MMA Award Show comparable to the Academy Awards
The Pearl Concert Theatre in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Even though the Fighters Only Magazine’s 2011 World MMA Awards Show took place November 30, 2011 at The Pearl Concert Theatre inside the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, the affair didn’t air on the Fox Sports channel until Sunday night, December 11.
Despite the low profile given to this event, this Academy Awards like red-carpet, black-tie affair was quite entertaining.
Jon Jones, the UFC's light heavyweight champion. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
On the show they announced winners in 22 categories and as no surprise Jon Jones, the UFC’s light-heavyweight champion earned their top prize, the coveted Charles “Mask” Lewis Fighter of the Year award.
UFC fighter Chael Sonnen and CBS Sports Network’s Molly Qerim hosted the event. The awards honored achievements from September 2010 through August 2011.
The no nonsense award winners included:
INTERNATIONAL FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Michael Bisping, Alexander Gustafsson, Joachim Hansen, Alistair Overeem and Dennis Siver
Winner: Alistair “I don’t take steroids” Overeem
GYM OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Alliance MMA, Black House Gym, Jackson’s MMA, Roufusport and Xtreme Couture
Winner: Black House Team Nogueira Gym, 7550 Miramar Road, San Diego, Ca.
REFEREE OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Herb Dean, “Big” John McCarthy, Dan Miragliotta, Josh Rosenthal and Mario Yamasaki
Winner for second straight year: Herb Dean
COMEBACK OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Marloes Coenen vs. Liz Carmouche at “Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson,” Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry at UFC Live 5, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (career), Tito Ortiz (career) and Joe Warren vs. Joe Soto at Bellator 27
Dominick Cruz of the Alliance Training Center in Chula Vista, CA. took his mother to the show.
Winner: Cheick Kongo
COACH OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Rafael Cordeiro, Eric Del Fierro, Cesar Gracie, Greg Jackson and Shawn Tompkins
Winner: Greg Jackson
Miesha Tate holds the Female Fighter of the Year award. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
FEMALE FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Marloes Coenen, Zoila Gurgel, Sarah Kaufman, Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate
Winner: Miesha Tate, last year’s winner was Cris Cyborg Santos.
RING ENTRANCE OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133, Vitor Belfort at UFC 133, Dave Herman at UFC 131, Mark Hominick at UFC 129 and Jason “Mayhem” Miller at DREAM.16
Winner: Jason “Mayhem” Miller
Ring girl and model Arianny Celeste poses after winning the Ring Girl of the Year award at the Fighters Only World Mixed Martial Arts Awards 2011 at The Pearl concert theater at the Palms Casino Resort November 30, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
BREAKTHROUGH FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Donald Cerrone, Daniel Cormier, Phil Davis, Demetrious Johnson and Brian Stann
Winner: Donald Cerrone
SUBMISSION OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Chan Sung Jung vs. Leonard Garcia at UFC Fight Night 24, Pablo Garza vs. Yves Jabouin at UFC 129, Richard Hale vs. Nik Fekete at Bellator 38, Vinny Magalhaes vs. Viktor Nemkov at M-1 Challenge 25, and Tito Ortiz vs. Ryan Bader at UFC 132
Winner: Chan Sung Jung vs. Leonard Garcia at UFC Fight Night 24
Anderson Silva
KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Patricky “Pitbull” Freire vs. Toby Imada at Bellator 39, Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry at UFC Live 5, John Makdessi vs. Kyle Watson at UFC 129, Lyoto Machida vs. Randy Couture at UFC 129, and Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort at UFC 126
Winner: Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort at UFC 126
MMA JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Nominees: John Morgan, Gareth A. Davies, Josh Gross, Ariel Helwani and Ben Fowlkes
Winner for a second straight year: Ariel Helwani
FIGHT OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick at UFC 129, Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber at UFC 132, Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard at UFC 125, Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley at “Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley,” and Diego Sanchez vs. Martin Kampmann at UFC Live 3
Winner: Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard at UFC 125
CHARLES “MASK” LEWIS FIGHTER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Nominees: Dominick Cruz, Nick Diaz, Dan Henderson, Jon Jones and Anderson Silva
Winner: Jon Jones, last year’s award went to Cain Velasquez.
Last year, Bobby Lee was in the running for top ring card courier. You might recall this gent from his performances on "Mad Tv" and in the movie Harold and Kumar.
