First Annual SportsKeeda MMA Awards

This set the tone!2015 has been a great year in MMA. New stars were born, legends returned, the invincible tasted defeat and unreachable icons were pulled back down to Earth. This is the first annual Sportskeeda MMA awards, to honour all those who competed in the sport we all love so dearly and celebrate their remarkable accomplishments.We have chosen winners for 5 categories. They are – male fighter of the year, female fighter of the year, fight of the year, event of the year and upset of the year.So will Conor McGregor be the first recipient of the male fighter of the year award? Will it be UFC 189, UFC 194 or something different entirely as the event of the year? For the answers to these questions as well as all the other awards, please keep reading.

#1 Upset of the year Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm

Blockbuster movies, magazine covers, prestigious awards and numerous accolades. Ronda Rousey was the face of the UFC, the face of MMA and arguably the face of women’s sports before she faced Holly Holm in November.

From Kobe Bryant and LeBron James to Demi Lovato and Vin Diesel, mainstream stars were singing the praises of Ronda Rousey. Everything she did, everything she said, became headline news. She had broken through the glass ceiling and soared to unknown heights.

When the highs are so great, the fall will be all the more painful. Holly Holm wasn’t supposed to stand a chance. She was destined to become a statistic in Ronda’s legacy. An afterthought.

An also-ran. In the lead up to her fight with Ronda, Holly was looked as a sacrificial lamb being fed to the hungry lioness rather than a worthy contender. The 19 boxing world titles didn’t seem to matter. The years of experience didn’t seem to matter.

The undefeated MMA record didn’t seem to matter. It was supposed to be a question of when rather than if Ronda would beat Holly. There were people doubting Holly’s ability to get out of the first minute let alone the round. Yet despite all of this, Holly seemed oblivious to the mountain of doubt that was thrown her way.

Holly shocked the world to become the new Bantamweight champion. She didn’t just beat Ronda, she dominated her. In a striking masterclass, she highlighted serious flaws in Ronda’s game while elevating herself as the new darling of the MMA world.

A second round head kick KO that will be played for many years to come was the culmination of a systematic beating. Holly lifted the gold in Melbourne, to forever destroy the myth of invincibility that surrounded Ronda.

Since that night in November, Holly’s star has reached the stratosphere and only whispers of Ronda Rousey are heard. There will be a rematch. Ronda may reclaim her title. However she will never live down what happened in Melbourne.

A head kick that stunned the world to give birth to a new star. It shouldn’t have happened. But that is the beauty of sports. The greatest moments, the ones that live with us for years and years, are the ones that should not have happened.

#2 Event of the Year UFC 189

Perhaps the greatest UFC ever

There were only 2 realistic choices for this award. UFC 194, and the winner, UFC 189. Even though 194 got the main event that 189 was robbed off, as a whole, 189 was one of the greatest UFC events ever.

The early prelims left much to the imagination with the first 5 fights going to decision. Then Matt Brown submitted Tim Means in the first round of the last prelim fight.

That set the ball rolling a main card for the ages. Thomas Almeida and Brad Pickett nearly knocked each other out in a high-octane first round before Almeida knocked Pickett out with a flying knee.

Gunnar Nelson, a world renowned grappler defeated Brandon Thatch by first out striking him and then submitting him within 3 minutes. Jeremy Stephens and Dennis Bermudez went to war in a fight that on any other night would have been fight of the night. Stephens eventually beat Bermudez after a flying knee and punches in the third round.

Then came the co-main event. The fight that won our fight of the year award. Robbie Lawler defeating Rory Macdonald in the final round on the back of a tremendous display of guts, grit and desire to win from 2 of the best martial artists in the world.

Finally, Conor McGregor took centre stage against Chad Mendes for the interim featherweight championship. McGregor was taken down at will by Mendes early on and lost the first round. Mendes took him down again in the second before trying to lock in a guillotine choke.

McGregor scrambled out of it and got to his feet. His striking brilliance took centre stage from there as he knocked Mendes out with 3 seconds remaining in the final round.

UFC 189 had everything. It was a card for the ages and is a deservingly anointed ‘Event of the Year’.

#3 Fight of the Year Robbie Lawler vs. Rory Macdonald 2

Lawler and Macdonald stare each other down at the end of the fourth round

Great fighters have seminal fights that establish their legacy. Fights that shine light on their greatness and will live on long after they retire. At UFC 189, Robbie Lawler and Rory Macdonald put on one of those fights.

The build up to the fight was underwhelming. Not too many were talking about it with all the fanfare surrounding the main event. It was lost amidst the Conor McGregor show. The first round of the fight did little to divert attention from that show. Robbie and Rory were feeling each other out. A lot of hand fighting, very little full contact fighting.

The second round was all Robbie. He out struck Rory, leaving him bloodied and bruised. His straight lefts were finding a home and he seemed to have gotten a good measure of Rory’s range and timing, effectively countering any attempt Rory made at striking. He even displayed his world class takedown defence, stuffing multiple shots made by Macdonald.

The third seemed to be going the way of the second. Robbie was putting on a clinic and Rory seemed to be out of his league. Then Rory stunned him with a head kick. Robbie’s legs went wobbly as Rory pounced on the opening.

He unleashed a barrage of head kicks and forced a shaken Lawler to the cage. From there Rory unloaded with a flurry. The fight was seconds away from being stopped and we were about to crown a new champion when the round ended.

The fourth round was all Rory, he landed several head kicks and had Robbie rocked. Robbie however survived and made it into the final round. Rory was up 3-1 and all he had to do was survive the round.

However at the 1 minute mark of the 5th round, Robbie landed a straight left on Rory’s already shattered nose. Rory crumbled unable to take anymore punishment handing Robbie the win.

A great fight and honestly, out of all of these awards, the easiest one to pick.

#4 Female Fighter of the Year Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Talk about a meteoric rise to fame. 12 months ago, even the most ardent of MMA fans would have had a tough time picking Joanna out in a crowd. Fast forward to today and she has firmly established herself as the darling of the hard-core fans.

Granted she does not have the main stream appeal of Ronda Rousey and doesn’t have the drawing power of Conor McGregor, but the sheer joy and excitement among fans when Joanna is walking to the octagon is a testament to a level of appreciation most MMA fighters will never demand.

Joanna’s violently chaotic style makes her must see television. She has the persona of Chuck Liddell and the abilities to go with it. Joanna is so destructive when she fights, that since fighting her, her last 4 opponents have had just 1 bout in the octagon.

After blazing past Carla Esparza in March to become the straw weight champion, Joanna defended her title twice this calendar year. First against Jessica Penne in June and most recently against Valarie Letourneau in November.

In all 3 of her fights she was at her dominant, violent best making her an easy choice for our female fighter of the year.

#5 Male Fighter of the Year Conor McGregor

Perhaps the most obvious of the lot. 2015 has been the year of Conor McGregor. If there is one story, one anecdote, one titbit to take away from this year in MMA, it is Conor McGregor’s rise to superstardom.

Late last year, the UFC held a press conference which featured their most prominent fighters. Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, Ronda Rousey, Chris Weidman, Nick Diaz and a host of other headline acts. That press conference also featured Conor McGregor.

At the time, he was a rising star seated amongst the games greats. The trailblazers whose footsteps the young Irishman was hoping to follow. A year later, McGregor’s star outshines them all. The biggest PPV, the biggest gate, the biggest star.

McGregor didn’t beat records in 2015, he smashed them. Twice. His influence on the UFC ran so deep that at the last event of the year, 3 fighters called him out. He has the pick of the litter going into 2016. Frankie Edgar, Rafael Dos Anjos, Nate Diaz and Jose Aldo are all seething at the mouth to get a shot at the Irishman.

The final title fight of the year in which Dos Anjos beat Donald Cerrone, felt more like an eliminator for a shot at McGregor.

With all that he has done and all that he has set himself up to do in 2016, Conor McGregor is undoubtedly, our male fighter of the year.