Jon Jones - 2011
2011 saw Jon Jones turn from a rising star in the UFC light heavyweight division to a legitimate contender, and from that to the youngest champion in UFC history. The year began for Jones in February, where he faced undefeated prospect Ryan Bader, with the winner possibly going to be next in line after Rashad Evans to challenge then champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Jones ran through the formerly dominant Bader, and won by guillotine choke in the second round. Immediately after this it was announced that Rashad Evans was injured and could not challenge next for the title, so Jones was offered the chance to fight Shogun Rua with only six weeks notice.
Not only did Jones accept the fight, but he dominated Shogun, a man considered at one point in his career to be the #1 light heavyweight fighter in the world. In March 2011, Jones Jones was 23 years old, and had just become the youngest champion in UFC history. If this wasn't good enough, Jones fought again twice in 2011, against opponents rightfully considered to be legends of MMA. In September Jones fought Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, dominating him just as he had Shogun, and tapping him out in the fourth round. In December, Jones fought Lyoto Machida, a man who for years had been considered as close to unbeatable as any fighter could be. Machida tested Jones for the first round of the fight, forcing him to retreat with strikes, but in the second round Jones found his rhythm and choked Machida unconscious to close off one of the greatest years that MMA has ever seen.
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua - 2005
Since coming to the UFC in 2007 Shogun has had a mixed record, amassing a 4-4 record from his fights. This is disappointing for a fighter with the career accolades of Shogun, but when you consider the quality of his opponents in this time, he could have done much worse. Currently coming off a November loss to Dan Henderson in what is considered to be one of the greatest fights of all time, Shogun is still considered in the top five, and maybe even top three, light heavyweights in the world by many people. In 2005 however, Shogun went from a person of interest to a seemingly unstoppable force.
Coming off a February win over Hiromitsu Namekawa in Japan, Shogun entered into the Pride Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament. He faced all big names in this tournament, beating Rampage Jackson in the opening round, and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in the quarterfinal two months later. If this wasn't enough, in August he faced Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona in the same night, finishing both men with strikes and winning the tournament. This is definitely a contender for best year of all time, and many fans are still hoping to see another year like this one for Shogun. At only 30 years of age, Shogun might yet still deliver.
Georges St-Pierre - 2005
As the consistently ranked #2 pound for pound fighter in the world on many lists, St-Pierre has been a reliable member of the UFC roster since 2004. A huge Pay Per View draw, St-Pierre has been criticised by many for not fighting often enough, fighting only twice in 2010, and once in 2011. There was a time however, that GSP fought as much as almost anyone else, and in 2005 he was focused entirely on becoming a force to be reckoned with in the UFC. GSP fought four times in 2005, beating opponents Dave Strasser, Jason Miller, Frank Trigg and Sean Sherk in that order. An impressive year for GSP coming off his (then) only ever loss, against Matt Hughes in 2004. Probably the best year in the career of Georges St-Pierre to date.
Matt Hughes - 2000
If you were a new fan of MMA it would be easy to look at Matt Hughes' record and disregard him as another mid level fighter. After all, he is only 5-5 in his last 10 UFC fights, not a record many people would be boasting about. For years however, Hughes dominated the welterweight division of worldwide MMA, and is considered by plenty of people to be the greatest welterweight of all time. Hughes fought a staggering ten times this year, including what must have been a crazy night in November, where he faced and beat three opponents in the one night, finishing one by strikes, one by submission, and one by stoppage due to injury.
Hughes was looking to close out the year on a clean sheet after going 9-0, but a December bout with Dennis "Superman" Hallman stopped him in his tracks. Stopping him with an armbar in only 20 seconds, Hallman managed to destroy all the momentum Hughes had going throughout his previous fights, and end on a bad note what would otherwise have been a perfect year.
Don Frye - 1996
If you don't know Don Frye, you might know his moustache. Or alternatively, you might know his absolutely brutal 2002 fight with Yoshihoro Takayama, voted Fight of the Year, and a fight every MMA fan should see. Frye's professional debut and arguably finest year came in 1996 however, and this really was a year to watch. If you were surprised that Matt Hughes fought 10 times in one year, and three times in one night, you will be interested to hear that Frye not only fought 11 times in 1996, but fought three times in one night THREE times during this year. He actually fought three times on the night of his professional debut, and his three wins that night did not even add up to one full five minute round.
As impressive as this is, add in the fact that Frye won two UFC tournaments in this one year, and fought three times a night in order to win both. He also never went out of the first round in any of those six fights. The lone blot in this year is his TKO loss to Mark Coleman, which put his record for this year at 10-1, and stopped him winning what would surely have been a historic third UFC tournament in one year. Probably the best debut year in history.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira - 2002
More commonly known as "Big Nog", Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is the bigger of the two Nogueira brothers, and an MMA legend who currently competes in the UFC heavyweight division. You might last have seen him get his arm brutally snapped by Frank Mir, but in 2002 he had a great year, fighting five times and winning each one. His most notable opponents in this year were Bob Sapp and Dan Henderson, and even though Sapp is currently on a massive career skid, in 2002 he was considered to be a very tough opponent and big prospect. Dan Henderson is of course a big win for anyone, and their fight gave Big Nog a chance to avenge a loss to him two years earlier. After tapping Hendo out with an armbar in the third round, Big Nog certainly did this.
Having won the first ever Pride Heavyweight Championship in late 2001, four of Big Nog's five bouts in 2002 were in defence of his belt, which is almost unheard of in current MMA competition. Unfortunately his winning ways did not continue in 2003, as he lost his belt to Fedor Emelianenko, the man who would beat him for the title once again in 2004. A great year nonetheless, and definitely worth considering as one of the best of all time.
These are some of the best years that competitors have had in MMA history. There are plenty of fighters who may have had years that deserve to make the list, and i'm sure there is a Gracie somewhere with a record that puts all these to shame, so maybe I will put up a second edition some other time. For now however, these are definitely some of the best years in MMA history, and probably the best years in the career of each fighter featured.
These are some of the best years that competitors have had in MMA history. There are plenty of fighters who may have had years that deserve to make the list, and i'm sure there is a Gracie somewhere with a record that puts all these to shame, so maybe I will put up a second edition some other time. For now however, these are definitely some of the best years in MMA history, and probably the best years in the career of each fighter featured.
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