MMA Awards, First Half of 2011 - The Winners

[WrestlingSmarks News]

We've come to the end of the road. After a few days of endless debate and much less complaining than I anticipated, the polls have closed and you, the Bloody Elbow readers, have picked the best of the best in each of the eight categories. Tito Ortiz was the big winner, taking home two of the highly coveted Bloody Elbow MMA awards to put on display next to his dusty old UFC title belt. Here's a rundown of how everything went (number in brackets is total votes):

Best Submission:
1. Chan Sung Jung, twister, UFN 24 - 73% (1358)
2. Pablo Garza, flying triangle, UFC 129 - 7% (135)
3. Richard Hale, inverted triangle, Bellator 38 - 5% (104)

Best Post-Fight Celebration:
1. Tito Ortiz, UFC 132 - 50% (1422)
2. Mark Hunt, UFC 127 - 25% (735)
3. Matt Mitrione, UFC on Versus 4 - 15% (435)

Best Feud:
1. Chael Sonnen vs. Brazil - 44% (733)
2. Rashad Evans vs. Jon Jones - 27% (462)
3. Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera - 10% (175)

Best Comeback:
1. Cheick Kongo, UFC on Versus 4 - 64% (1494)
2. Frankie Edgar, UFC 125 - 23% (551)
3. Nick Diaz, Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley - 5% (133)

Biggest Upset:
1. Tito Ortiz over Ryan Bader, UFC 132 - 55% (802)
2. Antonio Silva over Fedor Emelianenko, Strikforce: Fedor vs. Silva - 13% (199)
3. Charlie Brenneman over Rick Story, UFC on Versus 4 - 12% (183)

Best Fighter:
1. Jon Jones - 53% (990)
2. Nick Diaz - 17% (319)
3. Melvin Guillard - 8% (163)

Best Knockout:
1. Anderson Silva on Vitor Belfort, UFC 126 - 30% (784)
2. Lyoto Machida on Randy Couture, UFC 129 - 28% (730)
3. Cheick Kongo on Pat Barry, UFC on Versus 4 - 20% (529)

Best Fight:
1. Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard, UFC 125 - 37% (940)
2. Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley, Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley - 21% (542)
3. Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry, UFC on Versus 4 - 8% (221)

Thanks for taking part, folks.