By Alex Mattis
By the time you read this, Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva will have fulfilled their destiny, Miesha Tate may or may not (but, most likely will) have her arm in a cast, and Josh Barnett will have probably spouted off a Dusty Rhodes-esque diatribe on the mic. UFC 168 is upon us, but before the biggest UFC event of the year featuring the biggest fight of the year, let’s take a look back at the fights of 2013. The Top Ten, in fact.
The criteria for this list consists of four factors:
-Fight relevancy
-Level of competition
-Skill level displayed
-The overall memorable quality
The elite fighters of the world are in the UFC. That’s the way it is. Thus, the elite level of competition and skill are in the UFC. This is a way of saying, “Most of the entries in these ‘Top Ten’ lists will be from the UFC, unless exceedingly deserving otherwise.”
10. Matt Brown vs. Jordan Mein (UFC on FOX – 4/20)
This fight was not pretty. It was a brutal battle of attrition from the word go. Jordan Mein was carrying a world of hype into the cage with him, but Matt Brown isn’t the kind of fighter that goes without a brawl. Brown proved to be just too much for the young Mein, as the pace became too grueling. Mein entered the second round drained; Brown swarmed. An onslaught from Brown brought this war to an end a minute into the second.
9. Frankie Edgar vs. Charles Oliveira (UFC 162 – 7/6)
This fight was overshadowed by that whole “Chris Weidman knocking out Anderson Silva” thing, and that’s a damn shame. Frankie finally got the win his career desperately needed and Oliveira proved that he has a world of potential that is yet to be fully realized. The two made for an interesting matchup, but it was Edgar’s speed and boxing that made the difference. Edgar took home the victory via unanimous decision and the duo were awarded Fight of the Night.
8. Johny Hendricks vs. Carlos Condit (UFC 158 – 3/16)
Hendricks road to gold ran into the “Natural Born Killer” at UFC 158 and this was seen as the final test for Hendricks; to see if he was for real. Hendricks passed the test with flying colors. Hendricks was able to toss Condit around the octagon like a rag doll and even rocked the former champion on his feet numerous times. Condit exhibited his trademark toughness and conditioning as he was able to control and win the final round, but it wasn’t enough. Johny Hendricks won a unanimous decision and an eventual shot at the welterweight title.
7. Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann (UFC Fight Night – 8/28)
In 2009, these two delivered a FOTY performance and in 2013, they outdid themselves. Honestly, Condit and Kampmann are two of the most exciting fighters in the UFC’s history and their battles were both instant classics. The bout started on an even keel but as it wore on, Kampmann started to fade. Round four began, Condit came out and beat down Kampmann like Kampmann had stolen his NetFlix password, changed it, and cleared out his Instant Queue. The referee mercifully saved Kampmann and Condit was awarded the victory, redeeming his loss from five years prior.
6. Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald (UFC 167 – 11/16)
MacDonald is thought to be the future of the welterweight divsion, a position Lawler was in a decade ago. This was truly a fight fitting of the UFC’s 20th anniversary show. It was a “Past Vs. Future” of sorts. The problem is, someone forgot to tell Lawler that he was brought into the UFC to put over the young guys. MacDonald pushed the pace early and made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with the stand-up game. Lawler displayed some remarkable takedown defense and was eventually able to get the fight where he wanted. As Rory MacDonald does when fights aren’t going his way, he kept his neck straight and began backing up in predictable fashions. That was all Lawler needed to land a grenade and drop MacDonald late in the 3rd round. MacDonald, impressively enough, was able to rally and end the fight strong, but it was clear that Lawler had gotten the better of the contest. “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler was named the winner and is now set to face Johny Hendricks for the UFC welterweight championship. If he wins, he will have effectively completed the first character story-arch of mixed martial arts.
5. Ben Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez (UFC on FOX – 4/20)
Gilbert Melendez’s TRUE Fight of the Year candidate. Gil came in from Strikeforce as a champion and immediately challenged for UFC gold. Standing in his way was the smooth one, Ben Henderson. The scrap was predicted to be a modern classic, and it lived up to that. In the first round, Melendez showed that he was presenting a different kind of challenge. Throughout the remainder of the fight BenHen was able to adjust his game and get into a position of advantage. When the final bell rang, the scorecards were read and Ben Henderson had retained his UFC lightweight championship. At the time of the bout, the immediate discussion was debate over the decision and who really won. What was agreed upon, however, was this being one of the best lightweight title fights in UFC history.
4. Georges St. Pierre vs. Johny Hendricks (UFC 167 – 11/16)
Whether you agree with the decision or not, and being honest the fight was much closer than detractors would care to admit, this was one of the most skillful, strategic UFC title fights in years. More interesting was the fact that GSP actually had to fight at 100%. For the past few years he’s been able to completely outmatch his opponents in every area and get by on his skill level alone. At UFC 167 he was matched against an incredibly dangerous striker and a *gasp* superior wrestler. The drama was there. Both men had shining moments, but the majority felt there was to be a new champion crowned. As things go in combat sports, St-Pierre controversially retained the strap. The unpopular decision left a sour taste in most mouths, which is really a shame. This was an amazing fight.
3. Mark Hunt vs. Antonio Silva (UFC Fight Night – 12/7)
Personal story time! I watched this fight at work with the FoxSportsGo app on my phone. I sat alone in the dark and silence hidden from co-workers. In the middle of the fifth round I realized I was on my feet, screaming “JUST A FEW MORE, MARK!”, shaking my arms violently; I assume I was blue in the face. Point of the story was to convey how freaking emotional and engaging this fight was. The heart and will on display was unreal – beyond the level of Shogun-Henderson or Bonnar-Griffin. It was something to behold, a war in every single sense of the word. The sub story of this fight being “MY GOD, Mark Hunt has become an actually MMA fighter.” This will be many’s pick for THE Fight of the Year.
2. Eddie Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler (Bellator 106 – 11/2)
When you have a fight as incredible as these two had in the their first go, it’s impossible to think that the rematch will live up to it. FALSE. Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler once again took each other to the limit and gave Bellator two fighters, a fight, and a rivalry that they can be proud of. This is something that set them apart and present them as a legitimate product in combat sports. Alvarez picked up a ridiculously hard-fought split decision and set the stage for a legendary rubber match in 2014.
1. Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson (UFC 165 – 9/21)
As fans, the proudest we could have ever been of our sport was during this fight. The level of skill and intelligence on display was more than enough to show any detractors evidence of what mixed martial arts can be. This is what MMA can be: at it’s finest, it displays competition unlike any other sports pitting world-class athletes against one another. Gustafsson put on a boxing clinic while Jones displayed a hybrid striking style that took him to the championship. Both (Gustafsson, more surprisingly) demonstrated elite grappling. Most importantly, both displayed the tenacity and determination of top-level competitors from ANY realm. The fight itself ended up being much more competitive than prophesied with Gustafsson giving Jones, by far, the toughest fight of his career.
In the end, however, Jones retained his UFC light heavyweight championship but I’m not sure that’s what really matters. It was a moral victory for all involved. It was a victory for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It truly was a victory for mixed martial arts. Absolutely the 2013 MMA Fight of the Year and will go down as one of the greatest of all time.
