10 Biggest MMA Stories Of 2014

A lot went down in the MMA world in 2014!

By Jay Anderson /

A lot happened in 2014 in the world of MMA. That may seem like an obvious statement, but when we say a lot, we mean it. It wasn't your typical year: major, major events went down that may change the MMA world as we know it. First, some of the smaller events that were notable, but won't make our list: Jon Jones surpassed Tito Ortiz as the most successful UFC light heavyweight champion of all time. Speaking of Ortiz, he made his Bellator MMA debut, and has now won two fights in the promotion and is looking at a possible title shot. Rampage Jackson left Bellator after a successful three fight run there, and returned to the UFC; Eddie Alvarez, Bellator's lightweight champion, was granted his release by the promotion and joined the UFC only to lose to Cowboy Cerrone. Ben Akren, the former Bellator lightweight champ, continued to be the best welterweight fighter in the world not in the UFC, and became the ONE FC welterweight champion. Ronda Rousey continued to be big news, and questions began to rise about a possible Brock Lesnar return to MMA - although we likely won't know if that will happen for a few more months. Yes, it was an exciting, interesting year in MMA - so lets take a look at the ten biggest stories of 2014!