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What were your five favorite finishes in 2015 (KO or submission) and why?
MICHAEL BANE, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
5. Uriah Hall goes highlight reel on Gegard Mousasi - Hall finished Gegard Mousasi with a jumping spinning back kick, flying knee, and punches. Do I even need to say anything else? Many fights are finished. A lot of fights are finished with punches. Very few fights are finished with flying knees. I can't remember a fight that was ever finished with a jumping spinning back kick. For all the frustration that Hall presents as an inconsistent fighter, his ability to finish in explosive fashion is almost unparalleled in the sport. This sequence of video game techniques to beat a top 10 middleweight may never be seen again, and should be watched on a semi-regular basis by everyone not named Gegard Mousasi.
4. T.J. Dillashaw shows it wasn't a fluke against Renan Barao - Before dropping his title to Dillashaw, Barao was getting some talk as the best P4P fighter in the world. Then along came Dillashaw. Dillashaw demolished the then champion in one of the biggest upsets in MMA history. While the performance appeared convincing, there were some that thought his win over Barao was a fluke. Dillashaw showed that was not the case at all, as he put on a masterful performance in the rematch, finishing the Brazilian a round earlier than their previous fight. Power, technique, footwork and precision were all on display as Dillashaw punched the hell out of Barao, forcing the ref to step in and cementing Dillashaw's status as a top fighter.
3. Ronda Rousey submits Cat Zingano in 14 seconds - Watching Rousey fight has been an exercise in thinking she can't possibly top herself, but still somehow expecting her to do so. This fight, if you can really call 14 seconds in the Octagon a fight, was Rousey continuing to do the unimaginable. Zingano had developed something of a reputation as a slow starter, and perhaps that's why she came out hot and immediately launched a flying knee. Rousey avoided the kill shot, and promptly invented a new way to armbar someone that had never been seen. Oh, she also set a record for fastest finish in UFC championship history. Heart-breaking for Zingano, but awe-inspiring for the rest of us.
2. Conor McGregor puts Jose Aldo's lights out in 13 seconds - Rousey's record championship finish didn't even last a year as Conor McGregor knocked Jose Aldo out cold at UFC 194. This was the same Jose Aldo who had only lost one time in his career, that being 10 years ago. The same Jose Aldo who was the only featherweight champion the organization had ever known. McGregor, as usual, made outlandish claims and statements leading up to the most promoted fight the UFC had ever staged. He set the bar impossibly high, and then cleared it in a way that no one could have predicted. McGregor and his left hand have backed up everything he's ever claimed, and he may have overtaken Rousey as the sports biggest star with this performance.
1. Holly Holm shocks the world - Rousey's second appearance in this list comes on the wrong end of the finish. No one gave Holly Holm much of a chance, as she was merely next in line to get annihilated to her by the UFC's biggest star. Most weren't expecting anything competitive, let alone any type of victory. Not only did Holm batter and bloody the best fighter in women's MMA history, she loaded up on a left high kick and almost took Rousey's head off to finish her. See Rousey topple to the canvas, unconscious, is one of the most shocking and amazing moments I've witnessed in my life as a sports fan, ever.
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Ronda Rousey's submission over Cat Zingano at UFC 184 and her knockout of Bethe Correia at UFC 190 have to be on the list. Those were some great performances in bigtime title fights. And at the same time, Holly Holm knocking out Rousey at UFC 193 is equally as huge. Luke Rockhold had some really good finishes this year, with a slick submission over Lyoto Machida at UFC on FOX 15 and his ground-and-pound finish over Chris Weidman at UFC 194. Either of those is worthy. Conor McGregor's knockout of Jose Aldo at UFC 194 has to be on this list. That was amazing, and a definite transformative moment for MMA. Robbie Lawler's knockout of Rory MacDonald at UFC 189 was also an incredible moment. MacDonald had taken a pounding, but kept coming. Lawler shut his lights out, though, and retained the UFC Welterweight Championship.
BRAD WALKER, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
1) McGregor KOs Jose Aldo in 13 seconds and breaks the Internet.
2) Overeem KOs dos Santos and my brain stops working for atleast an hour.
3) Arlovski KOs Browne and solidifies the comeback of the year.
4) Werdum Submits Velasquez and gains the title.
5) Holm KOs Rousey to exit the era of Ronda.
DAYNE FOX, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
I'll admit my #1 choice is getting the high recognition in large part due to the high profile of the finish, but when Holly Holm landed the head kick that put Ronda Rousey out cold, it was both emphatic and a landscape changer for the entire sport. You'd be hard pressed to find a fight with that high of a profile feature such a definitive ending that I feel obligated to place it at the top of the list. Wait... why am I justifying my choice? That was genuinely a badass KO! So what if I've already seen it a thousand times (as has everyone else)? A great moment in the sport and an all-time great KO.
On the flip side, Rousey gets the #2 spot with her acrobatic sub of Cat Zingano in 14 seconds. We've seen all varieties of armbars, but we've never seen anything like the one Rousey pulled off on a charging Zingano and I have to believe that we never will again. Zingano's poor decision to charge the Olympic judoka set it up and with all due respect to Zingano (whom I love watching fight and have all the respect in the world for), I don't see anyone being dumb enough to repeat a similar strategy.
#3 was the flying knee KO Thomas Almeida pulled off on Brad Pickett at the ever-lauded UFC 189. The fight itself was awesome too (I think I forgot to mention that one as an honorable mention for best fights of the year... oh well) with Pickett having his moments in the first round even as Almeida did most of the damage throughout the fight. I can't recall a more natural looking flying knee either which is why this one edges out Jeremy Stephens landing his own against Dennis Bermudez at the same event (did I forget that one on best fights of the year too? UFC 189 really was badass wasn't it...)
#4 goes to Demetrious Johnson for setting a record that will never be broken with the latest possible finish that a fight can have, pulling off the armbar at 4:59 of the fifth round on Kyoji Horiguchi in an otherwise blase UFC 186. The armbar itself wasn't overtly spectacular, but the speed in which he looked to pull it off knowing that time was running out to pull out a finish was extremely impressive and a big FU to the critics who call him boring. For some reason he still has that label though...
I have my doubts anyone else will mention my choice for #5, but Aljamain Sterling's arm-triangle from the bottom of Takeya Mizugaki is another thing that I've never before seen either, and feel the youngster deserves mad props for the impressive sub. The UFC will be kicking themselves if they let him get away as Sterling is currently a free agent. His athleticism his what most rave about, but with submissions like that he is proving to be much more than that.
Honorable mentions are the aforementioned Jeremy Stephens flying knee KO of Dennis Bermudez, Thales Leites arm triangle choke on Tim Boetsch, Paul Felder's spinning back fist KO of Danny Castillo, Hisaki Kato's superman punch KO on Joe Schilling, Frank Mir beating Todd Duffee to the punch, and as much as I hate to admit it (yes, I'm still bitter about a whole year's worth of buildup for 13 damn seconds!), Conor McGregor's precisely timed left hand ending the six-year reign of Jose Aldo.
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