World MMA Awards
The World MMA Awards are awards presented by Fighters Only magazine to honor exceptional performance in various aspects of mixed martial arts. Winners are presented with the Fighters Only silver statuette. The World MMA Awards are divided into over twenty categories. The first World MMA Awards ceremony was held in 2008. From their inception to the present, award winners have been chosen through online fan voting.[2][3] It is the most prestigious award event in the world of MMA.[4][5][6][7]
| World MMA Awards | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Excellence in the field of Mixed martial arts  | 
| Country | United States | 
| Presented by | Fighters Only Magazine | 
| First awarded | 2008 | 
| Website | WorldMMAAwards.com | 
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | Versus[1]  Fuel TV[2] Fox Sports Networks[2]  | 
Active award categories
    
    The Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Fighter of the Year
    
- 2008 
 Anderson Silva[8] - 2009 
 Georges St-Pierre[9] 
For the 2010 awards, the Fighter of the Year award was renamed The Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Fighter of the Year award in commemoration of Tapout co-founder Charles Lewis Jr.[10]
- 2010 
 José Aldo[11] - 2011 
 Jon Jones[12] - 2012 
 Jon Jones[13] - 2013 
 Chris Weidman[14] - 2014 
 Robbie Lawler[15] - 2015 
 Conor McGregor[16] - 2016 
 Conor McGregor[17] - 2017 
 Max Holloway[18] - 2018 
 Daniel Cormier[19] - 2019 
 Israel Adesanya[20] - 2021 
 Kamaru Usman 
Female Fighter of the Year
    
- 2008 
 Gina Carano[8] - 2009 
 Cris Cyborg[9] - 2010 
 Cris Cyborg[11] - 2011 
 Miesha Tate[12] - 2012 
 Ronda Rousey[13] - 2013 
 Ronda Rousey[14] - 2014 
 Ronda Rousey[15] - 2015 
 Holly Holm[16] - 2016 
 Amanda Nunes[21] - 2017 
 Rose Namajunas[18] - 2018 
 Amanda Nunes[19] - 2019 
 Amanda Nunes[20] - 2021 
 Rose Namajunas 
Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
    
- 2008 
 Demian Maia[8] - 2009 
 Brock Lesnar[9] - 2010 
 Jon Jones[11] - 2011 
 Donald Cerrone[12] - 2012 
 Chris Weidman[13] - 2013 
 Travis Browne[14] - 2014 
 Kelvin Gastelum[15] - 2015 
 Holly Holm[16] - 2016 
 Cody Garbrandt - 2017 
 Brian Ortega[18] - 2018 
 Israel Adesanya[19] - 2019 
 Jorge Masvidal[20] - 2021 
 Brandon Moreno 
International Fighter of the Year
    
This award was originally known as the European Fighter of the Year.
- 2008 
 Michael Bisping[8] - 2009 
 Gegard Mousasi[9] 
This award was renamed the International Fighter of the Year from 2010 onward. It is awarded to the leading mixed martial artist from outside of the Americas.
- 2010 
 Alistair Overeem[11] - 2011 
 Alistair Overeem[12] - 2012 
 Michael Bisping[13] - 2013 
 Alexander Gustafsson[14] - 2014 
 Conor McGregor[15] - 2015 
 Conor McGregor[16] - 2016 
 Khabib Nurmagomedov - 2017 
 Robert Whittaker[18] - 2018 
 Aung La Nsang[19] - 2019 
 Israel Adesanya[20] - 2021 
 Israel Adesanya 
Fight of the Year
    
- 2008 
 Chuck Liddell UD 3 
 Wanderlei Silva[8] – UFC 79 - 2009 
 Diego Sanchez SD 3 
 Clay Guida[9] – The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom Finale - 2010 
 Anderson Silva SUB 5 
 Chael Sonnen[11] – UFC 117 - 2011 
 Frankie Edgar S Draw 5 
 Gray Maynard II[12] – UFC 125 - 2012 
 Joe Lauzon SUB 3 
 Jamie Varner[13] – UFC on Fox: Shogun vs. Vera - 2013 
 Jon Jones UD 5 
 Alexander Gustafsson[14] – UFC 165 - 2014 
 José Aldo UD 5 
 Chad Mendes II[15] – UFC 179 - 2015 
 Robbie Lawler TKO 5 
 Rory MacDonald II[16] – UFC 189 - 2016 
 Cub Swanson UD 3 
 Doo Ho Choi[22] – UFC 206 - 2017 
 Eddie Alvarez KO 3 
 Justin Gaethje – UFC 218 - 2018 
 Tony Ferguson TKO 2 
 Anthony Pettis – UFC 229[19] - 2019–20 
 Weili Zhang SD 5 
 Joanna Jędrzejczyk – UFC 248[20] - 2021 
 Deiveson Figueiredo M Draw 5 
 Brandon Moreno I – UFC 256 
Knockout of the Year
    
- 2008 
 Wanderlei Silva KO 1 
 Keith Jardine[8] – UFC 84 - 2009 
 Dan Henderson KO 2 
 Michael Bisping[9] – UFC 100 - 2010 
 Maurício Rua KO 1 
 Lyoto Machida[11] – UFC 113 - 2011 
 Anderson Silva KO 1 
 Vitor Belfort[12] – UFC 126 - 2012 
 Edson Barboza KO 3 
 Terry Etim[13] – UFC 142 - 2013 
 Vitor Belfort KO 1 
 Luke Rockhold[14] – UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold - 2014 
 Mark Hunt KO 2 
 Roy Nelson[15] – UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson - 2015 
 Holly Holm KO 2 
 Ronda Rousey[16] – UFC 193 - 2016 
 Michael Page KO 2 
 Evangelista Santos – Bellator 158 - 2017 
 Francis Ngannou KO 1 
 Alistair Overeem – UFC 218 - 2018 
 Amanda Nunes KO 1 
 Cris Cyborg – UFC 232[19] - 2019 
 Jorge Masvidal KO 1 
 Ben Askren – UFC 239[20] - 2020 
 Joaquin Buckley KO 2 
 Impa Kasanganay >– UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen 
Submission of the Year
    
- 2008 
 Georges St-Pierre SUB 2 
 Matt Hughes[8] – UFC 79 - 2009 
 Toby Imada SUB 3 
 Jorge Masvidal[9] – Bellator 5 - 2010 
 Fabrício Werdum SUB 1 
 Fedor Emelianenko[11] – Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum - 2011 
 Chan Sung Jung SUB 2 
 Leonard Garcia[12] – UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis - 2012 
 Frank Mir SUB 1 
 Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira[13] – UFC 140 - 2013 
 Urijah Faber SUB 1 
 Ivan Menjivar[14] – UFC 157 - 2014 
 Ben Saunders SUB 1 
 Chris Heatherly[15] – UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. dos Anjos - 2015 
 Ronda Rousey SUB 1 
 Cat Zingano[16] – UFC 184 - 2016 
 Nate Diaz SUB 2 
 Conor McGregor – UFC 196 - 2017 
 Demetrious Johnson  SUB 5 
 Ray Borg – UFC 216 - 2018 
 Zabit Magomedsharipov SUB 2 
 Brandon Davis – UFC 228[19] - 2019 
 Demian Maia SUB 3 
 Ben Askren – UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Askren[20] - 2021 
  Brandon Moreno SUB 3 
 Deiveson Figueiredo - UFC 263 
Comeback of the Year
    
- 2011 
 Cheick Kongo KO 1 
 Pat Barry[12] – UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry - 2012 
 Frank Mir SUB 1 
 Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira[13] – UFC 140 - 2013 
 Travis Browne KO 1 
 Alistair Overeem[14] – UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen - 2014 
 Dominick Cruz KO 1 
 Takeya Mizugaki[15] – UFC 178 - 2015 
 Eddie Alvarez SD 3 
 Gilbert Melendez[16] – UFC 188 - 2016 
 Miesha Tate SUB 5 
 Holly Holm – UFC 196 - 2017 
 Justin Gaethje TKO 2 
 Michael Johnson – The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption Finale - 2018 
 Angela Lee UD 5 
 Mei Yamaguchi[19] – ONE FC 73 - 2019 
 Stipe Miocic TKO 4 
 Daniel Cormier II– UFC 241[20] - 2021 
 Charles Oliveira TKO 2 
 Michael Chandler– UFC 262 
Upset of the Year
    
- 2014 
 TJ Dillashaw TKO 5 
 Renan Barao[15] – UFC 173 - 2015 
 Holly Holm KO 2 
 Ronda Rousey[16] – UFC 193 - 2016 
 Michael Bisping KO 1 
 Luke Rockhold – UFC 199 - 2017 
 Rose Namajunas TKO 1 
 Joanna Jędrzejczyk – UFC 217 - 2018 
 Amanda Nunes KO 1 
 Cris Cyborg – UFC 232[19] - 2019 
 Alexander Volkanovski UD 5 
 Max Holloway – UFC 245 
The Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year
    
- 2009 
 Greg Jackson[9] - 2010 
 Greg Jackson[11] - 2011 
 Greg Jackson[12] 
For the 2012 awards, the Coach of the Year award was renamed The Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year award in commemoration of Shawn Tompkins.
- 2012 
 Rafael Cordeiro[13] - 2013 
 Duane Ludwig[14] - 2014 
 Duane Ludwig[15] - 2015 
 Rafael Cordeiro[16] - 2016 
 John Kavanagh - 2017 
 Trevor Wittman - 2018 
 Mike Brown[19] - 2019 
 Trevor Wittman[20] 
Gym of the Year
    
- 2009 Greg Jackson Fighting Systems[9]
 - 2010 Wand Training Center[11]
 - 2011 Black House[12]
 - 2012 Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu[13]
 - 2013 Team Alpha Male[14]
 - 2014 Team Alpha Male[15]
 - 2015 Jackson-Wink MMA Academy[16]
 - 2016 American Top Team
 - 2017 American Top Team
 - 2018 American Top Team[19]
 - 2019 American Top Team[20]
 - 2020 American Top Team[23]
 - 2021 American Top Team[24]
 
Trainer of the Year
    
- 2013 
 Mike Dolce[14] - 2014 
 Mike Dolce[15] - 2015 
 Mike Dolce[16] - 2016 
 Mike Dolce - 2017 
 Nick Curson - 2018 
 Nick Curson[20] - 2019 
 Phil Daru[20] 
Referee of the Year
    
Ringcard Girl of the Year
    
Leading Man of the Year
    
Awarded to the leading industry executive in the world of MMA.
- 2008 
 Dana White[8] - 2009 
 Dana White[9] - 2010 
 Dana White[11] - 2011 
 Dana White[12] - 2012 
 Dana White[13] - 2013 
 Dana White[14] - 2014 
 Dana White[15] - 2015 
 Dana White[16] - 2016 
 Dana White[25] - 2017 
 Dana White[26] - 2018 
 Dana White[19] - 2019 
 Dana White[20] 
MMA Personality of the Year
    
Analyst of the Year
    
- 2015 
 Dominick Cruz[16] - 2016 
 Dominick Cruz - 2017 
 Dominick Cruz - 2018 
 Daniel Cormier[19] - 2019 
 Daniel Cormier[20] 
Best Promotion
    
- 2008 Ultimate Fighting Championship[8]
 - 2009 Ultimate Fighting Championship[9]
 - 2010 Ultimate Fighting Championship[11]
 - 2011 Ultimate Fighting Championship[12]
 - 2012 Ultimate Fighting Championship[13]
 - 2013 Ultimate Fighting Championship[14]
 - 2014 Ultimate Fighting Championship[15]
 - 2015 Ultimate Fighting Championship[16]
 - 2016 Ultimate Fighting Championship
 - 2017 Ultimate Fighting Championship
 - 2018 Ultimate Fighting Championship[19]
 - 2019 Ultimate Fighting Championship[20]
 
Lifetime Achievement
    
This honor is decided by the awards panel.
Special Achievement Award
Outstanding Contribution to MMA
- 2010 
 Randy Couture[11] - 2011 
 Shawn Tompkins[12] 
Lifetime Achievement
- 2012 
 Leon Tabbs[13] - 2013 
 Royce Gracie[14] - 2014 
 Burt Watson[15] - 2015 
 Bruce Buffer[16] - 2018 
 Wanderlei Silva[27] 
Fighting Spirit
- 2019 
 Dustin Poirier[20] 
MMA Media Source of the Year
    
Best Media Coverage.
- 2008 MMAjunkie.com[8]
 - 2009 MMAjunkie.com[9]
 
Media Source of the Year.
- 2010 MMAjunkie.com[11]
 - 2011 MMAjunkie.com[12]
 - 2012 Sherdog[13]
 - 2013 MMA Fighting[14]
 - 2014 MMAjunkie.com[15]
 - 2015 MMA Fighting[16]
 - 2016 MMA Fighting
 - 2017 MMA Fighting
 - 2018 MMA Fighting[19]
 - 2019 ESPN MMA[20]
 
Best MMA Twitter Personality
    
- 2020 Caposa
 
Best MMA Programming
    
- 2015 UFC Embedded[16]
 - 2016 The Ultimate Fighter
 - 2017 The Ultimate Fighter
 - 2018 The Ultimate Fighter
 - 2019 JRE MMA Podcast
 - 2020 Morning Kombat
 
MMA Journalist of the Year
    
- 2009 
 John Morgan[9] - 2010 
 Ariel Helwani[11] - 2011 
 Ariel Helwani[12] - 2012 
 Ariel Helwani[13] - 2013 
 Ariel Helwani[14] - 2014 
 Ariel Helwani[15] - 2015 
 Ariel Helwani[16] - 2016 
 Ariel Helwani[21] - 2017 
 Ariel Helwani - 2018 
 Ariel Helwani[19] - 2019 
 Ariel Helwani[20] 
Defunct award categories
    
    Best MMA Brand
    
- 2008 Ultimate Fighting Championship[8]
 - 2009 TapouT[9]
 
Most Memorable Ring Entrance
    
- 2010 
 Jason Miller[11] - 2011 
 Jason Miller[12] 
Best Lifestyle Clothing Brand
    
Best Overall Clothing.
Best MMA Clothing.
Best Lifestyle Clothing Brand.
Best Technical Clothing Brand
    
Best MMA Shorts.
Best Technical Clothing Brand.
References
    
- "Versus to air 2010 World MMA Awards on Dec. 9, Versus' Molly Qerim co-hosts". MMAjunkie.com. 11 October 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
 - Leach, Robin (10 January 2013). "MMA Awards preview: Stars include fighters, Coco, Claire, Springer and 'Absinthe'". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
 - "Silva, Carano, UFC, MMAjunkie.com win World Mixed Martial Arts Awards". MMAjunkie.com. 9 December 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
 - Adept Mobile (14 September 2018). "World MMA Awards Show Premieres Wed. on FOX Sports 2". ufc.com.
 - "ONE Championship". onefc.com.
 - "Jose Aldo takes top honours in FO World Mixed Martial Arts Awards 2010". Sport – Telegraph Blogs. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010.
 - "Roufusport Nominated for 'Gym of the Year' at 2011 World MMA Awards". fightnetwork.com.
 - "Fighters Only World MMA Awards Results". The MMA News. 12 December 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
 - Rhodes, Stephen (31 December 2009). "2009 World MMA Awards – Official Results". Octagon Buzz. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
 - Okamoto, Brett (31 December 2009). "2009 MMA awards show honors top moments of the year". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
 - Mrosko, Geno (2 December 2010). "2010 World MMA Awards Winners and Results". MMA Mania. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
 - Leslie, Chris (1 December 2011). "2011 World MMA Awards: Jon Jones wins Fighter of the Year". MMA Frenzy. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
 - Tucker, Bryan (11 January 2013). "World MMA Awards 2012 Results". MMAFighting. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
 - Tucker, Bryan. "World MMA Awards 2013 Results".
 - "7th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards winners list". FightersOnlyMag.com. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
 - "8th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards winners". FightersOnlyMag.com. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
 - Bryan Tucker (2 March 2017). "World MMA Awards 2017 Results".
 - Bryan Tucker (4 July 2018). "World MMA Awards 2018 Results".
 - Bryan Tucker (4 July 2019). "World MMA Awards 2019 Results". mmafighting.com.
 - "Amanda Nunes, Israel Adesanya, Jorge Masvidal pace major winners at World MMA Awards". MMA Junkie. 27 December 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
 - "8th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards winners". FightersOnlyMag.com. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
 - "2016 Fight of the Year: Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 2".
 - "And the winners of the 12th Annual World MMA Awards are". 27 December 2020.
 - "2021 World MMA Awards Results". 10 December 2021.
 - "World MMA Awards 2016 Results". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
 - "World MMA Awards 2017 Results". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
 - Chuck Mindenhall (4 July 2019). "An evening at the Fighters Only World MMA Awards". theathletic.com.