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

I voted for Cain. He came back and dominated the man who most considered the greatest HW in the world. Bendo had a great year but I didn't see him beating Edgar although his performance against Nate was brilliant
 
It's not really true though. Plenty of guys win fights or go on win streaks and nobody thinks they are invincible. There are very few guys who anyone makes that claim about. One of them was recently exposed.

its more referring to the few guys who are at the top at the moment, like a junior dos santos

you can see how much the perception of both cain and jds has changed, when it prob shouldnt - them fighting is a very close fight and it can be anyone's night


people talk about anderson silva like its a give in that he'll beat most anyone at 185 or 205 with few exceptions - same w gsp - people get mad at most any fight unless its at a higher weight class or something - it is all part of the same idea, that people get blown up in the mind

but everyone is human and everyone ends up losing - fedor was the king of this - the way he was talked about before he lost vs after was remarkable
 
ronda is definitely the female fighter of the year.
 
I voted Cain because he obliterated both of his Top ten guys in both of his fights. Bendo is not in consideration for me because I thought he lost to Edgar in the second fight.
Jon beat Rashad which is pretty good, Vitor wasn't ranked at LHW however,
Anderson beat Chael, Bonnar was meh.
Georges 1 fight,
Bendo (I thought lost),
Aldo (1 fight), If he had KO'd Edgar at 153 though he might be the winner.
Renan (beat Urijah and Jorgensen) meh,
Johnson many believe lost to McCall 1st time but he put on a great showing vs Benavidez.
Non-Champs
Hendricks good wins but many believe he lost to Kos
Gustaffson Solid wins
 
cain, bendo top the list with props to gsp for a great comeback.

rhonda shouldn't even be on the list - way way too much hype.

jones lost his chances with the dui and killing 151 imho

anderson - just can't give him the vote for fighting bonnar.
 
Bendo just edges it out for me even though I don't think he won the second against Frankie, he's definitely not a sit and soak it up champ.
 
i dislike cain but voted for him because he deserves it

bendo had argubally lost to edgar twice
 
No one really stood out this year like f.e. Jones and Alves did before. These awards are based on results though, and Bendo's done the most there. Even if I don't agree with the Frankie rematch, which is why Bendo isn't the clear cut winner. Frankie also didn't win fights to steal it from Bendo.

Same with Hendricks/Kos, and the Fitch fight was in '11.

Cain's 2 wins aren't much, but they would mean more if both were title wins. IMO, going at least 3-0 would be impressive, or if he had beat JDS first and then defended against Overeem. Two title wins against two great fighters.
 
Voted Ronda. Brought WMMA to the UFC, became the first women's champ in UFC history, skyrocketed in popularity.

Benson is the current leader but I think he should be 1-2 this year with two losses to Edgar so it's hard for me to give him my vote.
 
Matt Brown gets my vote......So "other".
 
I'm a Bendo fan but can't see it with the controversial decision. I have to give it to Cain overachieving & beating the baddest man on the planet for the strap.
 
For me it's Benson, with Cain/Rousey tied for very close 2nd. Benson went 3-0, beating the champ and defending the title twice (I know that the rematch was close). Cain got his groove back (Tito voice) "with a dominating fashion", as did Rousey.

Mighty Mouse went 2-0-1, but I honestly think that he lost the first McCall fight, which taints his tournament wins thereafter. Everyone else in the list had some fun fights, but get points off for strength of schedule (that is, beating a retired Bonnar or an aging Belfort is commendable, but not as impressive as beating someone in your natural weight class, with both opponents in their prime).
 
Cain.
He beat a dangerous Bigfoot even more dominantly and quickly than he was expected to, and dominated a lethal JDS non-stop for 5 rounds.
Bendo won a close (and in some circles, controversial) decision against Frankie, then was awarded a win he didn't deserve against Frankie, and then beat one of a pair of brothers known to suck against diverse gameplans.

of all of them, Cain did the best against the level of competition faced.
 
Matt Brown gets my vote......So "other".

Quality choice. A year going 4-0 with 3 violent stoppages and the decision win being a systematic derailment that was a pleasure to behold.
 
Back
Top