A Look Back at 2012 - The Definitive Fighter of the Year Thread (Long Read)

[BelieveInChael]

Bendo could arguably be 1 & 2 - no way is he fighter of the year.

 

[hiyah]

For me it's a toss up between Cain, Ronda and Bendo. Voted for Ronda though. She's been doin it real big for women's MMA. Not to take anything away from other female fighters, but basically she singled-handedly got women into the UFC.

 

[TJC]

Going by record I'd say Bendo but his rematch with Frankie could so easily have been a loss I don't think I can give it to him. Cain or Hendricks get my vote.

 

[Hester65]

Should have Matt brown on that list

 

[Blommen]

definitely Bendo. to me he is the one fighter who has raised his stock the most over the year considering where he was at the beginning and where he is now.

 

[Blackbelch**]

Beautiful thread. Gotta learn from you. Picked Benson. He's been really solid, didn't seem tired at all against Nate and he was pushing HARD 100% throughout the whole fight. Something I think couldn't be done by the human being on planet earth.

 

[Substance Abuse]

It's Benson Henderson. No questions asked. Went from being a WEC after thought getting more shit for his 'Can I Get an Amen?!' after fight speeches to dominating the division.

 

[Det Kimble]

Should have Matt brown on that list

Good suggestion. I can't believe I overlooked him. 4-0 with wins over Swick and Thompson is definitely reason enough to be added to the contenders list.

Beautiful thread. Gotta learn from you. Picked Benson. He's been really solid, didn't seem tired at all against Nate and he was pushing HARD 100% throughout the whole fight. Something I think couldn't be done by the human being on planet earth.

Thank you.

 

[Homerlite]

I gotta go with Matt Brown

Going in to his fight at 143 with Chris Cope, he was 1-4 in his last five.

But he really made a huge comeback this year. He is not elite at any level, but
a very solid fighter and a TON of heart.

And ending his 2012 with a very improved ground game against, former WW contender, Mike Swick before a brutal KO.

Win or lose Brown always brings it, and I

 

[TheRassler]

Matt Brown deserves it most

 

[KAZSoliloquy]

Tough to call. Hendricks, Bendo, Velasquez, Anderson, Barao, DJ, etc. all had an amazing year. I voted Bendo though

 

[5H3RD0G]

Benson, Rousey, Demetrious Johnson, and Cain all have fought great competition and proved they are the top of the class for 2012. :icon_chee....................now UFC send them all a Bentley.

 

[Craig2891991]

Bendo. He fought 3 times this year and won against top competition.

Not many on your list even fought 3 times, this list shows me that the top guys aren't nearly fighting enough.

 

[Cptn1NSAN0]

Bendo.

 

[SherdogFan23]

I voted for Benson Henderson. He won three fights against the top of his weight division. I wanted to vote for Jones, but he only had two fights this year due to the UFC 151 fiasco and the stupid TUF arrangement.

 

[OldBoy91]

I voted for Anderson just because of his age and the fact that he's STILL on top of the world.

 

[drkaratekid]

I think it goes to AS...he comes back to dominate a fighter who dominated him for most of the last fight, and annihilates an opponent in a higher weight class, all at 36/37 yrs old.

 

[Agmkreptile]

I give it to Bendo. The amount of people counting him out against Diaz was staggering and it ended up being one of the most one sided title fights in UFC history.

 

[PAPERCLIP30]

I voted Cain, because both of his wins were extremely one sided, whereas Bendo had 2 really close fights (One I thought he lost).


Joe Lauzon is an honorable mention, just because he had 2 sick fights this year.

 

[Razor]

Cain, domination of Bigfoot, beating of JDS.


I was going to go with Bendo but in my opinion, he lost to Frankie the second time.