It goes without saying 2012 wasn’t kind to the UFC.

The world’s largest fight promotion was plagued by a series of injuries. Fight cards were promised, but not delivered and matchmakers were forced to frantically shuffle the deck just to keep up with the UFC’s saturated schedule. This also tested the patience of fans, who became hesitant to buy tickets weeks and months in advance.

But it all came together in 2013.

Sure, there were injuries and certain title fights fell apart, particularly in the lightweight division as Anthony Pettis and T.J. Grant struggled to stay healthy.

Overall, though, cards stayed intact and a number of fighters stepped up their games to deliver some of the best scraps ever seen in the octagon.

However, these five competitors truly stood out this past year.

5. LAWLER

When Robbie (Ruthless) Lawler rejoined to the UFC earlier this year after more than eight years away from the organization, expectations weren’t exactly high for the former EliteXC middleweight champion.

Sure, Lawler has always displayed a fan-friendly style in the cage — not to mention devastating knockout power — but the Pat Miletich protege had struggled under the Strikeforce banner, putting together a 3-5 run in the promotion’s 185-pound division.

It goes without saying Lawler silenced the critics.

His first bout, against Josh Koscheck in February, marked his return to 170 pounds — and he made it count. Lawler took home Knockout of the Night for his first-round starching of the former title challenger.

He then followed up the bout with a KO win over Bobby Voelker and a thrilling split-decision victory against Rory MacDonald to cap off a stunning career resurgence.

Lawler is now poised to face Johny Hendricks at UFC 171 in March for the vacant welterweight championship.

4. FABER

Urijah (The California Kid) Faber had a particularly rough 2012.

Not only did his planned rubber match with Dominick Cruz fall apart after the bantamweight champion suffered a knee injury, he dropped a flat unanimous decision to Renan Pegado in an interim-title fight.

He only stepped in the cage once all year and took home a disappointing loss for his efforts.

This no doubt stuck with Faber, who rebounded by working overtime in 2013.

The former WEC featherweight champ was the only fighter on the UFC roster to net four victories last year.

He kicked things off with an impressive rear-naked choke submission against Ivan Menjivar in February. He then dispatched Scott Jorgensen with the same hold in the headliner of one of the best cards of 2013, The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale in April. In August, he dominated Brazilian standout Yuri Alcantara en route to a unanimous-decision victory.

However, Faber’s most meaningful win came against touted prospect Michael McDonald at UFC on FOX 9 in December. Not only did he wobble the dangerous striker with an overhand right before setting up a fight-ending guillotine choke, he proved that he’s still among the top fighters on the planet.

Faber is expected to meet the winner of February’s title-unification fight between Cruz and Pegado.

3. BELFORT

Depending on your stance on testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT), you’ve either applauded Vitor (The Phenom) Belfort’s head-rattling knockouts in 2013, or subconsciously slapped an asterisk next to them.

Any way you slice it, TRT is legal. Unless athletic commissions ban the controversial procedure, there’s no sense crucifying those who apply for therapeutic-use exemptions (TUEs) and ensure their testosterone levels are within acceptable limits.

Yes, Belfort tested positive for steroids in 2006 and you can argue this alone should prevent him from ever receiving a TUE. Regardless, the MMA legend was given the green light by the Brazilian MMA athletic commission, Comissao Atletica Brasileira de MMA (CABMMA).

Belfort’s case may highlight a glaring flaw in the system, but his victories inside the cage were nothing short of spectacular. It’s hard to deny he had a stellar year.

After finishing Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold with vicious high kicks, Belfort became the first fighter to knock out Dan Henderson. Since Hendo is also a member of TRT club, we can view that fight as an even playing field.

2. JOHNSON

No UFC champion had a more productive year than flyweight kingpin Demetrious (Mighty Mouse) Johnson.

Not only did he stage three successful title defences, he netted a fight bonus in each of his efforts.

His thrilling January decision win over John Dodson was awarded Fight of the Night, but also proved Johnson could bounce back from early adversity.

What came next was pure dominance.

After out-working John Moraga for four rounds at UFC on FOX 8 in July, Johnson sealed the deal with a late armbar. He could have easily coasted to a lopsided decision win from top position, but instead went for the finish with less than two minutes on the clock. The win earned him Submission of the Night honours and stands as the latest finish in UFC history at 3:43 of round five.

In his final outing in 2013, Johnson silenced naysayers who criticized him for lacking KO power. At UFC on FOX 9 on Dec. 14, the AMC Pankration fighter uncorked a vicious right hook to put Joseph Benavidez to sleep and take home Knockout of the Night.

The 125-pound division may be young, but Johnson is proving to be as dominant a champion as any on the UFC roster.

1. WEIDMAN

Anderson (The Spider) Silva’s storied middleweight title run was still in full swing at the beginning of 2013.

The MMA legend had just pushed his UFC record to 16-0 with a TKO victory over Stephan Bonnar the previous October and was ready to take on all challengers. Now with 2013 in the books, we’re left wondering if we’ll ever see him step into the cage again.

Silva’s pair of fights against Chris (All-American) Weidman couldn’t have turned out worse for the Brazilian.

Though Silva deserves all the respect in the world, too much emphasis has been placed on him and his mistakes against Weidman. Not enough credit is being given to the newly minted middleweight champion.

The truth is Weidman deserves praise for how he took Silva down, regardless of how difficult it may have been to watch one of the all-time greats in agony as he was wheeled out on a stretcher Saturday.

Some will claim Silva could have and should have won both encounters. Not only is this disrespectful to Weidman, it’s textbook denial at its finest. The 29-year-old standout proved both times to have Silva’s number.

In their first outing at UFC 162 this past July, he beat Silva at him own game.

In the second round, Silva planted his feet and dropped his hands before attempting to dodge punches with head movement alone. He had done this in the past with great success, but this was partly due to his opponent’s combinations fitting the typical rhythm of left-strike, right-strike, repeat.

Weidman responded by doubling-up his right hand — a straight followed by a back-fist — which forced Silva to lean back into a vicious left hook. Since he gotten away with similar antics in the past, Silva thought he was out of range, but instead never saw the punch coming.

Utilizing feints and double-ups to usher an opponent’s head into a power shot is one of the hallmarks of a great striker. Weidman certainly has areas to improve when it comes to his stand-up game, yet he got the better of Silva by capitalizing on a hole that more seasoned strikers had failed to exploit.

Perhaps Silva’s only strong point in the first fight was a series of stiff leg kicks, which he got away with simply because Weidman wasn’t checking them. In the rematch at UFC 168 last weekend, Weidman addressed this gap in his prior performance with devastating results.

After almost knocking Silva out in the opening round, Weidman lifted his leg slightly to check an inside low kick in the second. The goal was to deter the Muay Thai specialist from throwing more leg kicks by causing him to land his own shin just below Weidman’s knee, where there is little to no give. This is both a painful and effective deterrent but, unfortunately for Silva, his own kick caused his left tibia and fibula to break.

As brutal as this was to watch, it doesn’t change the fact that Weidman was once again a step ahead of Silva. In both fights, he had scouted the former middleweight champion to a tee and drilled the necessary techniques to counter Silva’s dangerous striking game.

During his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Weidman even discussed training low-kick checks extensively with coach Ray Longo.

Critics can continue to pick apart Weidman’s victories over Silva all they way, but it won’t change the fact that he answered all pertinent questions inside the octagon.

Both times Silva attempted to execute a game plan and both times Weidman made him pay. This is the essence of combat sports and any attempt to discredit Weidman for getting the job done is pure idiocy.

For years, fans wondered who would be the man to finally take Silva out. Maybe some thought it would be a strong grappler who could effectively control him en route to a decision win, much like Chael Sonnen almost accomplished in 2010.

It seems doubtful that anyone saw it ending like this, that a former NCAA Division I wrestler would knock Silva out with a left hook, before potentially taking him out of the game for good. It may not have been pretty, but it’s a sobering reminder of how cruel the fight game can be.

At the end of the day, Weidman did what few thought could be accomplished by dominating Silva twice and finishing both encounters with striking techniques. That alone earns him the top spot for 2013.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Travis Browne

- def. Gabriel Gonzaga via KO (elbows)

- def. Alistair Overeem via KO (front kick and punches)

- def. Josh Barnett via KO (knee and elbows)

Anthony Pettis

- def. Donald Cerrone via KO (body kick)

- def. Benson Henderson via submission (armbar)

Cain Velasquez

- def. Antonio Silva via TKO (punches)

- def. Junior dos Santos via TKO (slam and punches)