Fighter’s Only Magazine has announced the nominations for the 16th Annual World MMA Awards, which will take place later this year with date and location TBD.
Voting is now live at WorldMMAAwards.com, and will run until September 30, 2024. Fans can case their vote for Fighter of the Year, Female Fighter of the Year, Knockout and Submission of the Year and so on.
Among this year’s nominees, Alex Pereira and Dricus Du Plessis are up for Fighter of the Year, while Breakthrough Fighter of the Year includes Tom Aspinall and ONE Championship triple-champ Anatoly Malykhin.
Chael Sonnen finds himself up for Personality of the Year.
The World MMA Awards nominations cover the period between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024. The full list of nominees can be found below.
Charles “Mask” Lewis Fighter of the Year
- Alex Pereira
- Alexandre Pantoja
- Dricus Du Plessis
- Islam Makhachev
- Renan Ferreira
Female Fighter of the Year
- Kayla Harrison
- Larissa Pacheco
- Liz Carmouche
- Raquel Pennington
- Zhang Weili
Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
- Anatoly Malykhin
- Benoit Saint Denis
- Diego Lopes
- Ian Machado Garry
- Tom Aspinall
International Fighter of the Year
- Chihiro Suzuki
- Dricus Du Plessis
- Ilia Topuria
- Jack Della Maddalena
- Zhang Weili
Fight of the Year
- Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Moreno (UFC 290)
- Clay Collard vs. Shane Burgos (2023 PFL 9)
- Dan Hooker vs. Jalin Turner (UFC 290)
- Dustin Poirier vs. Benoit Saint Denis (UFC 299)
- Max Holloway vs. Justin Gaethje (UFC 300)
Knockout of the Year
- Josh Emmett vs. Bryce Mitchell (UFC 296)
- Justin Gaethje vs. Dustin Poirier (UFC 291)
- Levy Carriel vs. Mathieu Rakotondrazanany (BRAVE CF 74)
- Max Holloway vs. Justin Gaethje (UFC 300)
- Vinicius Oliveira vs. Bernardo Sopaj (UFC Vegas 87) L
Submission of the Year
- Alexander Volkov vs. Tai Tuivasa (Ezekiel Choke)
- Brian Ortega vs. Yair Rodriguez (Arm-Triangle Choke)
- Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Jose Johnson (Twister)
- Diego Lopes vs. Gavin Tucker (Triangle Armbar)
- Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier (D’Arce choke)
Comeback of the Year
- Brian Ortega (vs. Yair Rodriguez)
- Elves Brener (vs. Guram Kutateladze)
- Jose Aldo (Returning from retirement)
- Rodolfo Bellato (vs. Ihor Potieria)
- Tom Aspinall (Returning from serious injury)
Upset of the Year
- Dricus Du Plessis vs. Robert Whittaker
- Jason Jackson vs. Yaroslav Amosov
- Neil Magny vs. Mike Malott
- Ovince Saint Preux vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
- Sean Strickland vs. Israel Adseanya
Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year
- Eric Nicksick
- Francisco Grasso
- Marcos “Parrumpa” DaMatta
- Plinio Cruz
- Tim Welch
Trainer of the Year
- Everton Oliveira
- Heather Linden
- Ian Larios
- Jordan Sullivan
- Phil Daru
Gym of the Year
- American Kickboxing Academy
- American Top Team
- Lobo Gym
- The Fighting Nerds
- Xtreme Couture
Referee of the Year
- Herb Dean
- Jason Herzog
- Keith Peterson
- Marc Goddard
- Mark Smith
Ringcard Girl of the Year
- Brookliyn Wren
- Holly Barker
- Kasia Motloch Kejsi
- Luciana Andrade
- Red Dela Cruz
Leading Man
- Dana White
- Ed Soares
- Graham Boylan
- Martin Lewandowski
- Peter Murray
Best Promotion
- KSW
- LFA
- Oktagon MMA
- PFL
- UFC
Personality of the Year
- Bruce Buffer
- Chael Sonnen
- Daniel Cormier
- Joe Rogan
- Jon Anik
Analyst of the Year
- Dan Hardy
- Din Thomas
- Michael Bisping
- Paul Felder
- Sayif Saud
Commentator of the Year
- Brendan Fitzgerald
- John Gooden
- Jon Anik
- Laura Sanko
- Sean O’Connell
Best MMA Programming
- Dana White’s Contender Series
- Morning Kombat
- The Anik & Florian Podcast
- The MMA Hour
- UFC Embedded
MMA Media Source of the Year
- ESPN
- MMA Fighting
- MMA Junkie
- Sherdog
- The Mac Life
MMA Journalist of the Year
- Aaron Bronsteter
- Ariel Helwani
- Carlos Contreras Legaspi
- Nolan King
- Oscar Willis
Fighting Spirit Award
- Gabriel Braga (Heart: Strength to overcome the loss of his Father and Coach.)
- Jim Miller (Endurance: The only fighter to compete at UFC 100, 200 and 300.)
- Leon Edwards (Composure: Remaining strong during disgusting mental antics by an opponent.)
- Mark Coleman (Bravery: Fearlessly rescuing family and loved ones from a burning building.)
- Thomas Paull (Overcoming Adversity: Successfully competing in MMA despite being deaf.)
