Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald: MMA's Fight of the Year so Far

If you watched the build-up to UFC 189, you would have thought the only fight on the card was Conor McGregor vs. Chad Mendes. It was undoubtedly, the biggest fight on the card, and it attracted droves of fans.

The co-main event was a welterweight title defense. Despite the magnitude of the title fight, it still played second fiddle to McGregor-Mendes.

When it came to excitement and the quality of the fight, though, Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald was second to none.

Lawler and MacDonald went to war in their five-round affair, taking home a $50,000 bonus for putting on the Fight of the Night. In a night filled with great affairs, Lawler and MacDonald's efforts earned them a paycheck for being the best.

In fact, one could assert that the co-main event of UFC 189 was the Fight of the Year.

Not only was it a five-round fight, but the finish came in the final round. The judges were not needed to decide the paper-thin decision, Lawler took the bout with a pinpoint punch that exploded the nose of a dazed MacDonald, ending the bloody affair as violently as it started.

What's funny about the fight is that it started off in mild fashion. The first round was nothing to write home about, but once both men came out for the second round, things changed drastically.

Over the next four rounds, it turned into a Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots fight that saw blood, sweat and tears aplenty.

MacDonald rocked Lawler. Lawler rocked MacDonald.

Both men were dropped. When all was said and done, both looked like the survivors of a slasher film and wore it proudly on their faces.

What's even more impressive about it being the best fight of the year thus far is that the bout that preceded it, Jeremy Stephens vs. Dennis Bermudez, looked like a lock for Fight of the Night and a contender for Fight of the Year.

That's how impressive Lawler-MacDonald was.

Consider the other top contenders for Fight of the Year right now, and Lawler-MacDonald blows all of them out of the water.

Andrei Arlovski-Travis Browne was amazing and highly entertaining, but it only lasted one round before Arlovski ended it. It will easily win Round of the Year.

Then there's Brian Ortega-Thiago Tavares, which was also an absolute gem. However, as good as it was, it can't hold a candle to MacDonald-Lawler.

An amazing UFC 189 was made 100 times better by this incredible showing from two warriors. Although MacDonald was the loser in the record books, nobody really lost in retrospect.