Fighters Only have announced the nominees for the 2021 World MMA Awards.
This will be the 13th edition of the annual ceremony and the official voting website is live at worldmmaawards.com.
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.
Here are your Nominees:
Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Male Fighter of the Year
Female Fighter of the Year
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?