The UFC had plenty of highlights in 2012, starting off the first card of the year with Edson Barboza’s spinning heel kick knockout of Terry Etim, continued with Dustin Poirer’s mounted triangle armbar of Max Holloway, Anderson Silva and Jon Jones extending their impressive winning streaks and ended with the triumphant return of Georges St. Pierre and Cain Velazquez’s return to the top of the heavyweight mountain.
2012 also saw its fair share of lowlights, led mostly by too many fight cards (leading to several injuries forcing cards to be adjusted) several weak fight cards (highlighted by UFC 149) and the first cancelled card in September when an injury to Dan Henderson came late and no new main event could be salvaged.
In the end, however, this was the year of the lightweight division and that division was controlled by Benson Henderson. In the 2012 calendar year Henderson won the lightweight championship and then successfully defended it twice – including a complete domination of Nick Diaz, whom he was an underdog against.
Before we look ahead to 2013, here is a glance at the top five performers of 2012:
1. Benson Henderson
- Defeated Frankie Edgar by unanimous and split decision
- Defeated Nick Diaz by decision
- Won Lightweight Championship
- Fifth-ranked pound-for-pound fighter by Sherdog
- Set-up big showdowns with Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez
2. Cain Velazquez
- Defeated Antonio Silva by TKO in second round
- Defeated Junior Dos Santos by unanimous decision
- Fight with Silva one of bloodiest of the year
- Handed Dos Santos first loss in UFC
- Reclaimed Heavyweight title
- Finished year as top-ranked heavyweight according to Sherdog
3. Renan Barao
- Defeated Scott Jorgenson by unanimous decision
- Defeated Urijah Faber by unanimous decision
- Won interim Bantamweight Championship
- Top ranked bantamweight by Sherdog after starting year ranked seventh
4. Anderson Silva
- Defeated nemesis Chael Sonnen in rematch by TKO
- Defeated Stephan Bonnar by TKO
- Fought less than three full rounds in winning two fights
- Extended win streak to 17 and successful title defenses to 10
- Finished year as top ranked pound-for-pound fighter by Sherdog
5. Demetrius Johnson
- Draw with Ian McCall
- Defeated Ian McCall by unanimous decision
- Defeated Joseph Benavidez by split decision
- Became first UFC Flyweight Champion
- Top ranked flyweight by Sherdog
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