2013 World MMA Award winners include dual-category victor Travis Browne
Sixth Annual Fighters Only World Mixed Martial Arts AwardsThe 2013 World MMA Awards, the sixth installment of Fighters Only’s annual industry honors, were revealed Friday, and some familiar names took home top honors.
Winners of the awards, which honored achievements from Oct. 1, 2012, to Dec. 31, 2013, were announced during a black-tie ceremony at Venetian and Palazzo Resort, Hotel & Casinos in Las Vegas.
UFC heavyweight Travis Browne, who went 3-0 with three “Knockout of the Night†bonuses in 2013, picked up a pair of awards. In addition to winning the fan vote as Breakthrough Fighter of the Year, he also earned Comeback of the Year honors for his first-round rally at UFC Fight Night 26, where he knocked out Alistair Overeem.
The night’s top honors went to UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, who was named Charles “Mask†Lewis Fighter of the Year, and UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, who was named Female Fighter of the Year. International Fighter of the Year went to Swedish UFC light-heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson.
The 2013 Knockout of the Year went to UFC middleweight contender Vitor Belfort for his UFC on FX 8 highlight-reel stoppage of Luke Rockhold, and Submission of the Year honors went to recent UFC bantamweight title challenger Urijah Faber for his chokeout of Ivan Menjivar at UFC 157. The Fight of the Year award, meanwhile, went to UFC 165′s headliner between light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Gustafsson.
Early UFC star Royce Gracie was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The full list of winners (bolded) included:
Charles “Mask†Lewis Fighter of the Year
- Vitor Belfort
- Urijah Faber
- Demetrious Johnson
- Chris Weidman
- Cain Velasquez
Female Fighter of the Year
- Joanne Calderwood
- Alexis Davis
- Jessica Eye
- Holly Holm
- Ronda Rousey
Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
- Travis Browne
- T.J. Grant
- Conor McGregor
- Nick Newell
- Khabib Nurmagomedov
International Fighter of the Year
- Shinya Aoki
- Alexander Gustafsson
- Conor McGregor
- Khabib Nurmagomedov
- Alexander Shlemenko
Fight of the Year
- Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann (UFC on Fuel TV 8)
- Michael Chandler vs. Eddie Alvarez II (Bellator 106)
- Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson (UFC 165)
- Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez (UFC 166)
- Mark Hunt vs. Antonio Silva (UFC Fight Night 33)
Knockout of the Year
- Vitor Belfort (vs. Luke Rockhold, UFC on FX 8)
- Junior Dos Santos (vs. Mark Hunt, UFC 160)
- Emanuel Newton (vs. “King Mo†Lawal, Bellator 90)
- Julio Cesar Neves Jr. (vs. Dener Dos Santos, WOCS 28)
- Chris Weidman (vs. Anderson Silva, UFC 162)
Submission of the Year
- Olivier Fontaine (vs. Sofian Benchohra, Lyon FC)
- Josh Burkman (vs. Jon Fitch, WSOF 3)
- Urijah Faber (vs. Ivan Menjivar, UFC 157)
- Rose Namajunas (vs. Kathina Catron, Invicta 5)
- Kenny Robertson (vs. Brock Jardine, UFC 157)
Comeback of the Year
- Travis Browne (vs. Alistair Overeem, UFC Fight Night 26)
- Blagoi Ivanov (career)
- Robbie Lawler (career)
- Michelle Waterson (vs. Jessica Penne, Invicta 5)
- Tom Watson (vs. Stanislav Nedkov, UFC on Fuel TV 7)
Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year
- Henri Hooft
- Duane Ludwig
- Ray Longo
- Andre Pederneiras
- Duke Roufus
Gym of the Year
- AKA
- Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA
- Nova Uniao
- Roufusport
- Team Alpha Male
Trainer of the Year
- Doug Balzarini
- Jake Bonacci
- Jonathan Chaimberg
- Mike Dolce
- Joel Jamieson
Referee of the Year
- Herb Dean
- Marc Goddard
- Yves Lavigne
- John McCarthy
- Mario Yamasaki
Ringcard Girl of the Year
- Jade Bryce
- Arianny Celeste
- Kat Kelley
- Brittney Palmer
- Mercedes Terrell
Leading Man
- Victor Cui
- Lorenzo Fertitta
- Bjorn Rebney
- Ray Sefo
- Dana White
Personality of the Year
- Bruce Buffer
- Kenny Florian
- Joe Rogan
- Bas Rutten
- Chael Sonnen
Best Promotion
- Bellator MMA
- Cage Warriors
- ONE FC
- UFC
- WSOF
Best Lifestyle Clothing
- Bad Boy
- Fear the Fighter
- Headrush
- Roots of Fight
- Torque
Best Technical Clothing
- Bad Boy
- Clinch Gear
- Hayabusa
- Jaco
- Venum
Best Technical Equipment
- Bad Boy
- Century
- Everlast
- Hayabusa
- Venum
Media Source of the Year
- Inside MMA (AXS TV)
- MMA Fighting
- MMAjunkie
- Sherdog
- UFC Tonight (Fox Sports)
Journalist of the Year
- Mike Chiappetta (Fox Sports)
- Gareth A Davies (The Daily Telegraph/Fox Sports)
- Ben Fowlkes (USA TODAY/MMAjunkie)
- Ariel Helwani (MMA Fighting/Fox Sports)
- John Morgan (USA TODAY/MMAjunkie)
