It’s been a fantastic year for Mixed Martial Arts.
Once deemed a sport that had seen it’s most popular days, this year its turned a corner, and has seemingly been embraced by the mainstream. No doubt thanks to a couple of huge stars (more on them later), MMA and the UFC is now seen by more eyes than ever before.
In this series called ‘A Year in Review’, we’re going to be looking back at what happened this year, and at the biggest stories of 2015.
Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier & the Light Heavyweight Championship
Jon Jones has had an… interesting year.
In the first UFC event of 2015, Jones defeated his long-time rival Daniel Cormier by unanimous decision. In what was predicted to be his biggest challenge, Jones never looked to be in trouble, even taunting his opponent with a gesture after the final bell.
Three days later, Jones was in rehab. In a pre-fight drug test that was never meant to be administered, Jones tested positive for cocaine. The results became apparent after the bout, and Jones entered rehab (for a grand total of 24 hours).
You’d be forgiven for thinking the worst was behind him, and with a title fight against the hard-hitting Anthony Johnson approaching, one imagines Jones thought similar. Then, in June, the UFC Light Heavyweight champion was involved in a hit and run after driving through a red light and crashing into a pregnant ladies car.
The UFC took action, stripping him of his title and suspending him indefinitely. It seemed as if the youngest ever champion in UFC history, who had previously been unbeatable, had defeated himself.
In his absence, Daniel Cormier fought and won his newly vacated title, and then defended it in a thrilling contest against Alexander Gustafsson.
Yet, as the year drew to a close, things began to turn around. Jones was sentenced to 18 months probation, and then had his suspension lifted. He announced his return to the sport with intent, posting videos on his Instagram of his new muscle bound physique, and now, he looks poised to return to the division and face off for his old title against (who else) but his old foe in Daniel Cormier.
The Return of Wacky MMA
Kimbo Slice, Ken Shamrock and Fedor Emelianenko aren’t really names you’d expect to be mentioned in the world of MMA during 2015, but in the sport where ‘anything can happen’, anything can happen.
After Scott Coker was brought into Bellator MMA as company president last year, he made it clear he was going to put on an alternative product to the UFC. Alternative it was.
In June of this year, at Bellator 138, he brought in Kimbo Slice and Ken Shamrock to face off. Many thought it was farcical, with UFC commentator Joe Rogan saying he felt the fight looked ‘fixed’ and ‘fake as fuck’. The event itself though, showed that there was a market with a viewership of 2.4 million (a Bellator record) watching Slice defeat Shamrock by knockout.
As if having Shamrock return to the sport wasn’t enough, an old face announced his un-retirement, as Fedor Emelianenko signed with new promotion Rizin. At one moment, it even looked like his destination was the UFC, but with ex-PRIDE owner Nobuyuki Sakakibara beginning a new promotion, the Russian instead elected to return to Japan. He fights at the end of this month.
Entering ‘The USADA Era’
After Anderson Silva failed a drug test for Drostanolone following his fight with Nick Diaz in January, the cogs in the UFC started turning and by the middle of the year, the UFC announced a ground-breaking new partnership with U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
A complete overhaul of their previous drug-testing, UFC and USADA are now working together in an attempt to clean up the P.E.D. epidemic in MMA.
Hiring Jeff Novitzky, the man who’s famous for bringing an end to Lance Armstrong’s career, to oversee the program, the UFC made a commitment of vast expenditure.
“This is the most comprehensive, effective, best program in all of professional sport,” said Novitzky earlier this year.
“In the creation of my position, the UFC has made a commitment to providing our athletes with the very best resources and tools to help them excel in their training and rehabilitation, while being an advocate for their long-term health and safety.”
Now, athletes can be tested at anytime throughout the year, and are obligated to inform USADA of their whereabouts at all times.
In what is being coined as ‘The USADA Era’, we’re seeing a new phase to the sport. Certain fighters are beginning to look differently, are beginning to fight differently and thanks to the new ban on IV’s are beginning to weigh differently.
Despite growing pains, (Mirko CroCop is the first fighter to have officially failed a drug test under USADA testing, and following so announced his retirement from the sport), it’s been unanimously accepted by fans and fighters as a good thing.
Please check back tomorrow for part two of ‘A Year in Review’!
