes of striking would make it so interesting the same way Machida/Shogun 1 was.

Of course because I’m accepting these awards for the fighters on their behalf as they won’t return my calls I guess I better have a thank you speech ready. Here are a few things I’m thankful for in 2010:

• Bloody Elbow. This website is my number one source for all things MMA and I love it. Whether I’m annoyed by some of the articles, reading arguments in the comments section or just generally learning something new it never lets me down.
• BE Fanposts. I want to give a special mention to everyone that writes Fanposts for this website. They are always of a very high level and always give different opinion on all things MMA. Thanks for the good ones and the bad ones. They always inspire me to write better each time.
• UFC Fan Expo in London. The most hands on I got with MMA all year. One of the best days of my life being surrounded by so many people who share the same passion for this sport. Special thank you to Ariel Helwani, Stefan Struve, BJ Penn’s Mother, Ed Soares and Jonny Jones for being so nice when I approached them for a picture and a chat.
• WEC. Even though I’m still saddened by the news that there will be no WEC in 2011, what a great year they have had to finish with. I know the merger can only mean good things for everyone but I still feel a bit sad that after this week I will never see that blue cage ever again.

And so is the end of this weird award ceremony/rant/thank you to everything MMA this year. I hope I haven’t bored you too much. As always I would love to hear from all you BE maniacs with your opinion on this in the comments whether it be to just say ‘You Suck’ or ‘Why you no mention Dream’? Either way I have enjoyed this year more so than any in being of fan of MMA and know that 2011 will be even better. Until next time, Namaste.