The world of mixed-martial arts had a very memorable year for 2010.
And what a year it was! As a big fan of fighting, I can say that it was the most fun-filled year for me.
To recap what had transpired over the year, I decided to created a top ten list of the best moments in MMA for 2010.
Check it out after the jump.
10. Boxing vs MMA – UFC 118 (August 28, 2010)
It was a very intriguing matchup to answer a very intriguing question: what happens when a boxer faces a mixed martial arts fighter?
At UFC 118, former three-time boxing champion James Toney jumped into the Octagon against five-time UFC champion, Randy Couture. Couture finally gave the answer: just simply take-down the boxer and do a ground and pound. The fight was over in 101 seconds after Couture caught Toney in an arm-triangle choke.
In the overall picture, MMA also overtook boxing as the most profitable and most exciting combat sports with record-breaking pay-per-view figures and many fights worthy of ESPN’s Play of the Day.
9. Strikeforce Brawl - Strikeforce Nashville (April 17, 2010)
With a ring full of fighters, one simple shove can cause a mayhem.
That’s what happened when Gilbert Melendez pushed Dan Miller after the latter caused a commotion when he entered the ring and interrupted the champion Jake Shields while giving his post-fight interview.
The fracas that ensued looks like a scene from WWE’s Royal Rumble!
8. Leonard Garcia vs Chan Jung Sung Jung – WEC 48: Aldo vs Faber (April 24, 2010)
The fight between the two were considered by many fans as among the best fights of the year. UFC/WEC color commentator Joe Rogan even called it the Fight of the Decade. It was eventually nominated for the 2010 World MMA Awards Fight of the Year category.
It was a bloody 3-round battle full of knockdowns and near submissions won in the end by Garcia via split-decision victory.
7. Anthony Pettis’ Crazy Head Kick – WEC 53 (December 16, 2010)
With the UFC-WEC merger, WEC made its farewell event with WEC 53. Anthony Pettis made a fitting end to the promotion by unleashing a head kick ala-Matrix against Ben Henderson on his way to becoming the last WEC Lightweight Champion.
6. BJ Penn Loses to Frankie Edgar, Twice! – UFC 112: Invincible (April 10, 2010) and UFC 118: Edgar vs Penn 2 (August 28, 2010)
BJ Penn is one of the best MMA fighters ever having been only the second fighter to win UFC titles in two different weight classes (Randy Couture is the other). In his fourth Lightweight title defense, he was expected to cruise through challenger Frankie Edgar at UFC 112.
Edgar shockingly beat him… without missing a beat in a fight that was nominated for 2010 ESPYs Upset of the Year.
In the rematch, Edgar proved that his first win was no fluke as he again steamrolled through “The Prodigy” winning via Unanimous Decision.
[BJ Penn vs Frankie Edgar fight video] [BJ Penn vs Frankie Edgar 2 rematch fight video]
5. Shogun Knocks Out Machida! – UFC 113 (May 8, 2010)
Lyoto Machida and Shogun Rua first met at UFC 104 in a highly controversial win for Machida.
At UFC 113, they did one of the most anticipated rematch in UFC history with Shogun knocking out Machida to become the new UFC Light Heavyweight champion and erasing “The Dragon’s” aura of invincibility. It was eventually nominated for the 2010 World MMA Awards Knockout of the Year category.
[Machida vs Shogun video] [Machida vs Shogun 2 video]
4. Rich Franklin Knocks Out Chuck Liddell! – UFC 115 (June 12, 2010)
Fighting just twice in 2 years and winning only once in his last 5 fights, Chuck Liddell needs a win to gain back prominence in the UFC. At UFC 115, he faced Rich Franklin who badly needs a win himself after losing 2 of his last 3 fights.
With a broken left arm due to a Liddell kick and is almost on the verge of defeat, Franklin waited for his opportunity.
It came with 5 seconds remaining in the clock. After Liddell missed with a right, Franklin countered with a right hook and Liddell went flat on the ground.
Thus, effectively ending “The Iceman’s” legendary career. It was also nominated for the 2010 World MMA Awards Knockout of the Year category.
[Chuck Liddell vs Rich Franklin video]
3. Anderson Silva’s Come From Behind Victory Against Chael Sonnen – UFC 117 (August 7, 2010)
Coming into the fight, Anderson “The Spider” Silva has been the UFC Middleweight Champion since 1996 and with 12 consecutive wins, holds the longest active winning streak in the UFC and the record for the longest winning streak in UFC history. Yes, he was virtually untouchable.
Sonnen changed all that when he completely dominated Silva for four rounds. However with 1:50 remaining in the bout, Silva wrapped his long legs around Sonnen’s neck and caught him with a triangle choke to pull off one of the most improbable come-from-behind victory in UFC history.
It was the first time a champion had ever lost four straight rounds and came back to win in the fifth.
This fight was named as the Fight of the Year at the 2010 World MMA Awards.
[Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen video]
2. Fedor Loses to Werdum! – Strikeforce: Fedor vs Werdum (June 26, 2010)
After going through 10 years and 29 consecutive fights without a loss, many heralded Russian Fedor Emelianenko not just the best heavyweight MMA fighter in the world but as possibly the greatest mixed martial artist of all time.
At Strikeforce: Fedor vs Werdum, Brazilian Fabricio Werdum looked to end “The Last Emperor’s” reign. After being dropped by a Fedor upper cut just 30 seconds into the fight, Werdum was in survival mode as he defended Fedor’s ground and pound.
Then, Fedor made a mistake and his exposed left arm was caught in an arm bar. Werdum added the triangle choke and Fedor could do nothing but tap out as he was caught in a deadly vise grip.
This was named as the Submission of the Year at the 2010 World MMA Awards.
[Fabricio Werdum vs Fedor Emelianenko video]
and the best MMA moment for 2010 in my opinion goes to…
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1. Cain Velasquez Knocks Out Brock Lesnar! – UFC 121: Lesnar vs Velasquez (October 23, 2010)
Brock Lesnar has been the UFC’s cash cow since his transition to MMA from professional wrestling. After he successfully recovered from an illness which sidelined him for a year, he returned triumphantly at UFC 116 with a come from behind victory against Shane Carwin (see Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin video).
After surviving a Carwin onslaught in Round 1, he submitted him via arm triangle choke in Round 2. What endeared him to the fans was his show of humility and respect afterwards that was never his trademark.
Despite losing his aura of invincibility, Lesnar proved that he has the heart of a champion and he has become the face of UFC.
At UFC 121, he returned to defend his UFC Heavyweight Championship belt against Cain Velasquez. Straight from the pages of UFC 116, Velasquez pummeled Lesnar in Round 1 just like what happened with Shane Carwin. However, Velasquez made sure that Lesnar will not make a comeback as he picked his spots intelligently to deliver accurate strikes.
And at the 4:12 mark of round 1, referee Herb Dean finally stopped the carnage as the champ was bleeding profusely from a large gash below his left eye.
Thus, ending Lesnar’s reign atop the UFC ladder. With his win, Cain Velasquez makes history as he becomes the first UFC Mexican champion in history.
What also helped me to pick this as number one on this list is because this fight gave me the most number of traffic in one day as 77,891 unique visitors came flocking at this site looking for the video immediately after the fight. I also made $963.91 from Google Adsense alone that day.
[Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez video]
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That’s it. My Best MMA Moments for 2010.
Please feel free to comment what I might have forgot to mention.
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Tags: brock lesnar, cain velasquez, strikeforce, UFC, WEC
