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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

After showing off his grappling skills against Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington in his last two bouts, Leon Edwards is ready to start sporting the signature Dagestani beard.

‘Rocky’ is fresh off a dominant performance against Covington at UFC 296 to retain his welterweight world title decisively. The victory comes nine months following his impressive win over former champion Kamaru Usman. In both matchups, Edwards more than held his own against two of the best grapplers in the history of the division.

Speaking about his performances in a recent interview, Leon Edwards generated a few laughs when suggesting that he’s ready to join the ranks of Russia’s greatest grapplers, facial hair and all.

“Two of the best grapplers in the division, I’m able to out-grapple them and take them down,” Edwards said in an interview with TNT Sports. “I might like, cut my mustache off and just have a little beard. Leon Nurmagomedov.”

Leon Edwards managed to stuff eight of Colby Covington’s 10 takedown attempts at the final pay-per-view of the year. Giving ‘Chaos’ a dose of his own medicine, ‘Rocky’ landed a solid two out of three takedowns against the All-American.

What’s next for Leon Edwards?

With his victory over Covington officially in the books, Edwards will likely turn his attention toward Belal Muhammad. ‘Remember the Name’ is riding a nine-fight win streak in the division and has been waiting patiently for his shot. However, current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev hopes to throw a monkey wrench in those plans, recently lobbying for a champion vs. champion clash with ‘Rocky’ in 2024.

With both Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira awaiting their turn at the ‘Dagestani Destroyer,’ we suspect Makhachev and Edwards will hang out in their divisions for the next year working through a backlog of hungry contenders before potentially colliding in a superfight.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

After capturing bantamweight gold, Sean O’Malley has become the number one target in the division with numerous contenders all eager to get their hands on the champion.

Stylistically, it seemed ‘Sugar’ had the odds stacked against him when he stepped into the octagon for his first shot at UFC gold. Aljamain Sterling had sat on the throne for two and a half years before the matchup but it didn’t take long for the challenger to impose his will and secure the upset knockout win.

O’Malley is now preparing to make his first defense of the belt but that didn’t stop him from exchanging words with a different contender in his division. The brief social media altercation was arguably the fault of Islam Makhachev’s after the lightweight king insisted Umar Nurmagomedov would beat the champion.

Umar beats Suga

— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) December 24, 2023

This, of course, captured the attention of Sean O’Malley who insisted Umar would be easy work for him. The titleholder’s comments didn’t sit well with the Russian who let his thoughts be known.

pink head
To do this you need to dare to fight with me. https://t.co/5by6MYRYdL

— Umar Nurmagomedov (@UNmgdv) December 25, 2023

Confirmed for UFC 299, O’Malley will be putting his bantamweight crown on the line against the sole man to defeat him in the sport Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera. Not only is this a huge main-event matchup, but the two competitors have a real disdain for one another, which only adds to the excitement aspect of the bout.

Despite their history, many believe the Ecuadorian doesn’t deserve to be given a shot at the champion. The knockout artist is 1-1 in his last two outings, with his victory coming by unanimous decision against the current #11-ranked 135er, Pedro Munhoz.

Related: Marlon Vera: ‘I’m going to beat the f**k out of Sean O’Malley’

How close is Umar Nurmagomedov to a title fight against Sean O’Malley?

Umar Nurmagomedov is one of the fastest-rising stars in the sport and already has a huge following due to his affiliation with Islam Makhachev and his relation to the retired Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The Dagestani finds himself sitting just inside the top 15 at bantamweight, so naturally, it could be some time before a title shot comes his way. However, it seems the UFC is keen on fast-tracking the undefeated star.

Earlier this year, Umar was scheduled to come up against the current #4-ranked Cory Sandhagen. While injury forced him out of the fight, the prospect could have seen himself jump up from barely ranked to a top 5 position. It’s unclear at this stage who’s next for the 27-year-old.

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“I think I have to earn that Francis fight, he’s busy for a little while.”

Impa Kasangany’s career turnaround is fully underway.

Despite breaking even with a .500 record in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) where he went 2-2 (15-3 overall), Kasanganay’s run is most infamously remembered for his knockout loss to Joaquin Buckley (the first of his career). The stunning spinning back-kick defeat will live on forever in highlight reels, but ultimately acted as the catalyst to lead Kasangany down a better and more successful path.

The 29-year-old rebounded from the loss with a second round rear-naked choke of Sasha Palatnikov before being released from UFC off a first round technical knockout against Carlston Harris. This stint also concluded the end of Kasanganay’s time at Welterweight as he fought twice more and went 1-1 post-UFC before signing with Professional Fighters League (PFL). Five fights later in 2023, he’s a $ 1 million-winning Light Heavyweight champion. Kasanganay expressed interest in even bigger and better challenges, teasing a Heavyweight collision with Francis Ngannou as soon as he earned his crown. Admitting to some necessary patience requirements, Kasanganay only wants the stiffest of challenges going forward.

“I think I have to earn that Francis fight, he’s busy for a little while, so maybe catch him and schedule it 2026, 2027,” Kasangnay told MMA Mania at the 2023 World MMA Awards in Las Vegas. “But I want to fight him when he’s young. That way there’s honor to it. I’d say [Bellator Light Heavyweight champion, Vadim] Nemkov and [Bellator Middleweight champion, Johnny] Eblen are the guys who are most realistic that will come next year.”

The acquisition of Bellator by PFL leaves no shortage of options for Kasangany in 2024. While four fights to win and become a champion is the norm in a PFL season, Kasanganay fought five times because he went through the Challenger Series early in the year.

Although the volume was a rarity in modern-day mixed martial arts (MMA), Kasanganay still doesn’t think it’s enough.

“I’m ready to get back to it, I love to fight,” Kasanganay said. “I want to fight five fights next year, six fights, it would be great. I was thinking they could extend the PFL season, get eight fights in would be really cool. I love it. But you hear about guys like Nemkov, Francis Ngannou, that’s a fight that I want, you see Eblen, right? My friend, Aaron Jeffery, shoutout to him, he’s deserving of a title shot. But I’ve been hearing talk about so many different fights. So, I want to fight the best of the best. We’ve got Eblen, Nemkov, and Ngannou, go back into the season next year and take over and get another title so that’s what I’m gonna do.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Israel Adesanya had just arrived at his 47th minute of sanctioned fighting against Alex Pereira, and history was repeating itself.

It started with a leg kick, as many things in the orbit of Pereira do, and all at once Adesanya appeared to be hurt as he backpedaled to the cage. This was where Adesanya’s revenge tour had come to an abrupt halt five months earlier, when his confident dismantling of the fearsome Brazilian turned on a dime, courtesy of a left hook, as so many Pereira finishes do.

Bettors narrowly favored Adesanya heading into the MMA rematch, buying into the notion that he had merely lost focus and gotten caught by one of the sport’s hardest punchers. When the ex-champ shelled up and took a couple of scary-looking shots, it looked like a similar story to their last fight, with Pereira’s ability to cancel out Adesanya’s technical superiorities with a few well-placed shots. Kryptonite, personified.

Only this time, Adesanya didn’t stay in his shell. Some of the best times to attack in this game are the times when you’re being attacked, and as Pereira threw his deadly left hook, it was just low enough for Adesanya to come over the top at the same time.

The whiplash produced by Adesanya’s right hand set up another one, this time a kill shot that denied Pereira the ability to recover. It took seven years to get to that sequence from the time they first stepped into the kickboxing ring as two of the brightest talents on the international circuit. It had been six since Pereira’s left hook had laid out Adesanya in brutal fashion. To add insult to injury, Pereira’s young son had mocked the Nigeria native.

Adesanya is known for his walkouts and his post-win celebrations; the guy could easily be a professional dancer. Never, though, were they been imbued with so much history and heartache. And so, when Pereira toppled to the canvas, Adesanya did this:

Then, in one of the most ice-cold moments ever caught inside the octagon, he did this:

Adesanya became the eighth UFC fighter to become a two-time champion, and for that, and all the rich tapestry of his rivalry with Pereira, Adesanya vs. Pereira 2 (or 4, if you count the non-mixing of martial arts) is the “Knockout of the Year.”

MMA Fighting, Getty Images

2. JOSH EMMETT VS. BRYCE MITCHELL

Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Knockouts give us an uncomfortable window not into the brain’s response to sudden, violent trauma, but a particular fighter’s response to that shutdown. There are commonalities, of course, but there are so many variables of physics at work that it’s hard to predict. There’s no way of telling exactly how a body will behave when it’s put under that kind of stress — whether or not a fighter goes completely out, for how long, and, perhaps most concerning, how long a knockout reverberates in the brain long-term.

Some manifestations of trauma are just plain scary, and Josh Emmett’s destruction of Bryce Mitchell at UFC 296 is one of the more notable examples in recent years. So violent was the force of Emmett’s right hand, Mitchell suffered a small seizure as he lay on the octagon canvas — and that was after his body reverted to the “fencing response” seen in brutal knockouts. According to one doctor, Emmett’s punch not only short-circuited Mitchell’s brain, it caused a surge of electricity that made his body tremor uncontrollably.

Truth be told, this doesn’t seem like something worth celebrating. Mitchell took the fight on short notice and was clearly ill-prepared for Emmett’s best weapon. Who knows whether he will ever be the same again. So the No. 2 selection for “KO of the Year” is as much as cautionary tale as it is an award: Look what Josh Emmett is capable of doing, and please, for the love of God, don’t stand directly in front of him.

3. ROBBIE LAWLER VS. NIKO PRICE

Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images

Lawler was 1-5 in his past six outings and, as one of the longest-tenured fighters in the UFC, appeared to be enrolled in the terrible version of the promotion’s octagon retirement plan, serving as the stepping stone for talents of decreasing acclaim.

A retirement fight at UFC 290 — billed as such almost never for octagon vets — threatened another bummer of a ride into the sunset. Feel-good endings aren’t the UFC’s specialty, and so when Lawler pulled off a vintage performance with a first-round thumping of Price, a heartfelt post-fight speech appeared to be the best it was going to get for one Robert Glenn Lawler.

Instead, the UFC queued up a greatest-hits compilation for Lawler and the rest of the audience to soak in. It wasn’t some great feat of film-making — it was just nice. Really, really nice — a heartwarming expression of care from a group of people that genuinely enjoy a colleague. Even Lawler, a guy not exactly known for his soft spot, couldn’t help but be moved by the gesture.

More fighters should fight retirement fights. Alas, if they would only accept them.

4. PATCHY MIX VS. RAUFEON STOTS

BELLATOR MMA/LUCAS NOONAN

Mix is now the Bellator bantamweight champion after another breakout year in 2023. His performance in the grand prix finals played a large part in that. Stots was a well-rounded threat with an 11-fight winning streak; he’d just dispatched Danny Sabatello and ex-bantamweight champion Juan Archuleta in back-to-back fights.

The matchup figured to be one of Mix’s toughest challenges. But instead, he starched Stots with a knee up the middle, and in 80 seconds, he was $ 1 million richer and the bantamweight champion.

5. JUSTIN GAETHJE VS. DUSTIN POIRIER

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

The first time Gaethje and Poirier met, it was the 2018 MMA Fighting “Fight of the Year.” One could be forgiven for expecting another slugfest; both of these guys are hard to put away with fists (chokes, well, that’s a different story).

The reality of the situation was far different. Poirier edged Gaethje on two of three judges’ scorecards in the first round. The fight had really just gotten started, and Gaethje slipped in a head kick that slipped through Poirier’s guard and caught him upside the head. It was revenge on a much smaller scale, for Gaethje’s rivalry with Poirier was more competitive than personal. It was also just another day at the office for bonus-winning machine Gaethje, whose win over Rafael Fiziev also made our 2023 list.

Here is how the voting for MMA Fighting’s 2023 KO of the Year played out.

MMA Fighting

HONORABLE MENTIONS

• Islam Makhachev def. Alexander Volkanovski (UFC 294, Oct. 21)
• Chihiro Suzuki def. Vugar Karamov (RIZIN Landmark 7, Nov. 4)
• Drakkar Close def. Joe Solecki (UFC Austin, Dec. 2)
• Krzysztof Głowacki def. Patryk Tołkaczewski (KSW Colosseum 2, June 3)
• Sadibou Sy def. Shane Mitchell (PFL 6, June 23)
• Sean O’Malley def. Aljamain Sterling (UFC 292, Aug. 19)
• Ismael Bonfim def. Terrance McKinney (UFC 283, Jan. 21)
• Lorenz Larkin def. Mukhamed Berkhamov (Bellator 290, Feb. 4)

MMA Fighting – All Posts

2023 brought with it a multitude of standout performances from some of the most unlikeliest of sources — in some of the biggest and high-profile fights of the annum, from the likes of middleweight champion, Sean Strickland, welterweight maestro, Leon Edwards, and pound-for-pound star, Islam Makhachev.

However. amid a list of nominations long and varying issues by the staff here at LowKick MMA — the outspoken Sean Strickland has emerged far and ahead as the consensus Fighter of the Year for 2023.

Fighter of the Year – Sean Strickland – UFC – 3-0-0 (4 votes)

Rebounding from a tumultuous 2022 year which included a two-fight losing skid to former title challenger, Jared Cannonier, and two-weight champion, last year’s Fighter of the Year award winner, Alex Pereira — the often-outspoken Strickland turned in a year to remember, including one of the biggest upsets in recent Octagon memory in the final quarter of the year.

Snapping his two-fight skid with a unanimous decision win over the highly-touted, Nassourdine Imavov at the beginning of the year in a short-notice light heavyweight clash, Strickland would seize the opportunity of a first title challenger with a knockout win over Abusupiysan Magomedov.

And shocking the collective mixed martial arts community back in September, Strickland, on would-be hostile terrritory against Oceanic striker, Israel Adesanya — landed a unanimous shutout decision win over the City Kickboxing staple, clinching the promotion’s undisputed middleweight crown.

Booked to make his return in a heated title fight defense against the surging, Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297 at the turn of the year in ‘The Great White North’, Strickland takes the Fighter of the Year award under the LowKick MMA banner this annum.

Honorable Mentions –

Leon Edwards – UFC – 2-0-0 (3 votes)

Rounding off a championship-laden year for himself earlier this month, undisputed welterweight kingpin, Leon Edwards recorded two straight victories by way of decision this year — laying waste to the division’s constant and always challenging guard.

Closing out his trilogy with a rubber match against former pound-for-pound king, Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 back in March on home soil in the UK, Birmingham technician, Edwards landed a majority decision win over the Auchi native — having snatched the throne in August of last year with a immortal high-kick rallying knockout success.

And earlier this month, in a brutal grudge match with former interim champion, Colby Covington, Edwards landed a one-sided unanimous decision win over the aging Clovis challenger, who failed to mount any real significant output offensively.

Islam Makhachev – UFC – 2-0-0 (1 vote)

Closing out his series of fights with undisptued featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski back in October, pound-for-pound number one, Islam Makhachev did so in certain style — showing off his sriking arsenal with a spectacular opening round high-kick KO in the pair’s lightweight title rematch.

The victory followed a prior February back-and-forth with the New South Wales star, in which Makhachev edged a close and egregious decision win on enemy territory.

Dricus du Plessis – UFC – 2-0-0 (1 vote)

Ahead of his championship siege in January against award winner, Strickland, South African challenger, Dricus du Plessis has enjoyed an unbeaten 2-0 run in the UFC this year — continuing in his perfect-promotional winning vein.

Landing on the most impactful victory in what seems likes years in the middleweight ranks, after a TKO stoppage of recent PFL debutante, Derek Brunson, in July, du Plessis landed a stunning second round knockout win over former undisputed middleweight champion and ever-present top-contender, Robert Whittaker, earning him a shot at Strickland’s title belt.

Full list of the LowKick MMA 2023 Fighter of the Year votes:

Ross Markey: Sean Strickland

Ian Shutts: Islam Makhachev

Murdo Todd: Leon Edwards

Craig Pekios: Leon Edwards

Makoa Goble: Sean Strickland

Tony King: Leon Edwards

Red Pill MMA: Dricus du Plessis

Michael Owens: Sean Strickland

Danny Podolsky: Sean Strickland

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