BEHIND THE SCENES MMA ARTICLES & INTERVIEWS!

01/06/09

2008 was an exciting year for mixed martial arts.  Dream crowned two tournament champions, while Elite XC crumbled. Below are the best of 2008 as awarded by PunchDrunkGamer. 

Fighter of the Year

Gegard Mousasi

2008 Record: 6-0 (3 TKO, 1 Sub)

2008 Victims:  Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos, Denis Kang, Dong Sik Yoon, Melvin Manhoef, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Musashi (K-1 rules)

Accomplishments:  Crowned Dream Middleweight Grand Prix Champion

Armenia’s Gegard Mousasi was always hailed as one of the top up-and-comers in the sport, having entered 2008 with a record of 18-2-1.  In 2008 he was crowned Dream’s Middleweight Grand Prix champion. 

He opened 2008 with a first round TKO stoppage over Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos in HCF.  One month later he picked up another first round stoppage over journeyman Steve Mensing, before entering the Dream tournament.  In the tournament’s opening round he caught highly regarded Denis Kang in a triangle choke in just over three minutes.  He proceeded to grind out a one-sided decision over Dong Sik Yoon before defeating both Melvin Manhoef and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in the same night.  Wrapping up 2008 he also competed at FEG’s Dynamite!! 2008 event where he scored a first round KO over Musashi under K-1 rules. 

Honorable Mention:

Eddie Alvarez (2008 Record: 4-1)

Wins:  Andre “Dida” Amade, Joachim Hansen, Tatsuya Kawajiri

Shinya Aoki (2008 Record: 4-1, 1 NC)

Wins:  Gesias “JZ” Calvancanti, Eddie Alvarez, Katsuhiko Nagata, Caol Uno, Todd Moore

Accomplishments:  Crowned WAMMA Lightweight Champion

Joachim Hansen (2008 Record: 3-1)

Wins:  Kotetsu Boku, Kultar “Black Mamba” Gill, Shinya Aoki

Accomplishments:  Crowned Dream Lightweight Grand Prix Champion

Kenny Florian (2008 Record: 3-0)

Wins:  Joe Lauzon, Rogert Huerta, Joe Stevenson

Jorge Santiago (2008 Record: 4-0)

Wins:  Kazuhiro Nakamura, Siyar Bahadurzada,  Logan Clark, Yuki Sasaki

Fight of the Year

Eddie Alvarez vs. Joachim Hansen – Dream 3 (May 11, 2008)

During Dream’s lightweight tournament we were treated to an exciting war between two of the sport’s premiere athletes.  After two rounds and fifteen minutes Alvarez was declared the winner by unanimous decision.  The two traded big strikes and battled for superiority in the highlight fight of the year. 

With the win Alvarez moved on and defeated Tatsuya Kawajiri in the semi-finals.  An eye injury kept him from the finals, however.  Following the loss Hansen defeated fellow tournament loser Kultar Gill in a reserve bout.  Due to Alvarez’ injury Hansen entered the finals where he avenged a previous loss to Shinya Aoki, winning by knockout.

Honorable Mention:

Eddie Alvarez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri – Dream 5 (July 21, 2008)

Outcome:  Alvarez defeated Kawajiri in a back and forth slugfest with strikes in the first round.  Despite the win the damage was done and Alvarez was unable to continue into the finals of Dream’s lightweight tournament. 

Rashad Evans vs. Forrest Griffin – UFC 92 (December 27, 2008)

Outcome:  The two fought competitively through two rounds, with the scorecards leaning in Griffin’s favor, until a caught kick landed Evans into Griffin’s guard.  Evans finished the fight shortly after with punches to remain undefeated and claim the UFC’s light heavyweight title. 

Miguel Torres vs. Yoshiro Maeda – WEC 34 (June 1, 2008)

Outcome:  After a three-round stand-up war Torres was declared the winner after doctor’s decided they could not let Maeda continue.  Maeda showed a ton of heart as he took severe punishment from Torres, who defended his WEC bantamweight championship for the first time. 

Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson – UFC 82 (March 1, 2008)

Outcome:  Silva defeated Henderson in what was hailed as a unification bout between the UFC’s 185-pound champion and PRIDE’s 183-pound champion.  Henderson claimed the first round after taking Silva down and controlling him, but the Brazilian scored with big shots in the second and eventually sank in a fight-ending rear naked choke. 

Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira – UFC 92 (December 27, 2008)

Outcome:  Mir became the first fighter in mixed martial arts history to finish the former PRIDE champion, Nogueira.  Despite being less of a competitive fight and more of an epic underdog story, Mir’s gameplan and execution on his way to a second round TKO stoppage goes down as one of the most exciting upsets in our sport.  With the win Mir claimed the UFC interim heavyweight title. 

Knockout of the Year

Rashad Evans def. Chuck Liddell – UFC 88 (September 6, 2008)

After avoiding Liddell’s power and counter-striking throughout round one, Evans eventually found his mark in the second.  After dodging a loopy haymaker from Liddell, Evans scored a monstrous overhand shot to Liddell’s jaw, forcing the former champion’s neck to bend and twist grotesquely.  The fight subsequently earned Evans a title shot at Forrest Griffin, which he won by TKO. 

Honorable Mention:

Josh Koscheck def. Yoshiyuki Yoshida – UFC Fight for the Troops (December 10, 2008)

Josh Koscheck def. Dustin Hazelett – UFC 82 (March 1, 2008)

Wilson Gouveia def. Jason Lambert – UFC 80 (January 19, 2008)

Frank Mir def. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira – UFC 92 (December 27, 2008)

Melvin Manhoef def. Mark Hunt – K-1 Dynamite!! 2008 (December 31, 2008)

Submission of the Year

Shinya Aoki def. Katsuhiko Nagata – Dream 4 (June 15, 2008) 

After already having pulled off mixed martial arts’ first gogoplata only eighteen months earlier, Aoki earns 2008’s submission of the year award for his first round gogoplata submission over Nagata at Dream 4.  Unlike his first gogoplata finish, he stopped Nagata with a gogoplata from mount, once again showcasing his grappling dominance. 

Honorable Mention:

Dustin Hazelett def. Tamdan McCrory (reverse armbar) – UFC 91 (November 15, 2008)

Frank Mir def. Brock Lesnar (kneebar) – UFC 81 (February 2, 2008)

Anderson Silva def. Dan Henderson (rear naked choke) – UFC 82 (March 1, 2008)

Eric Schafer def. Houston Alexander (arm-triangle choke) – UFC Fight Night 15 (September 15, 2008)

Joachim Hansen def. Kultar Gill (armbar) – Dream 5 (July 21, 2008)

Event of the Year

K-1 Dynamite!! 2008 (December 31, 2008)

On New Year’s Eve, FEG treated us once again to their annually Dynamite!! card which featured a wealth of marquee names, a bunch of exciting bouts, and some tremendous upsets. 

In the main event Japanese legends Kiyoshi Tamura and Kazushi Sakuraba fought to a decision, with Tamura coming out on top.  Additionally, billed as the “true” Dream lightweight finals Shinya Aoki scored a first round heel hook submission over the heavy-handed Eddie Alvarez. 

In kickboxing bouts, mixed martial arts stand-outs Alistair Overeem, Tatsuya Kawajiri, and Gegard Mousasi all made short work of their kickboxing counterparts.

Under MMA rules kickboxing stars met – with Semmy Schilt catching “Mighty” Mo in a triangle and Melvin Manhoef knocking out Mark Hunt in only eighteen seconds. 

Honorable Mention:

UFC 92 (December 27, 2008)

Notable Bouts:  Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans, Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Quinton Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva, Pat Barry vs. Dan Evensen, Antoni Hardonk vs. Mike Wessel

Dream 5 (July 21, 2008)

Notable Bouts:  Shinya Aoki vs. Joachim Hansen, Shinya Aoki vs. Caol Uno, Joachim Hansen vs. Kultar Gill, Eddie Alvarez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri, Joseph Benavidez vs. Junya Kudo, Alistair Overeem vs. Mark Hunt

Dream 6 (September 23, 2008)

Notable Bouts:  Gegard Mousasi vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Gegard Mousasi vs. Melvin Manhoef, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Zelg Galesic, Masakatsu Funaki vs. Ikuhisa Minowa, Andrews Nakahara vs. Dong Sik Yoon, Keita Nakamura vs. Adriano Martins

WEC 35 (August 3, 2008)

Notable Bouts:  Carlos Condit vs. Hiromitsu Miura, Steve Cantwell vs. Brian Stann, Jamie Varner vs. Marcus Hicks, Brian Bowles vs. Damacio Page, Brock Larson vs. Carlo Prater, Blas Avena vs. David Terrell

UFC 87 (August 9, 2008)

Notable Bouts:  Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch, Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring, Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta, Demian Maia vs. Jason MacDonald, Rob Emerson vs. Manny Gamburyan

Breakout Fighter of the Year

Eddie Alvarez

2008 Record: 4-1

2008 Victims:  Ross Ebanez, Andre “Dida” Amade, Joachim Hansen, Tatsuya Kawajiri

Losing what would have sealed him as fight of the year on New Year’s Eve to Shinya Aoki, Eddie Alvarez clearly earns the title of breakout fighter of 2008.  He started off with a win in January then entered Dream’s Lightweight Grand Prix where he established himself as a top ten fighter. 

In the tournament’s opening round he made short work of Andre “Dida” Amade, winning by TKO in the first round.  He then went on to take a clean win over Joachim Hansen, and a semi-final TKO win over Tatsuya Kawajiri. 

An injury prevented him from entering the finals to face Shinya Aoki, but he received his chance on New Year’s Eve with the WAMMA lightweight championship on the line.  Alvarez lost the fight, but clearly made his mark on the year. 

Honorable Mention:

Demian Maia (2008 Record: 3-0)

Wins:  Jason MacDonald, Nate Quarry, Ed Herman

Joseph Benavidez (2008 Record: 4-0)

Wins:  Junya Kudo, Danny Martinez, Maurice Eazel, Jason Georgianna

Brock Lesnar (2008 Record: 2-0)

Wins:  Randy Couture, Heath Herring

Accomplishments:  Crowned UFC Heavyweight Champion

Jorge Santiago (2008 Record: 4-0)

Wins:  Kazuhiro Nakamura, Siyar Bahadurzada, Logan Clark, Yuki Sasaki

Steve Cantwell (2008 Record: 3-0)

Wins:  Brian Stann, Tim McKenzie, Razak al-Hassan

Accomplishments:  Crowned WEC Light Heavyweight Champion

Other Notable Events of 2008

-Elite XC goes belly-up

+Frank Mir becomes the first man to stop Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in MMA

+Brock Lesnar goes from WWE to legit MMA champion

+Dream crowns two tournament champions

-Dana White cuts Jon Fitch over a video game contract dispute

+Dana White signs Jon Fitch after resolving said video game contract dispute

+Seth Petruzelli exposed Kimbo Slice to the casual fans

-Mirko “Cro Cop” keeps getting his balls busted

+Lots of champions and lots of upsets