Breakthrough Fighter is a category that’s easy to talk about but hard to define. What’s the difference between having a good year and a breakthrough year? Is it just a nicer way of saying that you sucked right up until January 1st?
These are difficult questions, so to help me answer them I turned to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani for a spirited, though friendly debate. At least it started out friendly. Then it quickly turned into every other debate we’ve ever had, which is to say long, fierce, and entertaining…from a distance.
By all means, let’s let Ariel start us off.
Ariel Helwani: Look, Ben, I already know what you’re going to say upon hearing my pick for Breakthrough Fighter of the Year: a bunch of fighters won four fights this year. A bunch of guys won titles. A bunch of guys won no. 1 contender spots. A bunch of guys were involved in potential Fight of the Year candidates. A bunch of guys added scintillating knockouts to their highlight reels.