BE’s Baddest: Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald 2 is the Greatest MMA Fight to Watch of All Time!

Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald 2 is the single Greatest MMA Fight to Watch of All Time (GFOAT) —that one bout to watch before the world ends — well, at least, that’s what you, the Bloody Elbow readers have determined. Everyone who voted in the 32-fight bracket over the past couple of weeks played an integral part in reaching this determination, and for that, we thank you all for your participation. We have had some engaging debates in the comments to get to this point and that’s part of what makes this process so fun! We had a lot of fun bringing this tournament to life with your assistance, from determining the initial field, to hammering out a couple tie-breaker bouts, to determining the winner of our Bronze Match for the Third Place slot; you all made it a blast to bring this thing to fruition.

This was a solid tournament with some great discussions, but if you somehow managed to miss it, be sure to go back and re-visit the comment threads from the tournament match-ups right here:

The tournament finals came down to The Red Corner’s #1 ranked, Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald 2, and The Blue Corner’s #1 seed, Dan Henderson vs. Shogun Rua 1. After a week long back and forth war, it was Lawler vs. MacDonald 2 that took the victory by a score of 36-22.

This fight really did have everything one would expect to see in an all-time great MMA competition. It was two fighters in the prime of their careers in a high-stakes title fight. There were tons of momentum swings, a plethora of blood-inducing strikes, and several classic images of mangled facial features that will forever standout in our minds as the hard cost of hand-to-hand combat at the highest sporting level. Of course, I’m referring to the lip of Lawler and the nose of MacDonald.

The road traveled to the top for The Red Corner’s #1 seed Lawler vs. MacDonald 2 was a story of dominance from the get go… In Round 1 for the field of 32 it decimated #8 Rodriguez vs. Zombie: 50-3 (which was the most votes any fight got throughout the entire tournament)… then in the Sweet Sixteen it annihilated #2 Adesanya vs. Gastelum: 32-6… when it entered the Quarter Finals it soundly thrashed #3 Aldo vs. Mendes 2: 15-7, strolling into the virtual octagon for the Final Four Lawler beat Lawler when our #1 seed was pitted against #2 Lawler vs. Condit, resulting in a score of 28-8… so really was there any doubt this fight would come out victorious in the Final match up against The Blue Corner’s #1 seed Henderson vs. Shogun? You all decided our winner was the GFOAT to watch before the world ends via a solid final score of 36-22.

This fight is violence defined and well-deserving of the title Greatest MMA Fight to Watch of All Time—that one bout to watch before the world ends!

Did you enjoy the latest topic in our BE’s BADDEST Tournament Series? Let us know in the comments… and be sure to recommend what topic we ought to put to the test next, or should we re-visit a topic we have tackled in the past with fresh voters? So far we have done:

• BE’s BADDEST Light Heavyweight GOAT
• BE’s BADDEST Lightweight GOAT
• BE’s BADDEST Greatest MMA Wrestler Of All Time
• BE’s BADDEST Greatest MMA Striker OF All Time
• BE’s BADDEST Greatest MMA Submission Fighter Of All Time
• BE’s BADDEST GOAT

Final Tournament bracket (click to enlarge):

LET’S TAKE A LOOK BACK AT THE TOURNAMENT RESULTS:

Opening Round of 32:

Bout 1:
1 Lawler vs. MacDonald 2 – 50
VS.
8 Rodriguez vs. Zombie – 3

Bout 2:
1 Henderson vs. Shogun – 30
VS.
8 Shogun vs. Little Nog 1 – 1

Bout 3:
2 Adesanya vs. Gastelum – 19
VS.
7 Dillashaw vs. Cruz – 19
Tie-Breaker Bout:
2 Adesanya vs. Gastelum – 31
VS.
7 Dillashaw vs. Cruz – 25

Bout 4:
2 Edgar vs. Maynard 2 – 23
VS.
7 Costa vs. Romero – 12

Bout 5:
3 Aldo vs. Mendes – 21
VS.
6 Edgar vs. Maynard 3 – 7

Bout 6:
3 Jones vs. Gustafsson 1 – 20
VS.
6 Nick Diaz vs. Gomi – 19

Bout 7:
4 Poirier vs. Zombie – 15
VS.
5 Alvarez vs. Gaethje – 17

Bout 8:
4 Fedor vs. Cro Cop – 9
VS.
5 Wanderlei Silva vs. Rampage – 20

Bout 9:
1 Weili vs. Joanna – 28
VS.
8 Henderson vs. Pettis – 22

Bout 10:
1 Frye vs. Takayama – 25
VS.
8 Lesnar vs. Carwin – 7

Bout 11:
2 Lawler vs. Condit – 29
VS.
7 Alvarez vs. Chandler – 6

Bout 12:
2 Hunt vs. Silva – 21
VS.
7 Sakuraba vs. Gracie – 16

Bout 13:
3 Gaethje vs. Johnson – 21
VS.
6 Emelianenko vs. Randleman – 18

Bout 14:
3 Poirier vs. Gaethje – 11
VS.
6 Whittaker vs. Romero 2 – 11
Tie-Breaker Bout:
3 Poirier vs. Gaethje – 21
VS.
6 Whittaker vs. Romero 2 – 26

Bout 15:
4 Silva vs. Stann – 16
VS.
5 Swanson vs. Choi – 18

Bout 16:
4 Griffin vs.Bonnar – 22
VS.
5 Kongo vs. Barry – 17

Sweet Sixteen:

Bout 1:
1 Lawler vs. MacDonald 2 – 32
VS.
2 Adesanya vs. Gastelum – 6

Bout 2:
1 Henderson vs. Shogun 1 – 21
VS.
2 Edgar vs. Maynard 2 – 7

Bout 3:
3 Aldo vs. Mendes 2 – 22
VS.
5 Alvarez vs. Gaethje – 13

Bout 4:
3 Jones vs Gustafsson 1 – 23
VS.
5 Silva vs. Rampage – 11

Bout 5:
1 Weili vs. Joanna – 20
VS.
2 Lawler vs. Condit – 21

Bout 6:
1 Frye vs. Takayama – 7
VS.
2 Hunt vs. Bigfoot 1- 19

Bout 7:
3 Gaethje vs. Johnson – 16
VS.
5 Swanson vs. Choi – 16
Tie-Breaker Bout:
3 Gaethje vs. Johnson – 16
VS.
5 Swanson vs. Choi – 18

Bout 8:
6 Whittaker vs. Romero 2 – 22
VS.
4 Griffin vs. Bonnar 1 – 11

Quarter Finals:

Bout 1:
1 Lawler vs. MacDonald 2 – 25
VS.
3 Aldo vs. Mendes 2 – 7

Bout 2:
1 Henderson vs. Shogun – 18
VS.
5. W. Silva vs Rampage 2 – 5

Bout 3:
2 Lawler vs. Condit – 25
VS.
5 Swanson vs. Choi – 9

Bout 4:
2 Hunt vs. Silva 1 – 19
VS.
6 Whittaker vs. Romero 2 – 10

Final Four:

Bout 1:
1 Lawler vs. MacDonald 2 – 28
VS.
2 Lawler vs. Condit – 8

Bout 2:
1 Henderson vs. Shogun – 22
VS.
2 Hunt vs. Silva 1 – 9

BRONZE MATCH:
2 Lawler vs. Condit – 18
VS.
2 Hunt vs. Silva 1 – 11

FINAL:

LAWLER VS. MACDONALD 2 – 36
VS.
HENDERSON VS. SHOGUN – 22

Thanks everyone for your participation, until next time, we will see you in the comments!