2009 was another banner year for Mixed Martial Arts. This week's column will look back at the year and preview the upcoming one. End of year awards are always fun so the look back at 2009 will be presented in that format.

Fight of the Year: There were plenty of candidates for this one. The Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida slugfest at the UFC's Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale was a memorable one. Fedor Emelianenko's introduction to the American mainstream on CBS couldn't have gone any better. His primetime Strikeforce showdown with Brett "The Grim" Rogers proved to be the most entertainment one could get on free TV. MMA purists would likely go with the chessmatch of a fight between veterans, Randy "The Natural" Couture and Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira at UFC 102.

The 2009 fight of the year, however, goes to the one that most national media outlets are pointing to as well -- the five-round WEC 43 interim lightweight championship war between Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone and Ben "Smooth" Henderson.

This event was held in San Antonio's AT&T; Center and I was fortunate to be in attendance, covering it for The News. All twenty-five minutes of this bout included edge-of-the-seat-action. One could tell even the two fighters knew they had something special going on when they hugged each other BEFORE starting battle again in the final round.

Knockout of the Year: Hands down Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida's knockout of Rashad Evans at UFC 98 takes it. As far as magnitude of the championship victory and the sheer emphasis of the knockout itself, none were greater. Interestingly, Evans won 2008's knockout of the year with his waylaying of Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell. This year he holds the dubious distinction of being the recipient.

Upset of the Year: Tie - Brett "The Grim" Rogers defeats Andre Arlovski and Mackens Semerzier defeats Wagnney Fabiano.

Sure Arlovski can be inconsistent but there's no way he could lose to Rogers. Wrong. Rogers bull-rushed him at the opening bell and knocked him out within twenty-two seconds at Strikeforce's June event.

WEC 43's Wagnney Fabiano vs. Mackens Semerzier match-up looked like an easy victory for Fabiano against a WEC newcomer. This pairing was so lopsided I decided to go back to the media room to snack while I watched it on the monitors. To my astonishment the unknown Semerzier not only defeated Fabiano, but he did it by triangle choke submission on the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt.

Submission of the Year: Semerzier easily wins this based on his aforementioned feat. He masterfully defeated Fabiano at this own game with that triangle.

Fighter of the Year: There were many candidates this year for this one. The WEC's Jose Aldo and Strikeforce's Fedor Emelianenko could be in the discussion.

The 2009 fighter of the year, however, is Lyoto Machida. His capturing of the UFC light heavyweight title brought back the entire fighting discipline of Karate. He even successfully defended the title, albeit barely, against Shogun Rua. Machida used to be known as a boring defensive fighter, but in 2009 he transformed himself into a fan favorite.

That concludes the review of an eventful year in MMA. There's even more for fans to look forward to in 2010 such as the following:

Herschel Walker's MMA debut: The former Dallas Cowboy great is a versatile athlete and has a sixth-degree black belt in Taekwondo. He'll be testing the MMA waters with a bout on Strikeforce's January 30th event.

Strikeforce's growth: With the acquisitions of fighters such as Emelianenko and Dan Henderson to add to its current lineup of fighters, they're now a national-level player in MMA.

Battle for WEC crowns: WEC champs, Miguel Torres and Mike Brown recently went down to defeat. There is a plethora of potential contenders for their old bantamweight and featherweight titles. There's also a three-horse race for the WEC lightweight title with Ben Henderson, Cowboy Cerrone, and Jamie Varner in the mix.

The UFC Light Heavyweight Wars continue: The UFC's most talent-laden division now has a two-time champion in Machida. It'll be interesting to see if Machida can stay on top as well as watch others battle to earn the shot to meet him there.

That wraps up the 2009 year in review and look ahead into 2010. Next month this column will dive into something even more thought-provoking -- the MMA decade awards.

David Estrada Jr. is a Mixed Martial Arts columnist for the Port Arthur News. He can be e-mailed at DavidEstrada@DavidEstrada.com