AXS TV’s INSIDE MMA today announced nominations for its 2013 Bazzie Awards, the annual award show recognizing the best fights, fighters, and moments from this year in mixed martial arts. The Sixth Annual Bazzie Awards, hosted by INSIDE MMA’s Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice, will air Friday, December 27 at 9 p.m. ET | 6 p.m. PT on AXS TV.
Named after host and MMA legend Bas Rutten, the Bazzie Awards have been handed out annually since 2008. During the show, the hosts will be joined on stage by World Series of Fighting ring girl Emily Miller.
This year, INSIDE MMA has introduced a new category, called “Prime Cuts,” putting the voting power in the hands of the viewers who can select their favorite rare knockout from nominees who made their national television debut on INSIDE MMA.
The “Prime Cuts” nominees have been compiled into a video available on YouTube here: bit.ly/1baJTWF. The official vote is available on the INSIDE MMA website here: http://www.axs.tv/imma/
Below is the complete list of the 2013 Bazzie Award nominees.
Fight of the Year
- Eddie Alvarez vs Michael Chandler II- Bellator 106
- Dennis Bermudez vs Matt Grice – UFC 157
- Anthony Birchak vs Ryan Benoit – MFC 37
- Leonard Garcia vs Nick Gonzalez – Legacy 23
- Jon Jones vs Alexander Gustafsson – UFC 165
- Gilbert Melendez vs Diego Sanchez – UFC 166
Male Fighter of the Year
- Jose Aldo
- Vitor Belfort
- Demetrious Johnson
- Jon Jones
- Anthony Pettis
- Cain Velasquez
Female Fighter of the Year
- Alexis Davis
- Holly Holm
- Cris “Cyborg” Justino
- Julianna Pena
- Ronda Rousey
- Cat Zingano
Breakthrough Fighter
- TJ Grant
- Robbie Lawler
- Conor McGregor
- Khabib Nurmagomedov
- Glover Teixeira
- Chris Weidman
Upset of the Year
- Josh Burkman vs Jon Fitch – WSOF 3
- Emanuel Newton vs Mo Lawal – Bellator 90
- Anthony Pettis vs Benson Henderson- UFC 164
- Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva vs Alistair Overeem – UFC FN 26
- Daniel Straus vs Pat Curran – Bellator 106
- Chris Weidman vs Anderson Silva – UFC 162
Rising Star
- Henry Cejudo
- Carlos Diego Ferreira
- Holly Holm
- Sergio Pettis
- Mike “Biggie” Rhodes
- Tiffany Van Soest
KO Punch of the Year
- Mark Hunt vs Stefan Struve – UFC on Fuel 8
- Derrick Mehmen vs Rolles Gracie – WSOF 5
- Emanuel Newton vs Mo Lawal – Bellator 90
- George Pacurariu vs Steven Peterson – Legacy 19
- Chris Weidman vs Anderson Silva – UFC 162
- Tyron Woodley vs Josh Koscheck – UFC 167
KO Kick of the Year
- Vitor Belfort vs Luke Rockhold – UFC on FX 8
- Paul Daley vs Patrick Vallee – Cage Contender 16
- Uriah Hall vs Adam Cella – TUF 17
- Anthony Hamilton vs Smealinho Rama – MFC 38
- Holly Holm vs Allanna Jones – Legacy 21
- Chinzo Machida vs Brian Wood – RFA 11
Submission of the Year
- Takuya Eizumi vs Teppei Masuda – Pancrase 250
- Urijah Faber vs Ivan Menjivar – UFC 157
- Matt Lozano vs Klayton Mai – Legacy 24
- Rose Namajunas vs Kathina Catron – Invicta 5
- Coty Shannon vs Justin Jovanovic – Nemesis Fighting Alliance
- Patrick Ybarra vs Billy Buch – Legacy 17
Inside MMA Prime Cuts
- Nick Laney’s Superman Punch KO
- Claudiere Freitas’ Spinning Heel Kick KO
- Collin Reuter’s Bend Over Backward KO
- Alain Ngalani’s Spinning Hook Kick KO
- Jinh Yu Frey’s KO of Darla Harris
- Paul Gaffney’s Choke Slam KO
- Zach Rosol’s Slam KO
- Alida Gray’s 5 Second KO
ABOUT INSIDE MMA
Inside MMA is mixed martial arts’ longest running and only independent weekly television news show. Every Friday LIVE at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, Kenny Rice and four-time world champion Bas Rutten interview MMA’s top names and break down highlights from the biggest fights while Ron Kruck provides on-site coverage from major events and in-depth reporting on the most interesting stories in the sport.
ABOUT AXS TV
Bringing music back to television, AXS TV, launched in July of 2012 by visionary entrepreneur Mark Cuban, has created a one-of-a-kind, live television environment for entertainment and other cutting-edge trends. AXS TV delivers relevant, unpredictable and irreverent programming offering an unparalleled experience to a nationwide audience by presenting unfiltered, uncensored and uncut access to entertainers and their performances. Sports programming is led by over 40 hours of live mixed martial arts broadcasts on “AXS TV Fights” and the longest running weekly MMA news show on television, “Inside MMA.” The network is available in the United States via AT&T U-verse, Charter, Comcast/Xfinity, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Suddenlink, Verizon FiOS, and other TV providers. It is also distributed in Canada and the Caribbean. The network is spearheaded by a partnership including Mark Cuban, AEG, Ryan Seacrest Media, Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and CBS. For more information, visit the website, www.axs.tv; go to the Facebook page here and follow the company on Twitter,@axstv; on Instagram; Tumblr and YouTube.