The 5 Best Fights of 2008
5. Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le (3/29/08)
Someone had to shut Frank Shamrock up. Thank God for Cung Le. Shamrock stayed true to his promise to stand and trade with the San Shou sensation, though maybe it would have been a better idea if he didn’t. He got kicked in ways he never imagined until a broken arm forced him to give in after three rounds of action, just when it was starting to get really good. Watching these highlights just makes you mad at Cung Le for running off to be a movie star instead of sticking around in MMA for a while. It also makes you wonder what would happen to Frank’s new braces if he got kicked in the face like that now. Perhaps we’ll never know.
4. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin (7/5/08)
They don’t get much closer than this light heavyweight championship fight at UFC 86. Simply mentioning who you think won the bout (cough*Griffin*cough) is enough to start a message board argument that will produce countless personal attacks and ultimately accomplish nothing, but that just proves what a close battle it was. Five rounds of back-and-forth action led to a unanimous, though oddly scored decision victory for Griffin, and a few sleepless nights for Jackson. “Rampage” says he’d like to run it back in ’09. We’d rather see him fight Evans for the title, but we also wouldn’t complain about seeing a repeat of this scrap.
3. Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver (6/1/08)
One of two great fights at WEC 34, Jens Pulver took everything Urijah Faber had (which is a lot, in case you’re curious) and gave some back in this five-round extravaganza. Faber would go on to win the clear unanimous decision, but Pulver made him work for it and showed his toughness in the process. If you enjoyed it as much as we did, you’re in luck in 2009. As Don Frye would say, they’re going to do it again, brother.
2. Eddie Alvarez vs. Joachim Hansen (5/11/08)
This is the fight that had it all: great grappling, blistering striking, and the kind of ebb and flow that’s part of any good fight. This might just be the best fight Dream has put on to date. If you can’t get into this one, maybe you don’t actually like fighting after all. Go knit me a sweater or something.
1. Miguel Torres vs. Yoshiro Maeda (6/1/08)
The other epic fight from WEC 34, this bantamweight championship fight pitted Miguel Torres’ superior speed and striking ability against Yoshiro Maeda’s iron will and determination. Torres eventually dished out so much punishment that Maeda’s right eye became nothing more than a swollen mass of blood and tissue, resulting in a stoppage after the third round and a six-month medical suspension for an orbital injury. Tough luck, but at least it was worth it. Well, for those of us watching, anyway.
Those are our choices. Feel free to tell us how wrong we are in the comments, and let us know which ones you think we missed.
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Comments
rex quon dow Says:
frank shamrock was kicking this slopes ass forget about it.
Dex Says:
I liked Eddie Alvarez vs Kawajiri and Cowboy Ceronne vs McCollough.
Tons of great fights this year though, no one stands out head and shoulders.
ChinBo Says:
Alvarez v. Kawajiri also great
Anonymous Says:
I fucking hate your lame ass spam system, and obviously no one ever reviews the shit because my comments aren't spam and they never appear. Nice one fags.
Renzo for Prez Says:
Cowboy Ceronne vs McCollough should have been on this list!!!
Jeff Says:
Thank you cage potato, every single one of those was worth rewatching.
Isn't it crazy how two of the best fights of the year happened back to back for free?
Kev Says:
Um Where is Chuck Liddel and wandy,
Jugger Says:
Shawn Sherk vs. Tyson Griffin
and
Josh Koscheck vs. Thiago Alves
were both all out wars. Sherk vs. Griffin was a back and forth 3 round war and I was more impressed with the heart Koscheck showed in his loss than any win he's had in the past two years.
Jugger Says:
Kev,
Chuck vs Wandy went down last December. Technically not an '08 fight.
TheJacka Says:
Have you seen Cowboy Cerrone vs. Razor Rob yet? It defnitely would be on this list. I have no idea how the WEC completely fucked shit up and didnt put that fight on the telecast. It is the best LW fight I have ever seen besides Alvarez vs Hansen.
ihatejardine!!alot Says:
forrest griffin won that bout ,NO WAY rampage won. but how good did he look in his last bout!! i think he is gonna KO rashad! it will be the worst/best KNOCKOUT in MMA history if he shows up like he did on the 27th!
mayhem420 Says:
All of those fights were awesome however I think I would have moved Jackson/Griffin up to #4 and moved Faber/Pulver down one.
All great picks though, well done CP!! Man it was a Great Year for MMA!!
mayhem420 Says:
Woops I ment up to #3
Farthammer Says:
The fact that there are no Kimbo fights on here show how big of NooBs you guys are. And what about Starnes/Quarry?
Pathetic. I'm going to Yahoo!'s blog.
FilmDrunk Says:
Fuck Faber/Pulver. Pulver had him hurt three or four times and wouldn't go after him. Frustrating to watch.
Anonymous Says:
Eddie Alvarez vs. Joachim Hansen should be put as number 1. Great back and forth action
Anonymous Says:
GSP vs. Fitch not even top five?
Don't make me slap you Says:
Those two were great fights.... Sean Sherk beat Tyson Griffin in what was probably one of the UFCs greatest fight cards of the year...
The Kos vs Pittbull fight was pretty good too... If anything it showed how tough Koscheck was, and how great a threat Alves is to Georges St Pierre's Welter weight title..
kerouac Says:
GSP vs. Fitch doesn't deserve top 5 - Fitch is tough but didnt put up enough of a fight. Good call on Torres vs. Maeda as #1 - what a war!! NO ONE will stop Torres at 135; although I would love to see the California Kid drop weight and try
knightrida Says:
I don't think that Torres fight was the best of '08 but I do think there were too many good ones to have a clear winner anyway. Good job this year CP! Number 1 fight blog for sure!
matt Says:
getting tickets to my first ufc event for 96 at nationwide arena and was looking for some suggestions to where the best place to sit and see the action is?
MKO Says:
I think you gotta drop Faber/Pulver just because it didn't even come close to being the best fight on its own card. Torres and Maeda beatin the shit out of each other was great, but moved to epic when they both had a knee and were hitting and yelling at each other. Epic. Almost makes up for Rashad not being number 1 on the KO list.
just some dong Says:
machida/ortiz... that was '08 right? sweet fight, 'specially the ending.
Patrick Says:
Good list, guys.
Carlos Condit vs Hiromitsu Miura is definitely in my personal top 5 of 2008, but I suppose it mostly boils down to opinion.
Anonymous Says:
why do you guys allow racist remarks like this remain??
ithertz Says:
so what exactly does "best" mean?
Anonymous Says:
WTF , what does best mean?! WTF IS THIS LIST HAHA i fell asleep almost during each of these.
Anonymous Says:
THAT WAS 2007 YA FUCKIN' HUMP
Anonymous Says:
FARTHAMMER, YOU FUCKIN' HUMP, NO ONE GIVES A FLYING FUCK ABOUT KIMBO. STFU.
Anonymous Says:
matt get the $500 seats just off the floor. anywhere around the cage will do, but of course the closer to the center of the arena, the better. stay off the floor and stay away from seats less than $300.00, you'll be watching the big screens instead of the cage. trust me, its better to go big and get seriously good seats than sell yourself short on this. been to 5 ufc events and have finally found the right spot. see u mofo's at 94! war bj!
reasn
William Shatner Says:
Why the hell does everyone have the Griffin / Jackson fight ranked as one of the best of the year. The fight was alright but not that great I just don't get it. If there is a list of most overrated fights one day then it'll deserved to be ranked!
Derly Says:
Where's the list for "Best Beatings of 2008"?
Fights like GSP vs Fitch would land on that... I enjoyed watching that beating...
PingPong Says:
What about Condit/Miura, easily one of my faves
bundy Says:
Shamrock/Le is the most overrated fight of the year, and featured the two most overated fighters.
If they ever face any real competition, which they wont, they will get owned. I did not see this fight as that exciting.
mmafan-atic Says:
hey wasn't the clay guida-hermes franca fight in '08? now that was a great fight. i know most people don't get grappling, but to those of us who do, that was a top-notch clinic.
ufc fan1 Says:
Are you kidding me they missed the george st. pierre vs. jon fitch fight? That should be the best of 08! That fight was awesome.
Durden Says:
I wonder how Chung Le holds up in the UFC, I hope to see him there eventually
j spice Says:
lol at Farthammer he said a kimbo fight should be on here? please expalin to me which one... please.... i would love to hear your argument for why the most overrated fighter in history should be on this list. i'm all ears...
Payday Says:
Sarcasm kids...it's called sarcasm. Look it up on Dictionary.com then re-read (slowly...don't hurt yourselves) Farthammer's comment.
Steve Says:
Definitely agree that Condit/Miura deserves a place on here, perhaps even at #1.
Creamy CA Roll Says:
What, no love for Houston Alexander & James Irvin??? You got the # 1 fight right, but the Griffin Rampage fight wasn't all that entertaining. Eddie Alavarez should've been on this list twice with his battle against Kawajiri
Loves2Sploog Says:
Yes GSP vs Fitch should be top five. That was a war if I have ever seen one.
Jburg Says:
@Farthammer
Well done sir, absolutely hilarious, probably comment of the week, and went over some retard's heads and caused them to make fools of themselves.
jackson/griffin Says:
Jackson/griffin shouldn't even be on the list.... I got nothing against forest he’s a good fighter and he seems like a cool guy, however "a good fighter" does not always = "an exciting fighter".... he leg kicked his way to a decision.... that was not an entertaining fight by any means.
Question: Jackson/Griffin or GSP/Fitch…. Which fight was more entertaining? Shouldn’t take long to answer this.
Bootylam! Says:
Condit/ Miura should be here in place of Griffin/ Rampage.
Anonymous Says:
Judging by the fights of the week lately I figured you would have five Aleksander Emelianenko fights.
Seriously. You guys have an unhealthy fixation on that guy.
Smackdaddiest1 Says:
What is wrong with you homos talking shit about Cung Le/Shamrock?
Cung Le beat that toolbag announcer wannabe from pillar to post, showing off some mean ass kicks and striking in the process.
Frank is a puss that won't even fight his sorry ass brother.
Fight of the year IMO
René Lévesque-Caline Says:
Hansen Alvarez is fight of the year.
It had everything.
The Maeda was vicious but not as complete as the Hansen fight.
Anonymous Says:
"borget about it"... I didn't realize Phil Baroni was on these boards and had a forbidden crush on his past rival.
Ignorant racist... don't you belong as a fan of pro wrestling?
Anonymous Says:
This comment system blows... replies get posted at the end, not under the person you're replying to. Makes absolutely no sense.