1. Manny Pacquiao: Let’s quit saying Pacquiao was “retired”. Anyway, came back because, well, he owes money, and won another world title, unseating Jessie Vargas to win another world championship.
2. Jessie Magdaleno: Proved he wasn’t as paper and propped up as I (and many others) thought, defeating a fading legend in Nonito Donaire for his first world championship.
3. Tyron Zeuge: Was determined to make sure his bout with Giovanni De Carolis didn’t go to the judges like it did last time and avenged his previous draw, stopping the champ in the twelfth round and winning his first world title.
4. Tony Ferguson: In a predictable barnburner with former champ/cyborg jaw Rafael dos Anjos, Ferguson staked his undeniable claim to be next in line for a lightweight title shot.
5. Garry Tonon: Everything’s coming up Tonon! Tonon continues his monster year with another monster win, this time winning the Eddie Bravo Invitational as a last-minute replacement, defeating BJJ legend Vinny Magalhaes in the finals.
6. Takeru: Continues to be the man and possibly the most exciting fighter on Earth, claiming another K-1 Grand Prix tournament, this one the Featherweight on Thursday.
7. Caio Terra/Michael Musumeci Jr./Osvaldo Honorio/Marcio Barbosa Junior/Marcelo Mafra/Joshua Hinger/Lucas Barbosa/Luiz de Azevedo/Yuri Simoes/Patricio Fontes dos Santos/Ana de Oliveira/Tammi Musumeci/Amandda Alequin/Nathiely Melo de Jesus/Andresa Correa: Your 2016 IBJJF World No-Gi Black Belt gold medal winners. Bonus points for Simoes and de Jesus for winning the men’s and women’s openweight gold.
8. Phil Davis: Put on an absolute wrestling clinic on Liam McGeary, handing him his first loss and Davis’s first major championship.
9. Oscar Valdez: Made his first defense of his WBO Featherweight championship with a seventh-round TKO of Hiroshige Osawa.
10. Ricardo Lamas: Lamas wasn’t about to have another fight cancelled, so he held Charles Oliveira’s feet to the fire about missing weight, then closed him out quickly.
11. Javy Ayala: In the biggest upset of the weekend, Ayala knocked out Sergey Kharitonov before The Paratrooper even hit the canvas at Bellator 163.
12. Christina Hammer: Defended her WBO and WBC Middleweight championships against Kali Reis.
13. Wilfredo Santiago Jr.: In just 41 seconds, Santiago disposed of Chuck O’Neil in CES MMA’s main event on AXS.
14. Haime Morais/William Silva: Won their respective tournaments at WGP and EFN’s joint show. Morais claiming the heavyweight challenger and Silva with the EFN 72.5kg.
15. Martin Bravo: The Ultimate Fighter is probably not long for this world, so being one of the last ones has some cache.
Honorable Mention:
Brennan Ward:
Alexa Grasso:
Derek Gauthier: At 9-6, I don’t think Gauthier has a fast-track to the big leagues, but KOing a longtime high-level fighter like Chris Horodecki in the main event on a Fight Pass show does only great things for your career.
Ed Ruth: The All-American national champ wrestler from Penn State made a successful MMA debut, getting a first-round TKO finish at Bellator 163.
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