THERE ARE CURRENTLY more than 500 active fighters on the UFC roster, most of whom step into the Octagon three or four times a year in relative anonymity.
Over the course of 2014, the UFC staged a total of 46 events, which accounted for 503 fights across 11 different weight classes, including catchweight.
So, it is no mean feat for any subset of fighters to distinguish themselves from their contemporaries amidst such a concentrated volume of activity.
Based on record, frequency of appearance, performance and level of competition faced, here’s our list – in no particular order – of the top five UFC fighters of 2014:
1. Neil Magny
Unquestionably the least-known combatant on the list. But the 27-year-old welterweight put his name firmly on the map in 2014. Magny rung-off five consecutive wins over the calendar year and equalled Roger Heurta’s long-standing record in the process.
Between 1 February and 25 August, the TUF 16 semi-finalist earned three unanimous decision nods, as well as victories via KO and TKO. Such is the standard at 170lbs, Magny was still unable to breach the division’s top 15 by year’s end.
2. Luke Rockhold
After the prolonged-domination of Anderson Silva was brought to an end by Chris Weidman, the middleweight division emerged with a renewed sense of uncertainty. Its top 10 is as stacked as any in the sport and Luke Rockhold has made his way close to the summit.
Currently ranked number five, the Californian got to such an elevated-position thanks to three wins in 2014, all of which came inside the distance and against top 15 opponents.
Having been knocked out by Vitor Belfort in the summer of 2013, Rockhold returned in January to headline UFC FN 35 and took just over half a round to put away Costa Philippou with a crushing body-kick. The performance earned him a Knockout of the Night Bonus.
In April, at UFC 172, he dispatched of Tim Boetsch in a similar time-frame with the scarcely-seen inverted-triangle kimura.
Last month in Sydney, Rockhold finished Michael Bisping with another rarefied submission – the one-armed guillotine. On this occasion he was bestowed with a bonus-cheque for Performance of the Night.
If we’re lucky, Rockhold will get paired up with Lyoto Machida at some stage in 2015.
3. TJ Dillashaw
Last January, Dillashaw got his year off to an ideal start by defeating Mike Easton via unanimous decision at UFC FN 35. That said, he was still just another contender at 135lbs.
He was scheduled to face Takeya Mitzugaki on 24 May at UFC 173, but was then unexpectedly handed the opportunity of a lifetime. When the original main event between Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort was cancelled, the UFC matched Dillashaw with bantamweight champion Renan Barao as the replacement headliner.
Dillashaw was viewed as a sacrificial lamb for the champion and nothing more. In one of the greatest upsets in UFC history, Dillashaw came of age before our eyes and, not only finished Barao via TKO in the fifth round, but systematically-dismantled him over the course of the bout.
As Barao had not been defeated in close to a decade, an immediate re-match was set – the pair would meet at UFC 177 just over two months later.
However, less than 24 hours before the bout, Barao was hospitalised due to complications in a bid to make weight. Although he would have been forgiven for not doing so, Dillashaw agreed to save the event and face Joe Soto, who had been jettisoned in from the preliminary card.
It took genuine-selflessness for the newly-crowned champion to risk his title against an unknown quantity such as Soto. Surprisingly, Soto stayed in the game until the fifth round, when Dillashaw knocked him out with a cracking head-kick and follow-up punches.
Between the Barao and Soto fights, Dillashaw was awarded three post-fight bonuses – a joint record for 2014. Additionally, he joined a selected group of TUF competitors – Matt Serra, Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans – who went on to become world champions.
4. Rafael dos Anjos
It may have taken him six long-years but Rafael dos Anjos has finally fought his way to a shot at the UFC lightweight title. The Brazilian made his debut as far back as UFC 91 in November 2008, when he was knocked out by Jeremy Stephens.
Over the past three years he has fought 10 times and lost just twice. The most recent of those loses came at UFC on Fox 11 last April against the unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov, who defeated dos Anjos by unanimous decision.
However, since then, dos Anjos has been flawless. In June, he finished Jason High via a second round TKO then, in the headlining bout of UFC FN 49, he become the first man to ever knockout former-champion Benson Henderson, before taking apart Nick Diaz over three rounds earlier this month.
With the aforementioned Nurmagomedov still recovering from a knee-injury and champion Anthony Pettis eager to fight in the near-future, Dana White announced that dos Anjos is the next in line to challenge Pettis.
5. Robbie Lawler
Having first entered the octagon at the tender age of 20 at UFC 37, Robbie Lawler took the road less-travelled en route to being crowned the welterweight champion over 12 years later.
After close to a decade fighting for a plethora of smaller promotions, Lawler returned to the UFC at the beginning of 2013. Three impressive wins saw him matched with Johny Hendricks last March in a fight to decide who would assume the title vacated by Georges St Pierre.
After an incredible five rounds at UFC 171, Hendricks was crowned champion via unanimous decision. Not one to sit on his laurels, Lawler returned to action two months later at UFC 173 in Las Vegas, where he defeated Jake Ellenberger through a third round TKO.
In the main event of UFC on Fox 12, he bettered a resurgent Matt Brown over five rounds and was then announced as the division’s number one contender.
Hendricks had not fought since beating Lawler, due to a torn-bicep sustained in their bout so there were questions whether ring-rust would play a factor when confronted by the well-oiled challenger.
As the epic-sequel transpired, it became apparent that the champion was indeed lacking in endurance. Lawler rallied in the final two rounds and clinched the title via a razor-thin split decision.