Make your pick for the best fight of the first half of 2019 in Bloody Elbow’s Half-Year 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 first half of 2019. With these being half-year awards, there will be an abbreviated number of categories – five to be exact.
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 nine years in a row. Originality? What originality?)
It’s pretty simple. I’ll post 5 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.
Our third category will be best fight. The were a lot of crazy bouts over the first half of 2019, but I think a couple shine above the rest. Pick from the five options below.
Bryan Barberena vs. Vicente Luque, UFC on ESPN 1
On a night with a few barburners, this took the cake. Both men took an unreal amount of punishment, with Barberena in particular taking shots that no man should be able to walk through. Luque finally got the finish with just six seconds to go in the fight, and both men got a standing ovation for their efforts.
Tony Ferguson vs. Donald Cerrone, UFC 238
This fight had as much controversy as action. After splitting the first two rounds, Ferguson landed an obviously late punch to Cerrone’s nose after the end of the stanza. For some reason Cowboy decided to blow his nose, which turned him into a version of the Elephant Man and the fight was stopped. But so much happened in the first 10 minutes that it still made this list.
Israel Adesanya vs. Kelvin Gastelum, UFC 236
After four amazing rounds, things between these two men were even. At stake was a middleweight belt. And an absolutely incredible fifth round that showed off one man’s stamina and destructiveness, along with another man’s insane heart and toughness, gave us a capper on one of my personal favorite fights of all time.
Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier, UFC 236
The fight between these two men started wild and crazy, ended wild and crazy, and most everything between was…well, you guessed it. This was everything fans wanted from these two action fighters, and it came right after a fight that no one thought could be topped. Ie. the fight above this.
Pedro Munhoz vs. Cody Garbrandt, UFC 235
Normally fights of the year go to a decision, or at least late in the bout. Not this one. This was four minutes and fifty two seconds of straight hockey fighting and reckless abandon. The last 45 seconds are some of the most intense video game shit you’ll ever see in the cage, it ended with an absolutely perfect punch that melted the former champ. Again.