It’s crazy to think that it was only the first quarter of the year and we’ve seen so many good fights. Enough said let’s delve into March 2014:
~ 10 ~
WSOF 9: Marlon Moraes vs. Josh Rettinghouse
There were several fights on this card that were noteworthy but probably none better than the fight for the inaugural World Series of Fighting Bantamweight Championship. Both Marlon Moraes and Josh Rettinghouse eared their title shots by defeating big name fighters.
However, from the get go it was obvious that Moraes was the more skilled fighter. Despite the skill difference, Rettinghouse kept coming even when Moraes kicked his legs out from under him to the point he couldn’t even stand. Moraes did win but Rettinghouse earned the respect of many.
~ 9 ~
TUF Nations: Canada vs. Australia- Chad Laprise vs. Kajan Johnson
This semifinal match was a bit of a heart breaker. It’s always hard for teammates to face each other on TUF because the coaches and teammates have to take sides. That being said it was a good fight mainly in the stand up.
It was in the third round that Laprise found a good opportunity and landed what could be considered the Knockout of the Season. The impact was so hard that Johnson had a broken jaw.
~ 8 ~
TUF: Brazil 3- Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Edgard Castaldelli
The preliminary fights of third installment of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil were extremely exciting but none compared to this quick knockout in the semifinal round. In the first heavyweight bout of the season, coach Wanderlei Silva chose Team Silva’s Antonio Carlos Junior to fight Team Sonnen’s Edgard Castaldelli.
There was a lot of background explored between the two fighters which included Junior’s family and Castaldelli’s soon to be born son. While it was thought to be a hard fought fight, it actually lasted less then twenty seconds when Junior found the right punch that put Castaldelli on the ground quickly. With that Team Silva was two for two and after a game retained fight control.
~ 7 ~
UFC 171: Jessica Andrade vs. Raquel Pennington
Once again the women delivered. This was Raquel Pennington’s first fight outside of The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale and Jessica Andrade’s first fight after defeating veteran Rosi Sexton.
It was interestingly enough only the second time two openly gay fighters fought each other in the UFC. To say the fight was exciting is an understatement. Both fighters gave it their all and Andrade won in a close decision.
~ 6 ~
Bellator 111: Lavar Johnson vs. Ryan Martinez – Comeback of the Month
This fight had a lot of touching story behind it with Lavar Johnson trying to make one last run and Ryan Martinez fighting for his wife who helped him through post convict life. It was significant because if was the first round of what could be arguably Bellator’s best heavyweight tournament to date.
The fight only took place in the first round but was significant in that Martinez was controlling most of it with ground and pound once he took Johnson down. However, right towards the end of the round Johnson was able to get up and turned the tables on Martinez. He finished him and moved onto the next round where he will meet Blagoi Ivanov next Friday.
~ 5 ~
UFC 171: Tyron Woodley vs. Carlos Condit – Upset of the Month
By all definitions, Tyron Woodley was the underdog going into this fight with former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit. However, he’d definitely earned his spot in this title shot match up by defeating Josh Koscheck in fine fashion. For the most part the match consisted of Woodley controlling Condit all of the first round and what of the second round took place.
Then roughly half way through the second round, Woodley kicked Condit in such a manner that his right leg blew out from the force of landing on it. Because of this many people believe Woodley didn’t earn the win and he actually will not be fighting for the title in his next match, sadly.
~ 4 ~
UFC 171: Ovince St. Preux vs. Nikita Krylov – Sub of the Month (tied)
I never though I’d actually give a tie for any of these categories but this is one example of why it was warranted this month. Ovince St. Preux was a man of Haitian descent who was a Strikeforce import while Nikita Krylov was a heavyweight coming down a weight class.
The match was rather quick as Preux took Krylov down and started working the ground game. What surprised many is that Preux worked a rarely used Von Flue choke on Krylov and it was so quick that Krylov didn’t have time to tap before he passed out. The win earned Preux Performance of the Night honors and is definitely a candidate for Submission of the Year already.
~ 3 ~
Bellator 111: Eduardo Dantes vs. Anthony Leone – Submission of the Month (tied)
This is the other candidate that I couldn’t agree on for Submission of the Month and chose to give it a tie in the category because of how magnificently it was executed. Eduardo Dantes was defending his title for the first time in over a year when he had to defend it against late replacement Anthony Leone.
One of the crazy things is that Dantes actually dared to call his shot as a submission in the second round. The first round actually went to Leone but then shockingly, Dantes fulfilled his called shot in the second round. The shocking thing about it is that even though it was a rear naked choke, Dantes pulled it off by simply stepping over Leone to trap his arm and sink it in.
~ 2 ~
TUF: China Finale- Dong Hyun Kim vs. John Hathaway – KO of the Month
Because of the fact that this fight card was exclusively on fight pass, most American audiences have only seen highlights of this bout. Dong Hyun Kim was on a role with wins over Paulo Thiago, Siyar Bahadurazada and Erick Silva. John Hathaway on the other hand hadn’t fought in almost eighteen months.
The actual match was a back and forth affair that culminated in a highlight real knockout in which Kim performed a spinning back elbow which put Hathaway on the Octagon floor immediately. Kim earned Performance of the Night honors with the win.
~ 1 ~
UFC 171: Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler – Fight of the Month
The battle for the vacant UFC Welterweight Championship proved to be worthy of the history books. Following Georges St.-Pierre‘s vacating of the title, St.-Pierre’s last opponent Johny Hendricks and a revitalized Robbie Lawler were chosen to fight for the title. To say the fight itself was exciting is an understatement.
Both men gave it their all but there was a little controversy as some felt that Robbie Lawler in fact won the championship. However, all of the judges believed Hendricks won rounds 1, 2 and 5 and both won Fight of the Night honors.
Did you think any fights were missed in this month’s top 10? Feel free to leave a comment and way which.