MMA: The Top 10 Fights of 2010

It's already that time of the year again.

Doesn't it feel like a year ago that we were all arguing which was the best fight of 2009?

I had picked Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's epic battle with Randy Couture for No. 1 last year, but certainly wasn't part of the majority in thinking so.

Most people I talked to either picked Diego Sanchez's brutal war with Clay Guida or the five-round tug-of-war between Ben Henderson and Donald Cerrone.

The more I think of those fights, the more it does feel like a year. Or maybe even more.

Time seems to fly by when you have a lack of new memories to take the place of the old ones. But with MMA, that is never the case.

2010 had no shortage of memorable battles in the cage—or ring—making Couture's last real challenge seem like ages ago.

A lot can happen in a year. Bright contenders become champions or fall by the wayside only to be remembered as once overrated.

Champions continue to amaze or are deemed past their prime and rendered on the brink of relevancy.

Either way, nobody reads the intros.

On with the list!

Honorable Mention: Sanchez Vs. Thiago

With a main event like Brock Lesnar Vs. Cain Velasquez, it wasn't really all that necessary to stack the undercard of UFC 116. Still, to the pleasure of the fans, the UFC booked a handful of intriguing matchups to bolster the event.

And clearly, the most entertaining of those bouts was Diego Sanchez's comeback win over welterweight contender Paulo Thiago.

Thiago started off strong, and though it was competitive, he undoubtedly won the first round. His momentum continued into the second stanza, but midway through the round, Sanchez turned the tide in classic fashion.

Feeling the bout was not going his way, Sanchez showed his will by picking up Thiago on to his shoulder, and while yelling, ran across the ring and slammed his foe to the ground. From that moment on, Diego won every minute of the fight, winning the decision two rounds to one.

It seemed more like the Diego Sanchez MMA fans had come to know in 2006: a fiery warrior who always found a way to win.

For me, it was one of the highlights of 2010. And a ton of respect should go to Paulo Thiago for putting on a tremendous performance as well. It takes two warriors to put on that kind of show.

10. Munoz Vs. Grove

While the UFC's first trip to Abu Dhabi for UFC 112 was headlined by two championship bouts consisting of two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world in Anderson Silva and B.J. Penn, it was the lesser anticipated opener that stole the show that night.

Fringe middleweight contenders Kendall Grove and Mark Munoz met for the first fight on the pay-per-view telecast and immediately got the crowd on it's feet.

Grove started early with a sharp uppercut and cross that both had Munoz wobbly on his feet. But as soon as we all saw the power of Munoz's punches on the ground, it was clear that both fighters were capable of ending this fight.

And after displaying his admirable heart by recovering from the early shots, Munoz got Grove to the ground and unleashed those fierce bombs, rocking Grove and quickly finishing him against the cage.

Both fighters' stock rose from the battle, especially considering how dreadful the main event turned out to be.

9. Bonnar Vs. Soszynski 2

Though some complained about the lack of importance in the undercard matchups at UFC 116, those complaints were quickly overshadowed by the absolute violence and all-out action displayed in each fight.

And not surprisingly, Stephan Bonnar was involved in another bloody war that saw both fighters on the brink of defeat, this time against Krsysztof Soszynski.

The two had met in both of their previous outings at UFC 110. Soszynski held the upper hand in the fight, but the outcome was marred in controversy after Bonnar suffered numerous cuts from headbutts and the bout was stopped early.

An immediate rematch was ordered, and while neither fighter could really be deemed a contender at that point, fans were guaranteed action between these two.

And that's exactly what they got, as both fighters left all thoughts of defense outside of the cage and slugged it out to see who could stand the punishment longer.

After a close and damaging first round, Bonnar came out like his career was on the line—you could argue it was—in the second and didn't stop pounding Soszynski until he crumbled to the ground.

It was an amazing display of will and determination, furthering Bonnar's status as one of the toughest action fighters of the decade.

8. Jorgensen Vs. Pickett

On the undercard of Dominick Cruz's first title defense against Joseph Benavidez at WEC 50, highly ranked contender Scott Jorgensen took on the always tough Brad Pickett.

A high-paced brawl is no rarity for Jorgensen, and as Pickett obliged, this was no different.

Jorgensen was being considered for a possible title shot with another win, and with so much on the line, he came right out firing. Pickett fully welcomed the pressure and the two kept it on the feet trading punches for the duration of most of the fight.

Though the scores were lopsided for Jorgensen, Pickett was absolutely competitive throughout. But it was Jorgensen who refused to slow down, winning another fight of the night bonus.

The win did earn Jorgensen a shot at Dominick Cruz's title, but he would be shut down for five rounds in that attempt.

7. Condit Vs. MacDonald

For me, UFC 115 was probably the most entertaining UFC card of the year. Every fight kept the action flowing, and undoubtedly, Carlos Condit's war with Rory MacDonald was the best of the bunch.

Not too many people knew of MacDonald going in. After all, he was 20-years-old and had only fought once in the UFC on the dark portion of a Fight Night card.

But, to most fans' surprise, this young unknown was a slight betting favorite against the experienced and recognizable Condit.

It didn't take long for the kid to impress all observers by competitively controlling the first two rounds of the fight.

A wonderful aesthetic symbol of how evenly matched this fight was happened in the closing seconds of the final round when both threw identical front kicks to each other's face just as the bell sounded. Both kicks landed, but Condit was pushed to the ground.

In the third round, experience proved to be the difference as Condit was able to trap MacDonald on the ground and pound his face into a swollen mess, forcing the ref to stopp the fight with only seven seconds remaining.

It was clearly a case of too much too soon for the young but incredibly talented MacDonald. I just hope it doesn't hinder his future that he was in such a brutal fight before I believe he was ready. I would have had no problem with the UFC taking their time with the kid like they do with so many of their TUF winners, but hopefully, MacDonald will benefit from the experience.

As for Condit, he went on to knock out Dan Hardy and is now one of the top contenders int he welterweight division.

6. Henderson Vs. Pettis

In the main event of the final WEC event before the promotion was absorbed into the UFC, WEC lightweight titlist Ben Henderson met exciting contender Anthony Pettis to determine the next top contender for the UFC lightweight championship.

Both fighters took turns winning rounds and putting their opponent in dangerous spots, leading to a determining fifth round.

The two were so evenly matched that it took a unbelievable head-kick from Pettis, where he jumped off the side of the cage to drop Henderson with a right kick, to crown a winner.

It was a fitting end to such a great promotion that MMA fans will not forget anytime soon.

5. Diaz Vs. Noons 2

Ever since their first fight controversially ended early due to cuts, Nick Diaz had been clamoring for an opportunity to get his revenge on K.J. Noons.

Noons had dominated the first round of their initial bout, opening up gashes above both of Diaz's eyes with a well-timed knee and stiff cross. Diaz begged to continue after the round, but it was called to a halt by the inexperienced doctor.

Going into the rematch, it remained the only loss in Diaz's last 13 fights.

Both fighters possess extremely talented boxing skills for MMA, so the intelligent fans knew what they were in for with this Strikeforce welterweight championship.

Diaz set the pace early coming out in an orthodox stance for maybe the first time in his career. After pumping his long jab a few times, Diaz landed a stinging right hand that dropped Noons. Noons quickly recovered, and it was clear this would be a battle.

Noons took control in the second round, but after that, it was all Diaz. They traded hard punches the entire fight, but Diaz's reach and work-rate told the story.

In the end, Diaz had his revenge with a five-round unanimous decision. But both fighters knew they had been through a messy war.

4. Garcia Vs. Sung Jung

On the undercard of the WEC's first pay-per-view broadcast, Leonard Garcia replaced an injured Cub Swanson against "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung.

The bout quickly turned into an instant classic, as both fighters ignored all concerns of personal health and let their hands fly for a full 15 minutes.

Every time Sung Jung would seem to be taking control, Garcia would let his wild haymakers fly and put himself back in the fight.

This fight did as much for the WEC 48 pay-per-view buys as any bout, as it was shown for free on Spike TV prior to the official broadcast. It would have been hard to watch this fight and not order the rest of the event.

Garcia came out with a highly disputable split-decision win, but both fighters will be remembered for putting it all on the line in one of the best fights this year.

3. Silva Vs. Sonnen

I can't remember a challenger ever talking up his chance at a championship as much as Chael Sonnen did before his bout with Anderson Silva at UFC 117.

Though it was figured by many that Sonnen's style could cause a lot of problems for Silva, the majority of fans did not give him a shot at winning. After all, so many had tried before and Silva had barely lost a round in the UFC.

The most shocking MMA moment of 2010 came in the opening moments of round one when Chael rocked Silva with a straight left hand and dropped him to the ground. Chael followed it up with some of the most devastating punches you will see on the ground.

After controlling Silva for the majority of four and a half rounds, Silva pulled his wrists free and strapped on a tight triangle choke, forcing Sonnen to tap. It was arguably the greatest come-from-behind victory of all time.

Silva proved his mettle again by never losing faith in himself and finding a way to win.

2. Leben Vs. Akiyama

After Wanderlei Silva pulled out of his much anticipated bout with Yoshihiro Akiyama with an injury, the UFC was stuck in a bind trying to find a decent co-main event for UFC 116.

Lucky for them, faithful brawler Chris Leben had escaped from his upset win over Aaron Simpson unscathed, just two weeks prior to the event and was willing to take a tough matchup on unusually short notice.

After Akiyama agreed, the bout was on. And though it was not as high-profile as a Wanderlei Silva match would be, the fans were guaranteed action with these two.

Both fighters traded powerful shots repeatedly throughout the first two rounds. And with Akiyama clearly losing gas, Leben slapped on a triangle choke from the bottom in the third and rained hammer fists to his suffocating foe.

Seconds later, Akiyama tapped, and Leben had won his second fight in just two weeks.

1. Santiago Vs. Misaki 2

I must say, it is slightly refreshing for the best fight of the year to be outside of America.

When Sengoku middleweight champ Jorge Santiago defended his title in a rematch against Kazuo Misaki earlier this year in Tokyo, Japan, it proved that there is still some great MMA going on in the eastern world.       

Misaki took control of the action-packed exchanges in the first round, and in the second, had Santiago in trouble with a tight guillotine choke.

Santiago stole the momentum in the third round with a head kick and hard cross that dropped Misaki. Santiago pounded Misaki on the ground to finish the round, but Misaki showed his experience and heart by surviving a brutal round.

Misaki took over again in the fourth round and appeared to have the fight in the bag going into the fifth round. But Santiago was not planning on letting the judges determine his fate and came out swinging.

Santiago rocked Misaki to the ground again and pounded him over and over until Misaki's corner was forced to throw in the towel to save their fighter. There was only 30 seconds left in the fight.

"I proved to everybody here what a champ is made of," Santiago said afterward. "This is the way a champion fights. This is the way I always want to fight."