UFC Power Rankings: Ranking All of the UFC's 2012 Events to Date

When it comes to power ranking the 2012 UFC events, it's like trying to decide if chocolate is better than peanut butter.

Just five months into 2012, the UFC has already provided multiple memorable shows for the fans.

Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans, Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Ellenberger, Chan Sung Jung vs. Dustin Poirier...we've been spoiled with thrilling main events.

And to go along with those main events, the rest of the cards provided spectacular knockouts and sensational submissions. But which event from top to bottom was the absolute best?

12. UFC on Fox 2 Evans vs. Davis

UFC on Fox 2 was a bit of a dud.

In fact, two out of the three fights shown could very well be classified as boring. Furthermore, there wasn't a finish on the main card.

Demian Maia and Chris Weidman led off the card, and with Weidman taking the fight on such short notice, he fatigued quickly.

This led to a stale battle between the two, and Weidman took home the decision. Following that fight was a back-and-forth war between Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping. Now, this fight had the goods.

Bisping hung in there with Sonnen, and they exchanged blows and grappling positions throughout the fight. The judges gave Sonnen the nod, and some fans still believe Bisping was robbed of a decision.

Then along came the main event. Rashad Evans and Phil Davis gave fans a five-round bore-fest. Both fighters picked their shots carefully on the feet. When Evans would get Davis to the ground, he would fail to finish the fight, even though he had Davis in some tough positions. Evans dominated Davis, and he was awarded the decision.

The night was less than spectacular, but lucky for MMA fans, the UFC would bounce back strongly.

11. UFC 143

UFC 143 had so much potential.

Every hardcore fan was foaming at the mouth thinking about Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz mixing it up inside the Octagon. Well, at least I was.

By the time the main event rolled around, Diaz would take the fight to Condit, but Condit would circle his way around the cage and pick his shots. Sure, it was a smart strategy, but it wasn't exactly what the fans had in mind.

And although it wasn't a terrible fight, it wasn't the brawl that everyone was expecting. The fight was ridiculed heavily for Condit's game plan to stick and move against the always entertaining Diaz.

It wasn't just the main event that was lackluster.

Josh Koscheck and Mike Pierce fought in a less than memorable bout, while Renan Barao and Fabricio Werdum dominated their opponents in two one-sided affairs.

The event as a whole wasn't all that bad, as you had Dustin Poirier pulling off a wicked submission against Max Holloway, as well Matthew Riddle and Henry Martinez engaging in a war of attrition on the prelims.

It was simply Condit and Diaz failing to live up to the hype that gave this pay-per-view such a bitter aftertaste.

10. UFC on Fuel TV 1 Sanchez vs. Ellenberger

The UFC debuted on Fuel TV with one of the best main events of the year.

Any time you have Diego Sanchez facing a game opponent, you know you're in for a show, and that's exactly what happened when he met Jake Ellenberger.

Ellenberger showed the world that he's one of the best welterweights in the world, as he went toe-to-toe with one of the toughest fighters in the division. It was clear that Ellenberger was the more technical striker, and overall, he looked sharper than Sanchez that night.

Both men traded strikes for three full rounds, and Ellenberger won a justified decision in his hometown.

As for the rest of the card, there were plenty of finishes. Stefan Struve knocked out Dave Herman, Stipe Miocic stopped Phil De Fries in the first round and Ivan Menjivar submitted John Albert in an incredibly fast-paced bout.

The fact that this event is so low on this list is truly a testament of how good the UFC has been in 2012.

9. UFC on FX 2 Alves vs. Kampmann

The debut of the flyweights was a memorable one to say the least.

Thiago Alves and Martin Kampmann headlined the second fight card on FX, but it was the flyweights that would steal the spotlight, for better and for worse.

Though Joseph Benavidez would win his first flyweight fight by knockout in the second round against Yasuhiro Urushitani, Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall was the most talked about fight.

Johnson won the first two rounds against McCall with his speed and precise striking, but McCall dominated the third round. He had Johnson's back, and nearly finished the fight at the end of the third round. 10-8 round, anyone?

This wouldn't be MMA if there wasn't some sort of controversy surrounding a fight. Had the fight been (read) a draw, both fighters would have fought in a sudden death fourth round, but the scorecards gave Johnson the decision. Or should I say, that's the way it looked.

Following the event, UFC president Dana White announced that the scorecards were read wrong and it should have went to a fourth round. And while that was the biggest story to emerge from the fight card, Martin Kampmann's comeback victory over Thiago Alves was something to marvel over.

Alves was clearly winning the fight with a little over a minute left in the fight. He then went for a takedown, and Kampmann pulled off a guillotine to pull off an incredible come-from-behind victory.

Overall, it was a chaotic event that made for some dang good television.

8. UFC on FX 1 Guillard vs. Miller

Fireworks were provided in the very first UFC on FX card.

From Pat Barry's first round knockout, to Mike Easton and Jared Papazian slugging it out to Josh Neer pulling off an incredible submission win, this card was fantastic.

Barry and Christian Morecraft kicked off the card, and Barry showed why he is such a crowd favorite. He brought the fight to Morecraft and put him down with a vicious left hook. From there, Barry pounced on him and finished him with some ground-and-pound.

Then, Easton and Papazian engaged in a fun technical bout, and that led us to a very eventful co-main event. Neer was getting picked apart on his feet by Duane "Bang" Ludwig before catching him in a guillotine choke.

And then MMA fans suffered from deja vu. Following the co-main event, Melvin Guillard and Jim Miller had pretty much the same exact fight.

Guillard was getting the better of Miller on the feet, and Miller capitalized on a mistake, took Guillard's back and finished him with a rear-naked choke.

What's even crazier is the fact that both fights lasted exactly 3:04.

7. UFC on Fuel TV 2 Gustafsson vs. Silva

Before we talk about the fights that took place on UFC on Fuel TV 2, I have to mention the amazing crowd in Sweden.

It's so refreshing to hear a passionate, intelligent crowd come up with brilliant cheers and add another level of electricity to the fights, and that's exactly what this crowd did.

Before their countryman, Alexander Gustafsson, waged war against Thiago Silva, Brian Stann ran through Alessio Sakara, Siyar Bahadurzada made quick work of Paulo Thiago, Dennis Siver and Diego Nunes put on a kickboxing clinic, John Maguire submitted DaMarques Johnson and Brad Pickett and Damacio Page had the best fight of the night.

Page is one of those fighters that continues to struggle in the UFC, but he still has a job because of the entertainment he provides for fans. He and Pickett went after it for two rounds, and after Pickett rocked Page, he finished him with a rear-naked choke.

But the fight that meant the most to Swedes was the bout between Gustafsson and Silva. Very few crowds can rival the energy that these fans provided Gustafsson. As Gustafsson showed off his graceful kickboxing movement, the crowd rallied behind him with some in sync chants.  

As for the fight card as a whole, it provided a lot of good action with exciting finishes and the birth of a new international superstar.

6. UFC 145

Unlike Rashad Evans' previous rivalry with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, his fight with Jon "Bones" Jones justified the hype.

Evans gave Jones his toughest fight to date, and he caught him with a big overhand right and powerful head kick in the fight that staggered Jones. However, Jones' full arsenal of weapons would prove to be too much for Evans.

Jones used his pin-point accurate elbows to set the pace of this fight, and he would go on to win a dominant decision.

And while Jones would steal the headlines the following morning, Michael McDonald and Rory MacDonald proved that they, like Jones, are indeed the future.

McDonald put Miguel Torres to sleep with two beautiful uppercuts, while MacDonald absolutely obliterated Che Mills in devastating fashion. And to top that off, Mark Hominick and Eddie Yagin beat each other to a bloody pulp for three rounds, and Ben Rothwell pulled off an intense knockout over Brendan Schaub.

Despite John Alessio and Mark Bocek's forgettable bout to open the main card, every fight on this pay-per view had multiple thrills.

5. UFC 142

The UFC kicked off 2012 with a bang at UFC 142.

The first event of the year for the company was without a doubt one of the best shows of the year. The highlight of the night came when Jose Aldo returned to form and got a first round knockout victory against Chad Mendes with a perfectly-placed knee.

Aldo knocked Mendes out with only a second remaining on the clock, and then he rushed into the crowd to celebrate with his fellow Brazilians. It's undoubtedly one of my favorite moments in MMA history.

And even though Aldo's knockout will be shown for years and years on highlight reels, it wasn't the best knockout of the night. Oh no, Edson Barboza not only had the best knockout of the night, but he's already got the Knockout of the Year Award locked up.

Barboza knocked out Terry Etim in the third round of the first pay-per-view bout with a spinning wheel kick. Fill in the gap with a Palhares patented leg submission, Erick Silva knockout turned disqualification and a dominant Vitor Belfort reigning supreme against Anthony Johnson and you have yourself one of the best pay-per views of the year.

Not to mention, Joe Rogan calling out Mario Yamasaki after wrongfully disqualifying Silva for punches to the back of the head against Carlo Prater. Rogan questioning Yamasaki live on pay-per view in front of all of those fans was somewhat second-class, but it was enjoyable to watch to say the least.

4. UFC on Fuel TV 3 Korean Zombie vs. Poirier

Perhaps the greatest fight of the year took place on a fuel card.

Dustin Poirier and Chan-Sung Jung, otherwise known as "The Korean Zombie," found themselves amidst a classic brawl. Jung took the fight to Poirier early, and he put him in some bad positions.

Because of how good Poirier is on the ground, he was able to survive a few second round submission attempts and find his way back into the fight in the third. Poirier started to get into a groove, as his jab started to find home.

The round ended with a flurry of punches next to the cage and as the referee separated the two, Poirier stuck his tongue out at Jung as if he appreciated the exchange. Then the Korean Zombie connected with a devastating uppercut in the fourth round.

It sent Poirier reeling and Jung finished the fight with a Brabo choke. It was an incredible main event for an absolutely stellar card that was highlighted by Donald Cerrone's greatest performance in the Octagon.

Cerrone has had some eye-opening performances against Dennis Siver and Charles Oliveira, but he's never looked as good this. Cerrone used his movement to frustrate Jeremy Stephens, and he absolutely punished him in the striking game.

Add in a brawl between Igor Pokrajac and Fabio Maldonado and a first round knockout by Tom Lawlor against Jason MacDonald, and it's easy to make a claim that this event was one of the best of the year.

3. UFC 146

You knew you were in for a quick night of fights when the UFC announced an all heavyweight card at UFC 146.

Only two fights on the main card made it out of the first round and both of those failed to make it out of the second. The night was capped off with four knockouts/technical knockouts and one submission, with Junior dos Santos' TKO victory over Frank Mir ending the night.

The fights were so quick that the UFC showed two prelims before the co main event, and the last fight ended before the pay-per view capped off two hours.

And though the action didn't last very long, you better believe it was satisfying. Struve pulled off a beautiful armbar victory, Miocic got another TKO victory, Roy Nelson landed his patented overhand right and Cain Velasquez made a statement with his polarizing beatdown on Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva.

Furthermore, this card did exactly what I said it would do--prove that dos Santos and Velasquez are the two best heavyweights in the world. Alistair Overeem hasn't done enough lately to prove otherwise.

And for those that don't want to see Velasquez and dos Santos mix it up again? You seriously don't want to see what would happen if they fought each other healthy? Both guys were banged up pretty badly for the first UFC on Fox event, and I guarantee a second fight between the two would be a totally different story.

But for the time being, I'll get off of my soapbox, and continue to sing the praises of UFC 146 because this card was outstanding.

2. UFC on Fox 3 Diaz vs. Miller

Finally the UFC presented Fox with a UFC-like event.

The first UFC on Fox card was only a minute and four seconds of action, while the second failed to provide one finish. The third fight card had everything.

Josh Koscheck and Johny Hendricks went the distance in an entertaining affair, but the rest of the fights were stoppages, starting with Lavar Johnson and Pat Barry.

Barry and Johnson went toe-to-toe for most of the round, and once Johnson had Barry pinned against the fence, it was all she wrote. Johnson's wicked uppercuts and brutal onslaught folded Barry up like a lawn chair in the first round.

And then, the unthinkable happened. As Rousimar Palhares instigated the ground game against Alan Belcher and grabbed a hold of one of Belcher's legs, Belcher showed just how talented he is, no pun intended.

Belcher basically went into Palhares' world and beat him at his own game. He stopped the fight in the first round with some strikes from Palhares' guard.

But the biggest highlight of the night came when Nate Diaz finished Miller. Diaz, once again, put on a clinic as he out-struck Miller and submitted him with a brilliant guillotine in the second round.

It was a great night of fights, and it's really a shame that it had to happen on Cinco de Mayo, considering the fact that the ratings didn't exactly reflect how entertaining the card truly was.

1. UFC 144

As far as 2012 goes, UFC 144 set the bar high.

The card in Japan was outstanding from head-to-toe, and no other event put on by the UFC this year can touch this one. It had everything from knockouts to thrilling comebacks to technical wars, and the main event was an interesting clash between then lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson.

It went pretty much like any Edgar fight goes. Edgar finds himself in trouble and nearly finished, but he rallies back and gets himself back into the fight.

That happened, but Henderson proved to be too strong for Edgar as the later rounds emerged. Henderson would go on to win an impressive decision in what was truly a great fight.

The only disappointment on the card was Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's lackluster performance, and even in that fight, Jackson was able to pull off one of his old school slams on Ryan Bader. But where Jackson lacked, the rest of the card picked up the slack, starting with Anthony Pettis.

Pettis put Joe Lauzon to sleep with an impressive first round head kick knockout, Mark Hunt brought the Japanese crowd to their feet with a thrilling first round knockout and Yoshihiro Akiyama pulled off some of the most beautiful judo trips you'll ever see.

But it was perhaps the fall of Yushin Okami that was the most breath-taking. Okami was owning Tim Boetsch for two full rounds, and then Boetsch came storming back in the third and went for the kill. His aggressive nature allowed him to clip Okami, and he put Okami to sleep.

As we near the sixth month of the year, it's going to take an absolutely incredible card to top UFC 144 as the best event of the year.