Thiago Alves: Once brushed aside as a one-dimensional fighter, Alves blossomed over the past 12 months. He scored decisive wins against three top 10 opponents in Karo Parisyan, former welterweight champion Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck, as he emerged as the clear No. 1 contender in the 170-pound division.
Anderson Silva: The 33-year-old Brazilian continued his reign as the sport’s premier middleweight with a submission win against two-time Olympian Dan Henderson at UFC 82 in March. Silva (23-4) then tried his luck at light heavyweight, as he destroyed James Irvin in a cool 61 seconds four months later. His year was marred somewhat by his showdown with Patrick Cote at UFC 90 in October, as the bout ended prematurely when the challenger went down with a knee injury.
Georges St. Pierre: Arguably MMA’s preeminent athlete, St. Pierre (17-2) avenged a TKO loss to Matt Serra by smashing the outspoken New Yorker and reclaiming the welterweight throne at UFC 83 in April. He followed that performance by throttling top contender Jon Fitch in the UFC 87 main event in a lopsided unanimous decision over the summer.
Gegard Mousasi: The talented Armenian won all six of his MMA fights -- five of them inside one round -- and another bout under K-1 rules in 2008. In one five-month span, he defeated Denis Kang, Melvin Manhoef and former Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza to win the Dream middleweight grand prix. Mousasi (24-2-1) has won 11 consecutive fights.