Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Make your pick for the 2019’s best fight in Bloody Elbow’s Year-End Awards.
It’s back!
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 2019. There will be a total of seven 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 eight 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 seventh and final poll – the best fight of the year. MMA fans were lucky to see so many great fights in 2019, and here are the ten I thought rose above the rest.
Before that though, if you haven’t yet, go back and vote on the first six categories – Best Submission, Biggest Upset, Newcomer of the Year, Event of the Year, Best Fighter, and Best Knockout.25
Jorge Masvidal vs. Darren Till, UFC London
This was a barnburner from the start. Masvidal may have landed the quickest groin strike in UFC history. On the restart, Till dropped him. But Masvidal came back near the end of the first, and got back control early in the second. Till got up and landed some shots, but he got sparked by a deadly left hook, and pounded unconscious by Gamebred.
Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington, UFC 245
Two wrestlers don’t always bring the best to a striking battle, but these two sure did. They busted each other up, and Usman broke Colby’s jaw in the third round. He persevered into the fifth, but was stopped by more savage strikes from the welterweight champ.
Israel Adesanya vs. Kevin Gastelum, UFC 236
Wow. After four intense rounds where both men had the other on the ropes in supremely entertaining fashion, Adesanya took over. He dropped Gastelum like 22 times in the fifth, but couldn’t finish him. The Last Stylebender earned an interim title with the win though, in what was undoubtedly a fight for the ages.
Cody Garbrandt vs. Pedro Munhoz, UFC 235
This was as close to a hockey fight as we’ve seen in the cage in 2019. Both men threw caution to the wind and beat the holy hell out of each other. Unfortunately for Cody, his chin couldn’t hold up and he was flattened. Again.
Yoel Romero vs. Paulo Costa, UFC 241
So much action. Costa dropped Romero. Romero dropped Costa. They smiled at each other. Costa brought a ton of pressure until he started to fade and Romero began to beat him up. They landed hard shots throughout the fight, but Costa did enough work to take two rounds and the decision.
Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway, UFC 236
Poirier got off to a huge start in this one and never really let off the brakes. But Holloway is a warrior, and he fought his way through adversity for five full rounds, taking two of them in the process. This was a war of attrition that you need to watch if you haven’t already. In the end though, Poirier tasted UFC gold and kept Holloway from being a double champ.
Vicente Luque vs. Bryan Barberena, UFC Phoenix
Both of these men have iron chins. They beat the absolute dog shit out of each other, with Barberena in particular taking ungodly amounts of punishment before finally succumbing to strikes late in the third round.
Tony Ferguson vs. Donald Cerrone, UFC 238
Two epic rounds of hell between guys known for their prowess in the cage. And then Cowboy, with a mangled face that came on what seemed to be a shot after the bell, blew his nose. His face then exploded, and we were robbed of a third round that had so much potential. So many storylines in such a short time, but so entertaining.
Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Moraes, UFC 245
Most everyone was counting Aldo out at 135 based on how gaunt he looked on fight week. That was a mistake, because he stood right there with one of the most feared strikers in the UFC and gave as much as he got for 15 full minutes. The split decision went to Moraes, but the fans were the real winners in this one.
Yair Rodriguez vs. Jeremy Stephens, UFC Boston
Following an aborted fight in Mexico, these two took over co-main event duties in Boston. And they delivered. El Pantera hurt Stephens with a body kick in the second and brought a lot of pressure, but Stephens landed some big shots on the feet and on the ground. Rodriguez took the decision in the grudge match and the two men settled their differences.