MMAjunkie's 2016 Fighter of the Year: Cody Garbrandt

The closing arguments are over. The votes are in. A winner has been crowned.

The 2016 MMAjunkie Fighter of the Year is Cody Garbrandt.

Two things about that: 1) It was you the people who selected Garbrandt (11-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) via the unholy power of the online poll, so if you’ve got a problem with it, take it up with your fellow readers. But more importantly, 2) Let’s not sit here and act like we can’t understand what those voters might have been thinking.

Garbrandt began 2016 as just another unranked UFC bantamweight. He had only two UFC fights to his credit, and had only seven professional bouts total as an MMA fighter. He wasn’t quite a nobody, but you couldn’t call him a somebody either. And yet by the time we flipped the calendar to 2017, he was the undisputed and unquestioned UFC bantamweight champion. What else can you call that, if not remarkable?

Which is not to say that there weren’t other worthy candidates deserving of consideration. Michael Bisping? He had himself a great year, beating two legends and knocking out one reigning middleweight champ. Especially after all the years, all the struggles, and all the dismissive derision thrown his way, that had to feel like an accomplishment that perfectly straddled the line between triumph and revenge.

Then there’s Amanda Nunes, who smashed two of the women’s bantamweight division’s biggest stars at two of the UFC’s biggest events in 2016, becoming the first woman since Ronda Rousey to defend the women’s 135-pound title. She became the UFC’s first openly gay champion when she wrecked Miesha Tate to claim the belt at UFC 200. She followed that up by smashing Rousey in just 48 seconds and then shushing her much-maligned coach in a gesture sure to endear her to anyone who knows that guy.

And, of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Conor McGregor. This was, after all, the year he made history as the first fighter to simultaneously hold two UFC belts in two different weight classes. (You know, briefly, until the UFC snatched one away.) McGregor had a monster year at the box office, and his popularity soared to new heights. He also went 2-1 in three fights against two opponents, which puts him in an uphill battle against a bunch of fighters who were utterly flawless in 2016.

Garbrandt was one such fighter, going 4-0 on the year, but it’s not just the math that makes him the pick here. Of all the potential choices, Garbrandt is the only one who went from being just another guy to being the best in the world all in one 12-month span. He’s also the only one whose accomplishments you can’t chip away at with the after-the-fact reasoning that MMA people love to employ. Not even a little bit.

For instance, Bisping? Sure, he beat a couple of legends in Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson. He also did it far past their expiration dates, and he was nearly knocked out cold in both fights, only to skate by with debatable decisions in each instance.

And Nunes? Yes, she beat Tate. Then she beat a version of Rousey who hadn’t fought in over a year, and performed like she had spent most of that time away on sound stages rather than in MMA gyms.

Even Demetrious Johnson, the peerless flyweight champ, could have his year undermined by anyone willing to point out that his last victory came against a reality-TV contest winner. Proof that you can play that annoying little game with almost anyone.

Not Garbrandt, though. He knocked out the first three people he faced in 2016, all of them in the first round. (Sure, they weren’t all top contenders, but a) that’s who the UFC gave him, and b) he was scheduled to fight John Lineker at one point, until Lineker pulled out with dengue fever, so don’t blame Mr. Neck Tattoos.)

Then, when his big chance came against the best bantamweight we’ve ever seen in this sport, Garbrandt dominated. He didn’t squeak by. He didn’t rely on any friendly judges. He took a great opponent, a guy who hadn’t lost in nearly 10 years, and made him thoroughly average. He dropped him. He posed on him. He dipped and dove like Muhammad Ali under fire and came out untouched, and with enough energy left to add a little dancing flair on the end.

That’s how, less than two years after debuting in the UFC, Garbrandt became a champion with a one-sided victory over MMA’s all-time bantamweight king, and at a time when the king seemed to be settling in for a very long reign. As single-year performances go, that’s tough to beat.