Memo to the World MMA Awards

Memo To The World Mixed Martial Arts Awards

December 16, 2014

By Ryan Porzl

 

Once again, I decided to make a memo where I suggest to the World MMA Awards that should be nominated or considered for nomination for their year-end awards. The idea comes from legendary film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert's "Memo to the Academy" segment.

Fighter of the Year
Likely Nominees: Demetrious Johnson (UFC), TJ Dillashaw (UFC), Robbie Lawler (UFC)

Marcin Tybura (M-1 Global)- With many UFC Heavyweights on the shelf for most, if not, all of 2014 and Bellator Champion Vitaly Minakov only fighting once, Tybura definitely can make the claim of being MMA's top heavyweight in 2014. Tybura entered the year with a lot of momentum as he was coming off winning the M-1 Global Heavyweight Grand Prix. He continued his success throughout the year by going 3-0 as he defeated journeyman Maro Perak, made quick work of M-1 Heavyweight Champion Damian Grabowski in less than 90 seconds, and retained against undefeated prospect Denis Smoldarev. He became M-1 Heavyweight Champion, made a successful title defense, and appeared at M-1's debut event in Beijing, China all the while remaining undefeated. Don't be surprised if the UFC and Bellator start making offers to him in 2015.

Emanuel Newton (Bellator MMA)- While 2013 saw Emanuel Newton get his name out there, 2014 saw him go to the next level. He began the year by defeating Attila Vegh to become the undisputed Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion. He then went on to make two successful title defenses in the span of six weeks. First defeating Joey Beltran with the same spinning back elbow he used in his big upset against Muhammed Lawal and then scored a nice come from behind submission over Linton Vassell. In 2014, Newton would be the first Light Heavyweight Champion in Bellator to retain the title and his stock rose to the point that he's even made top ten rankings on websites like Sherdog.

Justin Gaethje (WSOF)- In it's short history, The World Series of Fighting has had it's share of homegrown talent. Of the successful homegrown talent, the most successful one could be Justin Gaethje. After a nice run in WSOF since the company's beginning, Gaethje's stock shot to the top in 2014. He entered the year by quickly defeating Richard Patishnock to become the first ever WSOF Lightweight Champion. He followed that up by main eventing WSOF's first event broadcast on NBC where he defeated another undefeated prospect in Nick Newell. He ended the year by scoring one of the biggest wins of his career when he defeated Melvin Guillard. By accomplishing all of these thing, Gaethje has repeatedly made history this year in ways that many fighters don't get the chance to.

Alexander Volkov (Bellator MMA)- After losing the Bellator Heavyweight Championship and going through a period of inactivity last year, Alexander Volkov has made up for lost times in 2014. This year, Volkov showed he's a man determined to regain the championship and will go through anybody he has to in order to get it. This year Volkov gave his best performances in Bellator. While he appeared to play it safe in 2012, this year he showed a killer instinct and wasn't afraid to finish opponents. After only fighting once in 2013, Volkov made sure to stay busy as he fought three times before the summer as he entered Bellator's Season Ten Heavyweight Tournament where he gave one impressive performance after another. The tournament saw Volkov quickly TKO middle of the road fighter Mark Holata in the quarterfinals. He then followed that with a potential knockout of the year candidate by knocking Mighty Mo out with a head kick. He then went on to the finals where he scored one of the biggest wins of his career by submitting the then undefeated combat sambo gold medalist Blagoi Ivanov to win his second Bellator tournament and earn a title shot. After taking the second half off, Volkov would fight a fourth time in December when he defeated Roy Boughton by a quick TKO in his native Russia. While many will question the quality of Volkov's opponents outside of Ivanov, Volkov's busy schedule and quick turnarounds should make up for those. Add to his improvement along with winning another tournament and you have good reasons for Drago to be considered for nomination.




Knockout of the Year
Likely Nominees: Ronda Rousey over Alexis Davis (UFC), Donald Cerrone over Adriano Martins (UFC), Alexander Volkov over Mighty Mo (Bellator MMA)

Derek Anderson over Brandon Girtz (Bellator MMA)- Anderson's knockout was one that looked cool, brutal, and perfectly timed. The knockout occurred when Girtz attempted to throw an overhand punch just as Anderson threw a perfectly timed knee that connected on Girtz's jaw and sent him on his back to the canvas as he was knocked backwards. The knockout looked cool and awesome to watch especially when you watch it and see how quick Anderson was able to not only throw it but to have it landed flush on Girtz. It's a knockout that should be on Anderson's highlight video packages for a long time to come.

Anthony Johnson over Mike Kyle (WSOF)- This was another underrated knockout. The knockout was due to an overhand right that connected around the ear of Kyle which resulted in Kyle instantly collapsing face first on the cage canvas. The knockout looked brutal with Kyle collapsing like a tree falling to the ground.



Submission of the Year
Likely Nominees: Ben Saunders over Chris Heatherly (UFC), Raquel Pennington over Ashlee Evans-Smith (UFC), Eduardo Dantas over Anthony Leone (Bellator)

Alexander Volkov over Blagoi Ivanov (Bellator MMA)- I suggest this one not because of the submission being unique or looking incredible. It was a standred rear-naked choke. The reason I suggest this is because of the fighters involved. Heading into Bellator's first pay-per-view, the general thought was that if Volkov were to win, he would have to either knock Ivanov out or win a decision. With Volkov more a striker with only one submission win and Ivanov being a gold medal winner in combat sambo, it seems highly unlikely that Volkov would take Ivanov down, control him, and submit him. However, that's exactly would happen as the former heavyweight champion would take the sambo gold medalist to the ground and scored a surprising submission win. Given Ivanov's credentials and Volkov only winning one fight by submission, it makes the submission the more impressive.



Fight of the Year
Likely Nominees: Either one of the Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler fights (UFC), Eddie Alverez vs. Donald Cerrone (UFC)

Emanuel Newton vs. Linton Vassell (Bellator MMA)- This was a fight packed with excitement as challenger Vassell took it to champion Newtown and came very close to winning the fight and the championship. He controlled much of the fight, winning rounds, and came very close on a few occasions. The fight also had an amazing ending as Newton was controlled on the ground, he kept going to the ground, and his corner kept telling him to keep the fighting standing. Yet, in the fifth round, Newton would shockingly get win by submitting Vassell. Basically, the fight seemed hopeless as it went on for Newton and yet he proved fans and his corner wrong by scoring a come from behind submission win.

Vinny Magalhaes vs. Jason Brilz (Titan FC)- This fight is not for everyone but still a fight of the year candidate. This is more for the grappling fans or the ones who look for grappling chess. For three rounds, both men were on the ground with Brilz trying to control it with his wrestling and Magalhaes attempting submissions from his back. The fight had plenty of dramas with Magalhaes hooking multiple submissions that looked to end it only for Brilz to escape. While Magalhaes ended up winning by submission, Brilz didn't make it easy as he survived into the fourth round. The fight was also good given their skills. With Brilz as a very good wrestler and Magalhaes decorated in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, it was possible for them to try and strike it out. Instead they took it to the ground and went for their strengths instead of being too nervous of losing in their speciality.



Comeback of the Year
Likely Nominees: Unknown. Usually the World MMA Awards nominate fighters who came back during a fight and went on to win instead of career comebacks. I'll suggest the latter.

Joe Warren (Bellator MMA)- Joe Warren has been one of Bellator's biggest creations. After a highly amateur wrestling career and a brief stint in DREAM, Warren came to Bellator where he's spent the majority of his career. After winning and later losing the Bellator Featherweight Title in brutal fashion, many began to question Warren's future as a fighter. Though he only had ten MMA fights at the time of his title loss in early 2012, Warren was going on 36 years old. Even after scoring a win at the end of the year, the thought was Warren wouldn't last too much longer due to age as he was not only getting older but wouldn't have the time to became a true three dimensional MMA fighter. Despite this, Warren made it clear he intended on having a comeback and one last title reign before calling it a day. Despite a great rebuilding period in 2013 where he dropped down to bantamweight, won the season nine Bellator tournament, and evolving his game with Greg Jackson, Randy Couture, and Frank Shamrock, it still seemed unlikely that Warren would make it to the title. Fighters have made it clear in the past on wanting to have "one more run" but the odds have always been against them. This year, Joe Warren proved he wasn't like those other aging fighters. He not only intended on having a comeback but he succeeded. In May, Warren faced another tournament winner in Rafael Silva for the interim title after champion Eduardo Dantas went down with a concussion. While Silva took the fight on a few weeks notice and came in overweight, the odds still weren't the best. Yet Warren survived, took Silva to the later rounds, and won by unanimous decision. Along with winning the belt, Warren made history by becoming the first two divisional champion in Bellator history. Not done yet, Warren's comeback would finally happen in the fall when he faced Dantas for the undisputed title. While the fight was close, Warren would emerge victorious and become the undisputed Bellator Bantamweight Champion and thus fullfilled his dream for one more title run. When many fighters intend on having "one more run", not many accomplish it. In 2014, Joe Warren did.

Vinny Magalhaes (Titan FC)- Magalhaes' 2013 was not a very nice one. In fact, it was flat out embarrassing. He would enter the year barking up the wrong tree by calling out elite light heavyweight Phil Davis. This would lead to a fight where Magalhaes was exposed and soundly defeated. In the summer, Magalhaes would then be paired up with aging 42 year old Anthony Perosh who was coming off a thirteen month layoff. Despite this looking like an easy win for Magalhaes, he would suffer an embarrassing loss as it only took Perosh fourteen seconds to KO Magalhaes to the unemployment line. After dropping out of sight for fourteen months, Magalhaes would resurface and has since been rebuilding his career well. He won his first fight of 2014 by submission in July. He then went on to defeat another UFC alumni Jason Brilz in September at Titan FC to become the first Titan FC Light Heavyweight Champion. The title win was very good as it's not only good to be the first champion in an organization but it was his first title since he was M-1 Light Heavyweight Champion two years ago.

Jadamba Narantungalag (ONE FC)- On April 27, 2013, Jadamba Narantungalag lost to Koji Ando by TKO due to an ankle injury. Along with suffering the injury, the loss saw Narantungalag lose his Legend FC Lightweight Championship, and his eight fight win streak snapped. Following the event, the news got worse as his home promotion Legend FC in Hong Kong was forced to close. With no promotion to call home, injured, and nearly 38 years old, it seemed like Narantungalag had no future in MMA. Like a phoenix, Narantungalag rose from the ashes this year. After healing, he signed with top Asian promotion ONE FC and has been incredibly successful this year by going 2-0 with a win over first ever featherweight champion Honorio Banario and then champion Koji Oishi to win the ONE FC Featherweight Championship. Narantungalag not only had one of the biggest comebacks in MMA this year, he also had one of the more inspirational comebacks. At this time last year, he was a former champion with no home and no future. Fast Forward twelve months later, he's in a bigger promotion and a champion once again.

Mirko Cro Cop (IGF)- Cro Cop didn't have a huge year but he did make a small comeback this year as he returned to Japan for the IGF promotion and defeated Satoshi Ishii for the IGF Heavyweight Championship. Granted Ishii isn't an elite fighter and the IGF Title isn't the most pretigious title but the title win marks the first championship belt that Cro Cop has held in his legendary MMA career and his first honor in MMA since he famously won the 2006 PRIDE Openweight Grand Prix.



International Fighter of the Year
Likely Nominees: Unknown

Marcin Tybura (M-1 Global)- See Marcin Tybura in Fighter of the Year

Alexander Volkov (Bellator MMA)- See Alexander Volkov in Fighter of the Year.

Igor Svirid (ONE FC)- Svirid is a fighter I didn't even know of at the beginning of the year but he still made his mark this year. In 2014, Svirid fought an impressive seven times and won each fight. While none of his opponents are elite by any means, fighting seven times can still be grueling. The big reason he can be on this list is the fact that he came out of nowhere and became a champion in a major organization. In November, Svirid made his ONE FC debut and was immediately given the opportunity to become the first ONE FC Middleweight Champion. He was put in there against prospect Leandro Ataides who was 7-0 and making quick work out of his opponents in Shooto Brazil and ONE FC. However, Svirid would shock everyone when he would be the one to make quick work on Ataides as it only took him seventeen seconds to knock the Brazilian out and become ONE FC's first Middleweight Champion.



Gym of the Year
Likely Nominees: Team Alpha Male

American Top Team- Having won the elusive UFC Title, ATT has a good shot of being nominated. However, given how close the fight between Lawler and Hendricks was and the fact the people behind the awards don't care about outside titles, it's possible they may get snubbed. As a result, they're on here so I can remind people of the success ATT had this year. The biggest success was in December when after twelve years, they finally won a UFC title when Robbie Lawler defeated Johny Hendricks to win the UFC Welterweight Championship. Close win or not, it was an emotional twelve year journey for both ATT and Robbie Lawler with ATT forming in 2002 and Lawler entering the UFC at the same time. Ironic both parties completed it at the same time and together. Outside of the UFC Title win, the promotion continued to rack up championships from other big companies as Douglas Lima and Will Brooks both won Bellator Titles while Jessica Aguilar became the first WSOF Women's Strawweight Champion. While the gym saw some tough losses with both Daniel Straus and Attila Vegh losing Bellator gold, the gym will still enter 2015 with a belt in all three major American MMA promotions. Just like last year, the gym also continued to see it's fighters score major upsets as Will Brooks scored two big ones over the face of Bellator's Lightweight division Michael Chandler.

Roufusport- I feel like Roufusport flew under the radar this year but they still were one of MMA's most successful gyms of 2014. This year, the gym saw it's biggest star Anthony Pettis return in December and become the first to submit Gilbert Melendez to retain the UFC Lightweight Title. Along with keeping the UFC Title in their camp, the gym also added gold from multiple promotions. Ben Askren signed with ONE FC last year and won the ONE FC Welterweight Championship this year. Rick Glenn upset Georgi Karakhanyan to win the WSOF Featherweight Championship. The gym also gained a big addition when lightweight prospect Marcin Held joined this year and went on to win Bellator's season ten lightweight tournament. All in all, Roufusport is probably the only gym to have won championships and tournament in four major organizations in 2014. While they have since gone on to lose the WSOF Title and Pettis was out for most of the year, that shouldn't take away from the successes they had. The gym is also home to some of the best fighters in the world.