WMMA Press Association Award Nominees

For the 5th year, the WMMA Press Association is presenting the nominees for their awards, which will be given away in early January.

The longest running awards dedicated to the women’s divisions of MMA, the WMMA Press Awards gathers top journalists in the sport to vote on the best of the year.

There are seven websites and eight journalists represented:

Rob Sargent - MMARising.com
Gina Begley - Pro (W)MMA Now
Katrina Belcher - TheUltimateFemaleFighter.com
Jason Adams - Real Women’s MMA
Tim Peterson - Women’s MMA Today
Yael Grauer (freelance writer for Sherdog)
Kristin Ursy - WMMA Round-up, and
MarQ Piocos - Wombat Sports
(Gina Begley was appointed a new member of the committee this year)

The committee will vote in late December (post UFC 168) and the winners will be announced over the members’ podcast in early January. More details to come.

One of the hotly contested honors is “Fan Favorite Awards”, which looks to be a battle royal this year with 30 fighters up for the title. This will be determined by fans by voting through members’ websites. Last year, Bec Hyatt upset Ronda Rousey in the voting which saw a record amount of votes. Voting will end in December 31.


Here are the nominees:

Fight of the Year

Ronda Rousey vs Liz Carmouche at UFC 157: Rousey vs Carmouche - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbhdEz8uPa8
Michelle Waterson vs Jessica Penne at Invicta FC 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnYeFpprwVA
Sarah Kaufman vs Leslie Smith at Invicta FC 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shENSKyW3y8
Cat Zingano vs Miesha Tate at TUF 17 Finale - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8fv2oX4wpI
Leslie Smith vs Jennifer Maia at Invicta FC 6 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRu5cmcRAto&feature=player_detailpage#t=6506
Tecia Torres vs Rose Namajunas at Invicta FC 6 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2IPts2kZKk
Fighter of the Year
(Nominees will be the winners of the divisional awards)

Featherweight of the Year
Julia Budd (2-0, defeat Mollie Estes, Charmaine Tweet)
Ashlee Evans-Smith (2-0, defeat Tori Adams, Fallon Fox)
Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (2-0, defeat Fiona Muxlow, Marloes Coenen)
Faith Van Duin (4-0, defeat Kelly Kinita, Michelle Peruzzi, Arlene Blencowe, Kate Da Silva)

Bantamweight of the Year
Alexis Davis (3-0, defeat Shayna Baszler, Rosi Sexton, Liz Carmouche)
Holly Holm (4-0, defeat Katie Merrill, Allanna Jones, Nikki Knudsen, Angela Hayes)
Lauren Murphy (4-0, defeat Jen Scott, Kaitlin Young, Sarah D’Alelio, Miriam Nakamoto)
***Ronda Rousey (1-0, defeat Liz Carmouche)
(***If Miesha Tate defeats Rousey at UFC 168, she will be in contention for the award.)

Flyweight of the Year
Kalindra Faria (5-0, defeat Aline Sattelmayer, Dayse Nascimento, Alessandra Silva, Carina Damm, Hellen Bastos)
Alexa Grasso (3-0, defeat Lupita Hernadez, Alejandra Alvarez, Karina Rodriguez)
Barb Honchak (2-0, defeat Vanessa Porto, Leslie Smith)
Tina Lähdemäki (3-0, defeat Linn Wennergren, Stephanie Page, Karla Benitez)

Strawweight of the Year
Joanne Calderwood (4-0, defeat Livia Plettenburg, Sally Krumdiack, Norma Center, Katja Kankaanpaa)
Alida Gray (4-0, defeat Vidonic, Kennett, Tiem, Casimir)
Mizuki Inoue (3-0, defeat Seo Jung, Bec Hyatt, Emi Fujino)
Tecia Torres (3-0, defeat Paige VanZant, Rose Namajunas, Felice Herrig)

Atomweight of the Year
Amber Brown (1-0, defeat Kikuyo Ishikawa)
Seo Hee Ham (2-0, defeat Naho Sugiyama, Sadae Numata)
Michelle Waterson (1-0, defeat Jessica Penne)
Jinh Yu (2-0, defeat Meghan Wright, Darla Harris)

Newcomer of the Year
Amy Cadwell (3-0, defeat Cheryl Chan, Hadley Griffith, Jessica Doerner)
Bianca Daimoni (3-0, defeat Alessandra Silva, Morgana Oliveira, Gisele Moreira)
Alida Gray (4-0, defeat Patricia Vidonic, Jessica Kennett, Soannia Tiem, Katie Casimir)
Viviane Pereira (3-0, defeat Rosy Duarte, Ilara Joanne, Duda Yankovich)
Livia Renata Souza (5-0, defeat Cintia Faria, Aline Sattelmayer, Andressa Rocha, Aline Sattelmayer, Bianca Reis)
Faith Van Duin (4-0, defeat Kelly Kinita, Michelle Peruzzi, Arlene Blencowe, Kate Da Silva)

Amateur of the Year
Kyra Batara (4-1, 3-1 in 2013)
Katlyn Chookagian (5-0; 4-0 in 2013)
Brittany Dugas (7-0; 3-0 in 2013)
Maegan Goodwin (4-0; 3-0 in 2013)
Ashley Hancock (3-0 in 2013)
Mary Kate Hayes (4-0 in 2013)
Rachel Kovach (3-0 in 2013)
Rachael Ostovich (6-0; 2-0 in 2013)
Delaney Owen (7-2; 3-1 in 2013)
Rach Wiley (3-1; 3-0 in 2013)
Jessica Zomcik (9-3; 3-0 in 2013)

KO of the Year
Veronica Rothenhausler defeats Katalina Malungahu via KO (punch) at 1:12 of round 1 at Invicta FC 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXghnrfYjFQ
Vanessa Guimarães defeats Bruna Paiffer via KO (knee) at 1:44 of round 1 at Strikers HC 25 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQEeDW0QWcc
Nina Ansaroff defeats Aylla Caroline da Silva via KO at 1:25 of round 1 at PFL 10 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6zRZQR7Nsk
Holly Holm defeats Allanna Jones via KO(head kick) at 2:22 of round 2 at Legacy 21 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXB9-L2kwtU
Jinh Yu defeats Darla Harris via KO (head kick/punch) at 3:13 of round 1 at SCS 18 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFKrX7BYy_Y
Amanda Kelly defeats Hannah Stephens via KO (knee) at 3:40 of round 1 at Cage Warriors 60 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNB_zWp-hFA
Bianca Daimoni defeats Gisele Moreira via KO(punch) at 3:06 of round 2 at Floripa Fight 9 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFGf-p9vqNg
Alida Gray defeats Soannia Tiem via KO (punch) at :05 of round 3 at 24/7 12: State of Emergency - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX55dMUbCAc

Submission of the Year
Duda Yankovich defeats Daniela Cristina via Keylock at 3:59 of round 2 at Bitetti Combat 14 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp1zGiACG4A
Rose Namajunas defeats Kathina Cantron via Flying Armbar at :12 of round 1 at Invicta FC 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWrJd6png0M
Jessica Andrade defeats Milana Dudieva via Guillotine Choke at 4:34 of round 2 at ProFC 47 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic0etLpKp5o
Emi Fujino defeats Amber Brown via Neck Crank at 4:18 of round 2 at Pancrase 247 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVL8SwrWHSc
Alexandra Buch defeats Anne Merkt via Inverted Heel Hook at 4:49 of round 1 at No Compromises 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xuclmq6xzHM
Stephanie Eggink defeats Angela Magana via Triangle Choke at 3:10 of round 2 at XFC 25: Boiling Point - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMdjDjSubGs
Anastasia Yankova defeats Eleanor Tassinari via Scarf Hold Armlock at :26 of round 2 at White Rex Pro - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YAMdwKoAZs
Tina Lähdemäki defeats Karla Benitez via Arm-Triangle Choke at 4:50 of round 1 at Cage 24 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RReyvokvjDE

Promotion
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DEEP Jewels
Invicta Fighting Championships
NAAFS
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UFC
XFC

Sponsor
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Headline
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Invicta FC Crowns New Champions in All Five Weight Classes
Women’s MMA Pioneer’s Megumi Fujii, Hitomi Akano and Julie Kedzie Hang Up Their Gloves
UFC Launches Female Strawweight Division on The Ultimate Fighter, Season 20