Despite a year of unprecedented hardship and uncertainty, there have been some historic performances around the world as well as a quite incredible collection of show-stopping stoppages.
Fans will be given the power to decide who they think is the most deserving of being recognized for their efforts, and will be able to vote from now until Wednesday, September 8th.
As ever, the standout awards include, ‘Fighter of the Year’, ‘Knockout of the Year’, ‘Fight of the Year’. There’s also the recently added ‘Fighting Spirit Award’ to look out for.
The venue and the date for the 13th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards ceremony will be announced in the coming weeks.
Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Male Fighter of the Year
Kamaru Usman
Brandon Moreno
Yaroslav Amosov
Charles Oliveira
Jan Blachowicz
Female Fighter of the Year
Mackenzie Dern
Kayla Harrison
Valentina Shevchenko
Rose Namajunas
Manon Fiorot
Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
Khamzat Chimaev
Jiří Procházka
Brandon Moreno
Yaroslav Amosov
Kevin Holland
International Fighter of the Year
Vadim Nemkov
Israel Adesanya
Yaroslav Amosov
Robert Whittaker
Jan Blachowicz
Fight of the Year
Paul Daley vs. Sabah Homasi – Bellator 257
Edson Barboza vs. Shane Burgos – UFC 262
Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno I – UFC 256
Jiří Procházka vs. Dominick Reyes – UFC on ESPN 23
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Miguel Baeza – UFC on ESPN+ 47
Knockout of the Year
Joaquin Buckley vs. Impa Kasanganay – Back Kick – UFC on ESPN+ 37
Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal – Punch – UFC 261
Cory Sandhagen vs. Frankie Edgar – Flying Knee – UFC on ESPN+ 42
Shane Burgos vs. Edson Barboza – Punch – UFC 262
Mamed Khalidov vs. Scott Askham – Flying Switch Kick – KSW 55
Submission of the Year
AJ McKee vs. Darrion Caldwell – Neck Crank – Bellator 253
Paul Craig vs. Jamahal Hill – Armbar/Triangle – UFC 264
Jimmy Flick vs. Cody Durden – Flying Triangle – UFC on ESPN+ 41
Anthony Hernandez vs. Rodolfo Vieira – Guillotine – UFC 258
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje – Triangle – UFC 254
Comeback of the Year
Paul Daley vs. Sabah Homasi – Bellator 257
Thanh le vs. Martin Nguyen – ONE: Inside the Matrix
Sean Strickland (Career)
Rose Namajunas (Career)
Charles Oliviera vs. Michael Chandler – UFC 262
Upset of the Year
Adriano Moraes vs. Demetrious Johnson – ONE on TNT 1
Shana Dobson vs. Mariya Agapova – UFC on ESPN 15
Clay Collard vs. Anthony Pettis – PFL 2021 #1
Ok Rae Yoon vs. Eddie Alvarez – ONE on TNT 4
Anthony Hernandez vs. Rodolfo Vieira – UFC 258
Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year
Eric Nicksick
Henri Hooft
Mike Brown
Trevor Wittman
Jason Parillo
Trainer of the Year
Phil Daru
Sam Calavitta
Jordan Sullivan
Chase Cichos
Bo Sandoval
Gym of the Year
American Top Team
City Kickboxing
Elevation Fight Team
RVCA
Sanford MMA
Referee of the Year
Herb Dean
Dan Miragliotta
Mark Smith
Jason Herzog
Marc Goddard
Ringcard Girl of the Year
Arianny Celeste
Luciana Andrade
Brookliyn Wren
Brittney Palmer
Kasia Motloch Kejsi
Leading Man of the Year
Dana White
Ed Soares
Mohammed Shahid
Densign White
Scott Coker
Best Promotion of the Year
Bellator MMA
LFA
Brave Combat Federation
UAE Warriors
UFC
Personality of the Year
Jon Anik
Daniel Cormier
Joe Rogan
Laura Sanko
Chael Sonnen
Analyst of the Year
Robin Black
Michael Bisping
Paul Felder
Dan Hardy
John McCarthy
Best MMA Programming
Morning Kombat
Dana White’s Contender Series
DC & Helwani
JRE MMA Show
UFC Embedded
MMA Media Source of the Year
The Mac Life
BT Sport
ESPN MMA
MMA Fighting
MMA Junkie
MMA Journalist of the Year
John Morgan
Shaheen Al-Shatti
Brett Okamoto
Ariel Helwani
Oscar Willis
Fighting Spirit of the Year
Khabib Nurmagomedov (Compassion vs. Justin Gaethje – transitioned from an arm bar to triangle to avoid distressing Gaethje’s parents)
Terrance McKinney (recovery – from overcoming drug addiction and near death to UFC callup and winning debut)
Brandon Moreno (Perseverance – from being cut, to fighting back and becoming the first Mexican UFC champion)
Dustin Poirier (Charity – continued efforts with The Good Fight Foundation giving back to the local community in Louisiana)
Dana White (Leadership – when all sports were down and out due to Covid-19, against all the odds, Dana White made Fight Island real)
Who do you think are the favorites for this year’s MMA awards?
