We are honored to be included among the nominees for MMA’s most prestigious awards. Please vote for Bloody Elbow at WorldMMAAwards.com.
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Rob Hewitt announces 15th annual WMMA awards
Rob Hewitt, Fighters Only CEO, is pleased to announce the nominees for the 15th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards.
The event’s voting website is now live at WorldMMAAwards.com, where fans around the world can
democratically voice their opinions and cast their vote for who they believe deserves to win.
“I am honoured and excited to have reached a 15-year anniversary with the Fighters Only World
MMA Awards,” said Rob Hewitt. “To see the growth of the sport during that time has filled me full of
joy and this year’s nominees are a true representation of this growth. It is the most international
Awards in our history and this year we will truly celebrate the best of MMA across the globe.”
Vote for your favorite nominees from today until September
With a nomination period between June 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023, the independent Fighters Only
panel searched through all promotions and regions to select the award nominees. Among the most
anticipated award categories include “Fighter of the Year,” “Knockout of the Year,” “Fight of the
Year,” and the recently added “Fighting Spirit Award.”
In true MMA tradition, Fighters Only gives the world’s fight fans the power to vote for their favourite
fighters, knockouts and submissions that amazed them, and which nominees impressed them the
most over the past year to determine who takes home a coveted Fighters Only World MMA Award.
This is the only awards show where fans can have their say and cast their votes through their
desktops, mobile devices, and smartphones at WorldMMAAwards.com.
Voting is now live and will conclude on September 30.
About The Fighters Only World MMA Awards
The Fighters Only World MMA Awards is the industry event for the sport of mixed martial arts and
winners will be presented with their trophy in an unparalleled live event with a full red carpet attended by a who’s who of the combat sports industry and its celebrity fanbase.
The date and venue for the 15th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards ceremony will be
announced in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned for more information and exciting
announcements.
Here are your nominees for the 15th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards:
MMA Media Source of the Year
MMA Fighting
Sherdog
MMA Junkie
ESPN
Bloody Elbow
Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Fighter of the Year
Leon Edwards
Aljamain Sterling
Israel Adesanya
Islam Makhachev
Sadibou Sy
Female Fighter of the Year
Alexa Grasso
Amanda Nunes
Larissa Pacheco
Seika Izawa
Liz Carmouche
Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
Dricus Du Plessis
Alex Pereira
Ilia Topuria
Sergei Pavlovich
Alexa Grasso
International Fighter of the Year
Leon Edwards
Israel Adesanya
Dricus Du Plessis
Sergei Pavlovich
Sadibou Sy
Fight of the Year
Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev (UFC 286)
Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler (UFC 281)
Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski (UFC 284)
Brennan Ward vs. Sabah Homasi (Bellator 290)
Matt Schnell vs. Su Mudaerji (UFC on ABC 3)
Knockout of the Year
Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman – Head kick (UFC 278)
Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira – Punches (UFC 287)
Sadibou Sy vs. Shane Mitchell – Spinning wheel kick (PFL 6, 2023)
Krzysztof Głowacki vs. Patryk Tołkaczewski – Punch (KSW Colosseum 2)
Ismael Bonfim vs. Terrance McKinney – Flying knee (UFC 283)\
Submission of the Year
Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko – Face crank (UFC 285)
Louis Glismann vs. Melvin van Suijdam – Inverted omoplata (Oktagon 43)
Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira – Arm-triangle choke (UFC 280)
Olga Rubin vs. Claire Guthrie – Buggy choke (Invicta FC 53)
Reinier de Ridder vs. Vitaly Bigdash – Inverted triangle choke (ONE 159)
Comeback of the Year
Jon Jones (Career)
Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman 1 (UFC 278)
John Hathaway (Returning from lengthy illness)
Matt Schnell vs. Su Mudaerji (UFC on ABC 3)
Yaroslav Amosov (Returning from war)
Upset of the Year
Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko (UFC 285)
Larissa Pacheco vs. Kayla Harrison (PFL 10, 2022)
Christian Echols vs. Pat Downey (Bellator 289)
Jesus Pinedo vs. Brendan Loughnane (PFL 4, 2023)
Zebaztian Kadestam vs. Roberto Soldic (ONE Fight Night 10)
Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year
Eugene Bareman
Mike Brown
Dave Lovell
Ray Longo
Eric Nicksick
Trainer of the Year
Heather Linden
Jonathon Reynolds
Everton Oliveira
Jordan Sullivan
Brandon Gallagher
Gym of the Year
City Kickboxing
American Top Team
Team Renegade
Kill Cliff FC
American Kickboxing Academy
Referee of the Year
Marc Goddard
Jason Herzog
Mark Smith
Herb Dean
Rich Mitchell
Ringcard Girl of the Year
Brittney Palmer
Louise McKie
Brookliyn Wren
Jhenny Andrade
Luciana Andrade
Leading Man
Dana White (UFC)
Scott Coker (Bellator)
Peter Murray (PFL)
Maciej Kawulski (KSW)
Ondrej Novotny (Oktagon)
Best Promotion
UFC
Bellator MMA
PFL
KSW
Oktagon MMA
Personality of the Year
Joe Rogan
Laura Sanko
Chael Sonnen
Daniel Cormier
Jon Anik
Analyst of the Year
Michael Bisping
Paul Felder
Dan Hardy
Anthony Smith
Kenny Florian
Best MMA Programming
Morning Kombat
The MMA Hour
Dana White’s Contender Series
The Anik & Florian Podcast
UFC Embedded
MMA Journalist of the Year
Ariel Helwani
Aaron Bronsteter
Marc Raimondi
John Morgan
Nolan King
Fighting Spirit Award
Yaroslav Amosov (Adversity – returning from war to unify the Bellator welterweight title)
Steven Ray (Strength – fighting for his family)
Biaggio Ali Walsh (Bravery – helping his community in the face of danger)
Themba Gorimbo (Charity – building a water pump in Zimbabwe and putting others ahead of himself) Chris Barnett (Adversity – overcoming great personal loss and adversity in the cage)
Cast your vote today at WorldMMAAwards.com!
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