Kingdom MMA 2013 Awards: Breakthrough Fighter of the Year

Kingdom MMA Breakthrough Fighter of the Year Award 2013: Khabib Nurmagomedov
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

2013 has seen some real quality fighters rise through the rankings to solidify themselves as serious contenders, and even champions in their respective weight divisions going into 2014.

Emanuel Newton went 4-0 in 2013 for Bellator defeating King Mo twice on route to winning the promotions interim Lightheavyweight title. Nick Newell and Justin Gaethje rose to the forefront of WSOFs lightweight division, going 5-0 between them, finishing all of their opponents in the process.

It was an international affair in the UFC with Irish featherweight Conor McGregor picking up two fantastic wins since making his debut, while on his way to becoming one of the sports biggest and most popular personalities, and Canadian Alexis Davis announcing herself to the world with dominating UFC wins over Rosi Sexton and Liz Carmouche, as well as a win over Shanya Bazler.

For the staff at Kingdom MMA though there was another international fighter worthy of the top honours as Breakthrough fighter of the Year – Russian, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

2013 has seen the Russian run through every opponent he has faced, set a lightweight record for most takedowns in a single fight along the way, particularly impressive when you consider he did that against one-time NAIA All-American collegiate wrestler, Abel Trujilo.

Starting the year with the brutal destruction of veteran Thiago Tavares in Brazil, Nurmagomedov then beat the aforementioned Trujilo, before rounding out his year with a dominating victory over then top 10 lightweight, Pat Healy.

At just 25 years old Nurmagomedov is 21-0 in his professional MMA career, and already looks like a future champion. Nurmagomedov is expected to face Gilbert Melendez at UFC 170 and a win over the former champ would thrust the Russian firmly in the title picture.

Khabib Nurmagomdev has impressed in 2013, and don’t be surprised if he doesn’t remain undefeated in 2014 too. Khabib is a well-deserved winner of Kingdom MMAs Breakthrough fighter of the year award.

Kingdom MMA 2013 Awards: Male Fighter of the Year

Kingdom MMA Male Fighter of the Year Award 2013: Vitor Belfort

by Ben Heather - @benheather

2013 has been a great year for MMA, so many fighters have upped their game and the quality level of MMA has improved so much at all levels. The European shows such as Cage Warriors and BAMMA have put on great shows and the fighters abilities constantly improve with every event. Then you look at the UFC and look at the level of the fighters now to those a few years ago. Its no comparison, the guys now are incredible athletes and have put on a brilliant year of fighting for us all to enjoy and now we have the hard task of picking just one fighter to call Male fighter of the year.

Anthony Pettis became the lightweight champion, Johny Hendricks believes he deserves to be UFC Welterweight champion and Chris Weidman has twice defeated Anderson Silva. Alexander Gustafsson also pushed Jon Jones all the way but couldn't quite pull off the upset but certainly put on the performance of his life. All in all it has been a great year.

The main contenders for the award were.
Vitor Belfort who rebounded from losing to Jon Jones in his last fight of 2012 to come through three fights in 2013 and finish all of them with head kicks. Next up for Vitor is a title fight with Chris Weidman in 2014.

Demetrious Johnson has dominated his division fighting the best contenders in the division and improving with every single fight. First he easily defeated John Dodson by Unanimous Decision and then he put away top contenders John Moraga and Joseph Benevidez.

But it was clear that this year there could only be one winner and that man was Vitor Belfort.

Vitor Belfort has had possibly the best year of his MMA career which is very impressive as Belfort is now 36. Belfort is always surrounded by controversy whenever he fights due to his continued use of TRT and his previous failed drugs test. However, he is using TRT within the legal limits and until it is banned (I hope) can continue to. After all, the skills he has shown this year and the fighters he has beaten can not all be down to him using TRT.

In three fights in the octagon this year Vitor Belfort has put away Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold and Dan Henderson and has done it in 10 minutes 17 seconds combined. To be able to finish the calibre of fighters he has finished in the method he has is truly amazing. He went in to both the Bisping and the Rockhold fight as the underdog even though both of those fights were in his home country.

The highlight of his year has to be the spinning back kick knockout of Luke Rockhold. The timing was perfect and the skill required to do the move was simply jaw dropping. Which is why we awarded the Knockout our Knockout of 2013.

Vitor then got revenge over Dan Henderson after losing the first fight between the pair when they fought in Pride in October 2006. This time Vitor knocked Henderson out for the first time in his 40 fight career.

People may call him a cheat or argue that he shouldn't be allowed to use TRT but the fact is he is allowed at the minute and based on his performances we award him the Kingdom MMA Male Fighter of Year 2013.

Kingdom MMA Awards 2013: Upset of the Year

Kingdom MMA Upset of the Year Award 2013: Chris Weidman

by Ben Heather @benheather

2013 has been a great year for MMA, champions have been dethroned and if not have finally looked like they might actually be human after all and can be challenged. Which leads us to present our award for the upset of the year.

Benson Henderson lost his title to long time rival Anthony Pettis. GSP got pushed all the way and took more punishment this year than we have ever seen him take. He ultimately kept his title before giving it up as he took an indefinite leave of absence from fighting and Johny Hendricks will get his chance again to be crowned the UFC Welterweight champion. It has also been the year that Chris Weidman has twice defeated the fighter many thought was unbeatable and rightfully so classified as the greatest of all time in Anderson Silva. Alexander Gustafsson also pushed Jon Jones to the limit but just missed out on defeating the champion and this is only what happened in title fights in the UFC.

In Bellator the biggest upset of the year came in February as Emanuel Newton defeated the massive favourite King Mo. Again just beating him was a massive upset win but the manner in which he did it really was special winning via a spinning back fist halfway through the first round of there fight at Bellator 90. This then set in place a rivalry which came to a head when they faced off for the rematch at Bellator 106 in November. Where again Newton won but this time via unanimous decision after 5 rounds to become the Bellator interim Light Heavyweight Champion.

Bigfoot Silva went in to his heavyweight battle with Alistair Overeem at UFC 156 as a massive underdog and the first two rounds looked like the bookies were right to make him the underdog going in to the fight. However, just at the end of the second round Bigfoot caught Overeem. When they came out for the start of the third round it was a completely different fight and Bigfoot picked apart Overeem before the referee had seen enough and Bigfoot got a massive TKO victory which set him up for the a title shot against Cain Velasquez. This was certainly one of the biggest upsets of the year and in any other year may have got the award but not 2013.

2013's award belongs to one man and that man did the impossible and defeated a fighter who was unbeaten in the UFC with a record of 16-0, held the record for the longest championship reign of any champion in the UFC ever and truly looked unbeatable. That was until UFC 162 on July 6th when Chris Weidman faced off against Anderson Silva.

What Chris Weidman did against Anderson Silva may not just be the biggest upset of the year, it has to be up there with the biggest upsets of all time. Chris Weidman knocked out the greatest fighter of all time when nobody predicted that could happen. People were saying Weidman could win but maybe by submission or decision. Nobody other than Weidman's camp said he would knockout the champ.

People can say what they want about the first fight "Anderson was clowning around" "Anderson was playing with Weidman and he got caught with a lucky shot" but in my opinion people who say stupid comments like that after seeing Chris Weidman knock out the greatest fighter on the planet are crazy. Anderson Silva fought Weidman the same way he fought every single fight in the UFC before that day the only difference is Anderson Silva's showboating made him even better because he was winning. As soon as he got caught and knocked out not many people gave Weidman any credit or the respect he deserved but instead said it will be different the second time.

This past weekend they had the rematch, we all know by now the outcome and nobody wants to see a fight finish with such a major injury like that, but up until the injury Chris Weidman was clearly in control of that fight. He nearly knocked out Anderson Silva in the first round and in the second made the changes to his game from the first fight by checking the kicks instead of taking the punishment on his legs. It was one of those checked kicks which resulted in a broken leg for Silva.

After the fight some of those same people who gave Weidman no credit for the first win were calling the injury "a fluke injury" but it was as a result of the changes Weidman had made to his game and if he didn't make those changes Silva would not have a broken leg now.

Weidman not only did the impossible and pulled off the biggest upset of the year once, he did it twice in the space of six months. For that Kingdom MMA's award for Upset of the Year 2013 goes to Chris Weidman.

We salute you Chris and hope that you start to get the respect you deserve for pulling off such a great achievement.

Kingdom MMA Awards 2013: Fight of the Year

Kingdom MMA Fight of the Year Award 2013: Jones vs Gustafsson
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

The general consensus amongst fans is that 2013 has been one of, if not the best years in MMA history. From The UFC, to Bellator and on and on, we have witnessed fights that will stick in fans memories for many years to come.

Fans have been blessed with epic fights this year with the UFC serving up classics like Bermudez vs Grice, Melendez vs Sanchez and Silva vs Hunt. Bellator have done their bit too by giving us Chandler vs Alverez 2, the Axis TV broadcasted local shows gave us Leonard Garcia vs Nick Gonzalez at Legacy 23, and literally every single women’s fight this year can only be described as frigging awesome.

Not to be outdone, UK MMA got in on the action too, with Cage Warriors delivering brilliant fights between Jordan Desborough and Brett Johns, as well as Danny Roberts vs Hendry Fadipe. Bamma had the short but sweet Barnaoui vs Fletcher, while Ashley Reece and Martin Chester put on one of the best amateur bouts of all time at FCC 8.

But when it’s all said and done, the one fight that stuck in the minds of the staff at Kingdom MMA was Jon Jones vs Alexander Gustafsson.

One of the most exciting title fights of all time, Jones vs Gustafsson was a war, a five-round battle of precise strikes and hard-nosed chins – a war!

Back and forth two warriors wen to toe-to-toe, one the pound-4-pound king of MMA, the other one a huge underdog which no one gave a chance going in to the fight. Jones vs Gustafsson is MMAs equivalent to Rocky Balboa vs Apollo Creed.

Gustafsson took the fight to Jones, he landed a crisp jab all night, and become the fight fighter to ever take Jones down in the UFC; in fact many people actually thought Gustafsson won.

Whoever you thought won the fight there is no disputing that Jones and Gustafsson put on one hell of a fight, with both man showing the heart of a champion - here’s hoping to a rematch in 2014.

Congratulations to both Jones and Gustaffason for the fight of the year performance.

Kingdom MMA Awards 2013: Submission of the Year

Kingdom MMA Submission of the Year Award 2013: Anthony Pettis
By chris Houten - @mrhouts

2013 has been a year full of great submissions. From Rose Namajunas submission of Kathina Catron at Invicta 5 to Takuya Eizumi submission of Teppei Masuda at Pancrase 250, fans have been left in the kind of awe that makes you show up at the local BJJ academy scratching for your first lesson, in a way only a drug addict would. 

With so many great submission in 2013 including the aforementioned, the staff at Kingdom MMA found it difficult to agree on winner of submission of the year with several championing Rose Namajunas’ flying armbar, and Eizumi getting a well deserved vote for his hip toss reversal into belly down arm bar. In the end though one man came out on top – Anthony Pettis for his UFC 164 submission victory over Benson Henderson, which earned him the UFC lightweight title.

Strange choice you may say, when you compare a regular old armbar which happens week in week at many events around the world, to a flying armbar, but in the end it was the magnitude of the victory, and the quality of his opponent which earned Pettis sub of the year.

Going into the fight with Pettis, the lightweight champion Benson Henderson was on a 7 fight win streak and was looking pretty cosy at the top of the lightweight division. What makes Pettis submission of Henderson even more impressive is the fact that Bendo has just earned his BJJ blackbelt a few months before, and had been competing and winning in high level BJJ tournaments for most of the summer.

As one of the best strikers in all of MMA, Pettis was given the advantage standing by fans and pundits a like; its fairly safe to say that not many people would have backed a Pettis submission at the bookies, even with Pettis’ notoriously active guard. And that’s what makes Pettis' victory even more impressive, he tapped out one of the finest lightweights of all time with ease, a feat that caused absolute hysteria in Pettis’ home town where the fight took place. Sometime its not the just the method of victory that makes a finish great it’s the complete packagage, and this one had it all.

By tapping out Henderson, Pettis becomes only the second man in 22 fights to submit Benson Henderson, earning himself the UFC Lightweight title, and Kingdom MMA’s 2013 submission of the year award – Pettis we salute you.

UFC 168 Event Review and Results

UFC 168 Event Review and Results
by Sam Heard - @samheard_

The greatest year in MMA history was capped off last week with a flagship event crammed with some of the UFC’s brightest stars. Though the event ended on a very sad note which will doubtless be the main thing UFC 168 is remembered for, the overall card was very entertaining with none of the main card’s bouts hitting the judge’s scorecards. Here’s Kingdom MMA’s take on how it went down last Saturday:

Chris Weidman (11-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) VS. Anderson Silva (33-6 MMA, 16-2 UFC)
The most anticipated MMA fight of all time ended in tragedy when Chris Weidman checked one of Anderson Silva’s patented leg kicks causing the former champs leg to collide directly with the All-American’s knee, breaking it horrifically. Everyone was a loser; Weidman, though he claimed that he’d deliberately trained on this technique in preparation for Anderson, still won’t be credited with a definitive victory over the greatest of all time while Anderson will have to suffer for months rehabbing his injury.  Some credit has to be given to Weidman however. In the first round he once again dominated the Brazilian, rocking him on the feet before beating him up with heavy ground-and-pound. I remember being so happy that Anderson survived this onslaught so the fight continued a bit more – in retrospect it would’ve been better if the fight had stopped at this point. Thankfully the reports which have immerged since the fight indicate that the surgery on Anderson’s leg was highly successful and that he should only be out for an astoundingly brief 6 months (if he doesn’t decide to throw in the towel on his fight career). Either way, no one who watched the event will ever be able to unremember that horrible moment when the greatest fighter to have ever fought in the cage went down screaming in pain and those images of the lower part of the Spider’s leg hanging by skin alone, no matter how hard we try.
Vitor Belfort, who was present at the fight, also attended the post-fight press conference where it was confirmed that he would be Weidman’s next opponent. The opening odds indicate Weidman is a two-to-one favourite over Belfort.
Result: Chris Weidman def. Anderson Silva via TKO (leg injury) – Round 2, 1:16

Ronda Rousey (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) VS. Miesha Tate (13-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC)
Miesha Tate managed to take Ronda Rousey into the uncharted territories of the second and third rounds before finally getting caught by the champion’s renowned Armbar. You have to question Miesha’s game plan implemented in the fight. On multiple occasions after managing to create some space between herself and Ronda she shot for takedowns or tied up the champion in the clinch rather than pressing her advantage on the feet. Miesha would try and score the takedown only to be reversed and caught by Ronda’s awesome judo throws. This exposed her to several dangerous submissions attempts. Seeing Rousey in the longest fight of her career certainly revealed some chinks in her armour. Despite the champion’s documented stand-up training with the Diaz brothers, Miesha definitely looked better on the feet even managing to stagger the champion with up-kicks at one stage in the fight. I feel like if someone with better striking skills than Miesha like Cat Zingano were to fight Ronda and implement a focused game plan they would be able to put the champion in much tougher situations.
After the fight it was revealed that Rousey would next face Sara McMann at UFC 170. The Olympian vs Olympian dynamic of this fight adds an extra layer of intrigue; especially as McMann’s silver medal trumps Ronda’s bronze…
Result: Ronda Rousey def. Miesha Tate via submission (armbar) – Round 3, 0:58

Josh Barnett (33-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC) VS. Travis Browne (16-1-1 MMA, 7-1-1 UFC)
Another heavyweight bout, another 1st round KO. Even though the fight would last just one minute, Browne was able to look very impressive. He was visibly much quicker than Barnett despite his significant size advantage. Barnett clearly wasn’t interested in exchanging with the Hawaiian and tried to bully Browne against the fence – the exact same strategy he employed to great effect against Frank Mir.  Barnett tried to move inside on a takedown only to be met with a massive knee (which in my opinion had Barnett knocked out immediately). Barnett slumped, supported by Browne’s knee, leaving him open to those vicious downward elbows he used to demolish Gabriel Gonzaga. Fortunately, Yves Lavigne was savvy enough to know that Barnett was done and after Browne was pulled away he slumped down to the floor.
With Cain out injured it seems that Browne may be given a shot at #1 contender Werdum. The Brazilian arguably presents a very similar challenge to Barnett in that he will have a considerable advantage over Browne on the ground but could be vulnerable standing.
Result: Travis Browne def. Josh Barnett via knockout (knee and elbows) – Round 1, 1:00

Fabrício Camoes (14-8-1 MMA, 1-3-1 UFC) VS. Jim Miller (23-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC)
Long-time Lightweight contender Jim Miller proved why Camoes didn’t belong in the Octagon with him after he pulled off a super-slick 1st round victory by Armbar. Camoes looked fairly sharp on the feet before being taken down by Miller. He looked like he had got the drop on Miller as he reversed the position before posturing and falling prey to Miller’s devious ground game. Many expected this to be a showcase fight for Miller to re-establish himself in the division after his loss to Pat Healy – all in all it lived up to this billing as Miller was untroubled by Camoes.
Result: Jim Miller def. Fabricio Camoes via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:42

Diego Brandao (18-9 MMA, 4-2 UFC) VS. Dustin Poirier (15-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC)
Dustin Poirier looked highly impressive in this tough test against super-aggressive Diego Brandao, making lighter work of the overweight TUF Winner than everyone expected. Poirier put on an expert display of footwork and combination punches mixing it up between body shots and punches to the face to rock the Brazilian before showing brilliant killer instinct to swarm on him for the stoppage.
In the post-fight interview he called out Cub Swanson for a rematch as he picked up a decision loss to the Jackson MMA fighter back at UFC on Fuel TV 7. With the form Poirier has been in of late he is arguably deserving of this juicy rematch.
Result: Dustin Poirier def. Diego Brandao via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:54

Highlights from the Undercard
Uriah Hall (8-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) VS. Chris Leben (22-11 MMA, 12-10 UFC)
This is the first sad event on what would become one of the saddest UFC events I’ve ever seen. Seeing a tough guy like Leben saying he’s ‘done’ and knowing the repercussions this loss has on his UFC career was extremely depressing.
Michael Johnson (14-8 MMA, 6-4 UFC) VS. Gleison Tibau (28-10 MMA, 13-8 UFC)
As with his last fight against Joe Lauzon, Johnson showed superb striking skills to overcome the UFC veteran with a perfectly timed overhand left to get the TKO win in the second round.

   

Video: Bellator's Best Moments of 2013

Video: Bellator's Best Moments of 2013
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Sat there with nothing to do on New Years Day or just in the mood to reminisce on some good old fashion 2013 Bellator action? Well guess what, Bellator have got just the thing for you, a playlist of videos from the past year (seasons 8 and 9 plus the Summer Series) on Spike TV.

From Emanuel Newton's upset of the year, spinning back-fist win over King Mo, to Michael Chandler vs Eddie Alvarez II, to the Bellator debut of Rampage Jackson, it's all here.

Sit back and enjoy, and feel free to let us know what your favourite Bellator moment of the year was in the comment section below.