The 14th Annual World MMA Awards recently took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, hosted by the former Middleweight/Light Heavyweight title contender Chael P . Sonnen.
The defending UFC featherweight champion Alexander ‘The Great ‘ Volkanovski, doubled up by taking home Fighter of the Year and International Fighter of the Year.
Fighter of the Year
Congrats Alexander Valkavoloski!#WorldMMAAwards pic.twitter.com/WZbHluNEja— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) December 9, 2022
It should be of no surprise that Volkanovski was able to take home two awards from the event. After dominating back-to-back title defences against top contenders this past year, the Aussie has shown vast improvements in skill with each fight. Still, most importantly his mental toughness and warrior spirit allow him to be one of the most dominant champions in featherweight history.
During a recent title defence against Brian Ortega, Volkanovski was put in a number of potentially fight-ending submissions holds. But, he remained strong and pushed through, reversing the situation and continuing to dominate the fight, showing his will to win is greater than everyone else in the division.
Below is a complete list of nominees and winners from the World MMA Awards.
Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Fighter of the Year
- Alexander Volkanovski – won
- Johnny Eblen
- Charles Oliveira
- Islam Makhachev
- Francis Ngannou
Female Fighter of the Year
- Julianna Peña
- Cris Cyborg
- Kayla Harrison
- Valentina Shevchenko – won
- Raquel Pennington
Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
- Tai Tuivasa
- Mateusz Gamrot
- Paddy Pimblett – won
- Molly McCann
- Johnny Eblen
International Fighter of the Year
- Alexander Volkanovski – won
- Roberto Soldic
- Mateusz Gamrot
- Islam Makhachev
- Khamzat Chimaev
Fight of the Year
- Jiri Prochazka vs. Glover Teixeira – UFC 275 – won
- 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 Vegas 42
Knockout of the Year
- Michael Chandler (front kick) vs. Tony Ferguson – UFC 274 – won
- Ignacio Bahamondes (wheel kick) vs. Roosevelt Roberts – UFC Vegas 34
- Sergio Pettis (spinning backfist) vs. Kyoji Horiguchi – Bellator 272
- Molly McCann (spinning back elbow) vs. Luana Carolina – UFC London
- Roman Faraldo (flying knee) vs. Robert Turnquest – Bellator 271
Submission of the Year
- Jiri Prochazka (rear-naked choke) vs. Glover Teixeira – UFC 275
- Stevie Ray (modified body lock) vs. Anthony Pettis – PFL 5
- Oliver Enkamp (inverted triangle choke) vs. Mark Lemminger – Bellator 281
- Jessica Andrade (standing arm-triangle choke) vs. Amanda Lemos – UFC Vegas 52
- Charles Oliveira (rear-naked choke) vs. Dustin Poirier – UFC 269 – won
Comeback of the Year
- Sergio Pettis vs. Kyoji Horiguchi – Bellator 272
- Carla Esparza (career)
- Clay Guida vs. Leonardo Santos – UFC on ESPN 31
- Aljamain Sterling (overcoming intense ridicule and injury) – won
- Chris Curtis (career)
Upset of the Year
- Julianna Peña vs. Amanda Nunes – UFC 269 – won
- Mariusz Pudzianowski vs. Michal 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 – won
- Bellator
- PFL
- Cage Warriors
- KSW
Leading Man of the Year
- Dana White (UFC) – won
- Scott Coker (Bellator)
- Peter Murray (PFL)
- Graham Boylan (Cage Warriors)
- Kerrith Brown (IMMAF)
Referee of the Year
- Jason Herzog
- Marc Goddard – won
- Mike Beltran
- Mark Smith
- Keith Peterson
Analyst of the Year
- Paul Felder
- Michael Bisping – won
- Dan Hardy
- Kenny Florian
- Dominick Cruz
Personality of the Year
- Laura Sanko
- Daniel Cormier
- Chael Sonnen
- Joe Rogan – won
- Jon Anik
Best MMA Programming
- UFC Embedded
- Dana White Contender Series
- The MMA Hour
- JRE MMA Show
- Morning Kombat – won
MMA Media Source of the Year
- MMA Fighting
- MMA Junkie
- ESPN – won
- BT Sport
- Sherdog
MMA Journalist of the Year
- Ariel Helwani – won
- John Morgan
- Shaheen Al-Shatti
- Aaron Bronsteter
- Mike Bohn
Coach of the Year
- Eugene Bareman – won
- Eric Nicksick
- Mike Brown
- Henri Hooft
- Diego Lima
Gym of the Year
- City Kickboxing – won
- 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 – won
- Corey Peacock
Ringcard Girl of the Year
- Brittney Palmer – won
- 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) – won
- 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)
Lifetime Achievement Award
- Kirik Jenness (The Underground) – won
