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What's your favorite fight of the year thus far in 2013 and why?
CAMERON LYMAN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
There are two fights that immediately pop into my head: Stann vs. Silva and Matt Grice vs. Dennis Bermudez. I'm going to have to go with Grice-Bermudez because it really was a back and forth battle with both fighters refusing to be finished. It was unreal to watch Grice go into Walking Dead mode and keep swinging for the fences. It was the definition of an all out war that could have gone either way.
C.J. TUTTLE, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
Without question Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann - UFC on Fuel 8 March 3, 2013 from Saitama, Japan. Why? Pure, toe to toe, balls to the wall, swing till you knock the guy standing in front of you out.
ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
The UFC 156 main event between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar is my favorite fight of the year. It was also the best fight of the year so far, in my opinion. was a fast paced and close fight with two huge names that lived up to the hype. I would love to see a rematch.
BRAD WALKER, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
How wrong is it if I say Little Nog and Rashad Evans? I kid I kid. Wanderlei Silva and Brian Stann by far have the best fight of the year so far and it was so intense that I had to watch it about six more times to make sure I had just seen that. A fabulous violent exchange that left my brain rumbling from its sheer awesomeness.
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
I really got a kick out of Wanderlei Silva vs. Briant Stann from UFC on FUEL 8. That was just a barroom brawl. The energy from the crowd also really added to the fight to me. It was just a wild fight and I loved every second of it.
RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
My three favorite fights of 2013 so far are:
1.) Dennis Bermudez vs. Matt Grice
2.) Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche
3.) Cat Zingano vs. Miesha Tate
DAN MOORE, MMATORCH UK COLUMNIST
This will be viewed as an odd choice by many of you reading this - but Tom Watson vs. Stanislav Nedkov is my favourite fight of 2013 so far. Firstly I was in attendance that night, so it’s inevitable that this 'Fight of the Night' would hold plenty of sway when it came to casting my vote.
Watson is a huge fan favourite in the UK and was coming off a loss to Brad Tavares in his debut last year (UFC on FUEL 5). Another defeat would have left him 0-2 and surely facing the dreaded cut. I've attended many UFC events over the years, but the noise generated in the arena during that fight, was absolutely deafening.
Watson and Nedkov left nothing behind and both went for the finish at every opportunity. I was well aware of Nedkov's punching power and he caught Watson more than once in the early stand-up exchanges. It was literally back and forth for 5 minutes, but Watson eventually did enough to win R1 with a late flurry whilst in top position.
Heading into R2 – Watson carried on the momentum and his clinch work remained outstanding. Eventually Nedkov had no answer for the brutal knees that Watson was landing with increased frequency. When the referee finally stopped it - the crowd erupted into a patriotic frenzy. Something I hadn’t witnessed live at an MMA event since Cain Velasquez beat Brock Lesnar at UFC 121.
If I hadn't been in attendance for that particular fight – Carlos Condit vs. Johny Hendricks at UFC 158 would have won my vote by a country mile. Throw in Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche, Miesha Tate vs. Cat Zingano and Lucas Martins vs. Jeremy Larsen to complete my five favorite fights of 2013 so far.
[Wanderlei Silva art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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