With another year coming to a close, everyone embarks on their annual year-end traditions. Many gather with family and friends at this festive time of year, exchanging gifts and holiday cheer. Some concoct a new strategy for keeping their New Year’s resolution, for real this time. Others overindulge in delicious food and drink too much egg nog.
But fight fans are different. Now is the time to look back and reflect on the past 12 months, and then argue about who had the best knockout, submission, or fight of the year. In this installment of the annual year-end awards from LowKickMMA, we pick and rank the ten best scraps of 2016.
From title shots and super fights with sky-high stakes to undercard tussles that unexpectedly turned into thrilling wars, these were the all-time classics of 2016. Read on for the must-see list of brawls to show that uninitiated family member this holiday season.
10. Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson
UFC 204 on October 8, 2016 – Manchester, England:
“The Count” began his unlikely title reign with a most unlikely defense, and it turned into one of the best fights of the year. Many fans and pundits – and other top contenders – maligned Henderson getting a title shot after going 3-6 in his previous nine fights. But the story was too good to pass up.
Bisping sought revenge on the man to hand him his most devastating loss, the infamous, brutal knockout at UFC 100. “Hendo” had been hinting at retirement for some time, and when the fight was announced, he claimed that it would be his swan song. The narratives were set: would Bisping redeem himself or suffer another humiliating loss to his greatest rival? Would Hendo finally capture the UFC belt that had eluded him during his hall of fame career and go out on top?
The bout was extremely tense from the outset. The stakes could not be any higher, a loss for either man a crushing blow. As many expected, the champion had success with his diverse and high-volume kickboxing, while the challenger had his bazooka right hand cocked. Toward the end of the first round, Henderson detonated his famed “H-Bomb” on Bisping’s chin, but the Brit hung on, clinging to consciousness as his American counterpart hammered him relentlessly.
The pattern repeated in round two. Bisping got out to a lead before being felled by another massive right hand. Again, he refused to go away. Henderson failed to connect with a third “H-Bomb” and thus saw his lead slip away over the final three rounds. Observers were split as to who should emerge with the victory, many even scoring the fight a draw. When the judges’ scores were announced, it was Bisping who escaped with his title reign intact.
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