The 1st Ever Hard Knocks Fighting Championship's Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence.

Last Saturday evening's Hard Knocks 5 had everything on the MMA lovers check list:

• Spectacular submissions: Check
• Highlight-reel Knock Outs: Check
• Tremendous displays of heart and courage: Oh Yeah!

Lets acknowledge some of the performances that made the 5th edition of the Hard Knocks Fighting Championship so special. This is the first-ever edition of the Hard Knocks Fighting Championship's Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence. Or the HKFCAOAFE's for short.

Debut of the Night

This award goes to the fighter that shows talent and promise in their debut fight in the Hard Knocks Fighting Championship.

The nominees are: Gerrit Straus for his performance against Dave Hollett, Shad Potts for his submission victory over Tory Bleackley, Rob Park for his KO victory over Justin Wong and Cory Knipe for his corner retirement victory over Rick Neuman

And the winner is...Gerrit Straus

Although Straus' debut in Hard Knocks will officially go down as a loss, he showed a ton of potential before the fight was stopped after round one.

Through out the first round, Straus showed really good transitions and a solid ground game. Straus moved fluidly from position to position on the ground, showing more skill than expected from a fighter making his amateur debut. Straus transitioned into a figure-4 bodylock against opponent Dave Hollett, but could not finish the choke before the end of the round. Unfortunately, the fight did not see a second round, due to a groin protection issue on Straus' part. And as we all know, adequate groin protection is of utmost importance in MMA! But in that first round Straus' impressive performance was enough to earn him the HKFCAOAFE for Outstanding Debut.

Submission of the Night

This award goes to the fighter with the most impressive submission at Hard Knocks 5.

The nominees are: Chad Neilson for his Guillotine choke of Sean Grimes, Shad Potts for his rear naked choke over Tory Bleackley and Chris Mattock for his armbar of Kurtis Little

And the winner is... Chris Mattock

Chris Mattock is a Gracie Barra Blue-belt, so his slick Jiu Jitsu skills should shock no one. Mattock showed those Jiu Jitsu skills at  Hard Knocks 5 with an impressive armbar on Kurtis Little. Midway through the first round, the combatants were pressed up against the cage when the lanky Mattock went for a guillotine. As Mattock attempted the guillotine, the fight was moved off the fence. With guillotine in hand, Mattock attempted to pull guard. Little carried Mattock back to the cage wall and if you blinked you missed what happened next; Mattock masterfully transitioned to an armbar, that had Little tapping instantaneously. The armbar gave Kurtis Little a very sore arm and Mattock the HKFCAOAFE for Submission of the Night.

Knockout of the Night

This award goes to the fighter with the most impressive knockout at Hard Knocks 5.

The nominees are: Cole Fetzer for his TKO of Meelad Hashtee, Rob Park for his KO of Justin Wong, Gareth Jones for his TKO of Aaron Barnes and Aaron Armstrong for his TKO of Curtis Chambers

And the winner is... Gareth Jones

Gareth Jones has a great deal of boxing experience and he showed it at Hard Knocks 5 with a devastating KO of Aaron Barnes. In the first real action of the fight, Jones caught a kick and with Barnes's leg in hand, Jones used his free hand to knock down Barnes with a hard punch to the jaw. Jones then let Barnes up, so that he could continue with his superior striking. A devastating right hook later, Barnes was left sprawled out on the canvas. The KO at 1:34 of Round 1 gave Jones his first MMA victory and earns him the HKFCAOAFE for Knockout of the Night.

Fight of the Night

This award goes to the fight that excited the fans and left them jumping out of their seats at Hard Knocks 5.

The nominees are: Mark Morales vs. Jarod Milko, Sumeet Gill vs. Matt Krayco and Aaron Armstrong vs. Curtis Chambers

And the winner is... Sumeet Gill vs. Matt Krayco

WOW!!! Simply WOW!!! This fight had it all. Takedowns, submission attempts and two guys standing in the centre of the cage wailing on each other. Both Gill and Krayco showed outstanding skill and tremendous courage in a bout that may soon be remembered as Hard Knocks version of Forest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar.

The first round saw the fighters exchange hard punches and kicks as well as top position and submission attempts on the ground. Krayco clearly got the better of Gill in round 1, but in round 2 Gill came out a new man. Gill looked more confident in his strikes as the round started, until his plan was momentarily derailed by a Krayco punch. The right-hook sent Gill to the mat, but Krayco let him up in order to try and finish Gill standing. Sitting at ringside you could see a change in facial expression from Gill as he got back up. In his eyes you could see this was no longer an MMA match, this was a fight. From there Gill brought the fight to Krayco and the fighters went back and forth, taking turns winning the furious striking exchanges. At one point, the fighters grabbed each other by the back of the head and proceeded to repeatedly punch each other in the face. For about 20 seconds, it looked like a hockey fight in the centre of the Hard Knocks cage. The fans rose to their feet and cheered loudly as the second round expired.

Everyone in attendance was looking forward to third round, but unfortunately it was not to be. In between rounds, Krayco's corner decided to protect their fighter and the fight was waved off. The reason for Krayco's retirement was a possible broken jaw and ringing in his ears. As Gill celebrated his victory with a backflip, Gill soon discovered that he was missing his front tooth. Where that tooth is now is a mystery, perhaps a gruesome souvenir for a cage-side fan?

Words do not do this fight justice. You MUST see this fight. If you weren't there, or if you were and need to see the battle once more, check out NUTV.ca in the near future. Also check hardknosckfighting.com later in the week for a feature article on the Fight of the Night: Gill vs Krayco.

Discuss!

Do you agree or disagree with the selections for the HKFCAOAFE's? Please discuss in the comment section below. Thanks and we will see you at Hard Knocks 6 in early April as fighters will once again vie for the Hard Knocks Fighting Championship's Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence!