There were so many great fight cards this year, it’s hard to keep them all straight. Every single WEC card had at least one great fight. Strikeforce brought Fedor Emelianenko to a nationwide audience for the first time. And the UFC had more events than ever, bringing a combination of pomp and importance unmatched since the heyday of MMA in Japan. But there was one event that stands out even among all these great fight shows: the most epic show in UFC history.
Adam Morgan: UFC 100
Not only was it a landmark show for the organization itself, but the card was stacked top to bottom with quality matchups. We saw GSP retain his title in a dominating win over Thiago Alves as well as Brock Lesnar unify the interim heavyweight and heavyweight titles in dominating fashion over a trash talking Frank Mir. Add the two title fights to a solid undercard that included the knockout of the year with Dan Henderson laying the wood on Michael Bisping, as well as a great fight between Yoshihiro Akiyama and Alan Belcher and UFC 100 takes the cake for Show Of The Year.
Jeremy Botter: WEC 43
World Extreme Cagefighting events likely make up five or so of the top ten events of the year, but 43 stands slightly above the rest because of the main event. The bout between Ben Henderson and Donald Cerrone left the live crowd in San Antonio speechless, and the rest of the card was stacked with plenty of dramatic and close action. It’s a testament to WEC matchmaker Sean Shelby that his company is able to put on such great shows month after month while flying so far under the radar.
Brett Jones: UFC 100
From a business standpoint, it’s inarguable that UFC 100 was the biggest show of this year or any other. The show also delivered from a sport and entertainment perspective, as Georges St. Pierre handily defeated the man who appeared to be his toughest contender, Thiago Alves, and Brock Lesnar earned retribution by stopping Frank Mir in the second round.
Spencer Kyte: UFC 100
Not just because it was a card full of solid fights, but because of what it means for the sport.
If you had asked anyone back at UFC 1 if we would see the day UFC 100 rolled out, most people would say you were crazy. Even through the dark ages when the company went underground and off the grid, UFC 100 couldn’t have been anticipated.
In addition to being a landmark event for the UFC and the sport, it was the first major MMA event to garner wide coverage from the mainstream media, leading up to and following the event.
The card itself was pretty damn good too; Lesnar smashed onMir, GSP was GSP, Hendo thumped Bisping… top-to-bottom fromthe first fight of the night to Jon Fitch and Paulo Thiago finally getting into the cage, this was a solid card of fights andmore impactful outside of the cage than anything else in the businessin 2009.
Jonathan Snowden: UFC 100
The guys said it all. The biggest show in the history of MMA has to be the event of the year.
Heavy.com Event of the Year: UFC 100
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2009 Event Of The Year