THERE ARE SIMPLY far too many variables to succinctly-define what constitutes a great fight.
Of course, it’s a relative matter – every fight-fan has their boat floated by a particular strain of unarmed-combat. Beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder.
With that in mind, it seems that the most effective way to maintain objectivity would be to streamline the list of bouts which were awarded Fight of the Night bonuses by the UFC brass during 2014.
In chronological order, here’s our five favourites:
1. Johny Hendricks v Robbie Lawler I.
UFC 171. American Airlines Centre, Dallas, Texas. 15 March
In response to long-time welterweight champion Georges St Pierre vacating his title late in 2013, the UFC decided to match two of the division’s most-lethal knockout artists to fill the void left by the Canadian.
During his second-stint as the 170lbs kingpin – which lasted almost six years – St. Pierre had amassed a record-breaking nine title-defences. His departure left the division in a state of uncertainty. What was certain, however, was not no pair of fighters were more-deserving of a shot at assuming his crown than Hendricks and Lawler.
In fact, Hendricks had arguably beaten St. Pierre when they two met at UFC 167 the previous November. For his part, Lawler had strung together three-straight wins since returning to the UFC in February 2013.
The bout which ensued proved worthy of what was at stake. In the opening two stanzas, Hendricks, showing a vastly-more varied striking arsenal, picked apart Lawler with leg-kicks and quick-fire combinations with his hands.
Lawler responded by landing a series of heavy-shots in the third, while stuffing Hendricks’ takedown attempts. His momentum continued into the fourth, as the pair continued trading blow-for-blow.
Going into the fifth, it was two rounds apiece with everything left to fight for. The stand-up battle continued until the final minute, when Hendricks finally got Lawler to the mat and turned the contest in his favour. The judges awarded him the victory by unanimous decision. Lawler took his vengeance earlier this month at UFC 181, when he usurped Hendricks thanks to a split-decision after another 25 minute war. There must be a trilogy afoot.
2. Renan Barao v TJ Dillashaw.
UFC 173. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada. 24 May
TJ Dillashaw’s TKO victory over bantamweight champion Renan Barao was greeted by a wave of mass-incredulity. Barring Dillashaw, his coach, Duane Ludwig, and stable-mates at Team Alpha Male, not a single soul gave him the slightest-chance of toppling Barao. During the pre-fight discourse, the consensus was that it was just a matter of when, not if, Barao would put away his American challenger.
But nobody told Dillashaw. He and Ludwig had been working together tirelessly, to devise a game-plan which could neutralise Barao. And, from the opening-bell, it showed.
Dillashaw barely resembled the talented, but callow-fighter which has been observed in his seven UFC outings. Perpetually-bouncing on his toes, he bedevilled Barao by cutting unorthodox-angles while scoring shots at will. In the first round, Dillashaw dropped the champion with a right-hand and never looked back.
Barao had no answer for Dillashaw’s intricate, evasive-movement and, over the course of the next 15 minutes, was made look distinctly-average. Just before the mid-way point of the final stanza, Dillashaw capped-off a career-defining performance, when flooring Barao with a crushing left-hook then pounding him out to earn a TKO victory.
In one of the greatest-upsets in UFC history, Dillashaw had not only taken the bantamweight title, but brought an end to a winning-streak which had lasted almost a decade.
3. Cathal Pendred v Mike King
UFC FN 46. The 02 Arena, Dublin. 19 July
Some fights are won by skill, tactics or, even luck. Others come down to heart and balls, which was precisely the case when Pendred choked-out Mike King on that famous summer night in Dublin’s docklands.
After a disappointing semi-final exit on TUF 19, Pendred was matched with his fellow-contestant on the preliminary card of what prove the most-significant event in the history of Irish MMA.
Pendred was given a rapturous-reception by a vociferous home-support as he strolled to the octagon against the backdrop ‘Put ‘Em Under Pressure,’ circa Italia’90.
However, it looked as though the party would take a turn for the worst, with King subjecting Pendred to serious punishment in the first round. The American scored a knock-down in the early goings, which he followed up with vicious ground-and-pound and then locked in what looked to be a taut-arm-bar.
Somehow, Pendred made it to the end of the round. He returned for the second bloodied but unbowed. The Dubliner quickly went about imposing his game on King and dragged him to the mat in clinical fashion. Pendred took King’s back before putting him to sleep via rear-naked choke, the sight of which was almost too much to bear for an already unhinged-crowd.
It would later emerge that King had tested positive for PEDs, so the UFC decided to hand his bonus money over to Pendred.
4. Jose Aldo v Chad Mendes. UFC 179.
Ginásio do Maracanazinho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 25 October
Re-matches are usually eagerly-awaited when their predecessor was either extremely-close or ended in controversy. Neither scenario could be applied to Aldo’s devastating-first round knockout of Mendes at UFC 142 in January 2012.
Yet, such was Mendes’ form in the interim, there was a significant amount of anticipation surrounding their resumption of hostilities. The American had won five fights on the bounce since Aldo’s perfectly-placed knee had rendered him unconscious with only a second remaining in the opening stanza of their initial bout.
Moreover, four of those had come via KO or TKO – tangible proof that, like teammate TJ Dillashaw, Mendes had radically-improved under the tutelage of Duane Ludwig.
With Conor McGregor sitting cage-side as antagonist-in-chief, Aldo and Mendes put on the greatest featherweight title-fight the UFC has ever seen. Pushing a relentless pace from the get-go, the challenger gave the champion the most exacting-examination of his reign.
In the opening round, each man scored a knock-down thanks to perfectly-place left hooks. Which quickly ended any pre-fight assumptions that Aldo would prevail with the same ease as he had almost two years before.
As the bell sounded to signal the end of the opening five minutes, Aldo landed a punishing combination, for which he received no warning from referee Marc Goddard.
Aldo then took the second and third rounds, before a Mendes purple-patch in the fourth. But, like all great champions, Aldo dug-deep in the fifth to close out what had been a gruelling-stand-up war. The Brazilian was awarded a unanimous decision, while Mendes was left contemplating the career-ramifications of two failed title-shots by his 30th birthday.
5. Junior Dos Santos v Stipe Miocic
UFC on Fox 13. US Airways Centre, Phoenix, Arizona. 13 December
The spectacle of two colossal men at the zenith of their hazardous-profession going toe-to-toe has never failed to capture the public imagination.
Being the biggest and toughest, usually entitles a fighter to consider himself the baddest man on the planet. At one point, in the not too distant past, Junior Dos Santos had been that man, but two brutal-beatings at the hands of champion Cain Velasquez had relieved him of the distinction.
Close to 14 months after his second loss to Velasquez, Dos Santos returned to action to take on surging-contender Stipe Miocic. Once more, the former-heavyweight kingpin found himself in a punishing- war of attrition.
For the first two rounds, Miocic pursued Dos Santos relentlessly. The American out-worked and out-struck his opponent in that time- reducing his face to pulp in the process.
In the third, Dos Santos floored Miocic with a left-hook and, in turn, altered the complexion of the bout. The Brazilian began finding a home for his patented power-shots and progressively sapped Miocic’s reserves.
Dos Santos sealed the fourth by slamming Miocic to the mat with a neatly-executed trip. In the final five minutes, Dos Santos piled on the pressure to secure a deserved, but slightly-generous unanimous decision. At that stage, the pair were scarcely-recognisable from the men that had entered the octagon less than half an hour previously.