My 2010 MMA Awards

This is a bit late but I figured I might as well get mine out there just like everyone else. 2010 was an interesting year for MMA. The three previous years had been reserved for change and growth, but 2010's theme was different as the rise of the sport's new blood was ever prevalent.

Without further delay...

Fighter of the Year: Cain Velasquez. His first-round destruction of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110 was shocking. No one expected that, and no one expected Velasquez to improve upon that performance, mauling Brock Lesnar in less than five minutes eight months later.
Honorable Mention: Dominick Cruz, Frankie Edgar, Georges St. Pierre

Story of the Year: Questionable judging in MMA. It seems that there were more highly questionable decisions this year than during any other. Nam Phan getting robbed against Leonard Garcia, Sean Sherk's questionable decision over Evan Dunham and Nik Lentz receiving a gift against Tyson Griffin were only some examples of what is quickly becoming a serious problem for the sport.
Honorable Mention: UFC/WEC Merger, Chael Sonnen, Fedor loses

Fight of the Year: Kazuo Misaki vs Jorge Santiago. We were lucky to have a handful of amazing bouts this year, but the five-round rematch between Misaki and Santiago is one for the ages. Both fighters had each other on the verge of defeat multiple times throughout the fight. It's one of the most entertaining battles I've ever witnessed. After the fight, Misaki stated that if the referee hadn't waved off the bout, he may have died had it gone the distance. I believe him.
Honorable Mention: Ben Henderson vs Anthony Pettis, Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen, Chan Sung Jung vs Leonard Garcia.

Knockout of the Year: Robbie Lawler on Melvin Manhoef. If you haven't seen this fight yet, I strongly suggest that you go back and watch it. To say that Manhoef was taking it to Lawler is putting it lightly. Lawler was on the verge of getting seriously hurt, but pulled off of one the most surprising knockouts I've ever seen.
Honorable Mention: Paul Daley on Scott Smith, Matt Hughes on B.J. Penn, Carlos Condit on Dan Hardy

Submission of the Year: Fabricio Werdum on Fedor Emelianenko. Looks like the falling of "The Last Emperor" is going to take home two awards. What else is there to say. Werdum pulled off one of the biggest upsets of all-time against the best to ever lace up the gloves. Period.
Honorable Mention: Anderson Silva on Chael Sonnen, Chris Leben on Yoshihiro Akiyama, Nick Pace on Will Campuzano

Event of the Year: UFC 116. Any event featuring Brock Lesnar is sure to be stacked and filled with must-see fights. Almost every card that he's on delivers, and UFC 116 did just that, featuring Lesnar's come-from-behind submission win over Shane Carwin. Chris Leben's last-minute submission of Yoshihiro Akiyama certainly helped too.
Honorable Mention: WEC 53, UFC 117, Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II

Comeback Fighter of the Year: Chris Leben. An easy pick here. A win over Jay Silva was expected. Dominating Aaron Simpson wasn't. And submitting Yoshirio Akiyama with seconds left, left me jumping for joy. Legal issues and a rumored illness aside, Leben shouldn't let his recent loss to Brian Stann get to him, as whatever he did to prepare for fights in 2010, is exactly what he should continue to do.
Honorable Mention: Hiroyuki Takaya, Keita Nakamura, Stephan Bonnar

Breakthrough Fighter of the Year: Anthony Pettis. He was already going to be one of my choices for the category, but then he snagged the WEC belt and a once potential title shot in the UFC from Ben Henderson, thanks to the "Showtime Kick", which to be honest, I had no idea was even legal.
Honorable Mention: Evan Dunham, George Sotiropoulos, Phil Davis

Upset of the Year: Fabricio Werdum def. Fedor Emelianenko. Frankie Edgar's back-to-back performances against B.J. Penn will be remembered for years to come, but when the fighter who will be considered the greatest of all-time unofficially goes down for the first time in his storied career, it takes the cake.
Honorable Mention: Frankie Edgar def. B.J. Penn twice, Mike Russow def. Todd Duffee, Jake Shields def. Dan Henderson.

Camp of the Year: Jackson's MMA. No one camp stood out in 2010. Even with all of their success, members of Greg Jackson's infamous team had their own struggles. Still, the continued success of Georges St. Pierre, the resurgence of Rashad Evans, and the transformation of Carlos Condit, Melvin Guillard and others keeps Albuquerque's best gym at the top.
Honorable Mention: American Kickboxing Academy, Black House, Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu