Roundtables
ROUNDTABLE: Favorite MMA events of 2014
Dec 31, 2014 - 8:25:28 PM ROUNDTABLE: Favorite MMA events of 2014

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What was your favorite MMA event in 2014, and why?


DAN MOORE, MMATORCH UK COLUMNIST

There's only one winner of this award and it's not even worth handing out some honourable mentions. UFC Fight Night 46 in Dublin, Ireland was by far and away the best UFC event I've ever attended in person. The fights were almost all enjoyable, all of the local fighters won, and the crowd was absolutely off the charts.

Forget the Seahawks' twelfth man or even Arrowhead at night, because the atmosphere in that small arena, man for man, was the loudest and most enjoyable sporting experience of my life. It was a truly epic event from start to finish.


FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

UFC Fight Night 40 is an obvious choice, as it had my fight of the year for 2014 in Matt Brown vs. Erick Silva, but the main card saw a few other big finishes that happened in the first round. That always grabs my attention. Another contender is UFC Fight Night 45, which saw 9 of the 11 fights ends in finishes, including all of the main card fights. I love that kind of tenacity from the fighters. Of course, that means that I have to mention UFC Fight Night 55, where all 11 fights ended in finishes. That's incredible. For overall entertainment, you can't beat that.


BRAD WALKER, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

UFC 181 really screamed out greatness to me. We saw two title fights with crazy action and one very controversial decision on top of a packed undercard that is going to be hard to match for quite some time. The card was just what the end of the year needed, and brought the UFC PPV schedule to a monstrous close with drama and excitement from open to close. I really believe Hendricks won the main event, but the card was just incredible.


KALE HAVERVOLD, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

UFC 178 was my favorite event of the year. It had: Demetrious Johnson retaining his title, Yoel Romero beating Tim Kennedy, Cat Zingano's comeback, plus the always entertaining Conor Mcgregor.


TOM STRONG, MMATORCH UK CONTRIBUTOR

Nothing will come close to UFC Fight Night 46, which took place in Dublin, Ireland. The UFC returned to Ireland for the first time in five years, and what a comeback it was! The Irish never need an excuse to party, but they certainly had it that night with Conor McGregor headlining the main event.

The whole vibe around Dublin was special; you couldn't turn without a mention of the event or Conor McGregor. You could tell from Friday's weigh-ins that, whatever was to happen that night, the fans were going to make it a night to remember!

For a great event, you must have three key ingredients. First, a very passionate fanbase. Tick. Secondly, home fighters winning. Tick. And third, great fights. TICK! From the very beginning when Patrick Holohan sent the crowd into a wild frenzy by stream-rolling Josh Sampo, a flame was ignited that didn't go out all night, and probably for the rest of the weekend!

Things would only get better from there; Cathal Pendred, making his UFC debut in front of his home crowd, would not only be in fight of the night, it would also be a 'comeback of the year' contender when he looked down and out inside the first round, only to somehow find a way to win in the second round to once again send the fans into a frenzy.

This was followed up with wins for Neil Seery, Norman Parke, and Gunnar Nelson - who they regard as one of their own - before the one and only Conor McGregor dismantled Diego Brandao inside the first round to finish things off.

The noise the fans made that night, especially after Conor's win, was like nothing I've ever experienced before. It'll live long in the memory, and I just hope one day I'll get to witness something just as special again.