Sherdog.com’s 2014 Fighter of the Year

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3. T.J. Dillashaw

It was always assumed that Urijah Faber would become Team Alpha Male’s first UFC champion. Dillashaw had other plans.

After recording a unanimous decision over Mike Easton at a UFC Fight Night event in January, Dillashaw turned his attention towards bantamweight king Renan Barao. He entered their clash at UFC 173 on May 24 in Las Vegas as a heavy underdog against a man few thought beatable; and Dillashaw pulled off the unthinkable, stopping Barao on a fifth-round technical knockout to claim the 135-pound belt at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Barao succumbed to the blows 2:26 into round five, as he was beaten for the first time since April 14, 2005.

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Dillashaw pieced together a virtuoso performance over four-plus rounds. The 28-year-old Californian floored Barao with an overhand right roughly 90 seconds into the match and never looked back. From that point forward, the Brazilian was on his heels. He had no answer for Dillashaw’s lateral movement and multi-strike bursts, absorbing blows to the legs, body and head. A finalist on Season 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Dillashaw put his signature on the masterpiece in round five. There, he rattled Barao with a savage head kick, swarmed with punches and dropped him with a left hook. An unanswered volley of punches and hammerfists brought it to a close, the defeat halting Barao’s streak of 22 straight wins.

Three months later, Dillashaw returned to the cage and successfully defended the bantamweight crown with another fifth-round stoppage. This time, Joe Soto was the victim. Dillashaw put away the former Bellator MMA champion -- Soto was a last-minute replacement for Barao -- with a head kick and punches 2:20 into round five, strengthening his hold on the 135-pound throne and serving notice to all others who would seek to unseat him.

Continue Reading » No. 4: Fabricio Werdum