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2009 has been without doubt, the most successful year ever, for UK MMA. I have spent a lot of time recently going through all the events of the last twelve months. So this week we look back on what really has been an historical year.
JANUARY: It had been announced that Michael Bisping was to coach on the new UK vs. USA series of "The Ultimate Fighter." Although, at this point, his opposite number had not been decided. Bisping was joined at the Wolfslair by both Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson for the auditions for team UK. With several UK fighters impressing all, including Dana White, it was apparent things had changed since the last same TUF held trials in England. The UK team was decided and they meant business.
At UFC: 93, in Dublin, Dan Henderson faced Rich "Ace" Franklin in a bout that would decide who would be Bispings opposite number. Henderson won a split decision over Franklin taking his UFC record to an even 2-2 while cementing his spot as the coach of Team USA. Bisping was Octagon side and indicated to camera that the result had gone as he had hoped it would.
FEBRUARY: With Bisping fully committed to the new series of TUF it left matchmaker Joe Silva with some work to do ahead of UFC 95 in London. In only his second UFC outing, charismatic Brit Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy stepped up to the co main event. Hardy knocked out Rory Markham, with a vicious left hook in the very first round. The London crowd went bezerk as Hardy mounted the cage pounding his heart. I was there and trust me it was magic, he went from a relative unknown to an instant crowd favourite. There is something very likeable about "The Outlaw" and this came to light in February.
MARCH: Setanta Sports and Virgin 1 announced they would be sharing the new series of The Ultimate Fighter. Team UK vs. USA would debut on Sunday nights, on Virgin 1, with repeats on Setanta on a Wednesday. Setanta would then have the live final exclusively. This was a very clever piece of business. With a huge percentage of British households already having Virgin 1 this opened up this season to whole new set of fans.
After calling out the Marcus "The Fake Irishman" Davis (as Hardy called him), Dan Hardy was confirmed to compete against Davis in Germany on June 13 at UFC 99.
APRIL: The Ultimate Fighter UK vs. USA began its run on Virgin 1 with Dana White heaping praise on the UK team. Team Rough House students Nick Osipczak and Andre Winner both won the opening bouts giving Team UK a 2-0 lead.
MAY: The war of words between Dan Hardy and Marcus Davis started to reach boiling point with Hardy allegedly encouraging photo shopped pictures of Davis to be spread around the internet. Davis claimed he hated the Brit and has never been more determined to defeat an opponent. Dan Hardy proved he knew how to get under his opponents skin while at the same time hype the fight up sky high.
JUNE: In Germany Hardy and Davis finally squared off after weeks of trash talking. It was one of the better fights of the nights with Hardy taking a split decision. After the fight Hardy attempted to shake hands and put the war of words behind them. Davis refused to shake and instead walked away in disgust at the decision.
The Ultimate Fighter finally came to its climax with British interest in both divisions. Firstly Ross Pearson defeated Andre Winner in an all UK final to be crowned the Lightweight Champion. Fellow Brit James Wilkes defeated Demarques Johnson to become the welterweight winner. Coaches Henderson and Bisping were in the Octagon to present the trophies with just weeks until their showdown at the historic UFC 100.
Setanta Sports, the home of the UFC, ceased trading on June 23 after a string of financial problems were unable to be resolved. This left the UFC searching for a new place to live in the UK.
JULY: Almost three weeks after Setanta had folded it was announced that UFC 100 would air, for free, on a random Sky channel. This was a move that added fuel to the suggestion that the UFC would be signing with ESPN UK (launching August 8) and not Virgin 1.
On July 11 it was UK vs. USA, the coaches, with Dan Henderson delivering one of the most vicious knockouts in MMA history. It was absolutely brutal with Bisping being caught flush by an overhand right and then a crushing forearm to the jaw. The second strike was after Bisping was out and was most definitely a deliberate attempt to hurt him. Henderson admitted as much in his post fight interview, saying he knew he was out and it was just to "shut him up a little bit". The second blow and the admission left many "sports" fans calling for Hendersons head. It was one almighty climax to a great series of TUF. The UK won the battle but Hendo and the USA most definitely won the war.
AUGUST: On August 3 ESPN UK launched with a further announcement that they would be the new home of the UFC beginning with UFC 101. After being knocked out cold by Dan Henderson, Michael Bisping stated he wanted to bounce straight back at UFC 105 in his home town of Manchester. Bisping stated he was not going to shy away from what had happened and wanted to face a top contender next. Wanderlei Silva was tipped to be his opponent.
SEPTEMBER: After the folding of Affliction as a fighting promotion, Paul "Semtex" Daley found himself without an employer. Well it wasn't for long. Semtex signed with the UFC and was due to compete on the undercard at 103 in Texas. After Mike "Quick" Swick pulled out with injury, Daley stepped up to the main card and knocked out top contender Martin Kampmann in the very first round. This was an explosive start in the UFC for possibly the hardest hitting fighter in the 170 division.
After announcing that ESPN will home all live events, a further announcement was made that terrestrial channel "FIVE" would be airing one hour highlight shows. "UFC Main Event" would show the main fights of an event a few weeks later with MMA finding a regular slot on mainstream TV.
OCTOBER: After being lined up to face Dong Hyun Kim, Dan Hardy found himself bumped up to co main event with a showdown with Mike Swick. This fight was tipped to have serious implications on the welterweight division, with many picking Swick to defeat Hardy en route to a showdown with GSP.
This was a significant month for three other British fighters in particular; Michael Bisping signed on the dotted line to face Dennis Kang in a matchup he hoped would catapult him straight back up the 185 ladder. Brad "One Punch" Pickett signed a multi fight deal to compete in the WEC with December a possible debut. "Judo" Jimmy Wallhead defeated former Cage Rage champion, Che Mills at "Knuckle Up At The Manor". The victory left the Rough House fighter with very few options on the domestic scene after cleaning up against anyone worth facing.
NOVEMBER: UFC 105 hit Manchester with the most stacked card ever on these shores. TUF 9 winners Ross Pearson and James Wilkes made their official debuts with Pearson defeating Aron Riley while Wilks was stopped by Matt Brown. Andre Winner knocked Roli Delagado out cold while Nick Osipczak completed a hat trick of victories for Team Rough House's three TUF contestants. Michael Bisping overcame a horrific first round against Dennis Kang to ground and pound his way to the most impressive win of his UFC career.
After defeating Mike "Quick" Swick with a convincing unanimous decision, Hardy was touted as the next in line to face welterweight champion George St Pierre.
DECEMBER: After being eliminated by tournament winner, Roy Nelson, in the semi finals, James McSweeney bounced back at the Ultimate Fighter Finale by defeating Rampage nemesis Daryl Schoonover. Brad Pickett made his WEC debut and won "Submission Of The Night" with a Peruvian necktie victory over Kyle Dietz. "Judo" Jimmy Wallhead was finally given some of the recognition he deserves, by signing up to compete for Bellator. Wallhead will now take part in the Bellator 170 pound tournament, starting in April.
It was confirmed that Dan Hardy has indeed made MMA history and will become the first ever British fighter to compete for a World Title. Hardy will square off against GSP at UFC 111 in Newark, New Jersey on March 27. This will be Hardys first appearance in the USA for the organisation.
This has been such a hugely successful year and it fills me with great hope for the sport and its progression in the UK. Telegraph journalist, Gareth A Davies, who has been the most influential writer in the UK was nominated for "Journalist Of The Year" at the Fighters Only World MMA Awards. The UK team went all the way to the semis of the M1 Global Challenge and we now finally have double figures in UK UFC fighters.
My hopes for the UK in 2010 are (in no particular order) as follows:
-Rashad Evans defeats Thiago Silva and that his proposed bout with Rampage Jackson takes place at UFC 112, O2 Arena London, England
-Paul Daley defeats Dustin Hazelett to set himself up in the co main event for London, possibly against Condit or maybe even Koscheck.
-ESPN UK will finally create an "MMA Live" type show for the UK. Setanta had "Ultimate Talk" which was a great show and that weekly recap is missed a great deal.
-Dan Hardy can find a way to defeat GSP and become the first ever British fighter to hold a UFC world title.
-Jim Wallhead explodes onto the Bellator scene and wins the welterweight tournament, hence setting himself up a title shot at the 170 pound crown.
- Brad "One Punch" Pickett follows up his hugely impressive debut and makes a run in the WEC, extending his win streak into double figures.
-I would say I hope Bisping destroys Silva but I'm not sure I want that. I do want Bisping to win but what I am more hopeful for is a real barn burner brawl that goes to the judges. A Griffin vs. Bonner like battle.
-More British fighters follow the likes of Pearson, Winner, Wallhead, Pickett and co onto the worldwide scene.
-Terry Etim steps up his 155 campaign to the next level and puts himself in or around the top ten Lightweights in the division.
-The WEC is given regular coverage in the UK. The deal is done for the UFC on ESPN UK, so it should be easy for Zuffa to link up the rest.
There you have it, a great year is in the books and I hope everyone had a great New Years celebrations. Here's to peace, prosperity and good fortune as we tackle 2010. Let's just hope the fighting year starts with a bang this weekend.
Chris Park is the MMATorch UK Scene Specialist. Please email any questions or comments to Chris at mmatorchpark@gmail.com.
[Michael Bisping art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch]
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