2009 bloody elbow reader awards Stories - Bloody Elbow
2009 Bloody Elbow Reader Awards: Fight of the Year
Take one Tasmanian devil and one Tony Robbins convert. Add in a helping of Chicago punk, a nostalgic love for John Nord, a pinch of Geico cavemen, and freshly picked stevia. Mix ingredients in one Octagon. Bake fifteen minutes. Serve warm. Deliver fight of the year. Simply watching the fight...
2009 Bloody Elbow Reader Awards: Promotion of the Year
What can you say about the UFC that hasn't already been said about the Borg, katamari balls, and the threat of international communism? Let's go over the list of accomplishments: The first fight between reigning UFC champions. A successful THQ video game. Aggressive global expansion. A...
2009 Bloody Elbow Reader Awards: Knockout of the Year
"You're walking right towards the back hand, mate! Get off his back hand! It's absolutely pathetic!" A fighter may never receive advice as apropos as what Michael Bisping heard in between the first two rounds of his fight with Dan Henderson at UFC 100. Bisping fought the first round like a...
2009 Bloody Elbow Reader Awards: Submission of the Year
Toby Imada didn't just pull off a swank submission. When he wrapped Jorge Masvidal in an inverted triangle choke, he gave fans a reason to watch an experimental niche promotion that aired on a niche foreign-language cable network. Only the hardest of the hardcore saw the submission "live" on...
2009 Bloody Elbow Reader Awards: Breakout Fighter of the Year
Candidates for Breakout Fighter of the Year were in no short supply for 2009. Jon Jones. Marius Zaromskis. Cain Velasquez. Mo Lawal. Junior dos Santos. Brian Bowles. Each guy made a solid case for the award. Yet, among all that talent, one guy stood above the rest. Jose Aldo began 2009 as a...
2009 Bloody Elbow Reader Awards: Upset of the Year
Of the nominated fights, Brian Bowles's knockout of Miguel Torres wasn't the biggest upset from a gambling perspective (that would belong to Mackens Semerzier's triangle from hell on Wagnney Fabiano). When Bowles gave Torres's face an intimate introduction to the canvas, he ended six years of long...
2009 Bloody Elbow Reader Awards: Story of the Year
As 2009 headed into July, Zuffa appeared to reach the endgame in their quest to control the entirety of MMA's elite talent. UFC 100 blew away all pay-per-view records. Josh Barnett pissed away an entire promotion. And with a deal secured with the remnants of Affliction Entertainment, Dana White...
2009 Bloody Elbow Reader Awards: Disgrace of the Year
What a difference a small cup of urine makes. On June 22nd, the California State Athletic Commisison released a statement announcing Josh Barnett testing positive for the anabolic steroid Drostanolone. Barnett was denied a license to fight, Affliction couldn't (or didn't) find a replacement for...
2009 Bloody Elbow Reader Awards: Commentator of the Year
For the second straight year, Joe Rogan takes home the Bloody Elbow Reader Award for Commentator of the Year. What Rogan might lack in broadcasting polish, he makes up for in knowledge and enthusiasm for the sport. Unlike his partner Mike Goldberg, Rogan keeps up with the sport outside of the UFC...
2009 Bloody Elbow Reader Awards: Camp of the Year
Some might complain that Team Black House is not so much a camp as much as it is a Ed Soares's ridiculous collection of talent. Whatever the case, it's hard to argue with their success in 2009. Junior dos Santos built on his 2008 upset of Fabricio Werdum, pounding on Stefan Struve and PRIDE legend...
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