A lot of stuff went down in 2016, don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere near what happened outside of the Octagon. The UFC had one of the greatest years of all time. We got UFC 200, even though UFC 196 and UFC 199 was better… and those other regional cards which were also better. Then, we got UFC 205 which was the real UFC 200. Oh yeah, and they made a Scrooge McDuck amount of money off of fights. In the midst of all of that, there were multiple fights that made us type flame emoji in multiple succession. These are all of the Fight of the Year candidates.
Cub Swanson vs. Doo ho Choi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUptH9xfscc
Recency bias is strong with this one, and rightfully so. Cub Swanson and Doo ho Choi were both pushed to their limits. Through a stupid brutal dog fight, Swanson proved he’s not that veteran stepping stone and Choi became a man. Scientists are still studying how Choi was not knocked out and they are getting nowhere.
Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g5p4InoGYA
We were all like, nothing could ever top Lawler’s bloodletting against Rory MacDonald in which his demon form revealed itself and he turned MacDonald’s face into a run-over-by-a-car Pekingese dog, but this sure came close. When you pit albino buzzsaw Carlos Condit against the most vicious welterweight of the last two years, you get a Fight of the Year candidate.
Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson
Tyrone Woodley vs Stephen Thompson.. one of the fights of 2016 pic.twitter.com/9SHqyIJUm3
— KO KINGS (@KOKINGS4) December 24, 2016
The dude who knocked out Robbie Lawler was pitted against the Wonderboy, who was straight putting his foot on fighter’s cheeks and transporting them to the upside down. A lot of people thought Tyron Woodley would just knock Stephen Thompson out, others thought Thompson’s movement and striking would frustrate Woodley while his movement alluded him the whole time . We were all wrong. They went at it and it was awesome as hell.
Michael Bisping vs. Anderson Silva
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FZXHNRFpnk
On Fight Pass, in the middle of the damn day, these two legends went after it in a bloody mess that featured one of the wildest and weirdest scenarios ever in the UFC. After Bisping pointed to his mouthpiece, Silva did a Street Fighter Tiger Knee and erased Bisping’s soul from this Earth. Only his hometown crowd was able to usher his lifeforce back into his body because the fight wasn’t over. It was like he put in an extra coin to continue and won.
Lando Vannata vs. Tony Ferguson
Tony Ferguson almost got caught out in what would have been a huge upset, by UFC debutant Lando Vanatta in another FOTY candidate for 2016 pic.twitter.com/zrN79LZWnL
— KO KINGS (@KOKINGS4) December 24, 2016
A new challenger arrived. On short notice. Like, real short notice. To take on Tony Ferguson, the lightweight contender version of Max Holloway that was destroying everyone up the ranks. We thought this weird named dude has no shot, but we didn’t know he was an inter-dimensional traveler with groovy ass Matrix moves. A fight we thought was ruined, ending up being one of the funnest fights of the entire year. …And we all know what happened to Lando Vannata.
Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IX4if3BjnA
This shit right here. This shit right here, homie. Conor McGregor could not continue living his life losing to 10 foot, 330lb Stockton soldier, Nate Diaz. Against all logic, against the sake of the featherweight division, McGregor was granted a rematch against Diaz. It was insane. The ups, the downs, the blood, the slaps, the sniper lefts knocking down adamantium-jawed Diaz, the backstory and the razor close McGregor victory in the end make it a strong contender for the best fight of 2016.
What do you think was Fight of the Year?
Sooo many great fights this year!! Tell us which ones you enjoyed the most below.
Vote: https://t.co/Ca81Zh7eaS pic.twitter.com/79lqcsFEFi
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) December 23, 2016