The 2009 event opened up to a large audience, and has become a propellant in the mixed martial arts world, opening up the eyes to a mainstream audience, by the community taking leaps and bounds in order to legitimize itself as not only a legitimate sport, but one that deserves that same sort of recognition that most others receive, here in these United States.

While some categories have changed, in order to be politically correct, must stay the same. Voting continues until November 26, where till then you can cast your votes online at All winners are determined by a fan vote, and ballots can be cast through Nov. 26 at www.worldmmaawards.com.

The full list, which was formatted by MMAJunkie.com, of finalists includes:

CHARLES “MASK” LEWIS FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

* Anderson Silva
* Brock Lesnar
* Frankie Edgar
* Jose Aldo
* Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

FIGHT OF THE YEAR

* Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 117
* Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin at UFC 116
* Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung at WEC 48
* Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116
* Jorge Santiago vs. Kazuo Misaki at Sengoku 14

KO OF THE YEAR

* Anthony Njokuani vs. Chris Horodecki at WEC 45
* Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110
* Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Lyoto Machida at UFC 113
* Mike Russow vs. Todd Duffee at UFC 114
* Rich Franklin vs. Chuck Liddell at UFC 115

SUBMISSION OF THE YEAR

* Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida at UFC 117
* Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116
* Cole Miller vs. Dan Lauzon at UFC 108
* Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 118
* Fabricio Werdum vs. Fedor Emelianenko at “Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum”

BEST PROMOTION

* Bellator
* DREAM
* Strikeforce
* UFC
* WEC

LEADING MAN OF THE YEAR

* Bjorn Rebney, Bellator founder and CEO
* Dana White, UFC president
* Joe Silva, UFC VP of talent relations
* Michael Schiavello, HDNet broadcaster
* Scott Coker, Strikeforce founder and CEO

INTERNATIONAL FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

* Alistair Overeem
* Dan Hardy
* George Sotiropoulos
* John Hathaway
* Shinya Aoki

BREAKTHROUGH FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

* Charles Oliveira
* Evan Dunham
* George Sotiropoulos
* John Hathaway
* Jon Jones

FEMALE FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

* Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos
* Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii
* Miesha Tate
* Sarah Kaufman
* Zoila Frausto

COACH OF THE YEAR

* Cesar Gracie
* Firas Zahabi
* Greg Jackson
* Rafael Cordeiro
* Shawn Tompkins

GYM OF THE YEAR

* American Kickboxing Academy
* American Top Team
* Black House MMA
* Greg Jackson’s Submission Fighting
* Wand Fight Team

RING GIRL OF THE YEAR

* Arianny Celeste
* Brittney Palmer
* Chandella Powell
* Natalie Skyy
* Rachelle Leah

BEST LIFESTYLE CLOTHING BRAND

* Affliction
* Fight Chix
* RVCA
* Silverstar
* TapouT

REFEREE OF THE YEAR

* “Big” John McCarthy
* Dan Miragliotta
* Herb Dean
* Josh Rosenthal
* Mario Yamasaki

MOST MEMORABLE RING ENTRANCE

* Anderson Silva
* Clay Guida
* Jason “Mayhem” Miller
* Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal
* Tom Lawlor

BEST TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT BRAND

* Everlast MMA
* Fairtex
* Hayabusa
* TapouT
* Venum

BEST TECHNICAL CLOTHING BRAND

* Bad Boy
* Hayabusa
* Jaco
* TapouT
* Venum

MEDIA SOURCE OF THE YEAR

* “Inside MMA” on HDNet
* MMAjunkie.com
* MMAWeekly.com
* MMAFighting.com
* Sherdog.com

MMA JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR

* Aaron “Tru” Teweles, Freelance
* Ariel Helwani, MMAFighting.com/Versus.com
* Conner Cordova, MMAReligion.com
* Gareth A. Davies, Telegraph.com
* John Morgan, MMAjunkie.com

So, MMA peeps, any surprises here? Anyone you would have liked to seen in some of these categories? Who do you think will take home some of the honors of the night? Sound off in the comments section below.

Now, what does this have to do with MMA?  Well, it serves as a metaphor of sorts.  When UFC matchmaker Joe Silva and President Dana White are contemplating a match-up, I can imagine all the possibilities they might envision the two different fighters will bring to the Octagon and the array of skills that could be on display for fans to consume.   On paper, I am sure they thought George St. Pierre vs. Dan Hardy would thrill with Hardy throwing bombs and St. Pierre working his diverse tool kit of stand-up and ground skills.  On paper, I am sure they thought Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves would excite with Alves’ dangerous hands vs. the ground game of Fitch. On paper, I am sure Silva and White even thought the range of talents between Andre Winner and Nick Lentz at UFC 118 would offer a national Spike-TV audience lots to consume across the spectrum from wrestling to head kicks.

As it turned out, all those fights gave fans was a great big serving of toast and potatoes.

Despite all the tools that were brought into the Octagon for each of those fights, very few were on display for the fan to consume.  As if, Mandalay Bay left all the eggs, French Toast, Filet Mignon, and dessert in the kitchen denying the buffet diners of the best choices.  Unlike the buffet analogy, Joe Silva has no control over which tools are put on display, once a fight starts, for the fans to consume.  The fighters are in control, and more specifically, wrestling is in control.

In each of the mentioned fights, the winning fighter’s dominant wrestling utterly controlled the pace, scoring, and entertainment value of the fight.  GSP, Fitch, and Lentz each took the air out of the fight via slow, grinding, methodical wrestling to prevent their highly talented opponents from ever using their best and very entertaining standup tools.  There is nothing unfair or illegal about this tactic.  In fact, it is quite smart for purposes of winning the fight … why would the wrestler ever expose themselves to the best strengths of their opponent, if possible?  While this is a winning course to follow – it limits what the UFC “diner” can enjoy.  So many great items were on the “menu,” or brought into the cage, yet only one was available for consumption.

These fights all had so much potential for excitement but are mostly thought of as disappointments from an entertainment standpoint.  I do like ground fights, but admittedly, ones that are more Jiu Jitsu based, and part of an overall ground and pound package.  I love watching Anthony Pettis on his back, searching and probing for a loose limb to rip off or how Joe Lauzon transitioned from ground and pound to finish with an arm bar against Gabe Ruediger.  When dominant wrestling is used only as a neutralizer of the opponent’s most exciting tools instead of an offensive weapon itself, I find myself flipping to watch a New Jersey housewife throw a table or pull some hair.

Wrestling is taking over MMA more and more.  However, I am not a wrestling “hater” in general.  Frankie Edgar was masterful, mixing his wrestling with the full array of MMA tools: Muay Thai, Boxing, Judo throws, and BJJ to cement his title belt at UFC 118.  I am only a basher when a persistent neutralizing wrestling style takes away all my MMA buffet dining options in fights with potential for so much more.

—

Is wrestling taking the air out of some potentially great MMA fights?  Are wrestlers too dominant?  sound off!

@john_moody

There was much hype leading up to this fight from as far back as UFC 96. We sat and watched them throw verbal jabs at one another on “The Ultimate Fighter” as opposing coaches. We then had to wait until Jackson had finished with the “A-Team” movie for the fight to finally take place. There was even a war of words on Twitter between the two men leading up to the event.

I think everyone knew this fight would end one of two ways, Rashad by decision or Rampage by knock out. The end result was Rashad Evans with a unanimous decision victory in what was more or less a grappling and position battle.

Rashad caught Rampage at the opening bell with a shot that seemed to rock him. From that point on it was Rashad uses the clinch to push Jackson against the cage and effectively neutralize the striking of Rampage. It is an effective tactic when you have a wrestler going against a striker.

This tactic is not something one can really complain about since the sport is mixed martial arts (MMA) and wrestling is a part of that. However that does not mean someone has to like watching a fighter that uses this tactic. Rashad seems to have become a fighter many fans love to hate and the tactics he used Saturday night did nothing but help to cement his status as a one of the more hated fighters in the UFC. I think Jackson was hurt less by the loss than Rashad was by the type of win he pulled off.

I come from a wrestling background so I enjoy that aspect of the sport but I would much prefer to see a wrestler use his skills to not just control where the fight takes place but to finish fights. I believe many of the fighters with a wrestling background game-plan fights with strikers to become a decision victory. They want to use the cage to clinch, put try to wear their opponent down and grind out a win. In today’s sport of MMA we no longer are supposed to be watching style versus style. Now MMA fighters are touted as well rounded athletes that mix all the styles together and this simply is not true.

There are some out there that do it well and there are wrestlers that use their control to work on submissions or striking from a dominant position. Rashad did neither of these things as he seemed content to coast to a win.

Of course we can also lay blame to Jackson for not being more effective in the clinch and the takedown defense department. After all it is his job to know he is facing a wrestler and to be prepared to counter such a tactic. I have even heard some go so far as to say we should blame UFC matchmaker Joe Silva for always giving us striker versus wrestler match-ups. These fights tend to lead to upset fans but there is no way he can only have striker versus striker or wrestler versus wrestler. It is just not a viable solution.

Regardless, Rashad survived yet another third round disaster as he was put down by Rampage. Rashad fought through it to survive and Jackson is now taking some heat for not being more aggressive in going for the kill after the knock down.

In the end Rashad comes out on top and gets the title shot against current UFC light heavyweight champion “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (19-4). It is another grappler versus striker fight but the difference here is Rua’s underrated jiu jitsu skills. Not his ability to submit guys per say but more his sweeps and ability to get back to his feet.

As a fight fan what did you think of the main event at UFC 114?

“The UFC contacted us yesterday, and I think they want to put a rematch together, so I think a rematch is in the works,” Penn went on to say “I think the next three months, four months at the most,”

This is would seem to put the fight at at either the August 1 Versus show in Oakland or the August 28 fight that takes place in Boston. After the main event disaster at UFC 112 it might make sense to give the fans this fight for free by putting it on Versus. Then again a Boston event is close enough to the home of the new UFC lightweight champion “The Answer” Frank Edgar (12-1) that it may be the best option.

There are those out there that felt BJ won that fight even though he did not look himself. Gone was the killer instinct we usually see from him. This may be attributed to what his trainer Rudy Valentino said when talking to Cage Potato. “He was also battling a sinus infection and was on antibiotics, so he was not one hundred percent. I’m not making any excuses, that is just what happened.”

According to Rudy BJ had a fever in the week leading up to the fight and the infection he had prevented him from training as hard as he should have for a couple of weeks. Originally I contribute Penn’s lackluster performance to him deciding to keep his camp in Hilo, Hawaii rather than coming to the RVCA training facility in California.

Penn  has stated in the past that he had troubles training as hard as he should have in Hawaii due to the distractions and the laid back attitude. The laid back attitude is all part of the Aloha spirit and “Island Time”, where you do things at your own pace with no real sense of urgency. I thought he looked the best we had seen him in his past two fights where he came to California and got away from the things that took him away from hard training.

While nothing is official yet, expect BJ to push for this rematch rather than UFC matchmaker Joe Silva and president Dana White offering it to the only man to have beaten Edgar, fifth-ranked lightweight “The Bully” Gray Maynard (9-0).

Stay tuned to Fighters.com as this story develops further.

The addition of Baker is a good one for the tournament. He is a former high school wrestler who is now a black belt in judo and trains at Team Wildman in Denver, Colorado. He has wins against UFC veteran “Outburst” Rory Singer (12-9) and former IFL Grand Prix winner “Suave” Matt Horwich (24-13-1).

Baker says his singular goal is to advance through Bellator’s Season 2 tournament to earn the chance to take on reigning World Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard.“I put so much effort into my training that it gives me 100 percent confidence that I’m going to win every time,” Baker said. “Lombard has the belt and I’m coming for his belt. I’d say that he better stay on top of his training or else he’s in for a big surprise.”

This is just one of many additions Bellator has made in their off season. Former Olympian and highly touted prospect Ben Askren (3-0) signed an exclusive long term agreement and will participate in the welterweight tournament. Hardcore MMA fan favorite Dan Hornbuckle (14-2) also looking to make a splash in the welterweight tournament. Other fighters include “The Taz” Bao Quach (16-9-1), William Romero (4-0), Jim Wallhead (17-5) and Mike Ricci (1-0) to name a few.

Bellator is doing what many fans have been wanting to see for a long time. They are taking all the highly touted prospects along with a few well established fighters and giving them a  way to fight one another. I see Bellator as an organization that is becoming the proving grounds for these prospects. They will have to step in the cage, face each other and then look to fight men like Bellator FC middleweight champion Hector Lombard (22-2-1) and lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez (17-2).

I have no idea what Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney has planned for the future or where he sees his organization in comparison to the UFC but I feel they could become the perfect feeder organization for Dana White, Joe Silva and the UFC. The only question remaining is if the fans will actually support them and get out to am event.

Last season the events seemed to be lacking fans from what I could tell. I wonder if the periodic signings slowly trickling out is a planned event in order to keep them in the news and to bring in more fans? If so it is a brilliant move. I have seen more people talk about this company in the last 6 months then I did during their first season. If this is any indication the fans will come out to support all the hard work they have put in to the new season and tournaments.

I have my doubts but with four events in Kansas City I hope for the best. The Midwest is a hot bed for MMA with hardcore fans that follow even the most obscure fight organization. My question to you is, will you be attending a Bellator event?

UFC 107 takes place in Memphis Saturday headlined by Fighters.com and UFC Lightweight Champion “Prodigy” BJ Penn (12-4-1) versus tenth-ranked “Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (19-2-0).  A fight we are not scheduled to see is undefeated Johny Hendricks (6-0) versus UFC newcomer Ricardo Funch (7-0) as it is slated for the prelims. This is robbery at it’s finest.

Johny Hendricks was brought into the UFC after the WEC eliminated the welterweight division. His first fight was the coming out party for The Ultimate Fighter 7 winner Amir Sadollah (2-1). Amir had dropped out of two previously scheduled fights due to a leg infection and a broken clavicle respectively. So at UFC 101 in Philadelphia August 8, Amir was set to make his post-TUF debut.

Enter Hendricks, who has been on my personal radar for some time now. He was a two-time NCAA Division 1 national champion wrestler at Oklahoma State University as well as being a two-time All American and three-time Big 12 Conference champion. His amazing wrestling worked for him when he worked to get a D’Arce choke against Richard Gamble (2-3) at Extreme Fighting League on HDNet.

Against Amir, wrestling would not play a part. It would be the hands of Johny that would spoil the return to the Octagon for Amir Sadollah. The fight would end in 29 seconds as Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight due to strikes. Many criticized the stoppage as you can see Amir start to get back up in the replay, but his words to Dan were the telltale sign. He asked Dan what happened and only a fighter that was rocked would ask that question.

Whether you believe the stoppage was correct or not, Hendricks came away with the win and in outstanding fashion. Amir lost and yet his next fight was on the main card of UFC 106 against “New York Badass” Phil Baroni (13-12).While Phil may not be an elite fighter, he has fought the best in the business and always puts on a show, even if it only lasts for one round. Yet, Hendricks, the man who crushed Amir, is stuck on the prelims against a UFC newcomer. Shouldn’t beating the TUF winner so decisively warrant a spot on the main card?

With that TKO of Amir, the UFC has all the ammunition it needs to promote Hendricks as a star in the welterweight division. This is a time when the UFC finds itself in a situation with marketable stars at a premium with fighters such as second-ranked, UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar (3-1) out with illness indefinitely.

Some may wonder how he can be marketed with such a small body of work. His wrestling background is a start. We have seen the UFC market many fighters simply by touting their wrestling pedigree. Hendricks has proved to not be the prototypical wrestler though. Wrestlers take time to develop a striking game and yet Johny currently has four stoppages via (T)KO in 6 fights. All of this by a wrestler who most seem to expect to work for a take down and work ground and pound. He is becoming a complete fighter in short order and an exciting one at that. WEC footage of his “Fight of the Night”, the fast slaughter of a TUF champ and his wrestling background would make it easy to push him up the ranks. He is more than marketable and this fight makes no sense when they are looking to build new stars to fill what has recently been lackluster pay per views.

UFC President Dana White and UFC Matchmaker Joe Silva have done a fantastic job thus far when it comes to building stars. Usually I have no issues whatsoever with who they bring up through the ranks, but I see this as a misstep of epic proportions. A victory over Funch really adds nothing to his resume other than another “W”, while a loss cripples his chances at getting on the televised portion of a pay-per-view in the future. This is all risk and zero reward for the UFC as well as for Hendricks.

One must strike while the iron is hot so to speak and right now, Johny Hendricks is as hot as War Machine is wanted by the police.

Maybe I am not seeing the entire picture and somehow I have missed where Hendricks deserves to be on an under card against a fighter that is not equal to an Amir Sadollah in name recognition. Then again maybe I am right and Johny Henricks has been robbed of stardom thanks to Joe Silva and the UFC.