2008, as far as competition goes, was a great year for MMA. Some of the old guard was forced to step aside as the next generation of talented fighters made their mark. Out of all the action, some fighters and fights were more memorable and significant for various reasons. We have tried to recognize those special moments and fighters from the past year.
These are the official 2008 PRO MMA AWARDS as voted on by the staff here at PRO MMA (http://promma.info). Do you agree or disagree with our picks? Let us know. Maybe we overlooked or forgot something.
PRO MMA FIGHT OF THE YEAR: Miguel Torres vs. Yoshiro Maeda at WEC 34 on 6/1/2008
KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR: Rashad Evans’ KO of Chuck Liddell at UFC 88 on 9/6/2008
SUBMISSION OF THE YEAR: Nate Diaz’s “Double-Bird” Triangle of Kurt Pellegrino at UFC Fight Night 13 on 4/2/2008
FIGHTER OF THE YEAR: Thiago Alves for defeating three, top-ten welterweights: Hughes, Parisyan, and Koscheck all in 2008
COMEBACK FIGHTER OF THE YEAR: Frank Mir for defeating Lesnar (who is now the UFC HW champ) and defeating Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to become the UFC Interim Heavyweight Champ
FEMALE FIGHTER OF THE YEAR: Gina Carano for winning and bringing more publicity to female MMA than ever before
Honorable Mentions:
Donald Cerrone vs. Rob McCullough for Fight of the Year
Dustin Hazelett’s armbar of Josh Burkman for Submission of the Year
Anderson Silva for Fighter of the Year
Cris Santos for Female Fighter of the Year
Here’s the Official 2008 PRO MMA FIGHT OF THE YEAR winner: Miguel Torres vs. Yoshiro Maeda at WEC 34: