10 Most Improved UFC Fighters of 2011

Throughout 2011, the landscape of the MMA world changed greatly.

Jon Jones ascended to stardom, and Fedor Emelianenko fell into—semi—obscurity. Legends retired from the sport, and stars were born.

In addition to all that, fighters grew and improved, as they improved their skills, records, and chances at a title shot.

Here are the ten most improved UFC fighters of 2011.

Donald Cerrone

We'll kick off the list with "The Cowboy," Donald Cerrone.

Some may be surprised to see Cerrone on here, as he lost at UFC 141. However, prior to that, Cerrone had won four fights in 2011, all in the UFC, and had three finishes.

Cerrone had turned a corner, and looked to be well on his way to a title shot before the loss.

He'll look to come back bigger and badder this year.

Benson Henderson

As a former WEC champion, some may be surprised to see Benson Henderson on here.

In his last fight in the WEC, Bendo lost via unanimous decision to Anthony Pettis. Then he went on a tear in 2011.

As he entered the UFC, Henderson won three straight fights over Mark Bocek, Jim Miller and Clay Guida.

He has now earned himself a shot at the lightweight title in February at UFC 144.

Nate Diaz

2011 wasn't perfect for Nate Diaz, but that doesn't mean he didn't improve greatly.

Diaz started off the year going 0-2 in the welterweight division, dropping unanimous decisions to Dong Hyun Kim and Rory MacDonald. After that, Diaz decided to return to the lightweight division.

His return fight was against Takanori Gomi, and, in what was being called the best fight of his career, Diaz submitted Gomi with an armbar in the first round.

Then, in his next fight, also called the best fight of his career, Diaz battered Donald Cerrone for 15 minutes en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Diaz will look to have a big 2012, and make some noise in the lightweight division.

Brian Stann

Next up we'll move to the middleweight division with "The All-American," Brian Stann.

Stann started off his 2011 campaign early, as he squared off with Chris Leben at UFC 125. In an outstanding performance, Stann became only the second man to ever stop Leben with strikes.

Stann followed that up with a second round TKO over the former World Victory Road champion, Jorge Santiago.

Unfortunately, Stann's wrestling defense didn't improve enough as he lost to Chael Sonnen at UFC 136.

Stann will now return against Alessio Sakara in April at UFC on FX 2.

Jake Ellenberger

Up next, we go to the welterweight division with Jake Ellenberger.

Ellenberger came into 2011 on a two-fight winning streak, with two TKO victories. Nobody could have anticipated how big a year he would have.

Ellenberger won three fights in 2011, including two (T)KO victories, and a 53 second TKO over Jake Shields.

Ellenberger will now face off against Diego Sanchez at UFC on Fuel 1 on February 15.

Joe Lauzon

Joe Lauzon had an underwhelming 2010 campaign, as he went 1-2 with losses to Sam Stout and George Sotiropoulos.

However, 2011 was much better for Lauzon, as he went 2-0 with two submission of the night awards.

Lauzon's biggest win of the year came against Melvin Guillard at UFC 136, where he was a massive underdog to Guillard. But Lauzon blew the oddsmakers away as he submitted Guillard with a rear-naked choke in just 47 seconds.

Lauzon's next fight will be against Anthony Pettis at UFC 144 in February.

Alexander Gustafsson

There's more than one 24 year old phenom in the light heavyweight division, and Alexander Gustafsson improved a lot throughout the year.

Gustafsson started off the year with a first round rear-naked choke submission over James Te-Huna at UFC 127.

He followed that up at UFC 133 with a TKO victory over Matt Hamill—which caused Hamill to retire. Then, after that, he TKO'd Vladimir Matyushenko in just over two minutes at UFC 141.

Gustafsson will likely fight at UFC on Fuel 2, which is set to take place in Sweden.

Mark Munoz

To kick off 2011, Mark Munoz had the fastest fight of his career, as he knocked out C.B. Dollaway in just 54 seconds at UFC on Versus 3.

He followed that up with a victory over his first top 10 opponent, as he earned a unanimous decision over Demian Maia at UFC 131.

Then, in the most impressive performance of Munoz's career, he finished Chris Leben via TKO (corner stoppage) between the second and third round in the main event of UFC 138.

Munoz will now face off against Chael Sonnen at UFC on Fox 2 for the number one contender position in the middleweight division.

Chan Sung Jung

Not only did Chan Sung Jung improve greatly in 2011, but he also had a historic year as far as the UFC is concerned.

First, he won a rematch with Leonard Garcia at UFC Fight Night 24 when he submitted him with the first twister ever seen inside the Octagon.

Then, he followed that up with a record tying knockout of Mark Hominick at UFC 141, as he knocked Hominick out in just seven seconds.

After a 2010 where he went 0-2, going 2-0 in 2011 had to be sweet for the Korean Zombie.

Johny Hendricks

Johny "The Answer" Hendricks had a huge year in 2011 as he went 3-0, and knocked off, arguably, the No. 2 welterweight in the world.

Hendricks started off the year with a knockout of the night award for a first round knockout of TJ Waldburger at UFC Fight Night 24. He followed that up with a split decision victory over Mike Pierce at UFC 133.

Then, the way he ended the year was simply legen—wait for it—dary.

He knocked out Jon Fitch in just twelve seconds, and catapulted himself into the top 10 welterweight rankings, while simultaneously dropping Fitch way down.

With the win, he proved that he is a force to be reckoned with.

He was the answer to the Jon Fitch title fight problem that the UFC was having.

We should all start calling him "The Answer"—it's gonna be a thing.

Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow me on twitter @TimMcTiernan.