LAS VEGAS – Rob Hewitt, Fighters Only Founder and CEO, is pleased to announce the nominees for the 17th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards.
The event’s voting website is now live at WorldMMAAwards.com, where fans around the world can cast their votes for who they believe deserves to win.
“The evolution and growth of mixed martial arts continues, and once again it proved incredibly challenging to narrow each category down to just five choices given the spectacular performances delivered around the globe,” Hewitt said. “We congratulate each one of our nominees, and it is truly our honor at Fighters Only to highlight the absolute best of this amazing sport.
Of course, we must also thank every fan who will take the time to vote in the 17th edition of these awards and ultimately determine our winner, who we look forward to recognizing later this year. Each year we continue to set records in the number of votes cast and viewership of our broadcasted event. We hope and expect to continue to smash records in line with the growth and popularity of the sport around the world.”
With a nomination period between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, the independent Fighters Only panel of MMA experts searched through all promotions and regions to select the award nominees.
In true MMA tradition, Fighters Only gives the world’s fight fans the power to vote for their favorite fighters, the knockouts and submissions that amazed them, and the nominees who impressed them most over the past year.
Fans can vote through desktops, mobile devices, and smartphones at WorldMMAAwards.com.
Voting is open now and will close on October 6, 2025.
The Fighters Only World MMA Awards is the leading industry event for the sport of mixed martial arts. Winners will be presented with their trophy at a live Las Vegas event, complete with a full red carpet attended by the biggest names in combat sports and celebrity fans.
The date and venue for the 17th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards ceremony will be announced in the coming weeks.
Nominees for the 17th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards
Charles "Mask" Lewis Fighter of the Year
- Magomed Ankalaev
- Merab Dvalishvili
- Alexandre Pantoja
- Gadzhi Rabadanov
- Ilia Topuria
Female Fighter of the Year
- Dakota Ditcheva
- Kayla Harrison
- Jasmine Jasudavicius
- Valentina Shevchenko
- Natalia Silva
Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
- Sean Brady
- Reinier de Ridder
- Dakota Ditcheva
- Jean Silva
- Joshua Van
International Fighter of the Year
- Phil De Fries
- Reinier de Ridder
- Jack Della Maddalena
- Dricus Du Plessis
- Paddy Pimblett
Fight of the Year
- Jack Della Maddalena vs. Belal Muhammad – UFC 315
- Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes – PFL Champions Series 1
- Esteban Ribovics vs. Daniel Zellhuber – UFC 306
- Nazim Sadykhov vs. Nikolas Motta – UFC on ABC 8
- Joshua Van vs. Brandon Royval – UFC 317
Knockout of the Year
- Shara Magomedov vs. Arman Petrosyan – UFC 308
- Gustavo Oliveira vs. Anas Azizoun – PFL Europe 2
- Mauricio Ruffy vs. King Green – UFC 313
- Roberto Soldic vs. Saygid "Dagi" Arslanaliev – ONE 171
- Fares Ziam vs. Matt Frevola – UFC Fight Night 243
Submission of the Year
- Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker – UFC 308
- Virna Jandiroba vs. Amanda Lemos – UFC on ESPN 60
- Paddy Pimblett vs. King Green – UFC 304
- Stevie Ray vs. Lewis Long – PFL Europe 3
- Jean Silva vs. Bryce Mitchell – UFC 314
Comeback of the Year
- Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory Rodrigues – UFC Fight Night 251
- Gabe Green vs. Matheus Camilo – UFC Fight Night 256
- Toshiomi Kazama vs. Charalampos Grigoriou – UFC on ESPN 61
- Gerald Meerschaert vs. Edmen Shahbazyan – UFC on ESPN 62
- Phil Rowe vs. Ange Loosa – UFC on ESPN 69
Upset of the Year
- Raoni Barcelos vs. Payton Talbott – UFC 311
- Reinier de Ridder vs. Bo Nickal – UFC on ESPN 67
- Yuneisy Duben vs. Shannon Clark – DWCS 8-4
- Gabriella Fernandes vs. Wang Cong – UFC Fight Night 248
- Oumar "Reug Reug" Kane vs. Anatoly Malykhin – ONE 169
Commentator of the Year
- Jon Anik
- Brendan Fitzgerald
- John Gooden
- Sean O'Connell
- Michael Schiavello
Analyst of the Year
- Michael Bisping
- Paul Felder
- Dan Hardy
- Laura Sanko
- Din Thomas
Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year
- Mike Brown – American Top Team
- Khabib Nurmagomedov – Abdulmanap School
- Pablo Sucupira – The Fighting Nerds
- Mike Valle – Valle Flow Striking
- John Wood – Syndicate MMA
Trainer of the Year
- Brandon Gallagher
- Heather Linden
- Everton Oliveira
- Charles Hu Stull
- Andrew Wood
Gym of the Year
- Abdulmanap School
- American Top Team
- The Fighting Nerds
- Syndicate MMA
- Valle Flow Striking
Referee of the Year
- Mike Beltran
- Herb Dean
- Marc Goddard
- Jason Herzog
- Mark Smith
Ringcard Girl of the Year
- Red Dela Cruz – UFC
- Kasia Kejsi – KSW
- Nikola Uhlirova – OKTAGON MMA
- Brookliyn Wren – UFC
- All Eight Octagon Girls of Noche UFC
Leading Man
- Graham Boylan
- Peter Murray
- Nobuyuki Sakakibara
- Ed Soares
- Dana White
Best Promotion
- Cage Warriors
- Legacy Fighting Alliance
- Professional Fighters League
- Rizin FF
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
Personality of the Year
- Bruce Buffer
- Daniel Cormier
- Nina Drama
- Joe Rogan
- Chael Sonnen
Best MMA Programming
- The Anik & Florian Podcast
- The Ariel Helwani Show
- Dana White's Contender Series
- JAXXON Podcast
- The Ultimate Fighter
MMA Media Source of the Year
- ESPN
- MMA Fighting
- MMA Junkie
- Sherdog
- Uncrowned
MMA Journalist of the Year
- Mike Bohn – MMA Junkie
- Aaron Bronsteter – Sportsnet
- Ben Fowlkes – Uncrowned
- Ariel Helwani – Uncrowned
- Damon Martin – MMA Fighting
Fighting Spirit Award
- Ben Askren – Inspiration: Documenting his fight against life-threatening illness
- Jeff Brady – Heroism: Sacrificing his own life to save two children
- Ryan Curtis – Resolve: Battling against paralysis after horrific spinal injury
- Adam Hicks – Resilience: Continuing his role as coach despite battling brain cancer
- Francis Ngannou – Resilience: Overcoming the traumatic loss of a child to continue career
ABOUT FIGHTERS ONLY
Fighters Only Magazine was the world’s first mixed martial arts and lifestyle magazine, launched in the U.K. in 2005. By 2008, it was on sale in 57 countries. The company launched the Fighters Only World MMA Awards in 2008 to celebrate achievements across the sport. Each year, nominees are chosen by an expert panel, and fans vote to decide the winners via WorldMMAAwards.com. The awards are presented at a live gala event attended by top athletes, celebrities, and personalities from sports and entertainment.
