UFC News: Henry Cejudo and Jorge Masvidal argue over 'Fighter of the Year' title
2019 is almost over and it's time for the media outlets in the world of MMA to award the titles for Submission of the Year, Knockout of the Year, Fight of the Year, and Fighter of the Year and while we all know who the knockout of the year will go to (remember Jorge Masvidal's KO of Ben Askren?), it's a two-horse race for the title of Fighter of the Year.
UFC stalwarts Henry Cejudo and Jorge Masvidal are the two most likely contenders for the prestigious title and the race is heating up as the pair recently indulged in a bit of banter on Twitter, disputing who the rightful owner of the title is. (h/t MMA Fighting)
'Triple C' has been claiming the Fighter of the Year title for quite some time now. A proud Olympic gold medallist, the UFC flyweight (now relinquished), and bantamweight championship titles, Cejudo declared himself the fighter of the year post his win against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC on ESPN+ 1. Although Cejudo's performance this year does make a case for him, he hasn't fought since retaining his title against Dillashaw and it remains to be seen whether his recent inactivity will come back to haunt him.
The other contender for the title, Jorge 'Gamebred' Masvidal had the best year of his career in 2019, a year that sky-rocketed his popularity to unimaginable heights. Masvidal knocked out Englishman Darren Till back in March but he stole the limelight later in the year with a flying knee knockout of Ben Askren within five seconds of the first round at UFC 239 back in July. The KO of Askren also happens to be the fastest in UFC history. Masvidal followed it up with a high-profile scalp of 'Stockton Slugger' Nate Diaz in the main event of UFC 244. Gamebred picked Diaz apart in the fight, winning the inaugural 'BMF' title in the process. Masvidal is now tipped to fight either Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title or 'The Notorious' Conor McGregor in a mega fight in the coming year.
Let us know who you think the fighter of the year is in the comments section below.