March MMAdness: Day 14, The Sweet 16!

Photo by Donald Miralle/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

March may be a time-twisting nightmare stretching into infinity, but at least we have Mania’s March MMAdness tournament, created to determine the best mixed martial arts (MMA) fights of all time … and to keep you a safe six-foot distance from any and all nearby ledges.

Day 1 Results | Day 2 Results | Day 3 Results | Day 4 Results | Day 5 Results| Day 6 Results | Day 7 Results | Day 8 Results | Day 9 Results | Day 10 Results | Day 11 Results | Day 12 Results
Day 13 Results:

• Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald 2 (#1) defeats Jim Miller vs. Joe Lauzon 1 (#48) with 87 percent of Maniac votes
• Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit (#9) defeats Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (#25) with 50.32 percent of Maniac votes

Though it came down to just two votes out of more than 300, Robbie Lawler has secured himself the tournament’s first mirror match and eliminated PRIDE’s last representative.

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Match 3: Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson 1 (#4) vs. Yair Rodriguez vs. Chan Sung Jung (#52)

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The first meeting between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson took out one of Bellator’s best in No. 61-ranked Eddie Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler 2, leading to a match up with one of PRIDE’s best in No. 36-seeded Shogun Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Not even a healthy helping of flying stomps could save the Brazilian battlers as the No. 4 seed asserted its status as the greatest Light Heavyweight war of all time with a 40-point victory.

The biggest underdog still on its feet, Yair Rodriguez vs. Chan Sung Jung clawed its way past 2016’s “Fight of the Year” in No. 13-ranked Cub Swanson vs. Doo Ho Choi to claim a spot in the Round of 32. Another all-time-great slugfest in No. 20-seeded Nick Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi fell in signature fashion, improving this match up’s cumulative vote differential to 23.

A no-look reverse up-elbow can take you far, but “Pantera” and “The Korean Zombia” have a mighty tall task ahead of them. Jones vs. Gustafsson 1 didn’t get a No. 4 seed and a spot in the Sweet 16 through name value alone, and Jones’ spinning elbow in the fourth round is a secret weapon in its own right. Can the miracle run prove as deathless as its marquee participant?

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Match 4: Israel Adesanya vs. Kelvin Gastelum (#21) vs. Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 2 (#5)

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Photo by Donald Miralle/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Cult classic status wasn’t nearly enough to keep No. 44-ranked Jorge Santiago vs. Kazuo Misaki 2 afloat against an all-time-great Middleweight title fight, sending Israel Adesanya vs. Kelvin Gastelum into the second round with 79 percent of the Maniac vote. Though the raw violence of No. 12-seeded Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez fared a bit better, it still sank by a 20-point margin.

Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard began one of their two tournament runs by overpowering the fancy-pants grappling of No. 60-ranked Clay Guida vs. Karo Parisyan, holding the latter to a paltry 38 votes out of almost 250. The Round of 32 saw No. 28-seeded Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley bludgeon its way to a respectable chunk of the vote, but still fall well short against the New Year’s Day war.

Here we’ve got a heinously brutal fifth round against a heinously brutal first round, each supported by four additional rounds of back-and-forth action. We’ve got knockdowns, takedowns, high-stakes drama, and facial disfigurement to spare from these two. Toughies like this are why I left the actual decision-making to you lot.

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Also, to reiterate, spread the word, share socially … do whatever grassroots / viral “Get Out The Vote” campaign needed to ensure your favorite fights advance to the next round. Complaining in the comments section about seeding and whatnot will not impact the results and will just make you look like an unappreciative dick.

Same time tomorrow, Maniacs.

Be sure to also check out our March MMAdness archive — which includes the entire bracket — to catch up on the tournament right here.