2018 is in the rear-view mirror, which means it’s time to reflect on another whole year of mixed martial arts. Thousands of fights took place across the globe among the sport’s numerous promotions. MMASucka would like to recognize and award the sport’s fighters, promotions and personalities that provided us with another entertaining year. As a staff, we voted on who the publication should recognize in each category. These are the MMASucka 2018 MMA Awards.

Fighter of the Year

Winner: Kyoji Horiguchi

RIZIN’s star, Kyoji Horiguchi, had a successful 3-0 run in MMA competition this year. In May, he retired former Tachi PF flyweight champion Ian McCall with a nine-second knockout. He followed that up in July with a dominant unanimous decision over Shooto flyweight champion Hiromasa Ogikubo. However, his best win of the year (and probably his career) came in December against Bellator bantamweight champion in a RIZIN champ vs. Bellator champ bantamweight title bout. Horiguchi submitted Caldwell, a wrestler with a significant size advantage, with a guillotine 1:13 into the third round. It’s also noteworthy that Horiguchi went toe-to-toe in a kickboxing match with Tenshin Nasukawa and made it to a decision, despite losing. A successful 2018 for “The Gooch” with three big wins makes him our fighter of the year.

Michael DeSantis- Daniel Cormier

Jeremy Brand- Kevin Belingon

Wesley Riddle- Daniel Cormier

Patrick Auger- Daniel Cormier

Mike Skytte- Kyoji Horiguchi

Eddie Gallo- Kyoji Horiguchi

Matt Bricker- Dustin Poirier

Ryan Wagner- Kyoji Horiguchi

Connor Deitrich- Kyoji Horiguchi

Sasha Moksyakov- Daniel Cormier

Brian Gerson- Kyoji Horiguchi

Mitch Banuelos- Kyoji Horiguchi

Omar Villagrana- Daniel Cormier

Anand Thumbayil- Max Holloway

Fight of the Year

Winner: Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje

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April’s Battle in the Desert between Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje was a night to remember at UFC on FOX 29 in Glendale, AZ. The two lightweights were vying to advance in the crowded UFC lightweight title picture. Poirier, in the midst of his rejuvenation at lightweight, took on former World Series of Fighting lightweight champ Gaethje. The two went at it for over three fast-paced rounds of action in a back-and-forth fight, combining for 289 significant strikes.

Poirier went to the head for 89 percent of his significant strikes, while Gaethje chopped up Poirier’s legs; 26 percent of Gaethje’s strikes were leg kicks. Just 33 seconds into Round 4, it was Poirier who got his hand raised when he TKO’d Gaethje with a flurry of punches after dazing him with a left hand.

The frenetic, high-octane pace, combined with momentum shifts and a spectacular finish, earned this classic its spot as MMASucka’s 2018 Fight of the Year.

Michael DeSantis- Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje

Jeremy Brand- Yair Rodriguez vs. Chan Sung Jung

Wesley Riddle- Tomasz Narkun vs. Mamed Khalidov I

Patrick Auger- Robert Whittaker vs. Yoel Romero II

Mike Skytte- Aung La Nsang vs. Ken Hasegawa

Eddie Gallo- Robert Whittaker vs. Yoel Romero II

Matt Bricker- Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje

Ryan Wagner- Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje

Connor Deitrich- Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje

Sasha Moksyakov- Yair Rodriguez vs. Chan Sung Jung

Brian Gerson- Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje

Mitch Banuelos- Robert Whittaker vs. Yoel Romero II

Omar Villagrana- Robert Whittaker vs. Yoel Romero II

Anand Thumbayil- Tony Ferguson vs. Anthony Pettis

Knockout of the Year

Winner: Yair Rodriguez def. Chan Sung Jung via elbow

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Talk about doings things at the last second. In a fun, featherweight main event bout commemorating the UFC’s 25th anniversary, Rodriguez and “The Korean Zombie” went back-and-forth for nearly 25 minutes. Many fans had “The Korean Zombie” up comfortably on the scorecard heading into the fifth frame. With about 15 seconds left, the two began to raise their arms in appreciation of the crowd-pleasing fight they’ve had to that point.

With the fight in hand, “The Korean Zombie” took one last rush in in an effort to punctuate his victory with a stoppage. But with literally one second remaining, however, Rodriguez ducked under Jung and raised his right elbow into Jung’s face, which face-planted “The Korean Zombie,” shocking everyone. It was an incredible maneuver by Rodriguez to win himself the fight in emphatic fashion, putting the cherry on top of the memorable UFC Fight Night 139.

This fight is probably on top-5 lists for knockout of the year, fight of the year and comeback of the year. For our website, it was pretty dominantly the Knockout of the Year.

Michael DeSantis- Yair Rodriguez def. Chan Sung Jung

Jeremy Brand- Yair Rodriguez def. Chan Sung Jung

Wesley Riddle- Yair Rodriguez def. Chan Sung Jung

Patrick Auger- Yair Rodriguez def. Chan Sung Jung

Mike Skytte- Mzwandile Hlongwa def. Torbjorn Madsen

Eddie Gallo- Yoel Romero def. Luke Rockhold

Matt Bricker- Wagner Prado def. Lukasz Parobiec

Ryan Wagner- Yair Rodriguez def. Chan Sung Jung

Connor Deitrich- Yair Rodriguez def. Chan Sung Jung

Sasha Moksyakov- Yair Rodriguez def. Chan Sung Jung

Brian Gerson- Yair Rodriguez def. Chan Sung Jung

Mitch Banuelos- Lyoto Machida def. Vitor Belfort

Omar Villagrana- Yair Rodriguez def. Chan Sung Jung

Anand Thumbayil- Yair Rodriguez def. Chan Sung Jung

Submission of the Year

Winner: Ryan Hall def. BJ Penn via heel hook

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Ryan Hall showcased why his nickname is “The Wizard” when he submitted BJ Penn with a nasty heel hook at UFC 232. Penn, the former UFC lightweight and welterweight champ, started the fight off stronger than he had in years, looking to snap a five-fight, seven-year losing drought. Hall ended that when he rolled onto his back and grabbed Penn’s legs. It took just a few seconds for Penn to tap to the heel hook. It marked the first time Penn had ever been submitted.

Michael DeSantis- Kazuyuki Miyata def. Erson Yamamoto

Jeremy Brand- Paul Craig def. Magomed Ankalaev

Wesley Riddle- Ryan Hall def. BJ Penn

Patrick Auger- Paul Craig def. Magomed Ankalaev

Mike Skytte- Kazuyuki Miyata def. Erson Yamamoto

Eddie Gallo- Aljamain Sterling def. Cody Stamann

Matt Bricker- Tomasz Narkun def. Mamed Khalidov

Ryan Wagner- Paul Craig def. Magomed Ankalaev

Connor Deitrich- Ryan Hall def. BJ Penn

Sasha Moksyakov- Zabit Magomedsharipov def. Brandon Davis

Brian Gerson- Ryan Hall def. BJ Penn

Mitch Banuelos- Zabit Magomedsharipov def. Brandon Davis

Omar Villagrana- Zabit Magomedsharipov def. Brandon Davis

Anand Thumbayil- Ryan Hall def. BJ Penn

Comeback of the Year

Winner: Derrick Lewis def. Alexander Volkov

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In a year with comebacks aplenty, there’s one in particular that stood out to most of the MMASucka staff. At UFC 229 in October, Lewis and Volkov what fought in what turned out to be a heavyweight title eliminator. Volkov had been piecing “The Black Beast” up for the better part of three rounds (out-striking him 77-30), and the Russian appeared well on his way to victory. But with 25 seconds left in the fight, Lewis started landing on Volkov, who stayed in the pocket. With just 18 seconds left, Lewis dropped Volkov with a right hand. Lewis followed him to the mat and uncorked heavy ground and pound, putting Volkov out at the 4:49 mark.

Lewis went on to earn a heavyweight title shot at Daniel Cormier on the back of the Comeback of the Year, as well as the memorable post-fight interview where he took his pants off because “my balls was hot.”

Michael DeSantis- Derrick Lewis def. Alexander Volkov

Jeremy Brand- Derrick Lewis def. Alexander Volkov

Wesley Riddle- Paul Craig def. Magomed Ankalaev

Patrick Auger- Derrick Lewis def. Alexander Volkov

Mike Skytte- Derrick Lewis def. Alexander Volkov

Eddie Gallo- Paul Craig def. Magomed Ankalaev

Matt Bricker- Paul Craig def. Magomed Ankalaev

Ryan Wagner- Derrick Lewis def. Alexander Volkov

Connor Deitrich- Derrick Lewis def. Alexander Volkov

Sasha Moksyakov- Derrick Lewis def. Alexander Volkov

Brian Gerson- Paul Craig def. Magomed Ankalaev

Mitch Banuelos- Derrick Lewis def. Alexander Volkov

Omar Villagrana- Derrick Lewis def. Alexander Volkov

Anand Thumbayil- Derrick Lewis def. Alexander Volkov

Comeback Fighter of the Year

Winner: Daniel Cormier

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In July 2017, following UFC 214, it appeared Daniel Cormier’s time as a UFC champion could be over. Jon Jones had just knocked him out and re-claimed the light heavyweight championship. Cormier, who had just been knocked out by his rival, cried on camera, spawning gifs and memes. It looked like the potential end for a fan favorite. However, in September, Jon Jones was stripped of his title for failing a drug test for turinabol. Cormier was reinstated as the light heavyweight champ, but many felt he had to earn it back with a win–Cormier included.

He did so in January with a dominant second-round TKO win over Volkan Oezdemir. In July, Cormier earned a shot at UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, and knocked him out in the first round. He became just the second concurrent dual-weight champion in UFC history at the time. He defended his heavyweight title in November against Derrick Lewis at Madison Square Garden with a second-round rear naked choke. A 3-0 run on the year in three title fights, becoming a two-weight champ? Not bad for someone who didn’t have any titles for a stretch in Fall 2017. Cormier nearly won our Fighter of the Year, as well.

Michael DeSantis- Daniel Cormier

Jeremy Brand- Brandon Vera

Wesley Riddle- Anthony Smith

Patrick Auger- Daniel Cormier

Mike Skytte- Kaitlin Young

Eddie Gallo- Daniel Cormier

Matt Bricker- Daniel Cormier

Ryan Wagner- Daniel Cormier

Connor Deitrich- Daniel Cormier

Sasha Moksyakov- Daniel Cormier

Brian Gerson- Kaitlin Young

Mitch Banuelos- Daniel Cormier

Omar Villagrana- Daniel Cormier

Anand Thumbayil- Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone

Upset of the Year

Winner: Ray Cooper III vs. Jake Shields I

Jake Shields entered the Professional Fighters League welterweight tournament as a massive favorite to win the tournament. He was looking to add one more belt to his resume, entering as the former Strikeforce middleweight champion and EliteXC welterweight champ. When he was scheduled to fight Ray Cooper III, the big story was that Shields had gone 1-1 with Cooper III’s father.

Cooper III quickly showed PFL viewers he was for real. Shields couldn’t get him to the ground to employ his grappling, and Cooper III was constantly hurting Shields with his power. Two minutes into the second round, Cooper III earned a TKO in dominant fashion over the tournament favorite. He showed this was no fluke three months later, TKO’ing Shields in a rematch in the first round. At the time of the first match, not many were expecting the emergence of Ray Cooper III.

Michael DeSantis- Amanda Nunes def. Cris Cyborg

Jeremy Brand- Kevin Belingon def. Bibiano Fernandes

Wesley Riddle- Kevin Belingon def. Bibiano Fernandes

Patrick Auger- Amanda Nunes def. Cris Cyborg

Mike Skytte- Kevin Belingon def. Bibiano Fernandes

Eddie Gallo- Ray Cooper III def. Jake Shields

Matt Bricker- Michal Materla def. Damian Janikowski

Ryan Wagner- Ray Cooper III def. Jake Shields

Connor Deitrich- Ray Cooper III def. Jake Shields

Sasha Moksyakov- Ray Cooper III def. Jake Shields

Brian Gerson- Ray Cooper III def. Jake Shields

Mitch Banuelos- Amanda Nunes def. Cris Cyborg

Omar Villagrana- Amanda Nunes def. Cris Cyborg

Anand Thumbayil- Ryan Hall def. BJ Penn

UFC Breakout Star

Winner: Israel Adesanya

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Israel Adesanya made his UFC debut in February as an unranked fighter with a lot of potential. At the end of 2018, he is set to fight Anderson Silva at UFC 234, and is possibly one win away from a middleweight title shot at the winner of Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum. “The Last Stylebender” went 4-0 in the Octagon with wins over Derek Brunson, Brad Tavares, Marvin Vettori and Rob Wilkinson. Adesanya as UFC breakout star was the only unanimous award among us.

Michael DeSantis- Israel Adesanya

Jeremy Brand- Israel Adesanya

Wesley Riddle- Israel Adesanya

Patrick Auger- Israel Adesanya

Mike Skytte- Israel Adesanya

Eddie Gallo- Israel Adesanya

Matt Bricker- Israel Adesanya

Ryan Wagner- Israel Adesanya

Connor Deitrich- Israel Adesanya

Sasha Moksyakov- Israel Adesanya

Brian Gerson- Israel Adesanya

Mitch Banuelos- Israel Adesanya

Omar Villagrana- Israel Adesanya

Anand Thumbayil- Israel Adesanya



Non-UFC Breakout Star

Winner: Aaron Pico

Bellator’s blue-chip prospect Aaron Pico had an excellent 2018 campaign himself, going 3-0 with wins over Leandro Higo, Lee Morrison and Shane Krutchen. Now 4-1 with four first-round finishes, Pico has seemed to erase any bad aftertaste left from his debut loss to Zach Freeman, showing the MMA world that he deserves the hype. He’s set himself up for a date with Henry Corrales at Bellator 214 next in what appears to be his toughest test yet.

Michael DeSantis- Aaron Pico

Jeremy Brand- Aaron Pico

Wesley Riddle- Aaron Pico

Patrick Auger- Aaron Pico

Mike Skytte- Aaron Pico

Eddie Gallo- Aaron Pico

Matt Bricker- Phil De Fries

Ryan Wagner- Aaron Pico

Connor Deitrich- Aaron Pico

Sasha Moksyakov- Aaron Pico

Brian Gerson- Aaron Pico

Mitch Banuelos- Aaron Pico

Omar Villagrana- Aaron Pico

Anand Thumbayil- Khamzat Chimaev

Promotion of the Year

Winner: ONE Championship

It was a big year for ONE. Not only did they put on a batch of entertaining fights, but they also made a few massive moves to set themselves up for the future. Along with the UFC, they were half of a groundbreaking MMA trade that saw them send their semi-retired star Ben Askren to the UFC for the arguable GOAT, former flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson. ONE also signed former UFC and Bellator lightweight king Eddie Alvarez. Both will make their debuts on March 31 at ONE Championship: A New Era. ONE also named former UFC bantamweight queen Miesha Tate as its vice president.

Exposure has long been an issue for Asian-based promotions like ONE and RIZIN when it comes to the North American market. ONE took a step towards solving that in 2019 when it struck a deal with Turner Sports to air on platforms like TNT and B/R Live.

Not to mention, the promotion saw the emergence of new champions like Aung La Nsang and Kevin Belingon, as well as the return of Angela Lee.

Michael DeSantis- RIZIN FF

Jeremy Brand- ONE

Wesley Riddle- ONE

Patrick Auger- ONE

Mike Skytte- RIZIN FF

Eddie Gallo- RIZIN FF

Matt Bricker- KSW

Ryan Wagner- K-1

Connor Deitrich- ONE

Sasha Moksyakov- ONE

Brian Gerson- ONE

Mitch Banuelos- RIZIN

Omar Villagrana- ONE

Anand Thumbayil- Brave CF

Analyst of the Year

Winner: Michael Bisping

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This may be Michael Bisping’s first year as a retired mixed martial artist, but that didn’t keep him away from the sport. The former UFC middleweight champion made his debut as a color commentator on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series and earned a lot of praise for his analysis. He did well enough to be hired to do color commentary for UFC events starting in 2019 with the new ESPN deal.

However, his best moment of the year came when he was interviewing Max Holloway on UFC Tonight for UFC on FOX. Holloway was gearing up to defend his featherweight title against Brian Ortega at UFC 226. Bisping noticed that something didn’t appear right with Holloway during the interview and took action. He said Holloway looked like he was ready to fall asleep on them during the interview, which raised alarm. Holloway was pulled from the fight for concussion-like symptoms. Had Bisping not brought it up, Holloway would have went on to undergo a massive weight-cut and then fight Ortega, which turned out to be a barn-burner when they met in December; it wouldn’t have been good for his health.

Bisping’s success as a color commentator and work behind the FOX desk earned him our nod as Analyst of the Year.

Michael DeSantis- Michael Bisping

Jeremy Brand- Robin Black

Wesley Riddle- Daniel Cormier

Patrick Auger- Jimmy Smith

Mike Skytte- Michael Bisping

Eddie Gallo- Schwan Humes

Matt Bricker- Robin Black

Ryan Wagner- Schwan Humes

Connor Deitrich- Dan Hardy

Sasha Moksyakov- Dan Hardy

Brian Gerson- Michael Bisping

Mitch Banuelos- Michael Bisping

Omar Villagrana- Jimmy Smith

Anand Thumbayil- Robin Black

Card of the Year

Winner: RIZIN 11

From beginning to end, RIZIN 11 was a fun card. The main event was an entertaining rematch between RIZIN stars Kanna Asakura and Rena Kubota. Asakura improved to 2-0 over Kubota with a unanimous decision. Kyoji Horiguchi improved to 2-0 over Hiromasa Ogikubo with his own unanimous decision win in a fast-paced battle that saw both striking and grappling exchanges.

Takanori Gomi got back into the win column for the first time in over four years with a KO win over Melvin Guillard in a back-and-forth fight. It was a big win for the fan favorite “Fireball Kid.”

Topnoi Tiger Muay Thai KO’d Tadaaki Yamamoto almost right after nearly being finished himself in a quick comeback.

Other noteworthy performances were the new-and-improved Miyuu Yamamoto upsetting Saori Ishioka to start her current 3-0 run, Diego Brandao punching out Satoru Kitaoka while the latter attempted a leg lock, Jiri Prochzaka quickly taking care of Bruno Henrique Cappelozza, and the flashy Daron Cruickshank putting on a clinic against Brazilian power-puncher Tom Santos.

Michael DeSantis- RIZIN 11

Jeremy Brand- RIZIN 11

Wesley Riddle- KSW 42

Patrick Auger- UFC 228

Mike Skytte- RIZIN 11

Eddie Gallo- RIZIN 11

Matt Bricker- KSW 42

Ryan Wagner- K-Festa

Connor Deitrich- RIZIN 11

Sasha Moksyakov- RIZIN 11

Brian Gerson- RIZIN 11

Mitch Banuelos- RIZIN 11

Omar Villagrana- RIZIN 11

Anand Thumbayil- UFC 229

Gym of the Year

Winner: Team Lakay

Note: Entry written by Mike Skytte

Located in Baguio City, Philippines, the Asian MMA power team known as Team Lakay was a dark horse contender for Camp of the Year in 2017, but truly came into their own in 2018.

The camp is dominated by ONE Championship athletes, many of which made big waves in the company during the 2018 calendar year. Eduard Folayang went 3-0, and reclaimed his lightweight title. Kevin Belingon also went 3-0 and extended his win streak to seven by shocking the world and taking Bibano Fernandes’ bantamweight title from him. He also beat then two-division champion Martin Nguyen in an absolute clinic. Geje Eustaquio became the new flyweight world champion, and Joshua Pacio claimed strawweight gold.

That is four new champions crowned over the course of 12 months, all fighting out of one camp. That is no coincidence. Not to mention the rising stars fighting out of Team Lakay. Namely; Honorio Banario, Edward Kelly, Jeremy Pacatiw, and more.

Five of the above fighters have fights booked for early 2019, three of which are champions. They have an excellent shot at a repeat.

Michael DeSantis- American Kickboxing Academy

Jeremy Brand- Team Lakay

Wesley Riddle- Team Lakay

Patrick Auger- American Top Team

Mike Skytte- Team Lakay

Eddie Gallo- Team Bodyshop

Matt Bricker- American Top Team

Ryan Wagner- American Top Team

Connor Deitrich- American Kickboxing Academy

Sasha Moksyakov- Fortis MMA

Brian Gerson- Team Lakay

Mitch Banuelos- American Kickboxing Academy

Omar Villagrana- American Top Team

Anand Thumbayil- Team Lakay