2014 Them's Fightin' Words Awards: Rookie of the Year

[Elsalvajeloco]

JAKE MATTHEWS
W-SUB3 (TRIANGLE CHOKE) VS. DASHON JOHNSON (UFC Fight Night 43: Te Huna vs. Marquardt, June 28, 2014)
W-SUB2 (REAR NAKED CHOKE) VS. VAGNER ROCHA (UFC Fight Night 55: Rockhold vs. Bisping, November 8, 2014)

 

While TUF Nations: Canada vs. Australia premiered to very little fanfare, there was hope that the show could provide some life to two markets that had been the hottest for the UFC. Since the sudden retirement of former UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre, only Rory MacDonald has come close to even challenging as Canada's top MMA draw. In that respect, Australia had only glimmers of a star with the brief run of George Sotiropoulos in the lightweight division. Since then, there have been more pretenders than winners. Team Australia, coached by journeyman Kyle Noke, failed to produce a finalist. Touted prospect Tyler Manawaroa ended up having his career with the organization cut short amidst an ugly social media controversy. With UFC's plans of making headway in Oceania, the growing pains of establishing homegrown talent became evident.

Jake Matthews, a 20-year old contestant on TUF Nations, made his official UFC debut on June 28 on the UFC's first event ever in New Zealand. Matthews, who was eliminated by eventual finalist Olivier Aubin-Mercier, entered the UFC more quietly compared to his opponent Dashon Johnson. Johnson was the subject of a few scathing MMA articles looking into the unethical nature of California MMA promotion, Xplode Fight Series. Although the claims of building up records were warranted, Johnson was headed towards tougher ground with a fight in unofficial UFC feeder league RFA. With Johnson signing with the UFC instead, he was booked against the now TUF alum Matthews. Johnson showed his toughness by surviving an early scare of being cut wide open by ground-and-pound. The youngster Matthews used short range elbows to hammer Johnson in the first round. The second round proved to be a more calculated one as Matthews began to wear on Johnson against the fence and drop down for takedowns constantly. By the third round, Johnson was clearly gassed and Matthew took advantage by getting him to the ground. Matthews eventually snatched a triangle and elicited the tap.

Matthews' UFC debut showed that not only could he finish a fight, but that he could also put together a saavy strategy against an opponent who proved shrewder than what most people expected. In his sophomore effort, Matthews was much closer to home on the Rockhold vs. Bisping card in Sydney and was booked against multiple time UFC vet Vagner Rocha. "Ceara" in his second go-around with the organization was originally booked to fight Joe Ellenberger on UFC 172 in his return before being injured. With Matthews still being very young, the fight could have been a considered a lateral move for the BJJ black belt. However, this was not the case as the undefeated fighter used various techniques early on to keep Rocha off balance. After ending the first round with a quick takedown, Matthew kept the momentum going by landing more powerful strikes in the next frame. One superman punch by "The Celtic Kid" and the Brazilian found himself in a no hooks rear naked choke by the Aussie. Mere seconds later, Rocha was unconscious and Matthews was graced by the cheers of close to 10,000 adoring local fans. With two UFC wins under his belt, Matthews might be primed for an even bigger 2015 and crowned as the UFC's true star in the land down under.

 

KYOJI HORIGUCHI
W-TKO2 (PUNCHES) VS. DUSTIN PAGUE (UFC 166: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos III, October 19, 2013)
W-DEC3 (UNANIMOUS) VS. DARRELL MONTAGUE (UFC Fight Night 40: Brown vs. Silva, May 10, 2014)
W-TKO3 (PUNCHES) VS. JON DELOS REYES (UFC Fight Night 52: Hunt vs. Nelson, September 20, 2014)

 

The first three minutes of Kyoji Horiguchi's UFC debut seemed like a very bad omen for his UFC career. Within the very first thirty seconds of his bout with former TUF 14 combatant Dustin Pague, the Krazy Bee fighter found himself in a body triangle and his back taken. Unquestionably, Japanese fighters have traditionally had a tough time adjusting to the bright octagon lights. However, the one time Shooto bantamweight endured that as well as ground-and-pound after a hip throw. Horiguchi gave up eight inches in reach, but he refused to give up on trying to knock Pague's block off. In an exchange of hooks, the karate black belt got the H-town fans on their feet when he dropped Pague with a nasty left hook on the point of the chin. Horiguchi jumped on Pague, but was swept in Pague's transition to getting the fight back standing. Horiguchi used a nifty trip to get Pague back down and pounded his American opponent with shots reminiscent of mentor "KID" Yamamoto in his prime. Referee Herb Dean called the bout off in the second round and spared Pague from taken more of a beating.

 

Horiguchi was booked for a return at UFC 169 against Chris Cariaso, but had to postpone his flyweight debut due to injury. He finally dropped down on May 10 against ex Tachi ace and ranked flyweight Darrell Montague on the Brown vs. Silva card. The Millennia MMA fighter proved to be no match for Horiguchi and was soundly defeated over the course of fifteen minutes. Montague was on the verge of being finished twice in the second round. Even though Horiguchi had to settle for getting the win on all three judges' scorecards, he ultimately proved that he belongs with the best at 125.

 

Although he lost out on another opportunity to fight Cariaso again, Horiguchi got a chance to prove his merit in from of a hometown crowd. Unlike many of his Japanese MMA cohorts and boxers like the Kameda brothers, Takashi Uchiyama, and Kazuto Ioka, Horiguchi found himself in the position of being chosen by U.S. promoters to be showcased as a premier talent in the lower weight divisions. Hence, it was vital for Horiguchi to demolish Guam representative Jon Delos Reyes. Reyes was already at an added disadvantage of no fighter from Guam even making a dent at flyweight since Jesse Taitano, who eventually left the Shooto scene and MMA all together with a record below .500.

 

Opening up the UFC Fight Night 52: Hunt vs. Nelson main card in Saitama Super Arena, Horiguchi turned Reyes away and away quickly. The fighter from the Gunma prefecture folded Reyes with a vicious kick to the abdomen only twenty-eight seconds in. Reyes engaged Horiguchi with scrambles and butterfly guard play to get back to his feet, but Horiguchi would not be deterred. Horiguchi went back to the weapon from his first UFC fight and briefly dropped Reyes with a left hook. From there, it was all Horiguchi and ref Steve Perceval jumped in at 3:48 in the first to give Horiguchi three straight UFC victories. In the upcoming new year, Horiguchi plans to continue his march towards a shot at flyweight supremacy.

 

ALJAMAIN STERLING
W-DEC3 (UNANIMOUS) VS. CODY GIBSON (UFC 170: Rousey vs. McMann, February 22, 2014)
W-TKO3 (PUNCHES) VS. HUGO VIANA (UFC Fight Night 45: Cerrone vs. Miller, July 16, 2014)

 

Very few UFC fighters truly have as much pressure put on them as they put on themselves. Uniondale, New York native Aljamain Sterling put himself in that category right out of the gate prior to his UFC debut in February of this year. Sterling notoriously bugged UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby on social media with his Youtube clips and highlight reels for several months. It seemed that Sterling was carving himself out a niche by being a hybrid of a creative striker and flashy showman like UK prospect Michael Page. In reality, the CFFC Bantamweight champion was more ready than his non-UFC fights advertised. Coming out of the same camp that produced UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman and lightweight upstart Al Iaquinta, Sterling needed an opportunity to show that.

 

"The Funk Master" began his UFC campaign with a bout against Visalia fighter Cody Gibson on the UFC 170: Rousey vs. McMann prelims. Gibson, who trained with his own middleweight stalwart in former WEC champ Doug "The Rhino" Marshall, was coming in with a bit of hype as well. He had already collected valuable experience against UFC vets Walel Watson and Ulysses Gomez and WEC vet Chad George. In the fight itself, the two young fighters seemingly split rounds one and two. Sterling took a close first round with some quick strikes while Gibson wrestled Sterling down enough to win the next stanza. In the final frame, Sterling came out all guns ablazing with a big slam from a double leg. As a result, he used positional dominance to wear Gibson down and snatch his first UFC win with 29-28 on all three scorecards.

 

Sterling would return to the scene of the crime with a UFC fight in Atlantic City, the place he first got his name on the Northeast scene in regional organization Ring of Combat. This one would come as part of the UFC Fight Night 45: Cerrone vs. Miller card in July. Matched with Brazilian slugger Hugo "Wolverine" Viana, Sterling wanted to give his fans a treat and indeed he did. Compared to the fight with Gibson, Sterling made it look like he had somehow fought dozens of fights in MMA's biggest organization overnight. More relaxed and calm in his demeanor, Sterling chipped away at the Bahia striker with a variety of dazzling techniques. He was able to dispatch a fighter much tougher than Gibson by staying one step ahead and not being predictable, which was his modus operandi before being a UFC roster member. Sterling flattened Viana out and went to work in the third. Unable to defend himself, "Wolverine" succumbed to the better fighter that night at 3:50 of that very round. The TKO stoppage moved Sterling's mark to 10 wins and no losses. Despite Sterling not being able to fight again the remainder of the year, MMA fans have something to look forward to in the next bout for him. The first two might just be appetizers for a greater feast.

 

THE REST OF THE NOMINEES:

 

LANCE PALMER
L-SUB3 (GUILLOTINE CHOKE) VS. GEORGI KARAKHANYAN (WSOF 7: Karakhanyan vs. Palmer, December 7, 2013)
W-SUB1 (REAR NAKED CHOKE) VS. NICK LOBOSCO (WSOF 10: Branch vs. Taylor, June 21, 2014)
W-SUB3 (REAR NAKED CHOKE) VS. RICK GLENN (WSOF 16: Palhares vs. Fitch, December 13, 2014)

 

BRANDON HALSEY
W-TKO1 (PUNCHES) VS. HECTOR RAMIREZ (Bellator 106: Chandler vs. Alvarez, November 2, 2013)
W-DEC3 (UNANIMOUS) VS. JOE PACHECO (Bellator 116: Johnson vs. Ivanov, April 11, 2014)
W-SUB1 (ARMBAR) VS. BRETT COOPER (Bellator 122: McDonough vs. Koreshkov, July 25, 2014)
W-SUB1 (REAR NAKED CHOKE) VS. ALEXANDER SHLEMENKO (Bellator 126: Shlemenko vs. Halsey, September 26, 2014)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqaOCbwRjM0
RASHID MAGOMEDOV
W-DEC3 (UNANIMOUS) VS. TONY MARTIN (UFC 169: Barão vs. Faber II, February 1, 2014)
W-DEC3 (UNANIMOUS) VS. RODRIGO DAMM (The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale: Miocic vs. Maldonado, May 31, 2014)
W-TKO3 (PUNCHES) VS. ELIAS SILVERIO (UFC Fight Night 58: Machida vs. Dollaway, December 20, 2014)

 

2013 Winner: Rustam Khabilov - JACKSON'S MMA

 

Credit: @ZProphet_MMA for the GIFs

 

Award voting will close 12/28 at 12:00 a.m. CST

[Elsalvajeloco]

BTW all the strawweight girls will be able to qualify for next year.

[epwar]

Excellent write ups.  You should be writing for an MMA site (if you aren't already).

 

I went with Sterling as he has impressed me the most with his combo style of striking and wrestling.

[Elsalvajeloco]

Thank you sir. MMA websites don't pay that much so I'd rather be the Daniel Day-Lewis of writing content.

 

It will be interesting to see whether or not Sterling gets tougher fights. He was suppose to fight Gagnon back in October and then they wanted him to fight Frankie Saenz. That's definitely opposite ends of the scale.

[twiztor]

not 100% decided yet but leaning towards Sterling also, but mainly just because i remembered his name and both fights

[Guest Edwin]

I went with Kyoji.

He's extremely talented and has looked awesome in his UFC run aside from the early part of his fight with Pague.

[Elsalvajeloco]

 

ALJAMAIN STERLING is your 2014 Them's Fightin' Words Rookie of the Year