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Who is your favorite MMA fighter to watch in 2010 and why?
MATT PELKEY, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
With apologies to my longtime favorite fighter Nick Diaz, I'm gonna have to go with Jonny "Bones" Jones. I think it's the intrigue of the unknown. Everytime Nick Diaz steps in the ring/cage I know what I'm getting: several hundred more punches landed and thrown than his opponent and a whole lotta trash talkin'. And I love it. But with Jones, I have no idea what I'm going to see; only a hunch, based on past performances, that it's gonna be awesome. While Nick Diaz is still young (he's younger than me, so I can call him a kid, right?), he's basically a finished product in the cage. The scary thought is, as good as Jones already is with less than three years of actual training under his belt, he still has four or five more years of getting better before he actually settles into his prime. The only thing I know about a Jon Jones fight is that the Jones I see on that night is different (and almost certainly better) than any verson I've seen before.
GRIFFIN MARSH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Naturally, Anderson Silva is the fighter to watch, after amassing a 12-0 perfect UFC record and defending his title a record seven times. I cannot leave other deserving names out such as Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin and as always, Wanderli Silva. Of course there is difference between fighting good and fighting exciting. And as much as I criticized Lesnar's skills, I have to admit he had me glued to my televison set each time he fought. I should also mention Alistair Overeem. Bringing a record into his fight with Brett Rogers with only 4 decisions out of 45 total fights, Alistair asserted his will and did what he does best - finish fights.
SAM MATTHEW, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
I never thought I’d be saying/typing this, but the fighter who immediately comes to mind when I think of being my favorite to watch this past year has been Chris Leben. Having dropped off the radar, he came back an underdog to beat up Aaron Simpson, and then engaged in a three round war less than two weeks later with Yoshihiro Akiyama. And to beat him with a triangle choke no less, really an impressive feat for a crazy drunk driving, insurance-less Hawaiian.
GREG ROWLAND, MMATORCH AUDIO CO-HOST
The purists can say what they want, but there is more to the sport then winning. The entertainment factor plays a big role in picking favorites and this comes from both inside and outside the cage. I've been known to like/dislike a fighter due to a few awesome/terrible performances or based on what I hear then say in interviews. In 2010 my favorite fighter was the man who turned out to be the ultimate bad guy of the year, Chael Sonnen. I loved the audacity of a man who started calling out the champ when he wasn't yet even expected to beat Marquardt. An amazing performance and several months of smack talk later he gave Anderson the fight of his life. Was the stuff that came out of Sonnen's mouth ridiculous? Often yes, especially the Lance Armstrong comments, but most of it was very entertaining. Unfortunately the two mentioned matches of Sonnen's are now tainted due to a blown pee test currently under appeal, but damn was it a fun ride till then.
ALEX WILLIAMS, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Brock Lesnar was my favorite MMA fighter to watch in 2010 because of the excitement in and surrounding his matches. Georges St. Pierre is so good that his quality as a fighter might overshadow Lesnar's "it factor" and change my answer if he puts on a scintillating per-for-mance versus Josh Koscheck.
TOBEN SHELBY, MMATORCH AUDIO CO-HOST
The fighter I enjoyed watching most over the last year has probably been Roy Nelson. Maybe it's because I own several Weird Al albums and have to respect a man whose entrance music is "Fat." It could also be the joy I take in watching a Big Country fight with friends of mine who are just shocked that 'the fat guy' is actually good at fighting. He’s got a great sense of humor and doesn’t seem to take himself too seriously, but is also sure of his abilities. He’s looked solid in victories in the UFC and even though he lost to Junior dos Santos, Nelson seemed to surprise people with his durability. Also, he has a mullet and rubs his beer/burger gut after he wins... come on.
JAMIE PENICK, MMATORCH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Jonny "Bones" Jones has been my favorite fighter to watch in 2010. As one of the UFC's top up and coming prospects, Jones has been increasingly impressive from fight to fight, bringing an unpredictable game into two headlining fights on Versus in 2010. His style is a controlled chaos, as he possesses a lot of tools that he uses to attack an opponent, be it his wrestling, his wild striking, his takedowns, or his newfound vicious ground and pound attack. The way he destroyed both Matt Hamill and Brandon Vera with elbows on the ground, and then quickly dispatched of Vladimir Matyushenko, were some of the most exciting performances of the year, and I can't wait to see what he can do in 2011.
RELATED: Part one of this roundtable with responses from Hansen, Lee, Hyden, Hobaugh, Perez and Carter: [CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE]
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