The 5 Best MMA Events of 2008

**Tony** · 01-01-2009, 14:02

#5: Affliction: Banned, 7/19/08

(Photo courtesy of Sherdog)

Sure, the pacing was a little shaky, and the picture quality for the pay-per-view broadcast was kind of dark, and apparently some of you don’t think that Megadeth’s Rust in Peace is one of the most kickass records ever released. But you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Affliction’s debut MMA show gave us a supernova of heavyweight star power, featuring Fedor Emelianenko’s 36-second destruction of Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski’s beatdown of Ben Rothwell, and Josh Barnett’s redemptive KO of Pedro Rizzo; elsewhere on the card, we got to see Matt Lindland, Babalu Sobral, Vitor Belfort and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in action. The organization has since turned into a bit of a shit-show, but with Banned, they gave us nearly everything we could have hoped for.

#4: UFC 87: Seek and Destroy, 8/9/08

(Photo courtesy of ESPN)

The UFC’s visit to Minneapolis proved the following…
— Brock Lesnar is an absolute beast. His takedowns can’t be stopped, and his punches tend to break facial bones. He will mock you after he beats you.
— Kenny Florian is a fantastic fighter, and worthy of a title shot; Roger Huerta maybe had a little more hype than substance.
— Demian Maia is one of the most talented submission specialists in MMA, in any organization, in any weight class. His choke-out of Jason MacDonald gave him his third-consecutive Submission of the Night bonus.
— Ben Saunders might actually be a contender one day.
— Jon Jones is athletic and explosive. I’m sorry, but the clichés are true sometimes.
— Jon Fitch is one tough son-of-a-bitch.
— If you’re fighting Georges St. Pierre, tough ain’t enough.

#3: WEC 34, 6/1/08

(Photo courtesy of NBC Sports)

Faber vs. Pulver was billed as the biggest featherweight MMA match in history, and it delivered like a motherfucker. Though Lil’ Evil was never really in the fight, he proved his legendary status by withstanding an on-fire Urijah Faber for five punishing rounds. The main event was preceded by our pick for Fight of the Year, as Miguel Torres made his first bantamweight title defense in a truly insane three-rounder against Yoshiro Maeda. Both fighters turned in stunning offensive performances, but Maeda’s orbital bone eventually gave out and he couldn’t answer the fourth-round bell. WEC 34 also happened to feature a healthy share of the league’s mid-tier talent, with future 145-pound champ Mike Brown, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, “Razor” Rob McCullogh, and Mark Munoz all turning in winning performances. Not bad for free TV.

#2: UFC 84: "Ill Will", 5/24/08

(Photo courtesy of the Las Vegas Sun)

If UFC 92 was the most stacked card of the year, “Ill Will” was the most stacked card of the first six months. In terms of sheer entertainment value, MMA events don’t get much better. One of the great grudge matches of the year was settled in the main event, as BJ Penn smashed Sean Sherk for three rounds, unifying the lightweight title in the process. Just as thrilling was Wanderlei Silva’s 36-second storming of Keith Jardine (which remains Silva’s only win in over two years), and Lyoto Machida’s decision victory over Tito Ortiz via ghost-like elusiveness.

The main card also featured a Fight of the Night between Wilson Gouveia and Goran Reljic, and Thiago Silva’s creaming of Octagon newbie Antonio Mendes. But the undercard was just as exciting, with Shane Carwin winning his first UFC fight in 44 seconds, Yoshiyuki Yoshida choking out War Machine (known then by the ridiculous moniker “Jon Koppenhaver”), Rousimar Palhares armbarring Ivan Salaverry, and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou puttin’ the hurt on Kazuhiro Nakamura. Sick and satisfying, from top to bottom.

#1: UFC 92: Ultimate 2008, 12/27/08

(Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

As kickass as UFC 84 was, few of the results were all that surprising. We have to give “Ultimate 2008” the #1 spot on this list because it stood as a perfect example of why we all love this sport — because anything can happen at any time.

Not only was UFC’s end-of-the-year card packed with stars, but the three main events all came with compelling narratives in place. Quinton Jackson was facing the man who had devastated him twice in PRIDE. For the first time, two TUF winners were fighting for a UFC title. And the coaches from the previous season of The Ultimate Fighter — the good guy and the bad guy — were also throwing down for a belt, and the opportunity to meet Brock Lesnar for the undisputed heavyweight strap.

But nothing played out according to the script. In what had to be the upset of the year, Frank Mir smoked Antonio Nogueira standing, scoring a 10-8 round in the first frame, then putting the Brazilian legend away in the second. Nobody expected it to happen — least of all Frank himself — but it was the finest performance of Mir’s career, and put him just one victory away from becoming a champion once again.

Rampage did in fact get his revenge over Wanderlei Silva, scoring the knockout of the year in the process, when most MMA pundits (including us) expected Silva to make it three in a row; the Axe Murderer took another step toward retirement and Jackson finds himself in the title picture once again. Meanwhile, Rashad Evans became the #1 light-heavyweight in the world (and shed the remainder of his “boring fighter” image) by jackhammering Forrest Griffin to a TKO victory in the third round of their fight, after arguably losing the first two. All told, eight of UFC 92’s ten fights ended via stoppage due to strikes. If you were pulling for Wandy, Big Nog, or Forrest, you could call it heartbreaking, but there’s no way in hell you could call it boring.