LAS VEGAS – Rob Hewitt, Fighters Only CEO, is pleased to announce the nominees for the 15th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards.

The event’s voting website is now live at WorldMMAAwards.com, where fans around the world can democratically voice their opinions and cast their vote for who they believe deserves to win.

“I am honored and excited to have reached a 15-year anniversary with the Fighters Only World MMA Awards,” said Rob Hewitt. “To see the growth of the sport during that time has filled me full of joy, and this year’s nominees are a true representation of this growth. It is the most international Awards in our history, and this year we will truly celebrate the best of MMA across the globe.”

With a nomination period between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023, the independent Fighters Only panel searched through all promotions and regions to select the award nominees. Among the most anticipated award categories include “Fighter of the Year,” “Knockout of the Year,” “Fight of the Year,” and the recently added “Fighting Spirit Award.”

In true MMA tradition, Fighters Only gives the world’s fight fans the power to vote for their favorite fighters, knockouts and submissions that amazed them, and which nominees impressed them the most over the past year to determine who takes home a coveted Fighters Only World MMA Award.

This is the only awards show where fans can have their say and cast their votes through their desktops, mobile devices, and smartphones at WorldMMAAwards.com.

Voting is now live and will conclude on September 30.

The Fighters Only World MMA Awards is the industry event for the sport of mixed martial arts and winners will be presented with their trophy in an unparalleled live event with a full red carpet attended by a who’s who of the combat sports industry and its celebrity fanbase.

The date and venue for the 15th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards ceremony will be announced in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned for more information and exciting announcements.

Here are your nominees for the 15th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards:

Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Fighter of the Year

• Israel Adesanya
• Leon Edwards
• Islam Makhachev
• Aljamain Sterling
• Sadibou Sy

Female Fighter of the Year

• Liz Carmouche
• Alexa Grasso
• Seika Izawa
• Amanda Nunes
• Larissa Pacheco

Breakthrough Fighter of the Year

• Dricus Du Plessis 
• Alexa Grasso
• Sergei Pavlovich
• Alex Pereira
• Ilia Topuria

International Fighter of the Year

• Israel Adesanya
• Dricus Du Plessis 
• Leon Edwards
• Sergei Pavlovich
• Sadibou Sy

Fight of the Year

• Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev at UFC 286
• Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler at UFC 281
• Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284
• Brennan Ward vs. Sabah Homasi at Bellator 290
• Matt Schnell vs. Su Mudaerji at UFC on ABC 3

Knockout of the Year

• Israel Adesanya def. Alex Pereira via punches at UFC 287
• Ismael Bonfim def. Terrance McKinney via flying knee at UFC 283
• Leon Edwards def. Kamaru Usman via head kick at UFC 278
• Krzysztof Glowacki def. Patryk Tolkaczewski via punch at KSW Colosseum 2
• Sadibou Sy def. Shane Mitchell via spinning wheel kick at 2023 PFL 6

Submission of the Year

• Reinier de Ridder def. Vitaly Bigdash via inverted triangle choke at ONE 159
• Louis Glismann def. Melvin van Suijdam via inverted omoplata at Oktagon MMA 43
• Alexa Grasso def. Valentina Shevchenko via face crank at UFC 285
• Islam Makhachev def. Charles Oliveira via arm-triangle choke at UFC 280
• Olga Rubin def. Claire Guthrie via buggy choke at Invicta FC 53

Comeback of the Year

• Yaroslav Amosov (Returning from war)
• Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman I at UFC 278
• John Hathaway (Returning from lengthy illness)
• Jon Jones (Career)
• Matt Schnell vs. Su Mudaerji at UFC on ABC 3

Upset of the Year

• Christian Echols vs. Pat Downey at Bellator 289
• Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285
• Zebaztian Kadestam vs. Roberto Soldic at ONE Fight Night 10
• Larissa Pacheco vs. Kayla Harrison at 2022 PFL 10
• Jesus Pinedo vs. Brendan Loughnane at 2023 PFL 4

Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year

• Eugene Bareman 
• Mike Brown
• Ray Longo 
• Dave Lovell
• Eric Nicksick

Trainer of the Year

• Brandon Gallagher
• Heather Linden 
• Everton Oliveira 
• Jonathon Reynolds
• Jordan Sullivan

Gym of the Year

• American Kickboxing Academy
• American Top Team
• City Kickboxing
• Kill Cliff FC
• Team Renegade

Referee of the Year

• Herb Dean
• Marc Goddard
• Jason Herzog
• Rich Mitchell
• Mark Smith

Ringcard Girl of the Year

• Jhenny Andrade
• Luciana Andrade
• Louise McKie
• Brittney Palmer
• Brookliyn Wren

Leading Man

• Scott Coker (Bellator)
• Maciej Kawulski (KSW)
• Peter Murray (PFL)
• Ondrej Novotny (Oktagon MMA)
• Dana White (UFC)

Best Promotion

• Bellator MMA 
• KSW
• Oktagon MMA
• PFL
• UFC

Personality of the Year

• Jon Anik
• Daniel Cormier
• Joe Rogan
• Laura Sanko
• Chael Sonnen

Analyst of the Year

• Michael Bisping
• Paul Felder
• Kenny Florian
• Dan Hardy
• Anthony Smith

Best MMA Programming

• The Anik & Florian Podcast
• Dana White’s Contender Series
• The MMA Hour
• Morning Kombat
• UFC Embedded

MMA Media Source of the Year

• Bloody Elbow
• ESPN
• MMA Fighting
• MMA Junkie
• Sherdog

MMA Journalist of the Year

• Aaron Bronsteter 
• Ariel Helwani
• Nolan King
• John Morgan
• Marc Raimondi

Fighting Spirit Award

• Yaroslav Amosov (Adversity: Returning from war to unify the Bellator welterweight title)
• Steven Ray (Strength: Fighting for his family)
• Biaggio Ali Walsh (Bravery: Helping his community in the face of danger)
• Themba Gorimbo (Charity: Building a water pump in Zimbabwe and putting others ahead of himself)
• Chris Barnett (Adversity: Overcoming great personal loss and adversity in the cage)

Cast your vote today at WorldMMAAwards.com!