by King Hazard
The annual World MMA Awards presented by Fighters Only magazine took place last night at “The Joint” in Las Vegas’ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
This is the fifth year fighters, including all the fine folks within the MMA industry, have had a chance to step onto the red carpet to show off their appeal to get awarded for a specific category ranging from Fight of the Year to Gym of the Year.
The top names among the nominees for 2012 were Ronda Rousey, Frank Mir, and Jon Jones, with Mir picking up the most wins last night. The event was co-hosted by Chael Sonnen and Molly Qerim once again, a partnership that continues to prove a winning formula at the awards considering Sonnen is a grandmaster at keeping a crowd entertained for a few hours.
Right below we have the complete 2012 list of finalists and winners. Check ’em out!
Charles “Mask” Lewis Fighter of the Year
Daniel Cormier
Nate Diaz
Benson Henderson
Jon Jones (winner)
Ronda Rousey
Female Fighter of the Year
Jessica Aguilar
Sarah Kaufman
Sara McMann
Ronda Rousey (winner)
Miesha Tate
Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
Renan Barao
Michael Chandler
Luke Rockhold
Ronda Rousey
Chris Weidman (winner)
International Fighter of the Year
Michael Bisping (winner)
Alexander Gustafsson
Chan Sung Jung
Martin Kampmann
Stefan Struve
Fight of the Year
Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (UFC 139)
Michael Chandler vs. Eddie Alvarez (Bellator 58)
Jake Ellenberger vs. Diego Sanchez (UFC on FUEL TV 1)
Dustin Poirier vs. Chan Sung Jung (UFC on FUEL TV 3)
Jamie Varner vs. Joe Lauzon (UFC on FOX 4) (winner)
Knockout of the Year
Adam Khaliev vs. Alexei Belyaev (League S-70)
Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim (UFC 142) (winner)
Stephen Thompson vs. Dan Stittgen (UFC 143)
Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon (UFC 144)
Brian Rogers vs. Vitor Vianna (Bellator 61)
Submission of the Year
Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC 140) (winner)
Charles Oliveira vs. Eric Wisely (UFC on FOX 2)
Rousimar Palhares vs. Mike Massenzio (UFC 142)
Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate (Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey)
Chan Sung Jung vs. Dustin Poirier (UFC on FUEL TV 3)
Comeback of the Year
Alan Belcher (career)
Mike Swick (career)
Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC 140) (winner)
Tim Boetsch vs. Yushin Okami (UFC 144)
J.P. Joubert vs. Norman Wessels (EFC Africa 15)
Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year
Rafael Cordeiro (winner)
Cesar Gracie
Greg Jackson
Javier Mendez
Andre Pederneiras
Gym of the Year
American Kickboxing Academy
Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (winner)
Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA
Kings MMA
Nova Uniao
Referee of the Year
Herb Dean (winner)
Marc Goddard
John McCarthy
Josh Rosenthal
Mario Yamasaki
Ring Card Girl of the Year
Jade Bryce
Arianny Celeste
Kelli Hutcherson
Brittney Palmer (winner)
Mercedes Terrell
Leading Man of the Year
Victor Cui
Lorenzo Fertitta
Shannon Knapp
Bjorn Rebney
Dana White (winner)
Personality of the Year
Jon Anik
Bruce Buffer
Mauro Ranallo
Joe Rogan (winner)
Bas Rutten
Best Promotion
Bellator
Invicta FC
ONE FC
Strikeforce
UFC (winner)
Best Lifestyle Clothing Brand
Bad Boy (winner)
Dethrone
Headrush
Punishment
TapouT
Best Technical Clothing Brand
Bad Boy
Clinch Gear (winner)
Hayabusa
Jaco
Venum
Best Technical Equipment
Everlast
Fairtex
Hayabusa
Pretorian (winner)
Venum
MMA Media Source of the Year
MMAFighting.com
ESPN
“Inside MMA” on AXS TV
MMAjunkie.com
Sherdog.com (winner)
MMA Journalist of the Year
Ariel Helwani, MMAFighting.com/FUEL TV (winner)
Karyn Bryant, MMA HEAT/FUEL TV
Gareth A. Davies, The Telegraph
Ben Fowlkes, MMAjunkie.com/USA TODAY
John Morgan, MMAjunkie.com/USA TODAY
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