It was year of challenges for many in 2021, which made our top 10 stories on MMA Crossfire even more interesting.

Despite another year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the major organizations led by the UFC  continued to plow ahead with almost weekly events, laughing all the way to the bank as a result.

Editor-in-Chief Kenai Andrews takes a look at the The Crossfire’s top 10 most popular stories as determined by the readers for 2021.

Here they are.

10 – Bling’s Andrew Gray breaks down the UFC 257’s Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor rematch

Andrews: Andrew is a big UFC and boxing fan and I had him on our TKO Countdown show earlier in the year. So it was fun to connect on the big fight and get his thoughts.

9 – MMA Fighting Esther Lin announces departure, transition into freelance voice acting 

Andrews: I think the longtime fans were interested in this one. I met Esther in Toronto at one of the UFC shows and she was pleasant and professional. Her body of work speaks for itself and it’s no surprise our readers were interested in her future endeavours.

8 – 2021 PFL World Championship: Harrison vs. Guardado predictions

Andrews: The PFL made some big steps in 2021 and I think their championship event confirms their growth. Can they keep Kayla Harrison? Let’s see what they bring this year.

7 – UFC Fight Night 203: Beneil Dariush vs. Islam Makhachev lightweight tilt confirmed 

Andrews: Fans are looking forward to this matchup in 2022. The winner likely gets the title shot against Charles Oliveira.

6 – ‘Super Genie’ Melissa Coates staying positive after artery blockage in her left leg

Andrews: Super Genie passed way midway through 2021 and wrestling fans flocked to read her story.

5 – Tokyo 2020: Wyatt Sanford reflects on his Olympic experience

Andrews: Canadian fans seemed to take some interest in the Canadian boxing team in Tokyo. A lot of the Olympic boxing did much better than I thought they would.

4 – Dangerous Minds at 25 years: 25 facts on its 25th anniversary

Andrews: We had LouAnne Johnson, the author of the book that Dangerous Minds was based on our show TKO Countdown in 2020 for the 25th anniversary. Having watched the movie as a young adult, I cherished having LouAnne share her thoughts and experiences with the movie. That was a personal moment for myself and I’m sure for many of our readers who continue to read the story. And I’m pleased to say that I consider LouAnne a good friend.

3 – Professional wrestler “Super Genie” Melissa Coates dead at 50

Andrews: Melissa and Sabu had their following and then years ago we did the Super Genie Diary where she shared some of her travel experiences to Japan. And when she passed, I think a lot of wrestling fans were looking for information. Particularly stories she wrote and that helped her stories get to where they are.

2 – Kickboxer Jorja Holliday, 15, dies from COVID-19 on the day she was to be vaccinated

Andrews: A sad story. Holliday was only 15 years old and a lot of readers from the U.K. in particular were interested in her story. Hopefully, lessons have been learned going forward.

1 – ONE flyweight Colbey Northcutt Daniels opens up on interracial marriage

Andrews: Colbey’s story continues to resonate with readers. Hopefully, sharing her story has helped improve the conversation, as unfortunately this type of prejudice she and her husband Raymond Daniels encounter was still a thing in 2021. A more positive note is that she recently announced on Instagram that she is three months pregnant

And that’s it. Thanks for reading. A happy and healthy New Year to all.

Don’t forget to enjoy the fights.

@kenaiandrews