It's that time, again. TBH no fights really stand out to me so much. There have been good ones but maybe not like in recent years. The first two candidates are pretty obvious: Hendricks vs. Lawler 1 and Weidman vs. Machida. Hendricks and Lawler competed for GSP's vacant title at UFC 171 in March. Over five rounds the two welterweight contenders put everything on the line resulting in a very close and contentious decision victory for Hendricks. Weidman's first post-Silva title defence came at UFC 175 in July. Machida proved to be a tough out for Weidman, wearing the champion out and demonstrating that the 36-year old still has a lot left in the tank. The next candidate was a fight between resurgent welterweight Matt Brown and one-time blue chip prospect Erick Silva at UFC Fight Night 40 in May. Silva took the the fight to Brown early but the veteran withstood the onslaught earning a third-round TKO to the delight of his hometown crowd. Abel Trujillo vs. Jamie Varner should be on this list as well. This was the Melendez/Sanchez for 2014 with both fighters throwing caution to the wind and winging bombs at UFC 169 in February. Trujillo's power eventually overwhelmed Varner in the second round. Michael Chandler vs. Will Brooks is the first of two non-UFC entries on the list. These two first fought at Bellator 120 in May. Eddie Alvarez had pulled out of his fight with Brooks the week prior with concussion symptoms and Brooks stepped in to fight for the interim strap. Brooks surprised the MMA world by edging Chandler in a split decision over five engaging rounds. Brooks would solidify his place atop the BFC welterweight mountain later in the year with a resounding and bizarre TKO in their rematch. Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua had a classic fight in 2013 that the UFC hoped to recreate at Fight Night 38 in March. Guess what? They put on another great show. Rua had Hendo in trouble in the early stages of the fight but the American fought back to earn a knockout in the third round. The last candidate, barring something spectacular happening at Machida vs. Dollaway, is Bellator 112's bout between Pat Curran and Daniel Strauss. Strauss had upset Curran months earlier at Bellator's would-be PPV event 106. Curran got his revenge by way of a very late 5th round RNC after a great back-and-forth featherweight battle.
