8 Winning Losers of 2008
5 - 8
5. Dustin
Hazelett
A fighter nicknamed “McLovin” needs to be tough. Hazelett, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu understudy of Gurgel, decided to show his wiry, 21-year-old frame was something to be feared when he fought against Josh Koscheck at UFC 82 “Pride of a Champion” on March 1 in Columbus, Ohio.
Koscheck has athletic edges on most people not made in a laboratory, but Hazelett was undeterred and traded strikes with the American Kickboxing Academy welterweight. The opening bell trigged Hazelett’s bottled-up aggression, as he found Koscheck with a head kick. He followed fast, unleashing killer stand-up instinct not typically associated with slick grapplers. He repeated this process later in the round and had no qualms about coming forward into Koscheck’s huge overhand right.
Having enjoyed submission success in his previous unaired bouts, Hazelett solidified himself as an all-around threat against a top 10 welterweight. He ended up on the wrong end of the highlight reel, but the overall excitement factor got him more televised UFC nods, which he parlayed into more enthralling clashes, capped off with two “Submission of the Night” bonuses and Sherdog.com’s “Submission of the Year.”
6. Yoshiro Maeda
When an international fighter wants to endear himself to fans who do not speak the same language, putting on a hell of a fight accomplishes the mission. Maeda did so when he challenged World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight champion Miguel Torres at WEC 34 on June 1 in Sacramento, Calif.
A tricky and powerful striker, the Japanese fighter drew blood from Torres and prompted the champion to come forward angrily. Maeda rolled from leg lock to leg lock with the Carlson Gracie disciple and stayed out of quicksand with the black belt. Maeda’s night ended early between the third and fourth rounds, when doctor’s refused to let him continue. A Torres jab had broken his eye socket.
Maeda’s next showing, however, was an untelevised and uninspiring first-round submission loss to Rani Yahya at WEC 36 in November.
7. Hiromitsu Miura
Like Maeda, Miura could not win a war of words. Instead, he relied on his judo against welterweight kingpin Carlos Condit at WEC 35 on Aug. 3 in Las Vegas, and it paid off. He treated the champion like an ultimate Frisbee instead of an ultimate fighter and tossed him around like a rag doll. Throwing around Condit was a tad sweeter after the New Mexican had vowed it would not happen. He held his own in Condit’s deadly guard, too, and laid down some ground-and-pound. Against the superior striker, “The Last Samurai” managed to stay competitive for four rounds, landing some meaningful shots of his own and coming back from strikes that sent him to the mat.
Miura took Condit into deep water in his welterweight debut. With his breakout performance still fresh in the minds of many, Miura may be plotting his revenge against “The Natural Born Killer.”
8. Jon Fitch
Fitch was not an unknown, nor did he lack notable performances heading into his championship bout against welterweight titleholder Georges St. Pierre at UFC 87 “Seek and Destroy” on Aug. 9 in Minneapolis. Still, he may have done more for his career in those 25 minutes than he had done in his record-tying eight-fight winning streak inside the Octagon.
Fitch was taken down immediately by “Rush.” Thrown off his game, Fitch found himself standing with the champion, unable to handle the French Canadian’s speed and athleticism. He was nearly finished in the first but walked to center of the Octagon for the next four rounds like a George A. Romero movie extra, even though he was able to mount little offense in the five-round tilt.
However, the loss proved Fitch was the blood-and-guts fighter he had been billed as entering the match. Even St. Pierre was surprised at how Fitch kept himself in the fight, and the welterweight king tired as he attempted to finish off the American Kickboxing Academy cyborg.
After a publicized run-in with UFC President Dana White, Fitch will land back on the unaired portion of UFC 94 later this month. Still, the graphic images that remain from his encounter with St. Pierre remind fans why he’s a one of the world’s premier 170-pound fighters.
A fighter nicknamed “McLovin” needs to be tough. Hazelett, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu understudy of Gurgel, decided to show his wiry, 21-year-old frame was something to be feared when he fought against Josh Koscheck at UFC 82 “Pride of a Champion” on March 1 in Columbus, Ohio.
Koscheck has athletic edges on most people not made in a laboratory, but Hazelett was undeterred and traded strikes with the American Kickboxing Academy welterweight. The opening bell trigged Hazelett’s bottled-up aggression, as he found Koscheck with a head kick. He followed fast, unleashing killer stand-up instinct not typically associated with slick grapplers. He repeated this process later in the round and had no qualms about coming forward into Koscheck’s huge overhand right.
Having enjoyed submission success in his previous unaired bouts, Hazelett solidified himself as an all-around threat against a top 10 welterweight. He ended up on the wrong end of the highlight reel, but the overall excitement factor got him more televised UFC nods, which he parlayed into more enthralling clashes, capped off with two “Submission of the Night” bonuses and Sherdog.com’s “Submission of the Year.”
6. Yoshiro Maeda
When an international fighter wants to endear himself to fans who do not speak the same language, putting on a hell of a fight accomplishes the mission. Maeda did so when he challenged World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight champion Miguel Torres at WEC 34 on June 1 in Sacramento, Calif.
A tricky and powerful striker, the Japanese fighter drew blood from Torres and prompted the champion to come forward angrily. Maeda rolled from leg lock to leg lock with the Carlson Gracie disciple and stayed out of quicksand with the black belt. Maeda’s night ended early between the third and fourth rounds, when doctor’s refused to let him continue. A Torres jab had broken his eye socket.
Maeda’s next showing, however, was an untelevised and uninspiring first-round submission loss to Rani Yahya at WEC 36 in November.
7. Hiromitsu Miura
Like Maeda, Miura could not win a war of words. Instead, he relied on his judo against welterweight kingpin Carlos Condit at WEC 35 on Aug. 3 in Las Vegas, and it paid off. He treated the champion like an ultimate Frisbee instead of an ultimate fighter and tossed him around like a rag doll. Throwing around Condit was a tad sweeter after the New Mexican had vowed it would not happen. He held his own in Condit’s deadly guard, too, and laid down some ground-and-pound. Against the superior striker, “The Last Samurai” managed to stay competitive for four rounds, landing some meaningful shots of his own and coming back from strikes that sent him to the mat.
Miura took Condit into deep water in his welterweight debut. With his breakout performance still fresh in the minds of many, Miura may be plotting his revenge against “The Natural Born Killer.”
8. Jon Fitch
Fitch was not an unknown, nor did he lack notable performances heading into his championship bout against welterweight titleholder Georges St. Pierre at UFC 87 “Seek and Destroy” on Aug. 9 in Minneapolis. Still, he may have done more for his career in those 25 minutes than he had done in his record-tying eight-fight winning streak inside the Octagon.
Fitch was taken down immediately by “Rush.” Thrown off his game, Fitch found himself standing with the champion, unable to handle the French Canadian’s speed and athleticism. He was nearly finished in the first but walked to center of the Octagon for the next four rounds like a George A. Romero movie extra, even though he was able to mount little offense in the five-round tilt.
However, the loss proved Fitch was the blood-and-guts fighter he had been billed as entering the match. Even St. Pierre was surprised at how Fitch kept himself in the fight, and the welterweight king tired as he attempted to finish off the American Kickboxing Academy cyborg.
After a publicized run-in with UFC President Dana White, Fitch will land back on the unaired portion of UFC 94 later this month. Still, the graphic images that remain from his encounter with St. Pierre remind fans why he’s a one of the world’s premier 170-pound fighters.
