Year in Review: 20 Worst MMA Beatdowns of 2011
There's losing a fight and then there's just plain getting beaten down. But even among beatdowns there are distinctions; there are beatdowns, and then there are truly memorable beatdowns that transcend the others.
Twenty such of these beatdowns happened in 2011, and now that the year is over, we can review them and marvel at them.
So what are the best beatdowns of 2011? Read and find out but keep in mind it's difficult to rank beatdowns, so they are listed chronologically (although I'm sure I'll have to explain this again in the comments).
Brandon Vera vs. Thiago Silva
1 of 20Event: UFC 125
Date: January 1st, 2011
Method of beatdown: Performance-enhanced domination.
Brandon Vera didn't make his fight with Thiago Silva competitive (although it's worth noting that Silva flunked the post-fight drug test).
Silva beat him to the punch and then some, eventually dominating "The Truth" so bad that he began to literally play drums on his back.
Even though the fight was made a no contest, it was still a terrible beatdown and Vera was made to look like an amateur (and he received a nasty broken nose for his efforts).
Brian Stann vs. Chris Leben
2 of 20Event: UFC 125
Date: January 1st, 2011
Method of beatdown: Fists to the face followed by a knee and more fists to the face.
The fight between Brian Stann and Chris Leben was the subject of much hype because both men were/are feared strikers; everyone yelled "this has fight of the night written all over it!" They were wrong.
Stann beat up Leben and knocked him out in under four minutes to derail his hype train. It was a beatdown few will forget.
Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort
3 of 20Event: UFC 126
Date: February 5th, 2011
Method of beatdown: Epic front kick.
A beatdown doesn't always need to be 15 to 25 minutes of ass-whoopin'—Anderson Silva proved that against Vitor Belfort at UFC 126.
Silva landed one of the most epic kicks in MMA history (a front kick straight to the face of Belfort) and subdued Belfort in unbelievable fashion.
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Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva
4 of 20Event: Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva
Date: February 12th, 2011
Method of beatdown: Brutal ground and pound from the mount and grappling domination.
People thought Fedor Emelianenko's loss to Fabricio Werdum was a fluke. Nobody would be saying the Russian's loss to Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva was a fluke, though.
Silva battered Emelianenko like no other fighter had done to him. Not only did he make him look mortal, he made him look bad. The doctor stopped the fight after 10 minutes of a painful beatdown and Emelianenko was handed his second loss.
Jon Jones vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
5 of 20Event: UFC 128
Date: March 19th, 2011
Method of beatdown: Forceful passing of the torch (or knees and punches)
Jon Jones made Mauricio "Shogun" Rua look like he was fighting for the first time—and that's no easy task.
Jones was simply too skilled in all aspects for Shogun, who was vanquished via TKO midway through the third round.
Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson
6 of 20Event: UFC 130
Date: May 28th, 2011
Method of beatdown: Outclassing.
Roy Nelson didn't come close to hurting Frank Mir in their UFC 130 scuffle.
Mir used superior wrestling to control Nelson as well as improved ground and pound and Muay Thai to bloody the head (and therefore mullet) of Nelson.
So bad was the beatdown that UFC President Dana White called for Nelson to lose weight afterwards!
Junior Dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin
7 of 20Event: UFC 131
Date: June 11, 2011
Method of beatdown: Meat tenderizers to the face/Boxing clinic.
Junior Dos Santos avoided the powerful yet clumsy (relative to Dos Santos) striking of Shane Carwin in order to put a savage boxing-oriented beatdown on the former interim UFC heavyweight champion.
Carwin's face was a mess afterwards and rightfully so, he had been beaten down by the hands of the best technical boxer in the division.
Chris Lytle vs. Dan Hardy
8 of 20Event: UFC on Versus 5
Date: August 14th, 2011.
Method of beatdown: American boxing > English boxing, guillotine choke.
In his last fight before retirement, Chris Lytle thoroughly outclassed British striker Dan Hardy on the feet and then choked him out. Hardy got the complete MMA experience of being beat down by strikes and by a submission hold.
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Forrest Griffin II
9 of 20Event: UFC 134
Date: August 27th, 2011
Method of beatdown: Revenge.
Forrest Griffin just couldn't fight back against an in-shape, highly motivated Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 134. It was one of the worst beatdowns of the night and one of the worst in Forrest Griffin's career.
Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami II
10 of 20Event: UFC 134
Date: August 27th, 2011.
Method of beatdown: Anderson Silva being Anderson Silva (a.k.a. taunting by putting his hands down at his hips but then knocking you out).
Anderson Silva simply beat up Yushin Okami. All Okami could do was press Silva against the cage for a little bit. Once separated, Silva did his thing on Okami and gave him a beating the MMA world won't soon forget.
Daniel Cormier vs. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva
11 of 20Event: Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov
Date: September 10th, 2011.
Method of beatdown: Kickboxing clinic.
After destroying Fedor Emelianenko, people thought that Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva could be the next big thing at heavyweight; the hype train was full speed ahead.
Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier derailed Silva's hype train in spectacular fashion. He put on an amazing display of kickboxing skills and eventually knocked out the massive Brazilian slightly under four minutes.
Jon Jones vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
12 of 20Event: UFC 135
Date: September 24th, 2011.
Method of beatdown: Choking out "Rampage" and making him eat crow.
Jon Jones vs. Rampage Jackson wasn't as bad a beatdown on some of the others on this list to be sure, but Jackson had never really been dominated in such a fashion since he entered the UFC.
Besides, he had talked a lot of trash before the fight, so him not backing it up at all is a sort of beatdown of its own.
Chael Sonnen vs. Brian Stann
13 of 20Event: UFC 136
Date: October 8th, 2011
Method of beatdown: Grappling beatdown.
Brian Stann didn't belong in the cage with Chael Sonnen; it wasn't a close contest at all.
Sonnen used his wrestling to completely control Stann and shut down the war hero's offense and eventually submitted him with an arm-triangle choke in the second round.
Nick Diaz vs. BJ Penn
14 of 20Event: UFC 137
Date: October 29th, 2011
Method of beatdown: Stockton Slap.
Nick Diaz embarrassed BJ Penn, the supposed best boxer in MMA, in the boxing department.
He beat Penn in boxing worse than any other fighter ever had and nearly knocked him out several times.
What makes it even worse is that it's a beatdown in denial since Penn has called Diaz out after the fight, suggesting that Diaz's style was that of a "coward."
Maybe he got punched so many times in the head that he forgot what happened?
Either way, it was an epic beatdown and one of Diaz's finest performances.
Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
15 of 20Event: UFC 139
Date: November 19th, 2011
Method of beatdown: Double beatdown.
Both Dan Henderson and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua gave each other a hell of a beating throughout their 25-minute fight at UFC 139.
Sometimes, Henderson was beating down Rua, but then fortunes would swing and it would be Rua who was doing the beating.
No matter who was beating up who, both guys took tons of punishment, and it was an incredible fight.
Michael Bisping vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller
16 of 20Event: The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale
Date: December 3rd, 2011
Method of beatdown: Many punches to the face, plus knees.
Michael Bisping showed that Jason "Mayhem" Miller was dramatically overhyped by fans and the media; he had no business being in there with Bisping.
Miller couldn't mount any significant offense (despite getting mounted late in the first round) and displayed an appalling lack of striking, which Dana White called the worst striking he had ever seen.
Nam Phan vs. Jimmy Hettes
17 of 20Event: UFC 141
Date: December 30th, 2011
Method of beatdown: Grappling, ground and pound, complete and utter domination.
All you need to know is that Jimmy Hettes beat Nam Phan so badly that the Judge's scorecards were 30-25, 30-25 and 30-26. Wow.
Nate Diaz vs. Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone
18 of 20Event: UFC 141
Date: December 30th, 2011
Method of beatdown: Stockton Slap
People had Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone pegged as the better striker heading into his fight with Nate Diaz. Boy, were they wrong.
Cerrone didn't even come close to being competitive against Diaz, who showed that he's every bit as good as his brother at employing their "Stockton Slap" style of boxing.
Diaz did so well, in fact, that he broke a Compustrike record, landing 258 punches out of 314 (82%).
Alistair Overeem vs. Brock Lesnar
19 of 20Event: UFC 141
Date: December 30th, 2011
Method of beatdown: Tenderizing a status post diverticulitis body with knees.
Alistair Overeem proved that Brock Lesnar was a product of hype by giving the Minnesota native a thorough beating.
Overeem hit Lesnar with a savage knee and then followed it up with more strikes to a slouched over Lesnar.
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Satoshi Ishii
20 of 20Event: Dream: Fight For Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoka 2011
Date: December 31st, 2011
Method of beatdown: Vintage Fedor Emelianenko Knockout
It was great to see Fedor Emelianenko finally return to the winning column in such devastating fashion. See for yourself.
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