I swear it feels like just yesterday that the theater room filled with a bunch of friends and family to watch the historic UFC 100 event on pay per view in July and now here it is the end of the year and I am writing about what I feel are the 5 Best UFC Cards of 2009. I took a look at when I had the image made for this post and it was way back on November 27th when the idea of putting this post together first came to my mind, now here it is the day after Christmas and I am finally getting it done.
Now before I get in to what I feel were the best UFC fight cards of 2009 I think that it’s important to point out that there really were some tremendous fight cards in 2009 put on specifically by the UFC, I am also aware of some excellent fight cards put on by other MMA organizations like Strikeforce. However, because I have been watching UFC since the first first UFC back in 1993 it’s safe to say that UFC is the Mixed Martial Arts organization that I favor, if you want to read about the great Strikeforce cards of 2009 your going to need to do a search for it on Google or Bing.
5 Best UFC Cards of 2009
5. UFC 107: Penn vs Sanchez
Even with a complete destruction main event between Diego Sanchez and BJ Penn UFC 107 makes the list for having one of the fight cards that I was very excited to see, in addition to BJ Penn completley dominating Sanchez this card also featured a heavyweight match-up between Frank Mir and Cheick Kongo.
Paul Buentello vs. Stefan Struve
Struve defeated Buentello via majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28).
Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida
Florian defeated Guida via submission (rear naked choke) at 2:19 of round 2.
Jon Fitch vs. Mike Pierce
Fitch defeated Pierce via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo
Mir defeated Kongo via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:12 of round 1.
* Lightweight Championship bout: B.J. Penn (c) vs. Diego Sanchez
Penn defeated Sanchez via TKO (cut) at 2:37 of round 5 to retain the UFC Lightweight Championship.
4. UFC 94: St. Pierre vs Penn 2
There were plenty of fights on the UFC 94 fight card from January 31, 2009 that I couldn’t wait to see, in addition to the GSP vs BJ Penn rematch the Clay Guida vs Nate Diaz and Lyoto Machida vs Thiago Silva fights were all very exciting fights to me.
Nate Diaz vs. Clay Guida
Guida defeated Diaz via split decision (29–28, 28–29, 29–28).
Karo Parisyan vs. Kim Dong-hyun
Parisyan tested positive for banned painkillers after the fight and the NSAC ruled the bout a no decision. Parisyan originally defeated Kim via split decision (29–28, 28–29, 29–28).
Stephan Bonnar vs. Jon Jones
Jones defeated Bonnar via unanimous decision (30–27, 29–28, 29–28).
Lyoto Machida vs. Thiago Silva
Machida defeated Silva via KO (punch) at 4:59 of round 1.
* Welterweight Championship bout: Georges St-Pierre (c) vs. BJ Penn
St-Pierre defeated Penn by TKO (corner stoppage) after the end of round 4 to retain the UFC Welterweight championship.
3. UFC 99 The Comeback
I really had a hard time ranking the UFC 99 card higher on my list than UFC 94, I went back and forth switching the places of these two fight cards for a while before I decided on UFC 99 being my 3rd best UFC fight card of 2009. I’m really not a big “unanimous decision” kind of guy when it comes to the types of fights that I want to see, like most MMA fans I prefer KO, TKO or submission victories.
Marcus Davis vs. Dan Hardy
Hardy defeated Davis via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
Spencer Fisher vs. Caol Uno
Fisher defeated Uno via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Mike Swick vs. Ben Saunders
Swick defeated Saunders via TKO (strikes) at 3:47 of round 2.
Mirko Filipovi? vs. Mostapha Al-turk
Filipovi? defeated Al-turk via TKO (strikes) at 3:06 of round 1.
Cain Velasquez vs. Cheick Kongo
Velasquez defeated Kongo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
* Catchweight (195 lb) bout: Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva
Franklin defeated Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
2. UFC 98: Evans vs Machida
I can still remember the anticipation for UFC 98 and even though I know the fight outcomes I can still watch this one on DVR over and over again, there is just something classic about the way that Lyoto Machida KO’s Rashad Evans that’s just “special”. In addition to the main event I was extremely excited to see Matt Serra take on matt Hughes again, Hughes is one of MMA’s biggest douche bags as far as I’m concerned and I really wanted to see Serra get the win here, I personally felt the fight was a lot closer than it was scored.
UFC 98 Trailer
Sean Sherk vs. Frank Edgar
Edgar defeated Sherk via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Chael Sonnen vs. Dan Miller
Sonnen defeated Miller via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Drew McFedries vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam
McFedries defeated Foupa-Pokam via TKO (strikes) at 0:37 of round 1.
Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra
Hughes defeated Serra via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
* Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Rashad Evans (c) vs. Lyoto Machida
Machida defeated Evans via KO (punches) at 3:57 of round 2 to become the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.
1. UFC 100
I doubt it will come as much of a surprise to any UFC or Mixed Martial Arts fan that I have UFC 100 listed as the best UFC fight card of 2009, the July 11, 2009 was deemed MMA’s biggest Mixed Martial Arts event in history. UFC 100 featured two championship bouts, one between George St. Pierre vs Thiago Alves and a heavyweight title unification match between Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar to decide the UFC heavyweight champion. Brock Lesnar’s actions after defeating Frank Mir sparked my “Brock Lesnar is a Jackass” post. One of the most memorable moments of the entire UFC 100 card was the epic one punch KO that Dan Henderson handed Michael Bisping, who needed to be knocked out in my opinion.
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alan Belcher
Akiyama defeated Belcher via split decision (30–27, 28–29, 29–28).
Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping
Henderson defeated Bisping via KO (punch) at 3:20 of round 2.[12]
Jon Fitch vs. Paulo Thiago
Fitch defeated Thiago via unanimous decision (30–27, 29–28, 29–28).
Georges St-Pierre (c) vs. Thiago Alves
St-Pierre defeated Alves via unanimous decision (50–45, 50–44, 50–45) to retain the UFC Welterweight championship.
* Heavyweight Championship unification bout: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Frank Mir (ic)
Lesnar defeated Mir via TKO at 1:48 of round 2 to retain the UFC Heavyweight championship and unify the Interim UFC Heavyweight championship. Brock Lesnar thereby became the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion.
UFC Mentionable Fight Card
UFC 106 could have easily made my list of top fight cards for 2009 even though it lacked any real main event or title fight main event, this fight card was packed with excellent fights from top to bottom. This fight card included an incredible upset victory with Josh Koscheck choking out Anthony Johnson in the second round and a main event 3 rounder between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin.
Worst UFC Card of 2009
I couldn’t help but mention what I feel was one of the worst fight cards of 2009, all though I could probably put together a list of the 3 worst UFC cards of 2009 and not have too much trouble doing it. The UFC card of 2009 that served up one of the most boring and un-entertaining main events in a long time, UFC 97 featured the main event snoozer between Anderson Silva vs Thales Leites.
Before you get out of here don’t forget to check out my UFC 108 Predictions and Odds as well as the MMA Punk UFC 108 Predictions Contest, simply predict the fights and you can end up winning $100. UFC 108 Predictions Contest is sponsored by Insane Limos of Florida and MMA Punk.com
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter: ShotOfCoffee
It’s funny how I remember UFC 97 like it was yesterday. That fight was horrible and really made me realize how lucky we are to have other fights that are so great.
.-= Mike @DailyShotOfCoffee´s last blog ..Uncommon Coffee Products at Uncommon Goods =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Mike @DailyShotOfCoffee, it was nice because it helped you to appreciate the “so so” fights even a little bit more
Twitter: onesuite
No Lesnar Vs Couture? UFC 91? I mean for that fight alone it could be at least included somewhere in your top 5 but your picks are all very good so I can’t really blame you.
.-= MichaelR´s last blog ..All About the V Thing =-.
Agreed UFC 100 was a killer line up.
Twitter: extremejohn
@safaridave, which is exactly what it should have been.
Twitter: zxxxt
I agree with your picks John. Good thing no injuries on UFC 100 or else…
.-= ZXT´s last blog ..Best of 2009 from Nothing But Random =-.
Twitter: ComplaintMan
UFC 97 was terrible. LOL. But seeing Evans get KTFO at UFC 98 made up for the prior month’s card.
To Michael, who mentioned Couture vs. Lesnar. Dude, what were you watching. Yeah, Brock throwing elbows that wouldn’t knock my cat out and Couture not defending himself… Sorry, bro. That doesn’t make the list. Although I am curious to see if The Natural can take out The Hammer next month.
UFC 100 was historic. I still cringe when thinking about Bisping getting KO’d. Wow!
.-= The Constant Complainer´s last blog ..The Party Life =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@The Constant Complainer, I wouldn’t mind seeing the Hammer win, he’s true old school UFC and wasn’t built by the publicity machine. I like Randy but I might have to pull for Coleman in this one.
As for the Bisping KO, priceless.
I think overall 2009 was a good UFC year. However in the end so many matches got canceled it was pretty bad. I hope 2010 will be better and that the fighters stay healthy. Im really looking forward to Brocks return and to see someone beat him when he is healthy.
.-= Johan @ UFC Odds´s last blog ..UFC 109 =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Johan @ UFC Odds, the injuries in the end also cased them to stack some fight cards with fights that we might not have seen so I take it as a trade haha. Thank you for commenting I appreciate it.
oo good adm?n thank youu
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