2023 MMA News Awards: Edson Barboza Wins Comeback Of The Year

4. Carlston Harris vs. Jeremiah Wells - UFC Nashville

Coming through in fourth position is welterweight Carlson Harris, who delivered an 'out of nowhere' moment that even Randy Orton would be proud of...

Harris, whose sole UFC loss came against top contender Shavkat Rakhmonov, shared the Octagon with Jeremiah Wells at the UFC Fight Night event held in Nashville this past August. And through two rounds, it appeared almost certain that the Guyanese 36-year-old was heading to a defeat.

After 10 minutes of comfortable work and control from Wells, he found himself 20-18 up on all three scorecards. But just as fans were resigning themselves to the idea of the American enjoying another round of ground dominance as he shot for a takedown early in the third, the tables turned.

After latching onto Wells' neck, Harris locked in a tight anaconda choke to put the 37-year-old Pennsylvania native to sleep. From nine minutes of control time to one moment of fight-winning success late in the day, Harris was a shoe-in for this year's top five.

3. Elves Brener vs. Guram Kutateladze - UFC Vegas 76

Having narrowly missed out on a high place in our Breakthrough Fighter of the Year category, Elves Brener has found a deserving place in the top five for this category.

The Brazilian's debut year in the UFC has seen him collect three victories, but one certainly stood out from the pack. Brener's sophomore Octagon outing came on short notice against the highly regarded Guram Kutateladze at the Apex this past July. 

As the final minute of the fight approached, the Georgian was cruising to a certain victory on the scorecards, having collected both the first two rounds in the eyes of all three judges.

But despite being rocked in the first round, comfortably outpointed through the best part of 14 minutes, and sporting a gnarly cut, the 26-year-old came up trumps with a final-minute knockout to upset the "Georgian Viking."

2. Davey Grant vs. Raphael Assunção - UFC Las Vegas

What is it that sets a comeback like Davey Grant's aside from those below it on this list? An Inverted triangle choke, that's what.

After bouncing back from consecutive losses to Marlon Vera and Adrian Yañez with a knockout win over Louis Smolka, England's Grant had the chance to fight another prominent veteran in Raphael Assunção this past March at UFC Las Vegas. But heading into the final minute, "Dangerous" looked destined to fall short having dropped the opening two rounds on two of the three scorecards.

And when the Brazilian looked close to completing a takedown and riding out the final 60 seconds, Grant attempted to avoid the compromising position by grabbing the fence. While that resulted in a point deduction, the Englishman ultimately benefited when the fight began standing.

Knowing what was required, the British standout pushed forward and floored Assunção with a spinning backfist. When the 41-year-old reacted by clutching onto his opponent's legs and lifting him, Grant locked in an ultra-rare inverted triangle choke.

With 17 seconds remaining until a guaranteed win, Assunção went to sleep and Grant stood victoriously with the shocked face of a lottery winner.

1. Edson Barboza vs. Sodiq Yusuff - UFC Vegas 81

It's often said that mixed martial arts is a young man's game, and that recovery ability is one of the first things to go as a fighter transitions to veteran status. Well, Edson Barboza did not get that memo...

On the back of a brutal knockout win over Billy Quarantillo at UFC Kansas City this past April, Barboza appeared set to fall victim to a quick finish himself when he headlined an October UFC Fight Night against Sodiq Yusuff. The Nigerian-American had his Brazilian counterpart heavily rocked early in round one and came incredibly close to finishing the fight on numerous occasions.

But, the 37-year-old emerged from his corner for round two rejuvenated. And after a strong second frame, Barboza never looked back and maintained a strong performance en route to a unanimous decision win after five rounds.

A few minutes into the fight, not many would have backed Barboza to see a second round, yet alone five... yet alone a victory.