The 12 Most Impressive Individual Years By a Fighter in MMA History

by Brian Oswald… Mixed martial arts is unlike any other sport. There is no regular season–with a determined start and stop in action–so fighters do not engage in a set amount of fights per year. Some fighters have a successful year with only three fights while other fighters will fight five or six times.  
Therefore, to say a fighter had a great year is not as black and white as saying a team had a great year by winning the Super Bowl. One could argue that a year isn’t a good gauge for measuring a fighter’s accomplishments. But a full calendar year can be an interesting way to evaluate fighters and their performances. 

Several factors are taken into consideration. 

First, a fighter must have at least three fights to be considered. Many fighters have had successful years with only two fights but a year can’t truly be great year with such limited competition. 

For example: B.J. Penn recently went 2-0 in 2008 by beating Joe Stevenson and Sean Sherk in dominating fashion, but that can’t qualify as a truly great year. If he had fought GSP in 2008 and beat him…Now that would have been a great year. 

That brings up the argument for using a rolling year (any 12 consecutive months) vs. a calendar year which can and probably will be explored in another article.

Second, a fighter likely has to win all of their fights that year. There are exceptions to that rule as the list will show. If a fighter truly ran the gauntlet of great competition in one year and lost one fight then that can qualify as a great year…Going 5-1 can be better then 3-0 based on solid competition. 

Third, going 3-0 doesn’t automatically qualify for a great year. Lots of fighters have had an undefeated year by facing mediocre competition. Strength of schedule is a huge factor in determining a great year. 

With that being said, let’s take at the 12 best individual years by a fighter in MMA history. The years were ranked in chronological order, as I did not attempt to rank all 12 years in competing order.

UFC: The Good Ole Days 

1994: Royce Gracie 

This was year two for the UFC, so the rules were a little different back then. Tournaments allowed fighters to fight multiple times in one night. Gracie fought a total of nine times in 1994, over the course of three tournaments—UFC 2, 3, and 4. He went 8-1 with his only “loss” coming because he had to throw in the towel before the fight even started. 

What made Gracie’s year truly impressive was the fact that there were no weight limits. Gracie, who weighed in around 175 pounds, routinely fought guys who weighed over 200 pounds. When he fought Dan Severn in the finals of UFC 3, he was outweighed by 85 pounds. He pioneered the sport and showed the world what BJJ was all about.
1994: Ken Shamrock

One upon a time, Ken Shamrock was really good. It’s when he earned his nickname “The World’s Most Dangerous Man.” Back in 1994, Shamrock fought a ridiculous 12 times. The competition may be considered weak by today’s standards, but Shamrock fought in six out of 12 months that year. He compiled an 11-1 record with 10 of the fights being fought in Pancrase. 

The following year was also a great year for Ken Shamrock, fighting eight times. He fought tougher competition and compiling a 5-1-2 record. While the days of fighting so many times in one year are gone, the pioneers of the sport should be credited for their efforts.

1996: Don Frye 

In 1996, Frye fought an amazing 11 times under the UFC banner. I am actually surprised Mark Coleman made it into the UFC Hall of Fame before Don Frye. Maybe it was because it was the first and last year Don Frye fought for the UFC. 

Despite that, Done Frye was a pioneer in the sport and went 10-1 over five different fight cards. He was the UFC 8 and Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournament winner. He won his fights with a combination of striking, ground and pound, and had some submission wins.

It’s a shame Frye didn’t fight in the UFC longer, but he retired from the promotion after his UU 96 tournament win.  

The Best of Pride 

2001: Antonio Nogueira 

While the Pride Fighters didn’t fight at the rate that the UFC pioneers did, they often fought five or six times in a year and against much tougher competition. Nogueira is a legend in MMA, and he has had many impressive years. While he has had tougher stretches, 2001 was his best year overall. 

He went undefeated in six fights that year, finishing strong with wins over Mark Coleman and Heath Herring. Some might argue that 2002 was a more complete year with wins over Semmy Schilt and Dan Henderson—they might be right. Regardless, Antonio Nogueira had some of the best years that the PRIDE organization saw.
2004: Mirko Cro Cop

Cro Cop is one of the best fighters the PRIDE organization saw fight. In 2004, he fought a ridiculous eight times, compiling a 7-1 record. His one loss was to a very dangerous Kevin Randleman, a fight which he avenged in his last fight of 2004.

Cro Cop also recorded his first victory over Josh Barnett and beat Fedor’s younger brother Aleksander Emelianenko. Cro Cop has years with tougher competition but it is hard to look past the 7-1 record.

2006 was another great year, where Cro Cop went 4-0 and recorded victories over Josh Barnett and Wanderlei Silva. Unfortunately for him, it was all downhill after that.     

2004: Fedor Emelianenko    

The year 2004 was also a great year for Fedor. He started the year by submitting Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman back to back. He went on to fight Antonio Nogueira twice that year. The first fight was ruled a no contest (due to accidental cut) and the second fight saw Fedor win a dominant decision win. 

While every year was a great year for Fedor, 2004 seems to be his most complete. When Pride was in existence, it had some of the best MMA fighting ever displayed and Fedor was the Kingpin of the organization. 

2005: Shogun Rua 

Shogun was the best light heavyweight on the planet coming into his fight with Forrest Griffin. He has won 12 of his last 13 fights dating back to 2003. The year 2005 was by far his best.

He recorded wins over Quinton Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (little Nog), Alistair Overseem, and Ricardo Arona. You could make the argument it was one of the best years of anyone. 

The UFC reinserts itself 

2006: Chuck Liddell 

The year 2006 was a banner year for Liddell. He started the year by beating Randy Couture in their rubber match. He went on to destroy the testy Renato Sobral in their rematch.

Liddell finished the year by beating Tito Ortiz in another rematch. Their fight would become the biggest PPV fight in UFC history. With the win, Liddell ran his win streak to seven in a row. 
2007: Quinton Jackson 

The intangibles of this year are what set it apart for Quinton Jackson. The UFC had bought out World Fight Alliance just to acquire Jackson’s fight contract. In his fight UFC fight, Quinton overwhelmed Marvin Eastman. 

In this next fight he broke Liddell’s seven fight win streak and stole his belt. Liddell had successfully defended the belt four times. Liddell was also rising a seven fight win streak: The last man to beat Liddell was Jackson.

Jackson finished the year by beating Dan Henderson and unifying the PRIDE/UFC light heavyweight belts. In doing so, he became the undisputed best light-heavyweight in the world.

2007: Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva came into 2007 fresh off his utter destruction of the former MW champion Rich Franklin. It was one of the most devastating beat downs of a champion in MMA history. Anderson followed up that performance by making quick work of Travis Lutter and Nate Marquardt in 2007. 

Silva finished out 2007 the same way he finished out 2006—by overwhelming Rich Franklin once again. The performance left no doubt in people’s minds that he was one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in MMA.

2008: Thiago Alves 

Sometimes it can be hard to put a fighter’s year in historical perspective when you’re fresh off that year. With Thiago Alves’s year, it’s not that hard. He beat three fighters ranked in the top 10 of his division, and he did so in dominant fashion.

In his first fight of 2008, Alves became the first man to knock out Karo Parisyan. He followed that performance up by devastating Matt Hughes with a flying knee and punches. In doing so, he finished off what GSP had left of Hughes’s Hall-of-fame career. 

Alves finished the year by recording a dominating decision win over Josh Koscheck. While Alves had a great year his failure to make weight does taint his success. Despite that you can’t overlook what an impressive year he truly had. 

A DREAM Year 

2008: Gegard Mousasi

I had to give recognition to the year that Gegard Mousasi had. First off, Gegard turned 24-years-old five months ago and already has 27 MMA fights. The year 2008 was truly a breakout year, as the phenom recorded a 6-0 record. He even dominated a K-1 fighter under their own rules, giving him seven total combat fights. 

Gegard beat competitors Dennis Kang, Melvin Manhoef, and Ronaldo Souza to win DREAM’s middleweight Grand Prix tournament. What was most impressive was his versatility. He beat a dangerous kickboxer in Manhoef by submission and beat a dangerous BJJ expert in Souza by TKO.

It will be interesting to see what 2009 holds in store for Gegard Mousasi.

Looking ahead 

2009: GSP/Penn

Looking ahead to 2009, the winner of this super fight could be set up to have one of the best years in MMA history. Take GSP for example: If he beats Penn, he would likely fights Thiago Alves, and could follow that up with a fight over Anderson Silva. If GSP were to win all there fights, it would be hard to argue against that year.

2009: Fedor/Arlovski

The winner of this fight also has an opportunity to have one of the best years in MMA—although the path is less clear. Take Fedor for example: If he beats Arlovski, he could fight Josh Barnett next (assuming Barnett doesn’t duck it). After that, there are potential fights with Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overseem. 

If Fedor were to fight three or four of those opponents, it would be a renaissance year for him and might surpass 2004.

There are certainly many more impressive years recorded by MMA fighters. Some of my picks may not in fact be the most impressive—that is for you to decide. I used specific criteria which looked at number of fights, strength of schedule, win-loss record, and intangibles such as win streaks and title defenses.

I also tried to honor the different time periods and organizations throughout MMA’s history. I look forward to hearing what others have to say and reading your additions for some of the most impressive years recorded by an MMA fighter.

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Brian Oswald is a staff writer for Inside Fights.