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Post by DUCE on Dec 20, 2007 10:09:30 GMT -5
 Who do you think had the most successful year? Who had the worst year? Some candidates for best; Rosimar "Toquinho" Palhares Quinton Jackson Robbie Lawler Gesias Calvancante Randy Couture Urijah Faber Anderson Silva Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Roger Huerta Jon Fitch Pedro Rizzo Jorge Santiago Forest Griffin Rashad Evans Nate Diaz Mac Danzig Ryoto Machida Ben Rothwell Some candidates for worst;Cro Cop Nick Diaz Shawn Sherk Babalu Sam Hoger Sean Salmon |
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Post by LWPD on Dec 21, 2007 20:50:05 GMT -5
Best 2007: I have to give it to Randy Couture (in terms of the level to which he's been successfully mainstreamed). While there would be no ESPN coverage or Movie Deals coming his way had Zuffa not built him...and he didn't leave gracefully (and ended up with egg on his face)...he ends 2007 much better off comparatively than just about anyone else in MMA.
Anderson Silva had a very strong year and would be a close runner up. If he was English proficient the sky would be the limit.
Honorable mentions:
Rampage (three fights this year...won the belt...but isn't nearly as big a name as he should be...hopefully coaching TUF will help him realize his marketing potential)
Roger Huerta (made the most out of his 'poster boy' opportunity...silenced critics with a strong year end win over Guida)
Jon Fitch (the quiet man continues to impress...is now in top contention)
Forrest Griffin (bounced back strong from the Jardine loss...huge upset over Shogun nets him the double bonus of a title shot and TUF Coaching position...a legit draw)
Worst 2007: Cro-Cop: the bottom fell out on his UFC name value. A brutal loss to Gonzaga followed by a mugging from Kongo knocks him out of serious contention. Not worth the investment
Runner-Up: Rich 'Ace' Franklin: Once the poster boy of the Middle Weight division....Rich is now at best a gatekeeper. His loss to Silva the second time around exposed the sharp distinction between Champion and Challenger. He re-upped his contract after this loss...a really tough position to negotiate from which ended up leaving a great deal of money off his plate....with not too many main events with PPV Headlining royalties to be likely in his future.
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Post by hofclemens on Dec 22, 2007 21:36:15 GMT -5
Fighter of the year to me is Rampage... He had the toughest fights and won rather convincingly. Anderson Silva and Couture had great years I just think Rampages year was just a bit better.
Worst 2007 has to be Cro Cop although Salmon sure had a tough year.
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Post by DUCE on Dec 23, 2007 8:17:23 GMT -5
Fighter of the year Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
Runner up; Sokoudjou
Jackson has done everything that has been asked of him and is now being set up for the grand stage. Win or lose at 79 Sokoudjou has put himself in the mix everywhere. Sokoudjou might not be 100% a mainstream name but he is one we all now know. If he beats Ryoto in an exciting manner the sky is truely the limit for the safari punch!
Worst Year for Fighter Nick Diaz
Runnerup; Cro Cop
Nick Diaz in the beginning of 2007 looked awesome and beat Gomi. After the fight he had injury to his eye. When it looked like his stock would sky rocket his win was turned into a no contest because he popped his test for Mary Jane!? After six months suspension (Nick wasn't even allowed to corner his brother Nate during TUF5)
Nick defeated Mike Aina by split decision. Aina is 3-6 when the fight goes to the judges. You can say that was a solid victory but I say this its lackluster comparing his wins over Robbie Lawler and proformance against Gomi. After getting that Split with Aina Nick got a terrible staph infection! He was hospitalized and in bad shape.
When Nick was healthy he trained and fought KJ Noons for the ELITEXC title. His Gomi eye injury was opened up and Noons got the TKO win. Nick Diaz threw a fit and disrespected his employers.
Its hard to top that for me. Nick kind of flunked out of UFC in 2006 and wasn't happy with the decisions he was handed. At least in 2006 Cro Cop was king with that openweight tournament win. Mirko suffered repeated elbows, a high kick rivalling his own, broken rib and repeated nut shots by Kongo. Its not like he hasn't had bad year before. Nick Diaz will always remember how horrible this year was for him.
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Post by habbalah on Dec 25, 2007 18:11:32 GMT -5
Best of the year?
Randy Couture. He came back and won in a wieght class most predicted he was to small for.
Worst? Shogun, he lost his debue gimmie match in the ufc. How do you do worse than that? Hell he lost a match even Tito could have won (and did).
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Post by DUCE on Jan 3, 2008 18:25:09 GMT -5
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Post by habbalah on Jan 3, 2008 20:47:19 GMT -5
Two fair picks.
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Post by DUCE on Jan 5, 2008 0:26:19 GMT -5
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