- Joined
- Nov 17, 2019
- Messages
- 846
- Reaction score
- 1,759
As the new year approaches, what better way to spend the last few minutes/hours than posting a controversial very late post on my 2024 mma wards. To stress this is my personal opinion on what has been a great year for MMA overall, from epic events like UFC 300/299/308 to insane bits of media round the sport we love. However, within the realm of MMA, there are a few awards that i believe need to be given out.
Debut of the year (fighter with best single debut performance):
not as impressive as Bonfim last year but IMO, even though she looked average in her Ketlen Vieira fight, the way Kayla Harrison demolished Holly Holm at UFC 300 was in many ways still quite shocking. Yes, Holm was older at 42, but she still had a decent skillset and had proved to be a stylistic nightmare matchup for judokas so the way Kayla made her look like a child inside the octagon unlike any fighter we've seen before was still a sight to behold. Not saying she'll be anything on the level of a Nunes but certainly, she looked like the uncrowned champ after that performance.
Prospect of the year: Is there really anyone other than Carlos Prates. From debut to ranked within 12 months, will 4 highlight real KO's along the way, Prates really looks like he could be a "Nightmare for the WW division". Admittedly we haven't seen him tested against the elite wrestlers that 170 possesses but if he continues to rank wins in the manner he did in 2024, expect to see a new title contender for 2026.
Breakthrough fighter of the year (either a fighter who debuted to much fanfare, or one established a new placement in their respective division): Diego Lopes.Yes he was a fast rising prospect in 2023, with an impressive performancesagainst Movsar (despite losing) and insane perfomances against Sabatini and Tucker, but there was still a question as to how he would deal with the top of the division. Well in a similar light to Prates, we have seen this young man go from unranked top 3, going 3-0 against some fairly tidy competition. Also, as controversial a take as this maybe, I believe in the first round, he is the toughest matchup for the champ (more on him later). Expect him to be in a no.1 contenders fight or a title fight in 2025 and expect it to be a barnburner.
Worst cockup of the year: Igor Severino. Imagine this, you're a young prospect from Brazil, 7-0 with a brutal ko win on the contender series, you have a tough fight ahead of you against another prospect, where potentially a win sets your career alight. and you decide since its a tougher fight than you were expecting to bite the bloke your fighting, costing your career. In the history of dumb moves in the sport, this has to top it:
Comeback fighter of the year: Francis Ngannou: What Ngannou went through this year would have crippled lesser men. To lose by brutal Ko for the first time in your career is one thing, but hey you made crazy money fighting one of the biggest stars in boxing in AJ. But to lose your one year old baby boy... forget fighting, that something no man should ever have to go through. For Ngannou to go through all of that hardship, and then comeback with an impressive performance against one of the most dangerous HW's outside the UFC, man, it speaks testament to the guys mental fortitude. Forget just a winner and a tough guy in mma, Ngannou is one of the toughest most inspiring people who's probably on the planet today, and deserves all our admiration.
Submission of the year (most vicious sub of the year): Sure Paddy's triple sub threat after a dumb bobby green decision was mighty impressive, and sure Chimaev smashing Robs chaw was terrifying, but the sequence Islam did against Poirier from the takedown to the guillotine to the anaconda choke itself, its one of the most high level pieces of dominant grappling ive seen in mma this year. Another highlight for the soon to be LW goat ia.
KO of the year (most devastating ko of the year): Another year of iconic KO's, Sharas spinning backfist was probably technique of the year, and Oliveria decapatating Sopaj after destroying his legs was insane, but man, could it be anything else. Holloway is up 3-1, arguably 4-1, and with 10 seconds to go, gives Gaethje an opportunity to win by standing in the middle and just trading. And with 3 seconds to go, an overhand right stiffens the Bmf champ flat and as one fan quoted, Max becomes immortal in that moment. Its not only the best KO of the year, imo its the greatest KO of all time in MMA.
Fight of the year: that being said, it's nowhere near FOTY, given how one sided it was. I did consider putting Orolbai vs Rebecki here as the heart and endurance and grappling exchanges both men showed was insane, but from a technical violence perspective, No fight had me on the edge of my seat like Zellhuber vs Ribovics, That Round 3 is easily round of the year and the back and forth across all 15 minutes was some of the most beautiful striking ive seen in any fight. A deserved winner.
Performance of the year (fighter with the overall best, most dominant performance of the year): Ilia KOing max was a close 2nd, and is arguably the most impressive win of the year, given the KO and who it was against. but man, to see the way in 4 minutes, Khamzat Chimaev went from overrated hype job to the uncrowned MW champ in many a pundits eyes was insane to behold. To be the guy who had struggled agains the only two elite fighters he had faced, to breaking the jaw of one of the greatest MW's of all time, who was on a decent win streak of his own. For Chimaev to dominate him in the manner he did, well, there's a reason odd makers have him as the fav to finish the year as MW champ. Here's to seeing more of him in 2025.
Event of the year: UFC 299 was insane, UFC 308 as well, and 306 at the sphere was a spectacular experience, but man, I dont think I'll ever see a card like 300 again. From Figgy subbing Garbrandt, to Moicanos comeback vs Turner, to Lopes demolishment, Harrisons Performance, Jiri going full Samurai on Rakic, Oliveira nearly subbing Arman, Max going immortal vs Gaethje, Yan coming back after being put to sleep, and finally Poatan getting a signature left hook KO. Truly a once in a lifetime card and im so happy i stayed up till 7am to watch it.
Company man of the year: No real standout for female fighter of the year this past year imo, but creating this extra award since one man did more for the UFC and mma in general than anyone. Saved three PPVS this year, all which would have been sub par events without him. 3 ppv title fight headliners, 3 wins, 3 KO's, more aura than anyone in the sport right now arguably and the face of the UFC in many ways (he had the most sold shirts this year). Only one word left to say. Chama
Male fighter of the year: any other year, against nearly any other fighter other than maybe Jones in 2011, Alex would crush this list. However, as much as his wins made me upset this year, what Ilia Topuria did in two victories is something I haven't seen so far in the sport. To beat two of the top 3 greatest FTws of all time, two hall of famers and goats of the sport in Volk and Holloway is one thing, to KO both of them brutally is something entirely different. to put it into perspective, Ilia pretty much has destroyed the top FTW division from 2016-2024 in two fights. Thats is insane. And it's not only his power but his fight iq, his sharpness, the way he has this mystic mac element of calling fights before delivering, man, could there be anyone else.
What are your thoughts Sherbros? Do you agree or disagree with the above and if the former, would love to know who you have in each award category?
Debut of the year (fighter with best single debut performance):
not as impressive as Bonfim last year but IMO, even though she looked average in her Ketlen Vieira fight, the way Kayla Harrison demolished Holly Holm at UFC 300 was in many ways still quite shocking. Yes, Holm was older at 42, but she still had a decent skillset and had proved to be a stylistic nightmare matchup for judokas so the way Kayla made her look like a child inside the octagon unlike any fighter we've seen before was still a sight to behold. Not saying she'll be anything on the level of a Nunes but certainly, she looked like the uncrowned champ after that performance.
Prospect of the year: Is there really anyone other than Carlos Prates. From debut to ranked within 12 months, will 4 highlight real KO's along the way, Prates really looks like he could be a "Nightmare for the WW division". Admittedly we haven't seen him tested against the elite wrestlers that 170 possesses but if he continues to rank wins in the manner he did in 2024, expect to see a new title contender for 2026.
Breakthrough fighter of the year (either a fighter who debuted to much fanfare, or one established a new placement in their respective division): Diego Lopes.Yes he was a fast rising prospect in 2023, with an impressive performancesagainst Movsar (despite losing) and insane perfomances against Sabatini and Tucker, but there was still a question as to how he would deal with the top of the division. Well in a similar light to Prates, we have seen this young man go from unranked top 3, going 3-0 against some fairly tidy competition. Also, as controversial a take as this maybe, I believe in the first round, he is the toughest matchup for the champ (more on him later). Expect him to be in a no.1 contenders fight or a title fight in 2025 and expect it to be a barnburner.
Worst cockup of the year: Igor Severino. Imagine this, you're a young prospect from Brazil, 7-0 with a brutal ko win on the contender series, you have a tough fight ahead of you against another prospect, where potentially a win sets your career alight. and you decide since its a tougher fight than you were expecting to bite the bloke your fighting, costing your career. In the history of dumb moves in the sport, this has to top it:
Comeback fighter of the year: Francis Ngannou: What Ngannou went through this year would have crippled lesser men. To lose by brutal Ko for the first time in your career is one thing, but hey you made crazy money fighting one of the biggest stars in boxing in AJ. But to lose your one year old baby boy... forget fighting, that something no man should ever have to go through. For Ngannou to go through all of that hardship, and then comeback with an impressive performance against one of the most dangerous HW's outside the UFC, man, it speaks testament to the guys mental fortitude. Forget just a winner and a tough guy in mma, Ngannou is one of the toughest most inspiring people who's probably on the planet today, and deserves all our admiration.
Submission of the year (most vicious sub of the year): Sure Paddy's triple sub threat after a dumb bobby green decision was mighty impressive, and sure Chimaev smashing Robs chaw was terrifying, but the sequence Islam did against Poirier from the takedown to the guillotine to the anaconda choke itself, its one of the most high level pieces of dominant grappling ive seen in mma this year. Another highlight for the soon to be LW goat ia.
KO of the year (most devastating ko of the year): Another year of iconic KO's, Sharas spinning backfist was probably technique of the year, and Oliveria decapatating Sopaj after destroying his legs was insane, but man, could it be anything else. Holloway is up 3-1, arguably 4-1, and with 10 seconds to go, gives Gaethje an opportunity to win by standing in the middle and just trading. And with 3 seconds to go, an overhand right stiffens the Bmf champ flat and as one fan quoted, Max becomes immortal in that moment. Its not only the best KO of the year, imo its the greatest KO of all time in MMA.
Fight of the year: that being said, it's nowhere near FOTY, given how one sided it was. I did consider putting Orolbai vs Rebecki here as the heart and endurance and grappling exchanges both men showed was insane, but from a technical violence perspective, No fight had me on the edge of my seat like Zellhuber vs Ribovics, That Round 3 is easily round of the year and the back and forth across all 15 minutes was some of the most beautiful striking ive seen in any fight. A deserved winner.
Performance of the year (fighter with the overall best, most dominant performance of the year): Ilia KOing max was a close 2nd, and is arguably the most impressive win of the year, given the KO and who it was against. but man, to see the way in 4 minutes, Khamzat Chimaev went from overrated hype job to the uncrowned MW champ in many a pundits eyes was insane to behold. To be the guy who had struggled agains the only two elite fighters he had faced, to breaking the jaw of one of the greatest MW's of all time, who was on a decent win streak of his own. For Chimaev to dominate him in the manner he did, well, there's a reason odd makers have him as the fav to finish the year as MW champ. Here's to seeing more of him in 2025.
Event of the year: UFC 299 was insane, UFC 308 as well, and 306 at the sphere was a spectacular experience, but man, I dont think I'll ever see a card like 300 again. From Figgy subbing Garbrandt, to Moicanos comeback vs Turner, to Lopes demolishment, Harrisons Performance, Jiri going full Samurai on Rakic, Oliveira nearly subbing Arman, Max going immortal vs Gaethje, Yan coming back after being put to sleep, and finally Poatan getting a signature left hook KO. Truly a once in a lifetime card and im so happy i stayed up till 7am to watch it.
Company man of the year: No real standout for female fighter of the year this past year imo, but creating this extra award since one man did more for the UFC and mma in general than anyone. Saved three PPVS this year, all which would have been sub par events without him. 3 ppv title fight headliners, 3 wins, 3 KO's, more aura than anyone in the sport right now arguably and the face of the UFC in many ways (he had the most sold shirts this year). Only one word left to say. Chama
Male fighter of the year: any other year, against nearly any other fighter other than maybe Jones in 2011, Alex would crush this list. However, as much as his wins made me upset this year, what Ilia Topuria did in two victories is something I haven't seen so far in the sport. To beat two of the top 3 greatest FTws of all time, two hall of famers and goats of the sport in Volk and Holloway is one thing, to KO both of them brutally is something entirely different. to put it into perspective, Ilia pretty much has destroyed the top FTW division from 2016-2024 in two fights. Thats is insane. And it's not only his power but his fight iq, his sharpness, the way he has this mystic mac element of calling fights before delivering, man, could there be anyone else.
What are your thoughts Sherbros? Do you agree or disagree with the above and if the former, would love to know who you have in each award category?
