Issue 060
March 2010
Fighter of the Year
Georges St Pierre
RUNNERS-UP: Mike Thomas Brown, Brock Lesnar, Lyoto Machida, Anderson Silva.
In what was a stand-out year for the Canadian, 2009 marked welterweight champion Georges St Pierre’s first Fighters Only Fighter of the Year award. The French-Canadian superstar put in two awesome performances, sending BJ Penn back to the lightweight division in January and handling the dangerous Thiago Alves on the UFC 100 mega event. He further cemented his position as not only one of the preeminent fighters in the world, but also one of the best athletes and ambassadors, with a host of PR work and high profile sponsorship agreements.
Fight of the Year
Sanchez vs Guida (TUF 9 Finale)
RUNNERS-UP:
Mike Brown vs Urijah Faber WEC 41
Rich Franklin vs Wanderlei Silva UFC 99
Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir UFC 100
Minotauro vs Randy Couture UFC 102
This was a guaranteed contender for Fight of the Year as soon as it was announced. Clay Guida finds it almost impossible to have a boring fight, and yes-man Diego Sanchez was fired up more than ever at the prospect of tangling with someone who fought at a pace similar to his own. From the weigh-ins to the final bell, this was a true classic; frantic flurries, unstoppable takedowns, huge uppercuts, punishing elbows and a surgically-precise high kick filled fifteen minutes of the best fighting action of the year.
Female Fighter of the Year
Cris ‘Cyborg’ Santos
RUNNERS-UP: Gina Carano, Megamu Fujii, Sarah Kaufman, Rosi Sexton.
One of the most dominant female fighters in the world, Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos has had a good year; she easily saw off the fighters put in front of her, smashing Shayna Baszler, Yoko Takahashi and Hitomi Akano. Cyborg, a product of the famous Chute Boxe camp who fights with a ferocity seldom seen in the female ranks, won the first female bout to headline a major MMA event when she destroyed postergirl Gina Carano in August 2009. Santos’s successes marked her out from her contemporaries making her the Female Fighter of the Year.
Best Promotion
UFC
RUNNERS-UP: Bellator Fighting Championship, D.R.E.A.M., Strikeforce, WEC.
The biggest and best MMA promotion in the world, 2009 was a huge year for the UFC. They took the Octagon to new countries, gave us the ability to turn ourselves into virtual fighters and held the biggest MMA expo to date, all while continuing to serve the very best in MMA action. Champions were crowned and legends were created. You decided the best way to celebrate their 16th year as the most recognizable name in MMA was to award them Best Promotion for the second year running with an astounding 84% winning margin.
Knockout of the Year
Henderson vs Bisping (UFC100)
RUNNERS-UP: Rashad Evans vs. Chuck Liddell UFC 88
Lyoto Machida vs. Rashad Evans UFC 98
Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia UFC 102
Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin UFC 102
It was one of the heaviest knockouts seen, standing out for its power and viciousness even among the four runners-up (all crunching KO’s in their own right). The bad blood between Bisping and Henderson had been boiling for many months, and the former wrestler unleashed all of his pent-up aggression in a brutal overhand right that put Bisping to sleep.
Submission of the Year
Imada vs Masvidal (Bellator Fighting Championship)
RUNNERS-UP: Terry Etim vs Justin Buchholz UFC 99
Dustin Hazelett vs. Tamdan McCrory UFC 91
Demian Maia vs Chael Sonnen UFC 95
BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian UFC 101
Before his audacious technical submission victory, few people even knew who Toby Imada was. Thanks to the bizarre upside-down reverse triangle that put Jorge Masvidal to sleep (plus the video clip that went viral across the internet), there are few people who now won’t know who he is! As Punkass stated when he presented Imada with the award, Imada has been fighting under the radar for over ten years - hopefully this is the break the veteran deserves.
Leading Man
Dana White
RUNNERS-UP: Scott Coker, Lorenzo Fertitta, Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis, Joe Silva.
The public face of and driving force behind the UFC, Dana White is an unconventional businessman: a straight-talking guy from the streets of Boston, he’s the reason the UFC has become the global superpower it is today. Without him, there would be no UFC (it was he who persuaded the casino-owning Fertitta brothers to stump up the cash to buy the ailing promotion back in 2001) and without his tireless ambition to make the UFC the biggest and best thing in MMA, the sport simply wouldn’t be the same.
Ring Girl of the Year
Arianny Celeste
RUNNERS-UP: Edith Labelle, Holly Madison, Logan Stanton, Natasha Wicks.
The beautiful Arianny Celeste is the famous female face of the UFC. The Octagon girl and model has been a part of the organization since 2006 and is, along with the likes of Joe Rogan, Mike Goldberg and Bruce Buffer, simply indispensable. She’s so popular this is the second year in a row she’s taken home this award, a testament to her popularity.
Best MMA Glove Manufacturer
UFC / Century
RUNNERS-UP: Everlast, Fairtex, Hayabusa, Triumph United.
Not just the professional’s choice, the UFC-branded gloves from Century are a hit with the recreational athlete, too. Exceptionally well-made, comfortable to wear and long-lasting, they’re not just for training – they make great souvenirs when signed by fighters, too.
Best MMA Media Coverage
MMA Junkie
RUNNERS-UP: Sherdog, Inside MMA, MMA Weekly, MMA Connected.
The team at MMA Junkie has established a site that has become the fan’s favorite place to find out the latest MMA news online. Home of unbiased, objective reporting, their easily-navigable site and daily radio show has won them many fans, and their habit of breaking exclusives and getting inside interviews sets them apart from the many pretenders out there.
Best Coach/Best Gym
Greg Jackson
RUNNERS-UP:
Coach: Mark Dellagrotte, Ricardo Liborio, Greg Nelson, Shawn Tompkins.
Gym: American Top Team, Black House, Wolfslair, Xtreme Couture.
A philosophy-spouting self confessed “nerd”, martial arts guru Greg Jackson is widely recognised as one of the foremost thinkers in MMA. His sublime strategies have seen his fighters hoist UFC gold, and his excellent corner advice has carried fighters through adversity and onto victory. The New Mexico gym he runs alongside Mike Winklejohn is home to many champions, and attracts fighters from around the world. With world class coaching and scores of high level MMA fighters, results speak for themselves.
Best MMA Brand/Best MMA Clothing/Best MMA Shorts Manufacturer
Tapout
RUNNERS-UP:
Brand: Bad Boy, Silver Star, Hayabusa, UFC.
Clothing: Affliction, One More Round, Silver Star, Toe2Toe.
Shorts Manufacturer: ADX, Hayabusa, Sprawl, Warrior Wear .
Their self-proclaimed tag, ‘Bad for the Sport’ couldn’t be further from the truth. Initially a tongue-in-cheek description they gave themselves in the face of criticism from so-called ‘fans’, it proved to the world they just didn’t care – while people wanted to hate, they just kept working on making Tapout the best MMA brand in the world. You like them so much, you voted them Best MMA Brand, Best MMA Shorts Manufacturer and Best MMA Clothing. Who’s bad now?
Best MMA Journalist
John Morgan (MMA Junkie)
RUNNERS-UP: Gareth A Davies, Joe Ferraro, Kevin Iole, Dave Meltzer.
Head staff reporter for MMA Junkie, John is a major contributor to the site and is a familiar face at ringside in press row. A veteran reporter on the sport, Morgan also co-hosts the MMA Junkie radio show and provides expert opinion and analysis for newspapers across the United States.
European Fighter of the Year
Gegard Mousasi
RUNNERS-UP: Mike Bisping, Fedor Emelianenko, Terry Etim, Dan Hardy.
We described the humble and unassuming Gegard Mousasi as a ‘dark horse’ back in issue 10, but his accomplishments did not go unnoticed by you during the voting period. The Dutch-Armenian all-rounder had a terrific year; he won the 2009 Dream middleweight Grand Prix by beating Melvin Manhoef and Jacare in the same night, KO’d a veteran Japanese fighter under kickboxing rules and submitted heavyweight Mark Hunt in under 90 seconds. An extremely talented 24-year-old with massive amounts of potential, Mousasi has moved to light heavyweight and has said he eventually wants to become a heavyweight champion.
Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
Brock Lesnar
RUNNERS-UP: Shane Carwin, Dan Hardy, Jon Jones, Cain Velasquez.
Former WWE star Brock Lesnar erased any memory of his status as an entertainer by confirming his position as one of the best mixed martial arts fighters in the world. The freakishly-talented wrestler pounded out Randy Couture and Frank Mir in the space of nine months to hoist the UFC heavyweight title – incredibly, Lesnar went from MMA rookie to UFC gold in five fights, a feat that is unlikely to ever be replicated again.
Special Achievement Award
Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis
The passing of Mask was a dark day for the MMA community. The visionary founder of the Tapout empire, Charles Lewis Jr was a power player in business and a much-loved and close personal friend to many of the leading figures in the MMA world. Fighters Only would like to award the first ever posthumous award in honor of the work of man known as Mask. Also, as way of tribute to the man everyone misses so much, henceforth the Fighter Of The Year Award will now be known as the Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Fighter Of The Year Award.
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