The World Mixed Martial Arts Awards were got aired on Thursday as Chael Sonnen served as the host of the 14th annual event, which took place at the SAHARA Las Vegas. “Fighter of the Year” (both male and female), “Knockout of the Year,” “Submission of the Year,” “Media Award” and hosts of other award categories were shared with well-deserving individuals.
See how your favorite fighters fared in 2022 at the World MMA Awards.
Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Fighter of the Year
Alexander Volkanovski – Winner
Johnny Eblen
Charles Oliveira
Islam Makhachev
Francis Ngannou
Female Fighter of the Year
Julianna Peña
Cris Cyborg
Kayla Harrison
Valentina Shevchenko – Winner
Raquel Pennington
Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
Tai Tuivasa
Mateusz Gamrot
Paddy Pimblett – Winner
Molly McCann
Johnny Eblen
International Fighter of the Year
Alexander Volkanovski – Winner
Roberto Soldic
Mateusz Gamrot
Islam Makhachev
Khamzat Chimaev
Fight of the Year
Jiri Prochazka vs. Glover Teixeira – UFC 275 – Winner
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 – Winner
Ignacio Bahamondes (wheel kick) vs. Roosevelt Roberts – UFC Vegas 34
Sergio Pettis (spinning back fist) 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 – Winner
The 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) – Winner
Chris Curtis (career)
Upset of the Year
Julianna Peña vs. Amanda Nunes – UFC 269 – Winner
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 – Winner
Bellator
PFL
Cage Warriors
KSW
Leading Man of the Year
Dana White (UFC) – Winner
Scott Coker (Bellator)
Peter Murray (PFL)
Graham Boylan (Cage Warriors)
Kerrith Brown (IMMAF)
Referee of the Year
Jason Herzog
Marc Goddard – Winner
Mike Beltran
Mark Smith
Keith Peterson
Analyst of the Year
Paul Felder
Michael Bisping – Winner
Dan Hardy
Kenny Florian
Dominick Cruz
The personality of the Year
Laura Sanko
Daniel Cormier
Chael Sonnen
Joe Rogan – Winner
Jon Anik
Best MMA Programming
UFC Embedded
Dana White Contender Series
The MMA Hour
JRE MMA Show
Morning Kombat – Winner
MMA Media Source of the Year
MMA Fighting
MMA Junkie
ESPN – Winner
BT Sport
Sherdog
MMA Journalist of the Year
Ariel Helwani – Winner
John Morgan
Shaheen Al-Shatti
Aaron Bronsteter
Mike Bohn
Coach of the Year
Eugene Bareman – Winner
Eric Nicksick
Mike Brown
Henri Hooft
Diego Lima
Gym of the Year
City Kickboxing – Winner
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 – Winner
Corey Peacock
Ring card Girl of the Year
Brittney Palmer – Winner
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) – Winner
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)