16th annual World MMA Awards voting open; MMA Junkie and Nolan King receive nominations

August 6, 2024 1:00 pm ET

Voting is underway for the 16th annual World MMA Awards, where Alex Pereira, Alexandre Pantoja, Dricus Du Plessis, Islam Makhachev, and Renan Ferreira are up for the top honor of Charles “Mask” Lewis Fighter of the Year.

Female Fighter of the Year finalists are Kayla Harrison, Larissa Pacheco, Liz Carmouche, Raquel Pennington, and Zhang Weili.

In addition, MMA Junkie (Media Source of the Year) and Nolan King (Journalist of the Year) also are finalists.

Fighters Only Magazine again is hosting the awards. The date and location for a black-tie ceremony hasn’t been determined, although it typically coincides during the week of the UFC’s final pay-per-view event of the year in December.

According to Fighters Only, a panel of MMA industry experts put together the list of award nominees for a year-long period covering July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. Voting is now open at WorldMMAAwards.com.

Below is the full list of finalists by category:

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 Fight Night 238)

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 (career)
Rodolfo Bellato (vs. Ihor Potieria)
Tom Aspinall (career)

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 Adesanya

Commentator of the Year

Brendan Fitzgerald
John Gooden
Jon Anik
Laura Sanko
Sean O’Connell

Analyst of the Year

Dan Hardy
Din Thomas
Michael Bisping
Paul Felder
Sayif Sayud

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 Kikcboxing 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

Personality of the Year

Bruce Buffer

Daniel Cormier

Chael Sonnen

Joe Rogan

Nina-Marie Daneile

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 Junkie
MMA Fighting
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: Strength during disgusting mental antics by an opponent)
Mark Coleman (Bravery: Fearlessly rescuing family and loved ones from a burning building)
Thomas Paull (Resilience: Successfully competing in MMA despite being deaf)

Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.