1. The Return of GSP: It should no surprise that the biggest story of the year was the return of one of the biggest superstars in MMA today, Georges St. Pierre. After being sidelined for 19 months due to a knee injury, St. Pierre returned to the octagon in November at UFC 154 to challenge interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit. Although Condit landed a hard kick in the third round knocking St. Pierre down,
it was all GSP throughout the fight proving again that it will take more than a kick and a battered face before he is ready to give up his belt in the welterweight division. GSP will put his title up next against Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in March.
2. UFC on Fox: 2012 was the year that the UFC finally earned its prime-time status. The UFC and the Fox network inked a seven year deal with included the UFC to be on the FX network as well. The first main event on network television between heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos didn’t exactly go as anyone thought as JDS knocked out the champion in 64 seconds leaving the new viewers a little weary of the sport. But throughout the year fights like, Lavar Johnson vs. Pat Berry, Lyoto Machida vs. Ryan Badar and most recently the entire televised portion of the UFC on Fox 5: Benson Henderson vs. Nate Diaz card proved that MMA definitely deserves its Saturday night time slot. UFC will return to Chicago on January 26th for UFC on FOX 6 as Demetrious Johnson puts his flyweight title on the line against John Dodson.
3. The Cancellation of UFC 151: In the first time since the Fertitta/White takeover of the UFC, the organization was forced to cancel its event, UFC 151: Henderson vs. Jones on September 1st. What played out like a soap opera, Dan Henderson ruptured his MCL and had to pull out of the main event. When hearing that the event would be cancelled, Chael Sonnen went viral saying that he would fight Jones. Jones declined saying that he would not let Sonnen talk his way into a title fight. Later that day it was reported that Lyoto Machida would be the new opponent for Jones. Only hours later, Machida said that he wanted more time and would not fight Jones at UFC 151. Eventually Vitor Belfort was chosen to fight Jones at UFC 152 for the light-heavyweight title, but UFC 151 will forever be remembered as the event that never happened and in Dana White’s words, “The event that Jon Jones and Greg Jackson Murdered.”
4. UFC Welcomes Women’s Division: If you would have told Dana two years ago that in 2013, the UFC would have a women’s bantamweight division he would have laughed at you and handed you a few four letter explicatives as well. But then, Olympic Judokan, Ronda Rousey popped up on the MMA world’s radar, demolishing her Strikeforce opponents with her trademark armbar submission. Gracing the cover of ESPN’s Body Issue, and being a guest on The Conan O’Brian Show, it was hard to ignore her. So late in 2011, Rousey, along with a few other women were brought into the UFC and her Strikeforce women’s bantamweight belt was transformed into the UFC women’s bantamweight belt, a first for the UFC. Rousey will headline UFC 157 against Liz Carmouche on February 23rd.
5. Strikeforce Put to Sleep: When the UFC bought Strikeforce in March of 2012; it was only a matter of time until that brand was laid to rest. It was announced in December that the January event, Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine would be its last. As the UFC plucked fighters from the organization throughout the year, it only seems reasonable that the Strikeforce name retire as now all those fighters that have been clamoring to fight the best in their division will now have that chance in the UFC.
2013 and Beyond: As 2012 is in the books, there is much to look forward to in 2013. The biggest thing to keep an eye on is the Bellator and Spike deal. As the UFC broke ties to the Spike network in 2012, Bellator, the only legitimate opposition to the UFC, intelligently partnered with Spike to televise its brand in the New Year. On Thursday, January 16th, Bellator MMA debuts on Spike with two championship title fights, one in the lightweight division and one in the featherweight division. As for the UFC in 2013, the fans will continue to hope for the superfight that never happened in 2012, Anderson Silva vs. Georges St. Pierre. That, along with many new prospects like Abel Trujillo, Erik “El Goyito” Perez and Rory McDonald, will keep fans and us writers glued to the screen for another spectacular year in MMA.
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