The nominees for the 2021 edition of the 13th annual World MMA Awards presented by Fighter’s Only have been announced per a press release.
Visit worldmmaawards.com to vote for each respective category, the nominees can be found below.
Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Male Fighter of the Year
- Kamaru Usman
- Brandon Moreno
- Yaroslav Amosov
- Charles Oliveira
- Jan Blachowicz
Female Fighter of the Year
- Mackenzie Dern
- Kayla Harrison
- Valentina Shevchenko
- Rose Namajunas
- Manon Fiorot
Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
- Khamzat Chimaev
- Jiří Procházka
- Brandon Moreno
- Yaroslav Amosov
- Kevin Holland
International Fighter of the Year
- Vadim Nemkov
- Israel Adesanya
- Yaroslav Amosov
- Robert Whittaker
- Jan Blachowicz
Fight of the Year
- Paul Daley vs. Sabah Homasi – Bellator 257
- Edson Barboza vs. Shane Burgos – UFC 262
- Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno I – UFC 256
- Jiří Procházka vs. Dominick Reyes – UFC on ESPN 23
- Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Miguel Baeza – UFC on ESPN+ 47
Knockout of the Year
- Joaquin Buckley vs. Impa Kasanganay – Back Kick – UFC on ESPN+ 37
- Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal – Punch – UFC 261
- Cory Sandhagen vs. Frankie Edgar – Flying Knee – UFC on ESPN+ 42
- Shane Burgos vs. Edson Barboza – Punch – UFC 262
- Mamed Khalidov vs. Scott Askham – Flying Switch Kick – KSW 55
Submission of the Year
- AJ McKee vs. Darrion Caldwell – Neck Crank – Bellator 253
- Paul Craig vs. Jamahal Hill – Armbar/Triangle – UFC 264
- Jimmy Flick vs. Cody Durden – Flying Triangle – UFC on ESPN+ 41
- Anthony Hernandez vs. Rodolfo Vieira – Guillotine – UFC 258
- Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje – Triangle – UFC 254
Comeback of the Year
- Paul Daley vs. Sabah Homasi – Bellator 257
- Thanh le vs. Martin Nguyen – ONE: Inside the Matrix
- Sean Strickland (Career)
- Rose Namajunas (Career)
- Charles Oliviera vs. Michael Chandler – UFC 262
Upset of the Year
- Adriano Moraes vs. Demetrious Johnson – ONE on TNT 1
- Shana Dobson vs. Mariya Agapova – UFC on ESPN 15
- Clay Collard vs. Anthony Pettis – PFL 2021 #1
- Ok Rae Yoon vs. Eddie Alvarez – ONE on TNT 4
- Anthony Hernandez vs. Rodolfo Vieira – UFC 258
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Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year
- Eric Nicksick
- Henri Hooft
- Mike Brown
- Trevor Wittman
- Jason Parillo
Trainer of the Year
- Phil Daru
- Sam Calavitta
- Jordan Sullivan
- Chase Cichos
- Bo Sandoval
Gym of the Year
- American Top Team
- City Kickboxing
- Elevation Fight Team
- RVCA
- Sanford MMA
Referee of the Year
- Herb Dean
- Dan Miragliotta
- Mark Smith
- Jason Herzog
- Marc Goddard
Ringcard Girl of the Year
- Arianny Celeste
- Luciana Andrade
- Brookliyn Wren
- Brittney Palmer
- Kasia Motloch Kejsi
Leading Man of the Year
- Dana White
- Ed Soares
- Mohammed Shahid
- Densign White
- Scott Coker
Best Promotion of the Year
- Bellator MMA
- LFA
- Brave Combat Federation
- UAE Warriors
- UFC
Personality of the Year
- Jon Anik
- Daniel Cormier
- Joe Rogan
- Laura Sanko
- Chael Sonnen
Analyst of the Year
- Robin Black
- Michael Bisping
- Paul Felder
- Dan Hardy
- John McCarthy
Best MMA Programming
- Morning Kombat
- Dana White’s Contender Series
- DC & Helwani
- JRE MMA Show
- UFC Embedded
MMA Media Source of the Year
- The Mac Life
- BT Sport
- ESPN MMA
- MMA Fighting
- MMA Junkie
MMA Journalist of the Year
- John Morgan
- Shaheen Al-Shatti
- Brett Okamoto
- Ariel Helwani
- Oscar Willis
Fighting Spirit of the Year
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (Compassion vs. Justin Gaethje – transitioned from an arm bar to triangle to avoid distressing Gaethje’s parents)
- Terrance McKinney (recovery – from overcoming drug addiction and near death to UFC callup and winning debut)
- Brandon Moreno (Perseverance – from being cut, to fighting back and becoming the first Mexican UFC champion)
- Dustin Poirier (Charity – continued efforts with The Good Fight Foundation giving back to the local community in Louisiana)
- Dana White (Leadership – when all sports were down and out due to Covid-19, against all the odds, Dana White made Fight Island real)
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2021 World MMA Awards nominees announced
