2011 Upset of the Year

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
07_Ortiz_Bader_large.jpg 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
michael-chandler-2.jpg 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
003_Fedor_Emelianenko_vs_Antonio_Silva.jpg 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
B09-Silva-Cormier-Strikeforce-0911-4258.jpg 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
Hendo-punching-fedor.jpg 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
Luke-Rockhold-vs-Jacare-Souza_display_image.jpg 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.

ncG1vNJzZmien6fCrr%2BNsKmeq6Shsru7zZ5lnKedZMGpvsSam6xnYmV%2BcnnUqaqerF2ks27Ax55ksp2Rp3tzfI9rZ2xn

 Share!