2011 Upset of the Year

[INDYjon22]

2011 saw some pretty big upsets, while also seeing the demise of some of the best careers in the sport. From no names beating top 10 fighters, to the old dog surviving to fight another day by beating the youngster who wanted to use him as a stepping stone. 2011 was a great year for upsets. Here are the nominees:

Tito Ortiz vs. Ryan Bader- UFC 132

A lot of people, myself included, had written Tito off when this fight was announced. But the MMA Gods granted Tito one last big moment, though I guess that is still yet to be seen if this was his last big moment. Regardless, Tito picked up a big win that shot him back into the lime light.

Michael Chandler vs. Eddie Alvarez- Bellator 58

I don't really think anyone thought that Chandler had a chance in the world against Eddie. At the time Alvarez was arguably the third best Lightweight in the world, but Chandler stopped all of that hype. Not only was this a big upset, but it was also a very good win in general.

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Silva- Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva

There were some questions going into this fight about if Fedor still had it, but for the most part people considered him to be the favorite. Big Foot put an end to that in a somewhat brutal manner. Some argue that Fedor won the first round, though I don't, and I do think he was picking up some steam in the second, until Silva pounded his face in and hurt him so bad he couldn't continue, officially stopping Fedor with no questions about it being a fluke.

Daniel Cormier vs. Antonio Silva- Strikeforce: Kharitonov vs. Barnett

Coming off of the huge win over Fedor, Antonio Silva was set to face Overeem, but when Overeem pulled out the hot prospect Daniel Cormier stepped in. This was set to be the biggest test to date for DC and he passed with flying colors by knocking out Big Foot Silva in the first round and thus ending the run of one of the SF Grand Prix favorites and putting himself in the finals.

Dan Henderson vs. Fedor Emelianenko - Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson

I personally don't consider this a huge upset, but when legacies are compared I suppose Fedor is the more iconic fighter. These two had an absolute war that could have seen either guy go down various times, but in the end Hendo defeated the greatest Pride fighter of all time and notched what might have been the biggest win in his career.

Luke Rockhold vs. Ronaldo Souza - Strikeforce World Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov

Souza was a heavy favorite going into this fight considering the roll he was on, but Luke Rockhold took exception to that when he upset the champion and took home the Strikeforce Middleweight championship. Beating a guy who was good standup, is a master on the ground, and is a champion is always a big deal and Rockhold shocked the world by beating on of the best.

 

[JWGunslinger]

For me there is only one, and that is Tito Ortiz with his upset win over Ryan Bader. All of the other fights mentioned surprised me with the way they went down but this fight was the only one where I really gave no chance to one of the fighters, and he definitely proved me wrong there. I love Tito but after not winning a fight since 2006 and sporting a record since of 0-4-1 I gave him no chance, but this is MMA where anything can happen, especially when it's a former Light Heavyweight Champion. When Tito caught Bader early in their fight I jumped out of my seat in shock, maybe because before the fight a buzzed Gunslinger said if Ortiz won he'd shave his head but also because Tito had just dropped a hot young contender on his ass and sunk a tight Guillotine and tapped Bader to earn his first win in since beating Ken Shamrock at UFC Fight Night 6.5. Incredible upset by Tito and one of his best performances of his career.

 

[The Best]

Tito over Ryan, and it's really not even close for me. Tito came in to this fight not having a single win since 2006, and it was publicly known that if he lost to Bader, than his UFC career would be over after an amazing run. Bader was coming off of his first loss of his career to a very game Jon Jones in a fight that if he won would have given him a shot at Shogun for the title. Bader was/is younger, hits harder, and I'll even go as far as saying that he has better wrestling than Tito. Just about no one gave Tito a chance, and when Tito got Ryan to tap, the entire arena went wild. Tito proved that he fights best with his back against the wall, and that his jiu-jitsu is still strong, and that technique beats pure power. Also, Tito's shovel celebration is probably my favorite ever so far. Just the intensity, and heart Tito showed in this fight is how he deserves this award.

 

[jmt225]

I think you have to give the edge to Tito Ortiz here.

Everyone going into that fight thought it was going to be Tito's last in the UFC. To that point, Bader was 12-1, with the one loss being against the best Light Heavyweight in the World. Bader was just coming off that loss, in fact, so you know he wanted to pick up this win against the legendary Tito Ortiz so he could put his name back in the LHW Championship race.

However, the fight went completely unexpectedly. Tito, who has always been thought of as someone who can't punch worth a shit, dropped Bader in the opening minute with a straight right I believe, and then pounced on him and secured a guillotine until Bader tapped out.

Shocking. Absolutely shocking. Tito's last win before that was against KEN SHAMROCK nearly 5 years ago. And not only did he beat Bader, he actually finished the guy in under 2 minutes. It's still hard to believe.

Not even the biggest Tito Ortiz fan of the planet could have predicted that outcome. It's easily the Upset of the Year, and will probably go down as the Upset of the Decade come 2020, lol.