Things We Learned in MMA from the 1st Half of 2013

The first half of 2013 has been an interesting one at that.  One that has featured seven months of dynamite knockouts, historic upsets, budding maturation and mind-blowing back-and-forth action.

Now while the barbaric onslaught hasn't differed all that much from past years, a few headlines and key storylines do receive precedence over the rest.

It's our duty as fans to recognize importance and understand how defeat, victory, emotional output, media relations, and the ins and outs of the fight game can affect the sport as a whole.

This may be a compacted list, but here are the most important things we've learned throughout the first half of this year's MMA campaign.

Roy Nelson Is a Countrified Tank

Whether he's chucking his iron-clad fists into an unsuspecting face or eating power shots as if they were topped with cherries, Roy "Big Country" Nelson has been practically indestructible in 2013.

From a viciously potent knockout victory over Cheick Kongo to bulling his way through over 100 Stipe Miocic strikes, the bearded barbarian has won fans over by the handful.

Pair his public feud with Dana White with his simple-minded, yet devastating, striking game and it's easy to see how prolific of a name "Roy Nelson" is starting to become.

Vitor Belfort Is Better Than Ever

Vitor Belfort has been ridiculed of "cheating" or "juicing" in the past on the back of his highly public usage of testosterone replacement therapy, better known as TRT.

But what people tend to forget, even in the light of two sensational knockout victories just five months into the new year, is that replacing testosterone doesn't boost innate reaction time, the ability to evolve technically and the will to push through adversity.

So as much flak as Belfort gets surrounding his controversial training methods, along with the fact that he can only get licensed in Brazil, "The Phenom" is basically better than ever.

Now that may be a product of gaining an upper hand when most guys let Father Time take over, but the probability is higher that one of the best finishers of all time just keeps maturing the right ways.

Bellator: The Great and Powerful

On the back of a new reality show, Fight Master, standout champions Pat Curran, Michael Chandler and Ben Askren, and key free-agent pickup Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Viacom's Bellator MMA is starting to look the part.

Remember, the UFC was once in the same position and may have failed to evolve as quickly as Bellator is now if a little well-known fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar never came to fruition.

With that said, Bellator is nowhere near the UFC.  But with a growing enterprise finally cashing in on big talent and widespread television exposure, CEO Bjorn Rebney deserves a boatload of respect.

Let's just hope he can handle Jackson, doesn't over pay for Cheick Kongo, promotes Chandler as a top-five lightweight in the world and realizes that taking baby steps is always the right move in an industry run by hungry wolves.

Strikeforce Can Hang

The best kind of talent is always homegrown.  It gives the promotion and its fans a chance to follow fighters as they evolve into the next generation of superstars.

So if you considered Strikeforce the official minor leagues of the UFC, you're probably one satisfied customer on the heels of numerous former Strikeforce contenders pouncing on their new divisional homes.

Fighters like Gegard Mousasi, Josh Thomson, Ronaldo Souza, Gilbert Melendez, Daniel Cormier, Robbie Lawler, Pat Healy, Jordan Mein and, of course, UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey have all made respectable promotional debuts in 2013.

As a matter of fact, a handful of those names were involved in some of the best fights of the year thus far, making former Strikeforce standouts seem like a bunch of respect-driven and wildly crazed fighters looking to blaze their own paths on the grand stage.

Kudos, fellas.  And ladies.

Dana White Pulls No Punches

For any fan who follows the UFC closely, hearing Dana White talk about the promotion's fighter pay scale is nothing new.  In fact, it's borderline repetitive gibberish.

But when White let loose and revealed his true feelings regarding current and former UFC roster mongers looking for more cash, his relationship with fighters felt more boss/employee than ever before.

That type of professional demeanor is something that's been lacking for a very long time considering White is such a down-to-earth commissioner, but his friendly ways may be taking a back seat in favor of personal disgust and frustration.

In any case, fans finally understood why White does some of things he does—like firing Jon Fitch or defending other recent quarrels surrounding salary outbursts.

Protect Yourself at All Times

In an era constructed by perfection and technologically driven fighter evolution, mixed martial artists are at an all-time risk.

Guys aren't just well-rounded anymore.  They're full-fledged assassins looking to put their opponent away at every turn of a fight.

That means that you need to protect yourself at all times.  That may seem like something your dad would tell you during a one-on-one chat when you were 12, but it's the truth.

That simple notion of protecting your consciousness has never been more relevant than this year. 

From Chris Weidman knocking out a cocky Anderson Silva hell bent on mentally destroying a strong-minded contender to Alistair Overeem and Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal not respecting their opponent's natural power, high-caliber fighters are getting caught more than ever.

So if there's anything to take from 2013, amidst all the glitz and glamor of the fight scene, it's that nobody is safe.  Nobody is invincible inside the cage.  Even guys like Silva and Overeem have their day of defeat, and the only true way to prolong success at the highest professional level is to never stop defending.

For more UFC/MMA news and coverage, Follow @DHiergesell.