BE Fighter of the Year at the Halfway Point

The listed a few, but IMO Guida is the man at this point with Stann in a close 2nd. Who in the world would have guessed that?

Clay Guida - Guida started off 2011 with a decisive submission win over former Pride lightweight champion Takanori Gomi at UFC 125. When the UFC lightweight title situation was kept in limbo after the Edgar/Maynard draw on the same card, Anthony Pettis was given a fight with Guida to prove he belonged in the title picture. "The Carpenter" grinded Pettis out in very impressive fashion, taking a unanimous decision win and putting himself into the elite of the division instead.

Brian Stann - Stann started his year off by upsetting Chris Leben in dramatic fashion, handing Leben just the second TKO loss of his career. He followed that up with the destruction of top-10-ranked Jorge Santiago. Stann's rise into the middleweight elite has been swift and somewhat surprising. He'll face Chael Sonnen at UFC 136.

Hendo, Bones, Davis & Bigfoot could easily take the lead if they win their next fight.

For the first half of the year-

Fighter of the year- Jon Jones
Rise of the year- Brian Stann
Comeback fighter of the year- Tito Ortiz

Why Guida? He beat a washed up Gomi and debunked Pettis

Even pending the result of Jones-Rampage..i would say the destruction of Shogun and the debunking of Ryan Bader is more impressive. Is this excluding top ranked fighters?

Lol, I forgot Jones-Bader happened this year. I change to Jones then.

shit it may be Guillard

Guillard hasn't beaten anyone of note though compared to Guida and Jones.

freakzilla wrote:

Lol, I forgot Jones-Bader happened this year. I change to Jones then.

Ditto I was thinking it was last year

freakzilla wrote:

Guillard hasn't beaten anyone of note though compared to Guida and Jones.

KOing Dunham in the first round is more impressive than anything Guida did

Nick Diaz

1 Bones
2 Guillard
3 Stann

freakzilla wrote:

For the first half of the year-

Fighter of the year- Jon Jones
Rise of the year- Brian Stann
Comeback fighter of the year- Tito Ortiz

+1

So is comeback of the year for someone who was losing in a fight and came back to win? Or is it for a fighter returning from injury/layoff? I just don't understand how Tito can get the nod over Kongo.

bobbitt15 wrote:

freakzilla wrote:

Guillard hasn't beaten anyone of note though compared to Guida and Jones.

KOing Dunham in the first round is more impressive than anything Guida did

pettis had been given a title shot and guida had no problem with him. dunham was coming off a loss goin into the melvin fight. sure it was contraversial but still. even then what helped guillard finish evan was an illeagal knee

That illegal knee didn't help anything, Dunham was absolutely finished

The UFC giving Pettis a title shot just because he had the WEC belt doesn't really make that more impressive to me

bobbitt15 wrote:

That illegal knee didn't help anything, Dunham was absolutely finished

The UFC giving Pettis a title shot just because he had the WEC belt doesn't really make that more impressive to me

gomi was still ranked in the top 15 and pettis was cracking the top 10. not only that guida is calling out to fight the best and wants to climb up in comp while melvin is reversing and wants to fight guys lower in the ladder.

. to me melvin biggest downfall is turnin down fights with higher comp. i still remember kenny calling him out and he turnin it down cus he said he only wanted to fight title level fighters. i dont know how closer than kenny you could of gotten to a title level back then but then melvin turns around and signs to fight roller and now calls out joe. i guess some people like taking the easier road rather than compete.

The obvious answer is Jon Jones. I don't like the way Guida's wins are being downplayed though. Gomi is an all time legend, coming off an earth shattering KO over now likely top ten FW Tyson Griffin. Guida completely mystified him with the movement he employed. Then he took on Pettis who had showed strong takedown defense in the past and has good/athletic hips, one of the most important features in takedown defense and timed his shots as brilliant as you'll ever see in MMA. Clay Guida isn't just winning easy opportunistic fights, he is beating absolutely high level MMA fighters.

1. Jones.
2. Diaz
3. Guida
4. Melvin(only because I can't count his running from Lil Heathen against him)

http://www.mmamania.com/2011/7/14/2275123/ufc-names-top-five-fighters-for-2011-half-year-awards
5. Mark Munoz (2-0)

Mark Munoz started his 2011 campaign by becoming the first man to ever knock out C.B. Dollaway at UFC on Versus 3 in Kentucky. He followed that up by matching up with jiu-jitsu wizard Demian Maia
and made the most of it, earning himself a unanimous decision win to
put himself right in the thick of the middleweight division.
4. Melvin Guillard (2-0)
He's been telling anyone who will listen that he's the best thing to
hit the lightweight division since sliced bread and so far this year,
Melvin Guillard has done nothing but prove himself right. He kicked
things off this year by stepping up on short notice against Evan Dunham and exposing and disposing of the hopeful prospect. "The Young Assassin" then did the exact same in his next fight, pasting Shane Roller
in short order and putting himself in the discussion for future title
consideration. 2012 very well could be the year of Guillard.
3. Clay Guida (2-0)
It's easy to underestimate Clay Guida, a scrappy ball of energy who,
while skilled, does not possess elite levels of anything. Despite that,
he's used his evolving training at Greg Jackson's MMA in New Mexico to
submit Takanori Gomi and grind out Anthony Pettis
to give him two very impressive wins in the first half of the year. Who
knows, maybe he'll run into the guy at number four on this here list.
It could happen.
2. Brian Stann (2-0)
Brian Stann is more than just an "All American" hero that served his
country as a marine and continues to fight the good fight on all fronts.
He's also an elite level mixed martial artist who has proved it twice
so far this year by utterly dominating both Chris Leben and Jorge Santiago,
knocking both men out in the first and second rounds, respectively. His
next test is a veritable number one contender bout against Chael Sonnen. A win in that fight would likely give him one of the best years of any fighter in recent memory. Except for maybe...
1. Jon Jones (2-0)
Raise your hand if your surprised at this selection -- not so fast,
everyone on Earth! Not only did Jon Jones come of age before our very
eyes this year by defeating Ryan Bader with the "Submission of the Night" at UFC 126, he went one step further and won the light heavyweight title by destroying Mauricio Rua
just six weeks later. Now he's poised to make an extended run as the
205-pound champion and talk is already turning to whether or not he can
win the heavyweight title sometime in his career as well. It may be
premature to even attempt to fathom such a thing but it's difficult not
to get swept up in the emotion created by "Bones'" utter dominance of
2011.
Head on over to UFC.com
to check out the extensive list of honorable mentions. And feel free to
sound off in the comments section below on any notable snubs.