Awards Moderator Onyx2 Posted February 9, 2020 Awards Moderator Share Posted February 9, 2020 Who was the best MMA fighter in 2019? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 (edited) I voted for Stylebender. The knockout win over Whittaker just about swayed me. However, I think Usman is being a bit overlooked if the poll results are anything to go by. He beat the two best fighters in his division. He shutout one and stopped the other. Masvidal is the biggest star of the three and was the most active, but who did he beat? Nate Diaz, Askren and Till were all top 10 at welterweight, but they were not in the top 3. Askren had a dodgy hip and his training camps were hindered as a result. Till is rebuilding at 185lbs, but he had previously been blitzed at 170lbs by Woodley. And Diaz has never really found enough consistency to be considered a top fighter. Thus, I think Usman's year was more impressive overall. He thrived at a higher level than Masvidal. Edited February 10, 2020 by jimufctna24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted February 10, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted February 10, 2020 Forgot about this one. It’s definitely the most difficult of the MMA awards this year, for the reasons you give there. They all had stellar years. Adesanya and Masvidal became the bigger stars no doubt. Adesanya had the better wins overall, plus that FOTY with Gastelum. But in some ways Masvidal’s 2019 was more impressive to me because it came from nowhere. Adesanya was tipped to be a star from almost as soon as he stepped in the Octagon. But Masvidal was in danger of becoming a journeyman also ran, then he was inactive throughout 2018. Came back in 2019 with two of the most stunning knockouts of the year over Till and Askren, then beat Diaz at MSG. You’d never have called it this time 12 months ago. All that said, I voted Usman. His dominant performance against Woodley blew me away and the Covington fight and win was brilliant as well. They were both fights where it was either 50/50 or Usman was expected to lose, and he rose to the occasion in both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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