Voting for 2010 World MMA Awards closes today

After a two-month nomination stage, “Fighters Only” officials announced finalists in 19 different categories this past month, and voting is in its final stages at www.worldmmaawards.com.

MMAjunkie.com is represented in two categories. The company is a finalist for the “Best Media Coverage” award, and lead staff reporter and MMAjunkie.com Radio co-host John Morgan is a nominee for “Best MMA Journalist.”

Other categories range from “Fight of the Year” to “KO of the Year” to “Breakthrough Fighter of the Year.” The coveted “Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Fighter of the Year” category has been narrowed down to finalists Anderson Silva, Brock Lesnar, Frankie Edgar, Jose Aldo and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

Keep in mind the awards recognize achievements from Sept. 1, 2009, to Aug. 31, 2010.

The World MMA Award were created in 2008 to recognize and celebrate the achievements of people who make MMA such a great sport. This year’s awards culminate with a black-tie, red-carpet ceremony that takes place Dec. 1 at The Pearl at The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture and Versus host Molly Qerim hosts the star-studded ceremony, which debuts Dec. 9 on Versus.

MMAjunkie.com looks to repeat in the “Media Source of the Year” after earning the title in both the 2009 and 2008 editions of the World MMA Awards. Morgan, meanwhile, also looks to win back-to-back honor after earning the “MMA Journalist of the Year” award in 2009, the first year the title was up for grabs.

If you’d like to attend the awards show – which offers fans the opportunity to meet countless fighters and other industry insiders – check out www.thepalmslasvegas.com. Packages start at just $235 and include a night at the Palms, two tickets to the ceremony and two cocktails. General ticket information also is available at www.worldmmaawards.com.

The full list of finalists includes:

CHARLES “MASK” LEWIS FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

• Anderson Silva
• Brock Lesnar
• Frankie Edgar
• Jose Aldo
• Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

FIGHT OF THE YEAR

• Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 117
• Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin at UFC 116
• Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung at WEC 48
• Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116
• Jorge Santiago vs. Kazuo Misaki at Sengoku 14

KO OF THE YEAR

• Anthony Njokuani vs. Chris Horodecki at WEC 45
• Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110
• Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Lyoto Machida at UFC 113
• Mike Russow vs. Todd Duffee at UFC 114
• Rich Franklin vs. Chuck Liddell at UFC 115

SUBMISSION OF THE YEAR

• Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida at UFC 117
• Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116
• Cole Miller vs. Dan Lauzon at UFC 108
• Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 117
• Fabricio Werdum vs. Fedor Emelianenko at “Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum”

BEST PROMOTION

• Bellator
• DREAM
• Strikeforce
• UFC
• WEC

LEADING MAN OF THE YEAR

• Bjorn Rebney, Bellator founder and CEO
• Dana White, UFC president
• Joe Silva, UFC VP of talent relations
• Michael Schiavello, HDNet broadcaster
• Scott Coker, Strikeforce founder and CEO

INTERNATIONAL FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

• Alistair Overeem
• Dan Hardy
• George Sotiropoulos
• John Hathaway
• Shinya Aoki

BREAKTHROUGH FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

• Charles Oliveira
• Evan Dunham
• George Sotiropoulos
• John Hathaway
• Jon Jones

FEMALE FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

• Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos
• Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii
• Miesha Tate
• Sarah Kaufman
• Zoila Frausto

COACH OF THE YEAR

• Cesar Gracie
• Firas Zahabi
• Greg Jackson
• Rafael Cordeiro
• Shawn Tompkins

GYM OF THE YEAR

• American Kickboxing Academy
• American Top Team
• Black House MMA
• Greg Jackson’s Submission Fighting
• Wand Fight Team

RING GIRL OF THE YEAR

• Arianny Celeste
• Brittney Palmer
• Chandella Powell
• Natalie Skyy
• Rachelle Leah

BEST LIFESTYLE CLOTHING BRAND

• Affliction
• Fight Chix
• RVCA
• Silverstar
• TapouT

REFEREE OF THE YEAR

• “Big” John McCarthy
• Dan Miragliotta
• Herb Dean
• Josh Rosenthal
• Mario Yamasaki

MOST MEMORABLE RING ENTRANCE

• Anderson Silva
• Clay Guida
• Jason “Mayhem” Miller
• Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal
• Tom Lawlor

BEST TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT BRAND

• Everlast MMA
• Fairtex
• Hayabusa
• TapouT
• Venum

BEST TECHNICAL CLOTHING BRAND

• Bad Boy
• Hayabusa
• Jaco
• TapouT
• Venum

MEDIA SOURCE OF THE YEAR

• MMAjunkie.com
• “Inside MMA” on HDNet
• MMAWeekly.com
• MMAFighting.com
• Sherdog.com

MMA JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR

• John Morgan, MMAjunkie.com
• Aaron “Tru” Teweles, Freelance
• Ariel Helwani, MMAFighting.com
• Conner Cordova, MMAReligion.com
• Gareth A. Davies, Telegraph.com

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