2009 Bloody Elbow Reader Awards: Fighter of the Year
by Mike Fagan on Feb 9, 2010 1:00 PM EST
in MMA News
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Thirty Helens agree: Jose Aldo is the fighter of the year. Sherdog. MMA Weekly. MMAFighting.com. Fight! Magazine. USA Today.
What's left to say about Jose Aldo? He came, he saw, he conquered.
At 23 years old, Aldo ran through the WEC featherweight division, stealing Mike Brown's lunch money in the process. Aldo's power may scare you, but it's the speed that beats you. Brown, one of the top fighters in the world, looked second rate opposite Junior.
Aldo's world will get bigger still when he fights Urijah Faber on the WEC's inaugural pay-per-view on April 24th.
Full results after the break.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total | |
| Jose Aldo | 15 | 8 | 9 | 108 |
| Georges St-Pierre | 11 | 13 | 11 | 105 |
| Lyoto Machida | 13 | 4 | 3 | 80 |
| Fedor Emelianenko | 8 | 4 | 5 | 57 |
| Anderson Silva | 5 | 4 | 4 | 41 |
| B.J. Penn | 1 | 5 | 6 | 26 |
| Gegard Mousasi | 1 | 3 | 3 | 17 |
| Shinya Aoki | 2 | 6 | ||
| Jon Jones | 1 | 3 | ||
| Brian Bowles | 2 | 2 | ||
| Dan Hornbuckle | 1 | 1 | ||
| Marius Zaromskis | 1 | 1 | ||
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BJ Penn should be alot higher. He has dominated the lightweight division. He made Diego Sanchez look like me trying to fight in a cage.
by MMAFAN FO SHO on Feb 9, 2010 1:08 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
It's February!
Getting a little late in the year to be putting these up but I agree, Aldo is the right choice.
It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail.
Aldo?
Really? I guess I’m jaded but his list of wins this year aren’t really that impressive outside of Mike Brown.
-Mike Brown
-Cub Swanson
-Chris Mickle
-Rolando Perez
GSP dominated two top ten fighters, which I think is far more impressive.
GSP
only fought twice in 2009. Once against a guy who is a natural 155-pound fighter and the second was a unanimous decision. I don’t discredit his talent but looking at the body of work in 2009, Aldo is far and away more deserving. He fought four times with four (T)KO stoppages and made the champion (Brown) look like a guy they pulled outta the stands as a fill-in.
It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail.
by Jesse Holland on Feb 9, 2010 2:19 PM EST up reply actions
That's what was scary about the Miek Brown fight
Had I not seen what Mike Brown did in the two fights against Faber, I would have thought he was a guy they pulled from the stands. Aldo was just on another level.
"The moment you stop thinking you're the best, it's time for you to get out the game." -'King' Mo Lawal
GSP had a great year, but...
Aldo took over his division better than young BJ Penn OR rookie GSP ever did in their respective debuts. We can complain about the level of 145 fighters, but 145 is the weight class Aldo fights in, and it has yet to even measure his limits by way of slowing him down. That’s not just commendable, it’s a feat unmatched in MMA this year.
by LBo on Feb 9, 2010 2:58 PM EST up reply actions
The Aldo hype has gone of the rails and needs to be reigned back in, hopefully Faber will be the guy to do just that.
Whoot! Whoot!
Aldo hype train will barrel over the California Skid — with or without rails! The Junior Express in 3D!
It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail.
by Jesse Holland on Feb 9, 2010 2:43 PM EST up reply actions
I'm glad they gave it to Aldo...
All the other top 5 would have been highly questionable in one way or another, from Silva’s apparent ducking of challengers, to Machida’s “win”, to Fedor not exactly looking dominate against a good but lesser opponent, and GSP with his only win in division being a UD.
Associate Writer - WindyCityGridiron.com
Silva’s apparent ducking of challengers
Apparent to people with active imaginations and/or tinfoil hats, yes.
by JRN on Feb 9, 2010 3:13 PM EST up reply actions
GSP with his only win in division being a UD
Let’s not do the revisionist history thing here. Yes, GSP beat the hell out of a guy who looks best at 155lbs, and yes size and strength were factors. But Penn is a former WW champ, has beaten the incredibly strong Matt Hughes (during his prime, no less), and would stand a good-to-excellent chance against much of the WW division.
That being said, Aldo totally deserved it.
"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."
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