Fighters Only

Issue 196

December 2022

The 14th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards saw the great and the good of mixed martial arts come together to celebrate the best of the sport at a special ceremony at the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

The star-studded night saw an array of stars from the worlds of fighting and showbusiness in attendance as the fan-voted World MMA Awards were announced and presented to this year’s big winners at an event that was broadcast live on ESPN and hosted by Chael Sonnen.

As the dust settles on another incredible year of action, let’s take a look back at the best of the acceptance speeches as the year’s top achievers in mixed martial arts received their recognition from the most respected Awards in the sport.

Upset of the Year: Julianna Pena

"First and foremost, thank you to God Almighty. Without God and that confidence that he's instilled in me and given to me, I don't think I would have been able to have that belief in myself.

"I think that there's times where people are going to tell you that there's things that you can and cannot do. And it's up to you to decide not to believe those things. And I don't believe those things that people tell about me, because I know what I can do and I know how hard I work and I know how motivated I am. I just have so much pride and wanting to do better and reaching for more in my life, and there's still a lot of work to be done.

"I look forward to earning another trilogy fight. And I want to thank the fans, of course, the lovely fans, for voting for me and for giving me this award. I appreciate it. Thank you."

Comeback of the Year: Aljamain Sterling

"Comeback Fighter of the Year, baby! I try to keep as positive as I could be. And my friends, my family, my coaches, my training partners – the ones that truly did stick beside me no matter what people were saying, or how many clown emojis were left on my pages – it means a lot to me man, it truly does.

"And, at the end of the day, trust those and love those around you, because life is short. Continue to work hard, do what you do best, and trust the process, man, and good things will happen for you, too.

"I'm just a young man following his dream and fortunately for me, he's been away just keep giving me their backs and I'm just gonna keep winning, baby! Let’s go!"

Trainer of the Year: Heather Linden

"Thank you. First I definitely have to thank Duncan, Forrest, Dana, the UFC obviously, for putting the trust, instilling in me to literally build a place from the ground up for our athletes. You've given me a platform to change sports medicine, you guys, honestly and truly, to make it an athlete-centered model, which is something that you don’t see in professional sports.

"I am so honored to be up here. I thank each and every one of you, and especially our athletes, for believing in me. These five years have been a dream job. So thank you very much."

Ring Card Girl of the Year: Brittney Palmer

"Hey! What's up, guys! I'm so sorry I can't be with you in Las Vegas tonight. And I want to thank you so much for voting for me. Thank you Fighters Only, UFC, and of course, the fans. I appreciate you so much."

Leading Man of the Year: Dana White

"Well, let me start by saying it's been a great couple of years. Not only for us, but for the industry. First of all, I have to thank my badass, incredible crew at the UFC, I built one of the greatest teams in all of sports and I appreciate every one of you.

"I want to thank Rob Hewitt. He fights hard and works hard. You want to talk about a guy that's passionate about what he does. This all happens because of him, you know? Thank you for everything Rob, supporting all these old people in the industry and giving them an opportunity to win awards like this. Really appreciate it.

"And last, but not least, thanks to the fans. We’ve got the greatest fans in the world. We really appreciate you guys. And congrats to everybody tonight who won. Thank you!"

Breakthrough Fighter of the Year: Paddy Pimblett

"Thank you very much for this award, people, (the) Fighters Only Breakthrough Fighter of the Year for 2022. But we all know I was going to win this award anyway. No one really needs to vote that much, because this was always my award. It had “The Baddy’s” name on it. But thank you very much. I really appreciate it."

Promotion of the Year: UFC (accepted by Mackenzie Pavacich)

"It is an absolute pleasure and honor to stand up here on behalf of hundreds of UFC employees across the world who make all of this possible. People who work tirelessly behind the scenes, 365 days a year, to bring you more than 40 live events on almost every continent.

"Of course, there would be no greatest organization without the greatest leader in any sport, and the greatest athletes in any sport. And as we head into our 30th year of UFC, we the employees are so excited to let you know that we are just getting started."

Gym of the Year: City Kickboxing (accepted by Dan Hooker and Israel Adesanya)

Hooker: "Well, I just want to convey how important and special this is. It’s such a small gym. We’re just in the corner of the world, at the bottom of the world in New Zealand. And to be associated with these monster gyms like this is just absolutely incredible. So I just want to convey how big of a moment this is to us to be awarded Gym of the Year, so I'm just overwhelmed with emotion."

Adesanya: "Yeah, we got in last night, and we're leaving tomorrow. Quick trip to Vegas just to accept this award on behalf of our gym, because this is important. We’re not government-funded, like any other sport in New Zealand. And, just off our backs, with the support of the people, we did this. So, for us, like he said, from the low corner of the world, to be able to do this, it’s monumental. And yeah, we're honored. For me, it’s beautiful. So thank you, we appreciate it."

Female Fighter of the Year: Valentina Shevchenko

"Good evening everyone. I’m really happy, truly happy, to receive this beautiful award tonight, and want to say thank you to every single person who voted for me.

"Next year means a lot because I have my little anniversary. I’ve been a martial artist for 30 years. For 30 years I’ve been training, fighting, and doing what I love the most.

"Today I feel so blessed to fight in the best promotion, to have the best team that supports me, and no matter what, to have all my fans who motivate me to be better, stronger, more dangerous, for the game that I love the most, the fight game (and) to show the beauty of the fight and the beauty of martial arts. Thank you everyone. Thank you Fighters Only. Thank you so much."

Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Male Fighter of the Year: Alexander Volkanovski

"What an achievement. Fighter of the Year. What an honor. I want to thank you all for the support, I really do appreciate it. I'm sorry I cannot be there.

"Man, what a year, it really was! How do I top it? In 2023 I want to top that. I believe 2023 is going to be my biggest year ever. That's going to be a real defining year of my career. And I'm gonna show you that anything is possible with the right mindset and the right work ethic.

"So, again, I appreciate you guys supporting me and understanding what I'm all about and giving me this award. But I guarantee you next year is going to be even bigger. So Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and I wish you all a great 2023."

Referee of the Year: Marc Goddard

"Wow. Not quite sure what to say, but it absolutely begins with thanks. I’m in love with this sport. I don’t take it for granted. I’ve been doing this for 18 years now, and I hold it dear. Thank you so much."

Lifetime Achievement Award: Kirik Jenness

"I first want to thank Rob Hewitt. There is no finer man in this sport. I want to thank my mother and father for making me. I want to thank my partners Gabrielle Lang, Smallman, Chris Palmquist, and the great John Morgan for putting up with me. I want to thank Chael Sonnen, Chael P Sonnen, the smartest man in the sport. And I want to thank Alex Davis. Alex Davis is the conscience of the sport.

"I want to thank Art Davie for starting this. I want to thank Dana White for lifting us up where we belong. I want to thank Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Muhammad Shahid for taking us forward. And I want to thank all the members of The Underground, and mixed martial arts. I love you all."

Knockout of the Year: Michael Chandler

"Alright! Holy cow! Thank you! What an honor it is to accept this award. If you guys know me, I tend to go for the knockout as soon as the fight starts, and then until I either knock him out or I get knocked out or I get submitted!

"First and foremost, to Rob and Fighters Only for what you all have done with this and honoring all of us fighters. The dedication and the sacrifice that we put in every single day is absolutely massive, so thank you all to the fans who voted for me – I appreciate you guys.

"And of course most importantly, my family, my wife, my sons, who make such a massive sacrifice for me to get to do what I do so, I appreciate y'all. God bless! I'll see at the top!"

Fight of the Year: Jiri Prochazka vs. Glover Teixeira, UFC 275 (accepted by Glover Teixeira)

"Alright guys, thank you. I would say it takes two to make the Fight of the Year, but it takes more than two. It takes the whole teams behind us.

"I thank all of my team, thank my wife Ingrid, thank the UFC (and the) UFC crew. To be part of this and to be in the Fight of the Year is an amazing honor. An amazing honor to be a part of this sport and respect all my opponents to the end. Thank you. Thank all you guys. Thanks Fighters Only. Everybody, I appreciate it."

Backstage pass

Fighters Only’s Dave Farra grabbed a quick word with two of the night’s big winners, as he chatted briefly to UFC president and Leading Man of the Year Dana White, and Knockout of the Year winner, Michael Chandler.

Backstage interview: Dana White

Talk about the team that's around you every day. I know a lot of people that work at that organization and, man, they’re as passionate as you, which is kind of hard to believe.

Yeah. built an incredible team. To be honest with you. We've never been stronger than we are right now. So, you know from from my executive team, right down to you know, everybody who does anything inside that building. They're badass.

What do you say to the fans who cast their votes for you guys?

I mean, this is what this thing is all about. Rob Hewitt is incredible. You know, talk about passion. This guy is so passionate about this award show. That's why I wouldn't miss it. I'm here tonight because I love what this guy does for the industry. He gives the fans an opportunity to go out and vote for the people that they liked the most, the promotion that, you know, every little piece of this business you get to vote on, and we wouldn't even be here tonight, or any Saturday night, if it wasn't for the fans.

Backstage interview: Michael Chandler

Michael Chandler, Knockout of the Year. I don't know if I've ever seen a fight of yours that you weren't going forward.

Yeah, I think it's kind of my MO, you know? Foot on the gas, gunning for the knockout. It doesn't always work out but, you know, it's it's worked out really pretty well for me over the last 14 years. So, we're gonna keep going for the knockout and, you know, just what an honor to get the Knockout of the Year Award this year. It's awesome.

Do you just know that you're gonna go for it all the time, or do you kind of hype yourself up a little bit?

Yeah, I mean, I've actually never had to hype myself up. It was my wrestling style when I used to wrestle. Get on the guy right away, get my hands on him, pushing the pace foot on the gas the entire time. But you know, as I said, it's my fight style and I've won a lot of fights because of my tenacity and my willingness to push the pace. So I don't need to get myself pumped up, because it's just who I am.