

“The Ultimate Fighter 9” Finale, June 20, Las Vegas Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida “The Ultimate Fighter 9” Finale, June 20, Las Vegas

Stephen Martinez/Sherdog.com

Condit vs. Kampmann

was a modern classic.

With arguably the biggest mixed martial arts show of all-time drawing near, one cannot help but look back on six of the most memorable months this sport has ever seen. From Lyoto Machida announcing the renaissance of Karate and Mike Thomas Brown going from lightweight also-ran to featherweight top dog to the ongoing reign of Russian demigod Fedor Emelianenko , it has been an exciting six months for the fans. Nothing drives that point home like the unexpected glut of top-shelf fights to which we have been treated lately.With an excess of candidates for mid-year “Fight of the Year” from which to choose, Sherdog.com has narrowed the field down to five -- in no particular order. Read on and reminisce, with some of the best fistic fireworks of the year on the horizon.The dream of a Shooto standard bearer turning into a stateside superstar had all but fizzled out by the time Mizugaki was brought in on late-notice to tangle with Torres, the WEC bantamweight champion and East Chicago, Ind.-based eater of souls. You can only hold out hope for so long after watching one Japanese import after another get turned into scrap metal, and Mizugaki, despite a strong resume, was expected to join his expatriates on that pile. It took all of five minutes for Mizugaki to prove to the world -- and especially Torres -- that he did not fly halfway across the world to admire the champion’s Wolfman mullet. Launching accurate counters to the vaunted Torres jab and bullying the champion in the clinch, Mizugaki all but overwhelmed Torres in the first round and laid the foundation for a winning strategy.Faced with real adversity for the first time during his WEC reign, Torres proved his worth as a champion by storming back into the pocket and facing the toughest test of his career without so much as a flinch. The next four rounds saw a pitched battle, with one man desperate to earn respect and the other desperate to hold on to it. The championship rounds proved to be the Wolfman’s territory, as Torres gained the upper hand with accurate boxing and cringe-inducing clinch work and Mizugaki’s power punch blitz left his cardio playing catch up. Those championship rounds proved to be the difference, as the scorecards were unanimous in Torres’ favor. Still, Mizugaki announced his presence to millions and played a key role in the bantamweight class graduating from fringe division to fight sport foothold.Guida was supposed to be the stiffest test yet for lightweight convert Sanchez. With his endless cardio, frenzied style and borderline masochistic love for fighting, Guida is a trial for anyone not wearing armor. Unfortunately for Guida, the only thing we saw from him early in the bout was his appetite for self-destruction, as Sanchez opened with a savage salvo that left “The Carpenter” more dazed and confused than Robert Downey Jr., circa 1988. What would be a convenient excuse to call it a day for most turned into a singular opportunity for Guida to dive headfirst into the fray and let the chips fall where they may.A stirring second round saw Guida rally with his trademark ground-and-pound, while Sanchez delivered a unique brand of slashing strikes and submission attempts from the bottom that turned the pivotal stanza into a high-stakes game of back and forth. Going into the final frame, the fight was up for grabs, and neither man left anything to chance, as they went toe-to-toe for the last five minutes with the same tenacity that defined the first 10. A battle of will and skill ended with Sanchez being announced the winner via split decision, but perhaps the most enduring image from this matchup was that of a bloodied and battered Guida bouncing around like a kid, sporting the kind of smile that seemed both entirely out of place and the perfect exclamation point on 15 minutes that left fans in awe.After the WEC welterweight division fizzled out, thanks in large part to his own dominance, Condit packed his bags and entered the UFC, already regarded as a top contender. That status was put to the test, literally, from the opening bell, as Condit was matched with Xtreme Couture virtuoso Kampmann. With both men having a reputation for offensive versatility, it did not take long for them to back up their credentials; they went for broke on the feet, mat and clinch. While Condit scored his points with long-range striking and fluid guard work, Kampmann went blue-collar by staying inside Condit’s reach with constant flurries and takedowns.After splitting the first two rounds, the third came down to a battle of wills, as cardio was in short supply. Struggling to find openings on the feet, Kampmann filled his lungs, lunged forward and delivered the takedown he needed. In between avoiding Condit’s notoriously shifty guard work, Kampmann managed to sneak in some highlight reel-worthy strikes and win over the judges. While the court of public opinion remains split, there was no arguing that the night gave rise to not just one, but two, welterweight stars.Rematches are a rare commodity in MMA, and a rematch between incumbent WEC featherweight champion Brown and the man he deposed, Faber, seemed an unlikely prospect. In hindsight, the fight Gods smiled upon us, as the sequel turned out to be the polar opposite of Brown’s quick technical knockout win in their first title tilt. Undaunted by what would have been a demoralizing defeat for any athlete, Faber stormed Brown from the start by using his hyperactive offense to stay one step ahead of the champion and keep him from maximizing his size advantage.To his credit, Brown stayed patient and got in his own licks, reminding Faber that he is always a split second away from ending a fight. As the bout progressed, Brown’s patience paid off. He survived Faber’s quicksilver strategy and took over the bout with a pressing, hardnosed attack. As Faber tried to stay above water, a gut check came in the form of a broken right hand with plenty of time left on the clock. Amazingly, Faber made it to the closing bell by relying on kicks, elbows and anything else he could devise to keep Brown from running him over. That staggering effort left Faber with only a unanimous decision loss to bring home, but the respect he won from fan and fighter alike will keep his superstar status safe for as long as he wants it.The second-for-second champion on this list, Neer and Danzig were in the cage for less than nine minutes, but fans would be hard-pressed to find more than a few seconds that did not see these two recreating key scenes from “Godzilla vs. Mecha-Godzilla.” The striking was the spectacle in this one, as Neer relied on his reach and power to wobble Danzig, who answered with beautifully timed counters that kept his opponent at bay and unsteady. The pace remained impossibly frenzied throughout the first round, and no one seemed sure of who would enter the second with the scorecards in his favor.That issue proved irrelevant, and, ironically, after five minutes of Russian roulette-style striking, the fight was decided on the mat. While Danzig sought out the ground game, Neer benefitted, as he quickly battered “The Ultimate Fighter 6” winner with ground-and-pound before he seized his back and put himself in position to seal the deal. It was then that Danzig managed a last-gasp rally with a slick reversal and ground-and-pound of his own that appeared to level the playing field. The tide soon turned against Danzig, however, as Neer bolted down a triangle choke that left his exhausted quarry with no escape but the tapout.