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Opinion & Analysis
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Roundtables
ROUNDTABLE (pt. 2 of 2): What were your favorite fights of the first half of 2010? Matthew, Lee, Hyden, Hobaugh and Penick
What are your top five fights of 2010 so far and why?
ERIC LEE, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
First one has to be GSP vs. Dan Hardy. It solidified GSP's status as one of the best champions ever. He's entirely wiped out his division and the only people left are rematches.
Second is Lesnar vs. Carwin. Literally the biggest fight in UFC history, and what a double comeback win for Brock. Sick for 3/4 of a year then almost beat into TKO in the first round. Amazing.
Third has to be Jones vs. Vera. Jon Jones continues to roll right through the light heavyweight division and his win over Brandon Vera showed just how dominate he can be. I look forward to seeing him rise up through the division. His next match up is a joke but that's for a different time.
Fourth is gonna be Dos Santos vs. Gonzaga. In my opinion, Dos Santos is the most dangerous striker in the heavyweight division. This fight showed he can stand with anyone.
Last one is Hathaway vs. Sanchez. John Hathaway surprised the hell out of me when he fought Diego Sanchez. Sanchez looked like an amateur against Hathaway. I'm looking forward to his next challenge.
SAM MATTHEW, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
1. Leonard Garcia v. “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung
2. Stephan Bonnar v. Krzysztof Soszynski
3. Chris Leben v. Yoshihiro Akiyama
4. Yves Jabouin v. Mark Hominick
5. Brock Lesnar v. Shane Carwin
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum: Fedor legitimately losing for the first time ever speaks for itself. Things can't get much more noteworthy.
Mauricio Rua vs. Lyoto Machida: The rematch was as shocking as it was quick. Rua brought about a quick end to "The Machida Era". Rua knocking out Machida so quickly was unexpected.
Frank Edgar vs. B.J. Penn: B.J. had proved to be so dominant in the Lightweight division that his losing to Edgar was very surprising. Edgar was able to do things that no other Lightweight had been able to, defeat The Prodigy.
Jose Aldo vs. Uriah Faber: This was a brutal beatdown, with Aldo proving that he's the man at Featherweight. It was one-sided, but I couldn't help but root for Faber throughout. He showed a lot of heart in this fight.
Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung: This was just a very entertaining and fast-paced brawl. That's how you help sell a Pay-Per-View. WEC has some of the best fights every year.
ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH SPECIALIST
5. Machida vs. Shogun 2: This was a great fight and left no doubt in anyone's mind who is the best 205 pound fighter in the world. All the doubters were silenced when the real Shogun arrived at this match and showed everyone what a great fighter he really is. His terrible showing against Griffin and against Coleman had most people doubting his ability to fight against top tier fighters. This huge win proves his greatness.
4. Penn vs. Edgar: Some people called this the upset victory of the
century - Insert the Serra vs. St Pierre fight - I just called it
someone not being bullied by the greatest lightweight fighter who
ever lived. I liked this fight, because Frankie Edgar never gave up and never gave in to the living legend. Penn vs. Edgar 2 should be an amazing fight as well.
3. Leonard Garcia vs. The Korean Zombie: JUST WATCH THE VIDEO
2. Carwin vs. Lesnar: I loved this fight, just because I got to see Brock Lesnar get his terrible-for-the-sport-ass kicked for one round.
1.Fedor vs. Werdum My favorite headline was "Fedor Loses: Werdum
Shocks the World." This Fedor loss may have surprised every other
person on the planet except Dana White and me. How can you be
considered the best fighter in the world if you have not fought
another top ten fighter in years??? This is my favorite fight of the year 2010, because Fedor was exposed for the average fighter he is. Was he as great as everyone thought he was in Pride?
ABSOFREAKINGLUTLEY! Is he today? No, he is not and losing to a mediocre fighter like Werdum proves he is not a top five fighter
himself.
JAMIE PENICK, MMATORCH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
5. Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald, UFC 115: This was just an incredible back and forth fight. MacDonald showed signs of why he's such a highly touted young fighter at the age of 20 in the first two rounds before the veteran guile of Carlos Condit took over in the third round. MacDonald took an absolute beating and Condit finished off one of the best comebacks of the year.
4. Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin, UFC 116: In what was likely the second most purchased pay-per-view event in UFC and MMA history, Brock Lesnar pulled off a comeback of his own to submit Shane Carwin in the second round. It may not have been the most technical fight, and it suffers from Shane Carwin exhausting himself in the first round, but you'd be hard pressed to find a more dramatic title fight in recent history.
3. Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung, WEC 48 - Aldo vs. Faber: When it happened I didn't think another fight would surpass this one, just for sheer enjoyment at the ridiculous brawl between these two. The sloppiness of the fight and the fact that the decision came down for the wrong fighter hurt it a bit in hindsight, however, allowing a couple of fights to make a better impression overall. But this is still one of the more enjoyably entertaining fights you're ever going to see.
2. Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama, UFC 116: Another extremely dramatic and highly exciting bout. This coupled the sloppy brawl of Garcia-Jung with a more technical approach as Akiyama threw in some nice judo throws and Leben finished it off with a triangle choke in the third round. The drama was high in this fight with that submission finish, and the zombie-like way both fighters were throwing punches at each other in the second round is an image I won't soon forget.
1. Mark Hominick vs. Yves Jabouin, WEC 49: This was my favorite fight of the year so far. This was again similar to Garcia-Jung in some respects, but the striking was much more technical and fast paced than in that bout. And the ridiculous second round, with Jabouin getting dropped with a body punch, only to come back and knock Hominick down with a huge right hand. That would have been enough, but then Hominick pulled off a beautiful sweep to the mount and took the fight and the win right back. It was such an excellent back and forth bout in a fight that was a long time in the making for the two Canadians, and it bests the rest of the year's fights for me.
UPCOMING ROUNDTABLE QUESTIONS
• How should Strikeforce handle the situation with Fedor with one fight remaining on his contract?
• What do you think about the UFC 119 and 120 cards with Mir-Nogueira II and Bisping Akiyama as their respective headliners?
• What are your early thoughts on how Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez match up in their UFC 121 showdown?
RELATED STORY: Part one of this roundtable with responses from Perez, Marsh, Bacior and Hansen: [CLICK TO READ FULL ROUNDTABLE]
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