Year-in-review awards are emotional things in MMA that essentially boil down to how loud we cursed when watching the fights. What a story. Whatever happens last usually takes the shine off what happened six months ago.
Who knows? Anyway, I waited an extra week for this one to let UFC play out and look back at the year to see what mattered most. First, some context. The backdrop for UFC was that the current light heavyweight champion, Daniel Cormier, was kind of an imposter while the challenger, Jon Jones, was the actual champion. Jones beat Cormier at UFC but had been stripped of his title for various out-of-cage problems. Cormier won the vacant title at UFC against Anthony Johnson and had been parading around with the belt for two years, smiling evilly like a Cheshire cat.
But is he really going to be in Anaheim [on fight night]? Is this guy really going to go to the fight? Is this guy going to mess this up again by doing steroids or snorting cocaine or sandblasting prostitutes?
Cocaine one, your ass the next. It was great. Try getting that the next time Tom Brady squares off with Ben Roethlisberger in playoffs. This was exactly what makes the UFC unique.
Ribald tales of hedonism cutting a swath through all the righteous tension in the air before a fight. It was actually pretty glorious. For a minute, anyway. Just like Cormier feared. To some fans, you can say what you want about people in other countries, but ruin Star Wars? Then again, Covington is obviously a heel that works at it. And as he gets closer to a title shot, his gift of pissing people off will begin to matter more and more. We knew he was saying all the things we wanted to hear ahead of his UFC fight with Michael Bisping.
