ISRAEL ADESANYA IS FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

[Luvhawky]

It really is between Cejudo and Adesanya, both warrant consideration and wouldn't be surprised if it was either one.

 

[tat2man5k]

DJ's run on ONE and winning the Grand Prix is pretty impressive.
Douglas Lima KTFO of Michael Page and winning back the belt is also worth mentioning.

Agree with both, although, IMHO beating MVP wasn't such a triumph. We all knew that Lima (or any other legit fighter) was going to steamroll MVP when they finally fought. The Rory fight, though, was a VERY solid win.

 

[Khabib Fan]

Nah. Masvidal is.

 

[thobra]

Was it though? Most people assumed that KG would beat Izzy with wrestling, and that Bobby Knuckles would run through him. Mas was EXPECTED to set a world record vs Askren? Nah. He MAYBE was expected to beat Diaz, but not many saw it happening inside the distance.

Beating a record? Of course Nobody could know this. The others were safe bets.

Who believed Gastelum could beat Israel by Wrestling?? Or Whittaker would walk through him? Israel matches up well with Wrestlers, andd how on earth would Whittaker beat him? I like them both, but they are blown up WWs - a product of a weak MW division.

 

[Huligani]

Cejudo > Masvidal > Adesanya for this

 

[TheOldMan]

ISRAEL LITERALLY BEAT ANDERSON SILVA, BEAT GASTELUM IN THE FIGHT OF THE YEAR TO WIN THE INTERIM MW TITLE, AND KNOCKED OUT ROBERT WHITTAKER TWICE IN THE SAME FIGHT TO BECOME THE MW CHAMPION.

OH AND GET THIS, IT WAS ALL IN THE SAME YEAR, 2019.

I've seen about three of these threads now, but whatever. I'm with you TS, Israel is fighter of the year.

 

[Herwald]

Jorge has had a more fun, more rewatchable year and quite a roller coaster for doubters of his like myself. So I wouldn't hate it if he got the nod, but Izzy did it on his own. Jorge smooched off Till's UFC hype, Ben's winning streak and Nate. Izzy had to limp his ass to the top the harder way. Plus, he won an actual title. Unless something drastic changes in the next two months, I think Izzy's the guy.

 

[John makfresshi]

Except when conor knocked out aldo in 13 seconds in the fastest ko in a championship fight that he was shown in the back planning literally right before the fight lmao you fans are funny with the and "this has actually never occurred in the history of mma lmao..

either short memories or maybe you just did not know? Or you're just not a fan of conor, either way he did it before jorge like the guy or not.

Big Conor hater here. That footage combined with the gif of the KO is incredible. He keeps his eye on the target, plants and fires! Disregards Aldos power on the counter and fucking slept him. Incredible piece of mma history that forever made me respect the guy. Hater of his antics, but like to watch him in the cage. Take that as what you will

 

[Kinger85]

Masvidal and Izzy are a clear one/two in this category. Whichever one you want to have number 1 is fine, but those two are for sure the top two. Both had outstanding years.

 

[kirsky]

UNO MAS, please.

 

[DontForgetMe]

Conor's was more luck, than planning, and it wasn't (1) a world record, or (2) against an undefeated fighter.

You can't even compare the two, really.

Jorge Masvidal threw one, single blow ... and nailed it on the money ...

It was actually a 2-second knockout, it just took five seconds for the referee to stop it. Conor's punch against Aldo was neither planned, nor the first and only punch thrown in the fight.

Not even in the same ballpark as far as planning, visualization, and perfect execution.

And, for that matter, dumb asses, Conor's fight is not a candidate for a 2019 entry

Masvidal is a nobody, this KO will be a footnote ina few years.

 

[PitDoggMMA]

Masvidal is a nobody, this KO will be a footnote ina few years.

Wrong. You are a nobody.

Masvidal is a world-record holder, over all other MMA fighters in the history of the sport, for fastest KO ...

 

[SHAZAM]

Cejudo easily ... Going up in weight and getting 2 belts is more impressive. And this one counts unlike McGregor and GSPs 2nd belts.

 

[legcramp]

Fighter of the year is clearly Weidman.

That makes him my fighter of the year including the year before. I very much enjoyed his last six fights.

 

[MileHigher]

You can't say it was a low percentage chance. He nailed it on the money.

I can't think of any other fight, in the history of the sport, where a fighter smiled the entire time, ran one way in the cage, then another, to get the perfect angle ... and then executed a single-blow finish ... to a previously-undefeated fighter, no less ... and then proceeded to show videos of his plan in place, prior to the fight even occurring.

It was the most perfectly-executed strategy in the history of the sport, simultaneously being the quickest-KO in the history of the sport, again against an undefeated fighter to boot.

This is absolutely unprecedented and it will never be duplicated.

The mastery of this is worth far more than "winning a title" ...

I agree it was a brilliant move, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t very low percentage. That’s not taking anything away for Masvidal. That’s a compliment if anything. You said yourself that it won’t ever be duplicated. There’s a reason why.

 

[tat2man5k]

Beating a record? Of course Nobody could know this. The others were safe bets.

Who believed Gastelum could beat Israel by Wrestling?? Or Whittaker would walk through him? Israel matches up well with Wrestlers, andd how on earth would Whittaker beat him? I like them both, but they are blown up WWs - a product of a weak MW division.

Maybe you're right but it seems like all I really heard or read was that KG's wrestling would be too much and that Whittaker would run thru him.

 

[ayyyyyyyy]

I agree.

It is actually easier, and more commonplace, to "win a Championship" ... than it is to earn the absolute fastest KO in UFC history.

Championship titles change hands all the time; world records change hands rarely, if ever. (Especially against undefeated fighters.)

What makes Masvidal's world record accomplishment all the more special is it was planned.

He saw the opportunity in Askren's MO, he planned for it, he trained for it, and Masvidal executed his plan to perfection. This is actually never occurred before in the history of MMA.

Yes, because one requires you to generally be the best and the other requires a high degree of luck.