The top 5 best and worst fighter years of 2007
The 5 best:
1. A. Silva – the most dominant fighter in MMA this year. He wrecked havoc and finished all his fights against very solid competition.
2. Randy Couture – Captain America comes out of retirement and beats 2 top 10 Heavy Weights. In my mind this is one of the most impressive accomplishments in the history of MMA.
3. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson – Finally establishes himself as one of the top if not the top fighter in a division stacked with talented fighters. KO’ing the Iceman and out lasting one of my favorite fighters Dan Henderson and SHoguns loss clearly established him as the guy to beat at 205. I think more than any other fighter he has shown the most improvement and taken his game to a whole new level.
4. Marcus Davis – I include ‘The Irish Hand Grenade’ on this list because the guy has quietly established himself as a very good fighter at 170 lbs. He fought 3 times and finished all his fights including 2 slick submissions and a brutal KO. Davis is one of the most exciting fighters out there right now and I’m looking for him to do big things in 2008.
5. Roger Huerta – 5 fights, 5 wins and he finished all his fights. I think his win over Guida really validated him as a top fighter at 155. I think he deserves the next title shot in another division stacked with talent.
Now for the worst:
1. CroCop – He’s had a rougher year than any other fighter in the UFC. When it was announced that CC would be coming to the UFC everyone thought he’d run through the UFC HW division. Well, a lackluster performance against an unsung opponent in Sanchez, a devastating KO by another guy that wasn’t really well known and being out struck by Kongo and losing on points to top it off ahs left many people wondering what happened to CC. More importantly it left CC wondering what his future in MMA is.
2. Chuck Liddell – An out of shape Chuck stopped Tito late last December. His next fight he was brutally knocked out by Rampage then was thoroughly beaten by The Dean of Mean. All in all, not a very good year for Chuck. With a win over Wandy, Chuck could erase some of what has been a very bad year for him. Am I the only one that thinks maybe Chuck should start training at a new gym? He’s been with Hack for so long now that I just don’t think his game has ever evolved to the point it needs to be.
3. Sean Sherk – Being involved in a steroid controversy is never a good thing.
4. Andre Arlovski – A snoozefest against Werdum and worst fight of the year candidate plus a prolonged contract dispute with the UFC which has seen AA on the sidelines makes 2007 a pretty bad year for him. Hopefully AA will be fighting again in 2008 and start knocking fools out again.
5. Diego Sanchez – ‘The Nightmare’ had a nightmare of a year. He suffered his first 2 losses including a loss to Koschek who is probably his biggest rival. Will Diego drop to 155 in 2008?
There’s my list, what are yours?
The 5 best:
1. A. Silva – the most dominant fighter in MMA this year. He wrecked havoc and finished all his fights against very solid competition.
2. Randy Couture – Captain America comes out of retirement and beats 2 top 10 Heavy Weights. In my mind this is one of the most impressive accomplishments in the history of MMA.
3. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson – Finally establishes himself as one of the top if not the top fighter in a division stacked with talented fighters. KO’ing the Iceman and out lasting one of my favorite fighters Dan Henderson and SHoguns loss clearly established him as the guy to beat at 205. I think more than any other fighter he has shown the most improvement and taken his game to a whole new level.
4. Marcus Davis – I include ‘The Irish Hand Grenade’ on this list because the guy has quietly established himself as a very good fighter at 170 lbs. He fought 3 times and finished all his fights including 2 slick submissions and a brutal KO. Davis is one of the most exciting fighters out there right now and I’m looking for him to do big things in 2008.
5. Roger Huerta – 5 fights, 5 wins and he finished all his fights. I think his win over Guida really validated him as a top fighter at 155. I think he deserves the next title shot in another division stacked with talent.
Now for the worst:
1. CroCop – He’s had a rougher year than any other fighter in the UFC. When it was announced that CC would be coming to the UFC everyone thought he’d run through the UFC HW division. Well, a lackluster performance against an unsung opponent in Sanchez, a devastating KO by another guy that wasn’t really well known and being out struck by Kongo and losing on points to top it off ahs left many people wondering what happened to CC. More importantly it left CC wondering what his future in MMA is.
2. Chuck Liddell – An out of shape Chuck stopped Tito late last December. His next fight he was brutally knocked out by Rampage then was thoroughly beaten by The Dean of Mean. All in all, not a very good year for Chuck. With a win over Wandy, Chuck could erase some of what has been a very bad year for him. Am I the only one that thinks maybe Chuck should start training at a new gym? He’s been with Hack for so long now that I just don’t think his game has ever evolved to the point it needs to be.
3. Sean Sherk – Being involved in a steroid controversy is never a good thing.
4. Andre Arlovski – A snoozefest against Werdum and worst fight of the year candidate plus a prolonged contract dispute with the UFC which has seen AA on the sidelines makes 2007 a pretty bad year for him. Hopefully AA will be fighting again in 2008 and start knocking fools out again.
5. Diego Sanchez – ‘The Nightmare’ had a nightmare of a year. He suffered his first 2 losses including a loss to Koschek who is probably his biggest rival. Will Diego drop to 155 in 2008?
There’s my list, what are yours?