Sherdog.com’s 2015 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year

3. Liam McGeary

Liam McGeary turned potential into championship gold in 2015, and Emanuel Newton was his first victim.

The undefeated Englishman leaned on a hyperactive guard that produced some near-finishes, as he took the Bellator MMA light heavyweight championship from Newton with a unanimous decision in the Bellator 134 headliner on Feb. 27 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. All three judges gave McGeary the nod: 48-46, 48-47 and 48-47.

Newton elected to forgo the standup in favor of a ground battle, and his decision proved costly. McGeary met his persistence with unyielding aggression from the bottom, transitioning from one submission to the next. The Renzo Gracie protégé set the pace in the first round, where he threatened with triangle chokes, triangle armbars, armbars and a keylock.

McGeary closed out rounds two and three in triangle position, as well: He had Newton in serious trouble in the waning moments of the third, as he tightened the choke from a mounted position and dropped elbows and punches. The fourth and fifth frames appeared to go more to Newton’s liking, as he did a better job of navigating McGeary’s guard and piling up points from top position. Still, his efforts were not enough to keep the 205-pound title from changing hands.

Bellator gave McGeary nearly seven months to bask in the glory before pairing him with Ultimate Fighting Championship hall of famer Tito Ortiz.

McGeary submitted Ortiz with an inverted triangle choke to retain his light heavyweight title in the Bellator 142 “Dynamite” main event on Sept. 19 at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Ortiz tapped 4:41 into round one, losing via submission for the first time in almost 16 years.

Ortiz landed a takedown, avoided a guillotine and set up shop in his wheelhouse, unleashing elbows and punches from inside the Englishman’s guard. McGeary remained calm, even as “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” passed to side control, and threw up an armbar in response. Ortiz slammed his way out of the technique, only to wander into the inverted triangle, as the undefeated McGeary snaked his long legs around his neck and coaxed the tapout.

The 33-year-old McGeary will head into 2016 with plenty of contenders nipping at his heels, most notably Phil Davis.

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