In a press conference held at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, representatives of Fighters Only have announced that they have opened the nomination process for the 2009 World Mixed Martial Arts Awards, which is set to take place on December 30^th at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

The nomination stage ends October 5^th, and fans can pick their favorite fighters from a list of finalists until December 5^th. Winners will be announced at the December 30^th ceremony in Las Vegas, which will be recorded and broadcast around the world in January, 2010. The Mixed Martial Arts Awards event is organized by Fighters Only magazine, in addition, this year’s awards will feature 18 different categories, including new categories such as "Coach of the Year," "Gym of the Year" and "Best MMA Journalist."

 

"Like other mainstream industries such as film and music, MMA is now at a stage where it deserves an annual industry award that fighters and executives can look forward to and aspire to win. The fact that the awards are voted for by the public really means something to the winners too. We wanted to give the fans a voice in the industry as well as educate people new to MMA as to who the sports leaders are. We are honored to be partnering the Hard Rock and with The Joint. Being the hippest venue in Las Vegas, we can think of no better location as the home of what will be a truly glamorous event." stated Fighters Only Managing Director Rob Hewitt.

 

The World MMA Awards was first introduced in 2008, winners in the inaugural year of awards included Anderson Silva (Fighter of the Year), Demian Maia (Breakthrough Fighter of the Year), Michael Bisping (European Fighter of the Year), UFC president Dana White (Leading Man), Arianny Celeste (Ring Girl of the Year) and the Mixed Martial Arts new site MMAjunkie.com for Best Media Coverage.