Antonio Silva def. Alistair Overeem, UFC 156 Suffice it to say it was not a good year for Alistair Overeem. In February he returned from suspension to face plodding heavyweight Antonio Silva. Through two rounds Overeem controlled the fight, picking at Silva and keeping him against the fence. In the third round Silva turned the tides of the fight, reversing positions and demolishing Overeem against the fence a-la Phil Baroni vs. Dave Menne. After knocking him out, Silva stood over Overeem's limp body, screaming at him for his pre-fight disrespect. Travis Browne def. Alistair Overeem, UFC Fight Night 26 Travis Browne had one of the best years of any MMA fighter in 2013. Three fights against ranked heavyweights, three Knockout of the Night bonuses. What more could you want? But he hardly survived against Alistair Overeem in August. In what might've been the round of the year, Overeem punished Browne early against the fence, hammering him with punches and elbows, occasionally pulling Browne's head down for a knee. At one point Overeem nailed a downed Browne with a knee to the head but it went unnoticed by lenient referee Mario Yamasaki. When the two separated, a weary Browne started spamming front kicks on Overeem as the Dutchman's energy waned, eventually connecting with Reem's chin and finishing the fight. Robbie Lawler, career Although virtually everyone would agree that Robbie Lawler is an exciting fighter, virtually no one predicted that he'd rejuvenate his career in 2013 to the extent that he has. Lawler was 3-5 for Strikeforce before coming back to the UFC in February. Three fights later he's fighting for the UFC Welterweight Championship of the World. Knockout wins over Josh Koscheck and Bobby Voelker and a surprise upset win over Rory MacDonald have sent Lawler to the top. Can you count him out against Johny Hendricks? It is entirely plausible that the 31-year old can become the top welterweight in the world in 2014 and that is astounding. Cat Zingano def. Miesha Tate, TUF 17 Finale Most will remember 2013 for Miesha Tate as the year she coached opposite Ronda Rousey on TUF and subsequently lost to her for a second time at UFC 168. Cat Zingano will remember 2013 as the year she missed out on two of the biggest opportunities of her career--being pulled from TUF and that title shot due to injury. Zingano had a three-round war with Miesha Tate in April that was awarded Fight of the Night. Tate controlled Zingano for the first two rounds but Zingano came into the third revitalized and determined to win. Zingano blasted Tate with knees and elbows until the referee stopped the fight three minutes into the third round. Sadly Zingao still won't be getting her title shot next--the UFC has requested a quick turnaround for Rousey who will fight Sara McMann next month. Zingano, health permitting, will face the winner.
This one is hard. Lawler has had one hell of a career resurgence (that Hendricks will crush ), but both Silva and Browne had incredible comebacks against Overeem (lol poor guy, twice not his list !?) and Cat had a nice comeback herself. I think I'm gonna vote for Big Foot just because Overeem talked so much shit leading up to the fight.
Lawler's had an amazing year. His fight with MacDonald wasn't exactly a classic but he did well. I voted for Browne because that round was amazing and I feel like Browne should be winning something this year for his efforts but Lawler isn't far behind.
