2011 Mid-Year UFC Awards: Top 5 Comeback Fighters of the Year

After a long stretch of major MMA events ended with UFC 132, we are now midway through the calender year. As we wait for the MMA schedule to pick back up, Bleacher Report will be taking a look a several different mid-year awards.

This installment will focus on the UFC Comeback Fighter of the Year, which will be handed out to the fighter who has made the biggest turnaround or return from absence in 2011. Already, there have been plenty of options for the award, but we had to narrow it down to five nominees.

Here are the top five UFC combeack fighters from the first half of 2011.

5. Brian Bowles

After losing the WEC Bantamweight Championship to Dominick Cruz in March 2010, Brian Bowles missed the rest of the year due to hand and foot injuries.

After being out of action for nearly one year, Bowles returned to defeat Damacio Page in his UFC debut. Shortly after that, Bowles picked up another win over Takeya Mizugaki at UFC 132.

Now, Bowles will have the chance to become the top contender in the bantamweight division, as he is scheduled to meet Urijah Faber at UFC 139.

4. Rory MacDonald

In June 2010, Rory MacDonald looked to be on his way to a big win over Carlos Condit. However, Condit prevented the fight from going to the judges by scoring a technical knockout in the final seconds.

A young fighter like MacDonald could easily have been discouraged by such a disappointing loss, but the 22-year-old Canadian came back even stronger in 2011.

At UFC 129, MacDonald dominated Nate Diaz in a unanimous decision victory. The win put MacDonald back in the conversation as one of the top rising welterweights in the sport.

3. Lyoto Machida

Last year, Lyoto Machida lost the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship to Mauricio Rua and suffered another loss in a narrow decision against Quinton Jackson.

Heading into 2011, there was some speculation that Machida could be fighting for his job in his next fight. However, Machida put that speculation to rest by knocking out MMA legend Randy Couture with a spectacular fron kick.

2. Mark Hunt

A loss to Sean McCorkle in September 2010 meant that Mark Hunt had lost six straight fights and was without a win in the last four years.

With his position in the UFC more than likely on the line at UFC 127, Hunt recorded a much-needed knockout victory over Chris Tuchscherer.

1. Tito Ortiz

After suffering a disappointing loss to Matt Hamill in October 2010, Tito Ortiz was winless in his last five fights and appeared to be on his way out of the UFC. In fact, Ortiz admitted that the UFC had asked him to retire.

However, Ortiz was given one final chance to reddem himself in a UFC 132 bout against Ryan Bader. In a huge upset, Ortiz submitted Bader in the first round to keep his spot in the UFC and earn his first win since October 2006.

If Ortiz is able to pull off a second straight upset, when he fights Rashad Evans at UFC 133, then he will be the unquestionable UFC Comeback Fighter of the Year for 2011.

Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. Sean has also had his work featured on UFC.com. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @SeanSmithMMA.