A Slew of Surprises

Unpredictability is one of the cornerstones of MMA's appeal, and with the UFC, the IFL, and M-1 Global's Yarennoka event all taking place in the span of a few days, "unpredictability" came at us like a runaway freight train. Who would've guessed that Georges St. Pierre would dominate Matt Hughes with takedowns and ground-and-pound before nearly tearing his arm off? Not I. Who out there really believed Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva would go the distance, knowing they'd be throwing the kind of leather that would render nearly every other light-heavyweight in the world unconscious? Not me, pal. Matt Horwich dropping Benji Radach, Brett Cooper trouncing Rory Markham, and Ryan Schultz beating the tar out of Chris Horodecki? Nope. No friggin' way. Even Hong Man Choi's performance against Fedor was a shock. After over a decade, this sport still manages to surprise and thrill. You've got to love it.

Results of MMA Journalist "Best of 2007" Online Poll

The emails have been read and the results are in for MMA Journalist's "Best of 2007" online poll. Thanks to all those who sent in their opinions, and an even bigger thanks to all those who used a spell-checking program, proper grammar, the English language or managed just the slightest bit of coherence. So without further ado, the best of 2007! -Best Fighter to Party With: Adam Smith, who fought at the September 29th Strikeforce event at the Playboy Mansion and subsequently tested positive for cocaine and marijuana. Blow, weed and Playboy Bunnies? Rock on, brother. Rock on. -Best Sinking Ship: BodogFIGHT. Holy Titanic, Batman! -Best Punch to the Armpit: Kimbo Slice's uppercut to Bo Cantrell at the November 10th EliteXC "Renegade" show. When done right, no can defend. -Best Reporter for Screwing Things Up: Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports. Um, how much did Couture make? Right... -Best Crying: John Koppenhaver, who defeated Jared Rollins at the TUF 6 Finale, then bawled his eyes out. There, there War Machine. Jared didn't die. Look, see? He's standing up and walking around. -Best Stock to Buy: the IFL's. Ha! Just kidding.