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By: Jason Amadi, MMATorch Columnist
As we move on to 2012, we'll take a look back at the year that was in 2011 with MMATorch's 11 of 11. For the first 11 days of 2012, several MMATorch writers will be providing top 11 lists in a number of different categories regarding the year of MMA in 2011. Today we continue with Jason Amadi's 11 biggest surprises of 2011.
1) Frank Edgar and Gray Maynard Become Must-See Fighters
The UFC had a rough go of things on pay-per-view in 2011. A big part of that was due to injuries ruining countless pay-per-view main events, but Frank Edgar and Gray Maynard headlining two events certainly didn't help.
Heading into their first bout in 2011 (and their second meeting overall), the mixed martial arts community braced itself for a grinding 25 minute wrestling match and couldn't wait until the fight was over. But the first day of 2011 saw Edgar and Maynard put on one of the best fights of the year and their second bout in October (and their third meeting overall) was just as good - and even had an exciting finish.
Looking back on their very first meeting in 2008, it was impossible to forecast that the two would ever produce a decent fight together, let alone fight of the year caliber performances. But three years later Frank Edgar and Gray Maynard put on two pantheon level fights that elevated them both to "must-see fighter" status.
2) Junior dos Santos Smashes Cain Velasquez in 64 Seconds
Since Fedor Emelianenko met Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic in 2005, the mixed martial arts world has longed for another heavyweight title fight of that caliber. Everyone, myself included, thought that Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos was the second coming of the 2005 classic, but all of us were dead wrong.
On paper this fight had the stakes, the style matchup and the caliber of athletes necessary to surpass Fedor vs. Cro Cop in every way, but "Cigano" just had other plans as he lamped Velasquez just 64 seconds into the fight.
Junior dos Santos putting hands on a dude is hardly a shock, but few expected the single most important fight in UFC history to last just 64 seconds.
3) Tito Ortiz Defeats a Top 10 Light Heavyweight
No honest man will ever claim to have picked Tito Ortiz to beat Ryan Bader at UFC 132. Heading into that event, Ortiz had gone without a victory for over five years and Dana White had publicly discussed retiring Ortiz if he wasn't victorious.
Before Jon Jones got his hands on him, Ryan Bader was thought to be the future of the light heavyweight division, and without that loss could have gone on to title contention in 2011. Even with the loss to Jones, Bader was still a top 10 light heavyweight, and Tito Ortiz somehow managed to lay waste to him in less than two minutes.
Of course, after that fight Ortiz went on to lose two straight, wound up getting stopped both times and is now talking retirement. But nothing can ever take away what a special moment it was to see Ortiz bring back the "grave digger," even if for only one night.
4) "Minotauro" Re-Emerges
To look at Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira you'd never guess that he was only 35 years old. With the exception of maybe Kazushi Sakuraba, it would be difficult to name a mixed martial artist that has taken more punishment throughout their career. Before competing in 2011, "Minotauro" underwent both knee and hip surgery and before that he was brutally stopped in two of his last three fights.
Just when it seemed as though all the punishment had finally caught up to Nogueira, he shocked the world by knocking out Brendan Schaub in his native Brazil at UFC Rio. In his next fight Nogueira came close to replicating his UFC Rio performance, and was just a few punches away from avenging his loss to Frank Mir before he dove on a choke, got reversed and suffered a brutal arm fracture.
The fact that he wound up losing to Mir wasn't shocking, but the fact that he was still dangerous enough to wobble Mir and Schaub makes him relevant in a division that most thought had passed "Minotauro" by long ago.
He's probably never going to wear another UFC Championship belt around his waist again unless he asks Junior dos Santos' permission first, but the fact that Nogueira had enough in the tank to make a serious run in 2011 was a shock to us all.
5) Fedor Emelianenko Loses Twice More
When Fedor Emelianenko got submitted by Fabricio Werdum in 2010 it was without question the biggest upset of the year. Emelianenko suffering his first true loss at the hands of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt was thought to be mostly a tactical error on the part of "The Last Emperor." Most expected Fedor to bounce back and at the very least make it to the finals of the ill fated Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix. Of course, Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva and Dan Henderson's right hand had other plans.
After the initial shock of seeing Emelianenko defeated by Werdum, perhaps seeing the stoic Russian beaten again shouldn't have been that big of a surprise. But seeing Fedor disfigured by Silva and flattened by Henderson really brought the prime of the all-time great to a screeching halt. Regardless of where Emelianenko is now in his career, and regardless of where he winds up, he's still the greatest heavyweight we've ever seen, and his decline was as sudden his rise to greatness.
6) Nick Diaz Busts Up B.J. Penn
Aside from his top notch Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game, B.J. Penn is known for his oil slick boxing, his chin and the fact that his face never shows any damage. All of those things went out the window at UFC 137 when Penn was battered by Nick Diaz.
Jens Pulver was able to outwork him, Matt Hughes was able to outlast him, Georges St-Pierre was able to out muscle him and Frank Edgar was able to out speed him, but Nick Diaz is the only fighter to ever put that type of beating on "The Prodigy."
Penn was wobbled several times, his face was a mess and he completely wilted under the pressure Diaz put on him. While Diaz had his share of backers heading into the bout, many thought that Penn would run through him and put an end to his volume punching reign of terror. By the middle of the second round, the mouths of the entire mixed martial arts world were agape as the Stockton native took a switch to the Hawaiian.
7) Michael Chandler Defeats Eddie Alvarez
Eddie Alvarez and Hector Lombard were the cornerstones of Bellator Fighting Championships when the promotion started in 2009. The success of the tournament format hinged on the star power of Lombard and Alvarez, as did the credibility of Bellator Championships.
Michael Chandler is a fighter that made his name in Bellator, came up through the tournament and toppled one of the top lightweights in the sport. This is exactly the scenario that Bellator Fighting Championships set out to create, so Alvarez losing to Chandler in and of itself wasn't a surprise. The epic fashion in which Alvarez finally went down in Bellator was what made it a surprise.
If any man was going to put down Eddie Alvarez and claim his lightweight championship, he had to fight his heart out to do it; and Michael Chandler certainly did just that.
8) The Rise of Donald Cerrone
Obviously Nate Diaz whooping up on Donald Cerrone at UFC 141 ruined a potential 5-0 2011 campaign for "Cowboy" but going 4-1 is remarkable for a fighter who couldn't stay off of his back in the WEC. Cerrone's domination of four tested UFC lightweights was impressive, and although he wound up ending the year with a loss, there is no question that the former WEC standout belongs in the Octagon.
9) Benson Henderson Becomes the #1 Contender for the UFC Lightweight Championship
I understand that Benson Henderson has been an outstanding lightweight for a long time and that his UFC success in 2011 probably shouldn't come as a surprise, but there's no getting around the fact that a little over a year ago he was on to the receiving end of the Showtime kick that made Anthony Pettis the talk of the MMA world at the start of 2011.
Twelve months and three fights later, Henderson has well surpassed Pettis in the rankings and is preparing for a UFC Lightweight Title fight on a historic card in Japan. Jon Jones may have more fights, and Dan Henderson may have a higher profile in the sport, but there hasn't been a single fighter in the sport who was more impressive than Benson Henderson in 2011.
10) Dan Henderson Enters His Prime at 41
Dan Henderson has been one of the more accomplished fighters in MMA for a long time, but until 2011 his truly great performances were sprinkled amongst a sea of controversial decision victories and underwhelming efforts. After dropping a decision to Jake Shields and bouncing back with a victory over Renato "Babalu" Sobral in 2010, Dan Henderson went on an absolute tear in 2011 and put on, without question, the three most impressive performances of his career.
In 2011, "Hendo" knocked out a much younger Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante to capture yet another major world championship, knocked out the greatest heavyweight of all time in Fedor Emelianenko and then put on one of the best fights in the history of the sport with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Despite his advanced age, Dan Henderson had the best year of his career and is exhibiting absolutely no signs of slowing down.
11) Jon Jones Crushes Elite Fighters
Jon Jones being a bad dude isn't a surprise to anyone, but the ease in which he dispatched three experienced, elite mixed martial artists came as a surprise to everyone. Against Lyoto Machida, Jones was able to catch him with an elbow that turned momentum in his favor, but the way he demolished Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was absolutely incredible.
"Bones" started 2011 off as a prospect on a hot streak and ended it on the verge of all-time great status in the light heavyweight division. It wasn't as shocking as a lot of other things that took place this year, but Jones picking up a world championship and tearing through four dudes in eleven months is as good as it gets in the sport of mixed martial arts.
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @JasonAmadi and direct your "Ask the Torch" questions to mmatorch@gmail.com
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