A Recap of the Year of the (Under)Dogs

Here's a recap of the biggest upsets in the UFC and PRIDE so far this year, and there are definitely plenty. You can also see this post at the prognostication station.

Before the start of 2007, we got a sneak peak of the year ahead when 7-1 underdog and UFC newcomer Joe Lauzon TKO'd former lightweight champion Jens Pulver in his return to the Octagon.

February 24th

The world begins to shake at PRIDE 33: The Second coming and while many UFC fans weren't aware yet, something strange had started.

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou stopped the seemingly unstoppable Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in 23 seconds, becoming the first man to stop either of the great Noguiera brothers in their extensive MMA careers.

Frank Trigg upset top ten middleweight Kazuo "The Grabaka Hitman" Misaki, giving Twinkle Toes fans some hope that he might be returning to form. (That hope was later crushed by Robbie Lawler. Sorry folks.)

Nick Diaz beats #1 lightweight Takanori Gomi with a gogoplata, executing a submission that Gomi had probably never seen before, and neither had most of the MMA world, either.

To finalize things, Dan Henderson avenges his split decision loss to Wanderlei Silva with some fireworks, putting Silva out in the 3rd round with one of his classic right haymakers.

March 3rd

Jason Lambert opens the floodgates in the UFC when he KO's long time MMA staple Renato "Babalu" Sobral in the second round, creating a stir that led many newer fans to dismiss the hype around Sobral and got Lambert some attention. Later that night, Randy Couture comes out of retirement and beats the 6'8 heavyweight champion Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia standing and on the ground en route to a decision that would be one of the most exciting five rounders in history. While some people will dispute Couture being the underdog, there's really no doubt that as a 43 year old man coming out of retirement after losing in the weight class below Sylvia's, stepping in the ring with the reigning champion, definitely pulled out the upset.

April 7th

The UFC's next pay-per-view card sporting the winner of TUF 4 getting his promised title shot at Georges St. Pierre was, for lack of any better words, batshit craziness. So much that I'm not going to waste my time putting it all in one paragraph.

At the bottom of a card that so many Canadians weep over, Mike "Quick" Swick, an almost certain top contender in the 185 pound weight class, was scheduled for a steppingstone match with Yushin Okami. Okami spends three rounds beating the wholly hell out of Swick and gets his first dose of attention, which would lead him to fight at the top of a card in his next fight.

Then, Josh Koscheck did what no other man before him had done. After three rounds he beat Diego "The Nightmare" Sanchez, ending the undefeated streak that had been Sanchez's professional career up to that point. But that wasn't the end of it.

In perhaps the greatest upset to date in this sport, Matt "The Terra" Serra KO'd Georges St. Pierre, the most revered 170 pound fighter in the western hemisphere, in exciting fashion. Serra was the Standford to St. Pierre's USC, and damn that was fun to watch. Well, unless you like nice people.

The next night, the underdog action gets felt overseas as Makoto Nakao upsets up-and-comer Zelg Galesic, in what would begin a tough year for Croatian MMA fans. Also on the PRIDE 34 card in Saitama, unknown Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou proved that his earlier KO of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira wasn't a fluke by posting his second round one stoppage in a row when he beat Ricardo Arona.

April 21st

The tough year continued for the Croatians, as Gabriel Gonzaga shocked the world, putting Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic to sleep with a left high kick. It was one of the most shocking KO's of the year, and another case of a stepping stone stepping back.

May 26th

More than a month passed without any major organization action, but at UFC 71, the underdogs came again. In a list of intersting undercard upsets. Houston Alexander, Terry Martin and Thiago Silva put on round one knock outs of Keith Jardine, Ivan Salaverry and James Irvin, respectively, and Kalib Starnes beat Chris "The Crippler" Leben with a decision.

To top off the night, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, only a slight underdog, proved that the odds probably shouldn't have been so tight when he shut down Chuck Liddell with some brutal strikes in round one of their title matchup.

August 25th

UFC's 72 and 73 were more or less unimpressive as far as upsets go, but the underdogs immerged from their summer haiatus as hungry as ever, when Clay Guida upset former Pride contender Marcus "Maximus" Aurelio by decision and Patrick "The Predator" Cote decimated TUF 3 winner Kendall Grove with a first round TKO.

September 8th

London saw some major action and Croatian fans, along with the rest of the CroCop Squad, suffered some heartbreak as Cheick Kongo slowed down comeback hopes with a big decision win. Also on the card was Quinton Jackson's win over Dan Henderson which, despite holding the UFC title and Octagon experience, wasn't necessarily favored by the bookies.

September 22nd

UFC 76, our most recent event, has shown even more escallation in bizarre turnarounds. #1 205 pound fighter Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, was choked out by barely top 20 fighter Forrest Griffin and former UFC lightheavyweight champion Chuck Liddell dropped a decision to Keith Jardine, but even below the main card, there was craziness.

Japanese judoka Michihiro Omigawa made an awaited debut only to lose to "Hansome" Matt Wiman and when top ten fighters Ryoto Machida and Kazuhiro Nakamura squared off, the favorite, Nakamura, lost on the judges scorecards.

Whatever's next, on the gridiron or in the cage, it'll be surprising. At least now we're expecting it.