A date and location for the 14th annual World MMA Awards is set.
Fighters Only Magazine is again hosting the awards, and a black-tie ceremony that will take place Dec. 8 at the SAHARA in Las Vegas.
Voting for the festivities has already concluded, and the winners will be announced at the ceremony in “Sin City,” just days ahead of UFC 282 at T-Mobile Arena.
“The past number of years have been challenging for not only us but the entire events industry,” Fighters Only CEO Rob Hewitt said. “However, despite the difficulties and obstacles, we never stopped staging the World MMA Awards and each year we have regained important elements to bring back fully, what makes our awards show special. With that in mind, I am really excited for this year’s event to back to a big stage at a venue that could not be more iconic to Las Vegas than the SAHARA.
“I would also like to thank the fans. The sport is nothing without them and as the years have gone by it is amazing to see their growth, not just in terms of participation in voting, but in how informed and deliberated their decisions have been as to who wins.”
The Charles “Mask” Lewis Fighter of the Year nominees include Volkanovski, Eblen, Oliveira, Makhachev and Ngannou are up for the top honor. Female Fighter of the Year finalists include Julianna Peña, Cris Cyborg, Kayla Harrison, Valentina Shevchenko and Raquel Pennington.
MMA Junkie (MMA Media Source of the Year) and Mike Bohn (MMA Journalist of the Year) also are finalists.
Check out all the categories and nominees below:
Charles "Mask" Lewis Fighter of the Year
- Alexander Volkanovski
- Johnny Eblen
- Charles Oliveira
- Islam Makhachev
- Francis Ngannou
Female Fighter of the Year
- Julianna Peña
- Cris Cyborg
- Kayla Harrison
- Valentina Shevchenko
- Raquel Pennington
Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
- Tai Tuivasa
- Mateusz Gamrot
- Paddy Pimblett
- Molly McCann
- Johnny Eblen
International Fighter of the Year
- Alexander Volkanovski
- Roberto Soldic
- Mateusz Gamrot
- Islam Makhachev
- Khamzat Chimaev
Fight of the Year
- Jiri Prochazka vs. Glover Teixeira (UFC 275)
- Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Chandler (UFC 268)
- Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega (UFC 266)
- Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gilbert Burns (UFC 273)
- Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez (UFC Fight Night 197)
Knockout of the Year
- Michael Chandler def. Tony Ferguson (UFC 274)
- Ignacio Bahamondes def. Roosevelt Roberts (UFC on ESPN 29)
- Sergio Pettis def. Kyoji Horiguchi (Bellator 272)
- Molly McCann def. Luana Carolina (UFC Fight Night 204)
- Roman Faraldo def. Robert Turnquest (Bellator 271)
Submission of the Year
- Jiri Prochazka def. Glover Teixeira (UFC 275)
- Stevie Ray def. Anthony Pettis (2022 PFL 5)
- Oliver Enkamp def. Mark Lemminger (Bellator 281)
- Jessica Andrade def. Amanda Lemos (UFC Fight Night 205)
- Charles Oliveira def. Dustin Oliveira (UFC 269)
Comeback of the Year
- Sergio Pettis def. Kyoji Horiguchi (Bellator 272)
- Carla Esparza (Career)
- Clay Guida def. Leonardo Santos (UFC on ESPN 31)
- Aljamain Sterling (Injury)
- Chris Curtis (career)
Upset of the Year
- Julianna Peña vs. Amanda Nunes (UFC 269)
- Mariusz Pudzianowski vs. Michał Materla (KSW 70)
- Matheus Scheffel vs. Bruno Cappelozza (PFL 5)
- Ben Parrish vs. Christian Edwards (Bellator 266)
- Seika Izawa vs. Ayaka Hamasaki (RIZIN 33)
Best Promotion of the Year
- UFC
- Bellator
- PFL
- Cage Warriors
- KSW
Leading Man of the Year
- Dana White (UFC)
- Scott Coker (Bellator)
- Peter Murray (PFL)
- Graham Boylan (Cage Warriors)
- Kerrith Brown (IMMAF)
Referee of the Year
- Jason Herzog
- Marc Goddard
- Mike Beltran
- Mark Smith
- Keith Peterson
Analyst of the Year
- Paul Felder
- Michael Bisping
- Dan Hardy
- Kenny Florian
- Dominick Cruz
Personality of the Year
- Laura Sanko
- Daniel Cormier
- Chael Sonnen
- Joe Rogan
- Jon Anik
Best MMA Programming
- UFC Embedded
- Dana White’s Contender Series
- The MMA Hour
- JRE MMA Show
- Morning Kombat
MMA Media Source of the Year
- MMA Fighting
- MMA Junkie
- ESPN
- BT Sport
- Sherdog
MMA Journalist of the Year
- Ariel Helwani
- John Morgan
- Shaheen Al-Shatti
- Aaron Bronsteter
- Mike Bohn
Coach of the Year
- Eugene Bareman
- Eric Nicksick
- Mike Brown
- Henri Hooft
- Diego Lima
Gym of the Year
- City Kickboxing
- Xtreme Couture
- American Top Team
- Kill Cliff FC (formerly Sanford MMA)
- Fortis MMA
Trainer of the Year
- Phil Daru
- Jordan Sullivan
- Andrew Wood
- Heather Linden
- Corey Peacock
Ringcard Girl of the Year
- Brittney Palmer
- Arianny Celeste
- Luciana Andrade
- Brooklyn Wren
- Chrissy Blair
Fighting Spirit of the Year
- Kevin Holland (Bravery – in and out of the cage, helping his community in the face of danger on several occasions)
- Aaron Aby (Heart – surviving cancer and battling cystic fibrosis to become a top contender in Cage Warriors)
- Bryce Mitchell (Charity – dedicating half of his UFC 272 fight purse to help children in medical need in his native Arkansas, with a special mention for Dana White who matched Mitchell’s contribution)
- Alexander Volkanovski (Determination – demonstrating a champion’s will to overcome adversity and battling through a seemingly inescapable submission from Brian Ortega)
- Robbie Lawler (Compassion vs. Nick Diaz – displaying true respect & genuine care for his opponent’s wellbeing in life)
