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By Laramey Leet, MMATorch columnist
A breakout fighter; a fighter who did the best job of making a name for himself, however possible! The following men went undefeated in 2009 and showed dominance no matter who they fought. Do not get this mixed up with rookies; rookies are the guys in the small leagues. The fighters on this list have made it to the big promotions and quickly became popular.
These athletes were almost unknown at the beginning of 2009 and now they are renowned in the sport. 2009 was a huge year for MMA, so there were plenty of breakout fighters. Unfortunately I cannot talk about all of them, but I will name the top breakout fighters in 2009 that left no doubt that they are amazing fighters.
Let's start off with Jon Jones. Jones has a MMA record of 9-1. He is a light heavyweight fighter (205lb) and fights in the octagon for UFC. His only loss this year (and career) was by disqualification, so I am making him an exception to the rule. Although Jones did not make his UFC debut in 2009, it is in 2009 when fans took recognition of his abilities. Jon Jones faced Stephan Bonnar at UFC 94.
Jones was an underdog in the fight, but little did we know he was getting ready to shine. Jones knocked down Bonnar a few times but was unable to finish him. Jon won the fight by unanimous decision. Jones later faced Jake O'Brien at UFC 100. Jones showed off more of his unorthodox striking mixed in with his quick assaults. Jones ended the fight in the second round with
a guillotine choke.
Jones then went up against Matt Hamill for his last fight of the year. Jones was a slight favorite in the fight and he proved it. Jones almost dominated the entire fight until he was pulled off of Hamill in a mount position, for throwing an illegal 6-12 elbow which disqualified him. After Jones' DQ he was very humble and apologized for throwing the elbow, which only furthered his fan base. Jones is a very exciting fighter and you can bet he will continue to display his skills against his opponents in 2010.
Our next fighter is Brian Bowles who has a MMA record of 8-0. He is a bantamweight (135lb) fighter and fights for WEC. None of his fights have ever gone to a decision and only one fight has gone out of the second round. He only had one fight in 2009, but that is all he needed to get recognized. Of course his only fight this year was against WEC bantamweight (135lb) champion Miguel Torres, where he was a massive underdog. It took Brian less than four minutes to dethrone Torres and get a KO victory. Bowles is the new WEC Bantamweight champ and he will defend his belt and display his skills against top contender Dominick Cruz at WEC 47.
The next guy is a breakout fighter to many American MMA fans. His name is Gegard Mousasi. He has a MMA record of 28-2-1, which is impressive. Even more impressive is that he is on a 15 fight winning streak. Gegard currently fights at light heavyweight (205lb) for Strikeforce. Although Mousasi has been a professional mixed martial artist since 2003, it was 2009 that many Americans learned who he was (unless you have watched all of the DREAM promotions). His first fight of 2009 was against Mark Hunt at DREAM 9. Mousasi quickly submitted Hunt with a kimura in less than a minute and a half.
Gerard's first fight stateside was in August 2009 at Strikeforce: Carano vs Cyborg; it was then that Mousasi took on light heavy weight champion Renato Sobral. It only took one minute for Mousasi to KO the champion and become the new light heavyweight champion of Strikeforce. Mousasi's next fight would be against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at Strikeforce: Fedor vs Rogers.
After a close first round, Sokoudjou went into the second round winded and it did not take long for Mousasi to notice as he pulled out another TKO victory. Mousasi then took on Gary Goodridge at Dynamite!! 2009. Just like his two previous fights this year, Mousasi did not break a sweat when he TKO'd Goodridge in just 1:34 in the first round. Mousasi is ranked within the top ten light heavy weights of the world and with a resume like this, he has much more to offer in 2010.(It is rumored that Mousasi will be taking on Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal at Strikeforce's CBS event in April.)
"The Outlaw" establishes his name as top contender in 2009. Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy has a MMA record of 24-6-1 and fights at welterweight (170lb) for the UFC. Hardy's debut in the UFC was in 2008, but in 2009 Hardy began to make a statement in the welterweight division that he was a top contender. Hardy's first fight in 2009 was against Rory Markham where he made quick fashion with a huge KO in just over a minute in the first round.
Hardy's next fight was against Marcus Davis, where Hardy started his mind games. Although the fight went to a split decision, it was a brawl and I believe that Hardy's mind games/trash talking helped him with the victory. In Hardy's last fight, he went up against fellow top contender Mike Swick. The fight was completely one sided and Hardy took a unanimous decision after destroying Swick for three rounds. After Dan's break through year he gets an opportunity to face GSP for the welterweight championship at UFC 111.
The new WEC lightweight champion, Ben Henderson, is another breakout fighter of 2009. Henderson has a MMA record of 11-1. Henderson made his WEC debut in January 2009 at WEC 35, where he submitted Anthony Njokuani in the second round. Ben then TKO'd Shane Roller in less than two minutes into the first round, which gave him the opportunity to fight for the interim lightweight belt (Champ Jamie Varner was sidelined due to injuries).
Henderson then went against Donald Cerrone for the interim belt. Sherdog and many others call this match "The Fight of 2009." It was a great back and forth fight where Henderson slightly edged Cerrone for the win. In January, Henderson took on lightweight champion Jamie Varner and submitted Varner in the third round to be the WEC undisputed lightweight champion. I expect huge things from Ben Henderson in 2010 and I am looking forward to a rematch with Cerrone!
Marius Zaromskis might be a fairly unknown fighter to most casual MMA fans, but this man has not just broke through in 2009, he has literally kicked the door down! Zaromskis has a MMA record of 13-3 and fights at welterweight for Strikeforce and DREAM promotions. Only one of his fights has ever gone to a decision. Marius fought his four 2009 fights under the DREAM promotion. His first fight in 2009 was against Seichi Ikemoto in DREAM 8, where he won by unanimous decision (First and only decision victory). Marius took on Hayato Sakurai and Jason High, at DREAM 10, and they both ended in KO by a head kick.
Marius's next opponent would be Ho Bae Myeon at DREAM 12. Apparently Myeon did not research his opponent because Marius caught Myeon with a head kick in less than 20 seconds in the FIRST round. So Marius now has three straight KO's by head kick all in the first round! Marius Zaromskis will fight Nick Diaz at Strikeforce: Miami, for the vacant welterweight belt. Watch out for the head kicks Diaz!
Although this column is not numbered in any way, this next guy is my number one "Breakout Fighter of 2009." His name is Jose Aldo. Jose Aldo has a MMA record of 16-1 and fights at featherweight (145lb) for the WEC. Aldo's last six fights have all ended in TKO stoppages and he is on a 9 fight winning streak. Jose Aldo made his WEC debut in 2008, where he fought two times; both fights ending in TKO.
In 2009 Jose Aldo continued his slaughter of the division. He took on Rolando Perez for his first fight of the year, a little over four minutes later, the fight was ended in another TKO win. The same would happen for Aldo's next opponent, Chris Mickle. Aldo TKO'd him 1:39 into the first round. Aldo's next opponent would be Cub Swanson. Aldo TKO'd Swanson in just 8 seconds into the FIRST round, earning him the fastest knockout in the WEC and earning him a shot at the title.
Aldo took on Mike Brown for the WEC featherweight belt. Aldo completely dominated the entire fight, as Brown did not even look like he belonged in the same cage as Aldo that night. Aldo ended the fight in the second round with another TKO stoppage making him the new WEC featherweight champion. Jose Also was awarded Fighter of the Year by EPSN and Sherdog. You can expect great things from Aldo for a long time. Aldo will face Urijah Faber in the spring for his toughest fight yet.
So many fighters to choose from so little space! I have seven more guys that could have easily made the list, but the guys on this list have impressed me more than the others. If you want to know who the others are just write me a comment and ask. Let me know who you think should be on the list, who should not be, and your breakout fighter(s).
Please fill free to leave me comments at the MMATorch website (MMATorch.com) or e-mail me at larlleet@yahoo.com and I will respond to each one of your comments. Again, thanks to all of you who commented on my last column.
[Dan Hardy art credit Cory Gould (c) MMATorch]
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