This is the most MMA thing ever.
So I guess the World MMA Awards are still a thing.
I suppose we should start with the bad news: For the eleventh straight year, your own Jesse Holland was not nominated for “Clickbait of the Year.” True, such a category does not exist, but it probably should, considering some of the current shlock that’s being honored.
That’s my flimsy segue into Jeff Novitzky’s nomination for sellout “Leading Man,” a dubious distinction that I assume he earned with his pro-Bones-o doublespeak during the great picogram disaster of late 2018.
Here’s the criteria for “Leading Man” (see all the categories here):
Awarded to the leading industry executive, whether it be a commissioner, a company president, an influential CEO or even a politician. Presented to the movers and shakers, hirers and firers that make planet MMA turn successfully.
Uh huh,
Here is the complete list of categories, helpfully compiled by MMA Junkie:
Charles “Mask” Lewis Fighter of the Year
Khabib Nurmagomedov
Gegard Mousasi
Dustin Poirier
Daniel Cormier
Aung La N Sang
Female Fighter of the Year
Valentina Shevchenko
Tatiana Suarez
Jessica Andrade
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane
Amanda Nunes
Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
Thiago “Marreta” Santos
Israel Adesanya
Anthony Smith
A.J. McKee
Aaron Pico
International Fighter of the Year
Khabib Nurmagomedov
Kamaru Usman
Israel Adesanya
Gegard Mousasi
Aung La N Sang
Fight of the Year
Robert Whittaker vs. Yoel Romer (UFC 225)
Thiago “Marreta” Santos vs. Jimi Manuwa (UFC 231)
Rory MacDonald vs. Douglas Lima (Bellator 192)
Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje (UFC on FOX 29)
Tony Ferguson vs. Anthony Pettis (UFC 229)
Knockout of the Year
Yair Rodriguez vs. Chan Sung Jung (UFC Fight Night 139)
Amanda Nunes vs. Cris Cyborg (UFC 232)
Mandel Nallo vs. Carrington Banks (Bellator 207)
Lyoto Machida vs. Vitor Belfort (UFC 224)
Brian Ortega vs. Frankie Edgar (UFC 222)
Submission of the Year
Tyson Pedro vs. Saparbek Safarov (UFC 221)
Donald Cerrone vs. Mike Perry (UFC Fight Night 139)
Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Brandon Davis (UFC 228)
Aljamain Sterling vs. Cody Stamann (UFC 228)
Ryan Hall def. B.J. Penn (UFC 232)
Comeback of the Year
Claudio Silva vs. Nordine Taleb (UFC Fight Night 130)
Tony Ferguson (Injury)
Paul Craig def. Magomed Ankalaev (UFC Fight Night 127)
Derrick Lewis def. Alexander Volkov (UFC 229)
Angela Lee (Injury)
Upset of the Year
Khalil Rountree vs. Gokhan Saki (UFC 226)
Alexander Hernandez vs. Beneil Dariush (UFC 222)
Ray Cooper vs. Jake Shields (PFL Playoffs 2018)
Amanda Nunes vs. Cris Cyborg (UFC 232)
Henry Cejudo vs. Demetrious Johnson (UFC 227)
Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year
Din Thomas
Firas Zahabi
Mike Brown
Trevor Wittman
Javier Mendez
Trainer of the Year
Michelle Ingels (nutrition)
Sam Calavitta (strength and conditioning)
George Lockhart (nutrition)
Nick Curson (strength and conditioning)
Phil Daru (strength and conditioning)
Gym of the Year
Factory X
City Kickboxing
The MMA Lab
American Top Team
American Kickboxing Academy
Referee of the Year
Josh Rosenthal
Dan Miragliotta
Mike Beltran
Herb Dean
Marc Goddard
Ringcard Girl of the Year
Carly Baker
Jhenny Andrade
Summer Daniels
Arianny Celeste
Mercedes Terrell
Leading Man
Dana White (UFC)
Jeff Novitzky (UFC)
Martin Lewandowski (KSW)
Chatri Sityodtong (ONE Championship)
Scott Coker (Bellator)
Best Promotion
Rizin FF
KSW
ONE Championship
Bellator
UFC
Personality of the Year
Jon Anik
Chael Sonnen
John McCarthy
Brendan Schaub
Joe Rogan
Analyst of the Year
Robin Black
Michael Bisping
Paul Felder
Daniel Cormier
Dominick Cruz
Best MMA Programming
The MMA Hour
JRE MMA Show
UFC Embedded
Dana White’s Contender Series
Anatomy Of A Fighter
MMA Media Source of the Year
Sherdog
MMA Fighting
MMA Junkie
Bloody Elbow
Flo Combat
MMA Journalist of the Year
Chuck Mindenhall
John Morgan
Brett Okamoto
Ariel Helwani
Karim Zidan
MMA Clothing and Equipment Brand of the Year
RVCA
Reebok
Hayabusa
Badboy
Venum
Fans can vote by clicking here.
There’s usually a big ceremony in Las Vegas during International Fight Week, sponsored by Fighters Only Magazine, but ticket information has yet to be revealed. Or you can just come to the World MMAmania.com Awards, held in some dingy Irish Pub two block from the Strip, where every attendee earns an automatic nomination for the “Most Likely To Get Shitfaced On Cheap Beer” award.
See you in July!