MMAjunkie's 'Fight of the Year' for 2016: An epic title clash that survived a year's worth of challenges

With another action-packed year of MMA in the books, MMAjunkie takes a look at the best fights from January to December. Here are the top five and winner of MMAjunkie’s “Fight of the Year” award for 2016.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice for “Fight of the Year.”

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Honorable Mentions

5. Nate Diaz def. Conor McGregor at UFC 196 in March

Against Nate Diaz (19-11 MMA, 14-9 UFC), fighting up two weight classes, former UFC featherweight champion and current lightweight champion Conor McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) found out that pounds very much matter in MMA when he suffered his first defeat in more than five years.

Diaz took some hard shots that opened multiple cuts on his face but ultimately weathered McGregor’s storm. In the second round he capitalized on a sloppy McGregor takedown to submit the Irish champion with a rear-naked choke in dramatic fashion.

4. Angela Lee def. Mei Yamaguchi at ONE Championship 42 in May

Teen sensation Angela Lee (6-0) become one of the youngest fighters to win a championship in a major promotion when at 19 she captured the inaugural ONE Championship atomweight title with a thrilling unanimous decision over veteran Mei Yamaguchi (15-9-1).

Lee has said she wants to become the face of women’s MMA in Asia and in her sixth pro fight took a massive step toward that accomplishing that goal by going for broke against Yamaguchi. The fight featured endless submission attempts from Lee, and while she came close on several, time ultimately played against her and she couldn’t get a finish inside 25 minutes. That meant little, though, because it was still one of the best women’s fights in MMA history.

3. Conor McGregor def. Nate Diaz at UFC 202 in August

UFC lightweight champ McGregor avenged his only octagon defeat when he outpointed Diaz for a majority-decision victory in an all-time classic matchup between two octagon rivals.

The two outspoken foes battled it out for five epic rounds in their second encounter. They went toe-to-toe and gave their all in one of the most tension-filled affairs to ever unfold under the UFC banner. In the end, “The Notorious” took the victory, besting Diaz and getting his loss back to set up a likely future trilogy bout.

2. Cub Swanson def. Dooho Choi at UFC 206 in December

There was plenty of excitement for the matchup between dynamic featherweights Cub Swanson (24-7 MMA, 9-3 UFC) and Dooho Choi (14-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC). However, no one could have predicted the type of magic the two would create inside the octagon.

There was almost a no dead time during the 15-minute slugfest between Swanson and Choi. It was a back-and-forth brawl, but more often than not it was the veteran Swanson landing the best shots while Choi somehow remained upright until the final bell and lost a clear-cut unanimous decision.

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Winner: Robbie Lawler def. Carlos Condit at UFC 195 in January

Only two days into 2016 the “Fight of the Year” was delivered by now former UFC welterweight champ Robbie Lawler (27-11 MMA, 12-5 UFC) and former interim champ Carlos Condit (30-10 MMA, 7-6 UFC), who fought a bloody and exhilarating five rounds filled with twists and turns in momentum.

In an instant classic of a fifth round, Lawler charged back after lackluster showings in the third and fourth frames to batter Condit and seal a split-decision victory via scores of 47-48, 48-47, 48-47 to defend his title.

“We battled it out,” Lawler said afterward. “There was two winners tonight.”

Condit, who ceded his interim title to the returning (and now retired) Georges St-Pierre in 2012, felt he’d done enough to steal the title.

“I felt like I had three rounds in the bag, but that’s why you don’t leave things to the judges,” he said.

Condit gave Lawler trouble early, using his height and long legs to score kicks and keep the power-puncher at distance. A well-timed punch combo saw Lawler briefly dropped by an uppercut, after which he began to look for counters. Condit used that shift to his advantage, landing more punching combinations bolstered by a straight right.

Periodically, Lawler was able to catch Condit when he telegraphed his approach. In the second frame, a well-timed left and right hook dropped the former interim champ, forcing him into survival mode in the second round.

Condit appeared to widen his lead in the third and fourth round as Lawler’s output fell and he served as an easy striking target.

Early in the fifth, Condit dodged an aggressive Lawler, who sensed the fight was his to lose. Halfway through the round, the crowd chanted Condit’s name as he put together more smart striking combinations. But Lawler caught him again with a right hook, which set off a flurry of punches that saw both men take staggeringly hard punches. Condit received the worst of things and appeared to be on the verge of being knocked out. Amazingly, though, he survived.

At the final bell, both men clung to the UFC’s octagon, bloodied and exhausted after a frenzied fight.

“He was everything everyone said he was,” Lawler said of Condit. “He was tough as hell.”

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