Cole Miller vs. Jorge Gurgel (UFC 86)
This submission was not the most spectacular we’ve ever seen, but this was applied at the end of the 3rd round against an excellent Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. Both guys are slicker than oiled pigs and Miller was on the verge of losing his 2nd straight fight in the Octagon. Miller was being dominated for the entire three rounds and was on his way to losing again after a previous knockout loss to Jeremy Stephens.
He was able to use his length over the shorter and smaller Gurgel with :12 seconds remaining in the fight to slap on the Triangle Choke for the victory and to keep his contract alive in the UFC. Cole Miller is not a high profile fighter, but he came up big when his career needed it the most against a very unlikely opponent. Great submission under tough circumstances and at the right time…he gets our Sub of the Year.

2008 marked the return of the “Ruthless” one, Robbie Lawler who has landed himself our most improved mixed martial artist of the year.

One of the very few shining stars for the EliteXC was the improvement and break out year of Robbie Lawler. I remember a testosterone fueled kid that just wanted to let his hands fly and lacked the discipline to apply an effective game plan to beat several top name opponents. I watched him lose to Pete Spratt, Evan Tanner, Jason Miller, and lose an UGLY knockout to Nick Diaz. In the past two years, he’s shown a lot of maturity and poise to beat some of the industries top names in a very convincing fashion.

He’s KO’d Ninja Rua, Frank Trigg, and Scott Smith with good foot work, constant movement, and great patience. He’s defeated two grapplers and a slugger. These opponents are not Hall-Of-Fame fighters, but they are very accomplished, well decorated, and all very different in their disciplines. He’s been able to apply his strengths without exposing his shortcomings in a very methodical fashion and has vastly improved his sprawl-n-brawl tactics. His patience has allowed him to pick a part his opponents without absorbing unnecessary punishment and ultimately imposes his will to overwhelm the opposition with good power and solid accuracy. Hats off to Robbie Lawler for having a good year and a solid run since his stumble in 2006 to Jason Miller

Opinions by MMA Punch contributor Jon Terrazas

Throughout December we are going to highlight the year of mixed martial arts with a selection of “Best Of” articles. These will include subjects such as Most Improved MMA Fighter of the Year, Biggest Disappointment in MMA, etc. For now MMA Punch contributor Jon Terrazas will revel his selection for Fighter of the Year.

This may come as a surprise to some, especially those who limit their MMA consumption to the UFC. However for those those more in touch with the larger mixed martial arts community won’t find Eddie Alvarez too surprising of a pick.

The facts: After losing his Welterweight Bodog title to Josh “The Goat” Thompson in ‘07, he dropped down to Lightweight and has won four straight victories in ‘08. The W’s are good, but in the process, he’s KO’d Ross Ebanez (2nd Rd - Bodog), Andre Amade (1st Rd - Dream 1), and Tatsuya Kawajiri (1st Rd - Dream 5) and then won a decision in an all out war and Fight of the Year Runner-Up with Joachim Hansen (Dream 3) to eventually become the Dream Lightweight Tournament Champion. He was scheduled to fight Nick Diaz with EliteXC’s Novemeber show before going bankrupt demonstrating that Eddie will fight anybody, any place, at any time. It’s unfortunate that the Dream organization receives very little coverage in the states and little is really known of this guy and his opponents. Eddie has earned MMA Punch’s 2008 Fighter of the Year.

A demo of his brutal KO abilities

Disagree with the selection? Leave a comment and make sure to back up your selection!

Sorry UFC, when it comes to heavyweights, you just can’t touch Affliction. On January 24, 2009, arguably the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in MMA, Fedor Emelianenko will take on former UFC champion Andre Arlovski. After Fedor’s impressive destruction of other UFC champ Tim Sylvia, the smart money is obviously on Fedor. My question to you is, in what round and by how will he win?

Well this week has been a big week for the UFC, beginning with the announcement of the EliteXC bankruptcy, the fight of this season’s TUF dysfunctional fighter Junie, and UFC 90 in Chicago, IL at the Allstate Arena.  Dana White is looking like the Godfather of MMA as he sits back and watches the competition implode upon their poor financial decisions and their inability to match the mega-marketing of the UFC.

UFC 90 is showcasing the best Pound-4-Pound fighter in the world with their Middleweight title bout  of Anderson “The Spider” Silva  (22-4)against contender Patrick “The Predator” Cote (13-4).  This match up is a prime example of why the UFC should coerce the “The Spider” to move up to the Light-Heavy Weight division.  He has virtually cleared out the entire division and now has a match up with Cote who is only 4 - 4 in the octagon.  In the Light-Heavyweight Division there are countless mega-fights that can happen maximizing Silva’s remaining stay in the fight game.  I very much enjoy watching Silva fight, but against an opponent who is clearly a few steps down from him, is not much motivation to pay $44.95 to see the event.  There are other notable fights on the card, so here we go…

Fight #1 - Silva vs. Cote
The Predator is in deep trouble if he decides to stand and trade with Silva.  Unless he gets on his bike and gives his best Lance Armstrong impression, this fight will be very short and painful.  Silva by KO in the 1st.

Fight #2 - Koshcheck (11-2) vs. Alves (15-3)
I think that Tiago Alves has the formula to beat the hybrid wrestling profiles (via Matt Hughes) by “Brawl-n-Sprawl” tactics and though Josh is a better strike than Hughes, there is too much of an advantage on their feet for Alves.

UFC 89 is coming up this weekend for FREE on Spike TV featuring two events with Michael Bisping (17-1) vs. Chris Leben (18-4), and Keith Jardine (13-5-1) vs. Brandon Vera (9-2).  These fights are especially intriguing with two match ups highlighting personalities they have a garage load of knockout reels amongst the four fighters.  So let’s get it on!

Bisping (17-1) vs. Leben (18-4)
Michael “The Count” Bisping was never a serious contender as a Light-Heavyweight and after a loss to Rashad Evans (which was clearly his best performance at that weight) decided to put down the doughnuts to become a middleweight.  His two performances against CPT Miserable and Mr. Doomsday we’re much more impressive demonstrating good hand speed, foot work, and increased power.
With these improvements, he’s going to need all of these skills to dispatch of the hard headed and big bombing UFC veteran Chris Leben.  Leben is clearly a brawler and wants to entice “The Count” in trading punches in the center of the Octagon, but I think Bisping will stick to a discipline game plan of scoring points through “in-n-out” jabbing and possible take downs.  My forecast will be Bisping in a workman like decision, because Leben is FAR too tough to knockout.

Jardine (13-5-1) vs. Vera (9-2)
This fight is going to be very fun!  Both guys are looking for a win and more importantly, to win BIG!  This has all the makings of both fighters standing right in front of each other and letting it all hang out.  Both have demonstrated knockout power and have the attitudes to back it up.  I believe the technical standup of Vera will be edge to this fight.  Vera will pick apart the unorthodox Jardine and finish the fight in the 2nd round by TKO.

MMA Punch contributor Jonny T.