The UFC’s 10 best fighters of 2010
3 – Mauricio Rua It’s never hard for a fighter to get up for a world title fight. When you…
3 – Mauricio Rua
It’s never hard for a fighter to get up for a world title fight. When you lose a controversial decision many think you won, it has to be difficult to go through the physical and mental trials necessary to do it all over again. But Mauricio Rua did it. And not only that, but in his championship rematch against Lyoto Machida in May, he scored the defining win of his career via first round knockout. What made the victory sweeter was the journey it took to get there. From a loss in his UFC debut to Forrest Griffin to two knee surgeries, Rua got to the top in the Octagon the hard way, and even though he has been sidelined since the bout due to injury, he is rehabbed, healthy and ready to go for an early-2011 title defense against Rashad Evans.
2 – Cain Velasquez
It seemed like Cain Velasquez was being groomed for the heavyweight title from the first time he put on the gloves, but in most situations like that, the reality falls far short of expectations. Not here, and in 2010, after working his way up the ranks, Velasquez fulfilled all his promise, first with a knockout of heavyweight legend Minotauro Nogueira in February, and then with a TKO of Brock Lesnar in October that earned him the title World Champion. What’s scary about Velasquez is that he probably hasn’t reached his peak yet and that he won’t stop working until he gets there. Of course, in this sport all it takes is one punch to derail anyone, but it’s looking like Velasquez may stay on top for a while should he get past Junior dos Santos in 2011.
1 – Frankie Edgar
Rightfully deserving of a lightweight title shot, Frankie Edgar still wasn’t considered likely to be the one to defeat the seemingly unstoppable 155-pound king, BJ Penn. Edgar and his team just ignored the odds, put together an intense training camp and fight plan, and walked into Abu Dhabi in April with one goal in mind – to win the belt. And after five close rounds, it was Edgar who shocked the world and took the title from The Prodigy behind a disciplined 25 minute attack.
It was the ‘feel good’ story of the year, but it didn’t keep Edgar from the underdog position once again for the August rematch with Penn. But again, the pride of Toms River ignored the talk, and again, he beat Penn via five round decision at UFC 118. Only this time, there were no questions and no close rounds. And when Penn bounced back from the two defeats to knock out Matt Hughes in 21 seconds at UFC 123, it not only showed that Penn still had plenty left in his gas tank, but that Frankie Edgar didn’t beat a shell of a fighter twice – he beat a prime BJ Penn. Will he be an underdog again in the future? Probably. But given his 2010 performance, you get the idea that he doesn’t really care.