Make your pick for the 2016 MMA event of the year in Bloody Elbow’s Year-End Awards.
Over the next few days, Bloody Elbow is going to ask for your opinion on some of the best things that have happened in the MMA world over the course of 2016. There will be a total of eight different categories you’ll be asked to vote on. For the sake of simplicity we’re going to stick with high-level and relevant MMA stuff in these posts. While I’m sure there was a ludicrous knockout in an unscheduled MMA event at The Lumberyard strip club in Des Moines, or an insane pancreas lock submission on an obscure ZST! card in Japan, let’s just stick to stuff a lot of us have seen, okay? (If that spiel looked familiar, it’s because I’ve used the same one for six years in a row. Originality? What originality?)
It’s pretty simple. I’ll post 5-10 options in a category, you vote for what you think was the best. If you think I left something really important off my list, post it in the comments and we can add it to the poll if it’s deemed worthy. I can almost guarantee you won’t like all my suggestions, but narrowing down these lists is tough.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get onto the fifth poll – the best event of 2016. We were treated to some legendary shows this year, and you’re going to have to pick your favorite. It may not be as easy as you think
Before that though, if you haven’t yet, go back and vote on the first four categories – Best Submission, Biggest Robbery, Biggest Upset, and Newcomer of the Year.
UFC Fight Night: McDonald vs. Lineker – This one flew under the radar a bit as it took place at the tail end of a ton of shows in a row, but it was a barnburner. Only three of the twelve fights went to decision, there were some beautiful finishes, and Tony Ferguson vs. Lando Vannata was awesome.
UFC 199 – The card kicked off with a great fight between Polo Reyes and Dong Hyun Kim, and only got better from there. Brian Ortega’s comeback, Dustin Poirier icing Bobby Green, the wild brawl between Dan Henderson and Hector Lombard, then the topper – Michael Bisping winning the middleweight title by knocking out Luke Rockhold.
UFC 202 – Of course Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz stole the show. But the card had a ton of awesome knockouts – the whole main card was KOs other than the main event – and the undercard delivered as well.
UFC 205 – Only five of the eleven fights were finished, but almost every bout featured some great action. Yoel Romero’s brutal flying knee on Chris Weidman, the fun women’s strawweight title fight, the crazy draw between Stephen Thompson and Tyron Woodley, and obviously Conor McGregor’s absolute schooling of Eddie Alvarez in the headliner.
UFC 206 – This card didn’t sell, but man, it was great. Lando Vannata’s hook kick KO. Misha Cirkunov squeezing Nikita Krylov’s head off. Emil Meek’s memorable brawl and bravado. Kelvin Gastelum absolutely dominating Tim Kennedy. One of the fights of the year between Cub Swanson and Doo Ho Choi. Donald Cerrone absolutely destroying Matt Brown with a head kick. And Max Holloway’s coronation as a UFC champion.