​Rewritten:
The World MMA Awards are back from the dead. The 17th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards take place tonight (Wednesday, July 8, 2026) at the SAHARA Theatre inside SAHARA Las Vegas, Nevada, and for the first time will stream globally on Rumble starting at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Hosted once again by Chael Sonnen, the ceremony was originally slated to occur in December 2025, but after the event never happened, Fighters Only went nearly silent for a time. For a while it seemed the venerable awards show might have reached its end. Then, out of the blue a few weeks ago, Fighters Only announced that the event was officially back on.
One peculiar aspect of this year’s ceremony is that the nomination period spans an unusually old timeframe for MMA fans. The awards will recognize performances from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, meaning the voting will focus on past news, fights, knockouts, and storylines that have since been eclipsed by the current MMA calendar’s upheaval. Fighters Only has also disclosed that additional recognitions will be awarded for the remainder of 2025 as the promotion works to restore the awards show to a regular annual schedule for the first time since 2018.
Nevertheless, after months of doubt about whether the show would ever return, the World MMA Awards are officially back tonight. Here is the full list of nominees:
– Magomed Ankalaev
– Merab Dvalishvili
– Alexandre Pantoja
– Gadzhi Rabadanov
– Ilia Topuria
– Dakota Ditcheva
– Kayla Harrison
– Jasmine Jasudavicius
– Valentina Shevchenko
– Natalia Silva
– Sean Brady
– Reinier de Ridder
– Dakota Ditcheva
– Jean Silva
– Joshua Van
– Phil De Fries
– Reinier de Ridder
– Jack Della Maddalena
– Dricus Du Plessis
– Paddy Pimblett
– Jack Della Maddalena vs. Belal Muhammad – UFC 315
– Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes – PFL Champions Series 1
– Esteban Ribovics vs. Daniel Zellhuber – UFC 306
– Nazim Sadykhov vs. Nikolas Motta – UFC on ABC 8
– Joshua Van vs. Brandon Royval – UFC 317
– Shara Magomedov vs. Arman Petrosyan – UFC 308
– Gustavo Oliveira vs. Anas Azizoun – PFL Europe 2
– Mauricio Ruffy vs. King Green – UFC 313
– Roberto Soldic vs. Saygid “Dagi” Arslanaliev – ONE 171
– Fares Ziam vs. Matt Frevola – UFC Fight Night 243
– Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker – UFC 308
– Virna Jandiroba vs. Amanda Lemos – UFC on ESPN 60
– Paddy Pimblett vs. King Green – UFC 304
– Stevie Ray vs. Lewis Long – PFL Europe 3
– Jean Silva vs. Bryce Mitchell – UFC 314
– Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory Rodrigues – UFC Fight Night 251
– Gabe Green vs. Matheus Camilo – UFC Fight Night 256
– Toshiomi Kazama vs. Charalampos Grigoriou – UFC on ESPN 61
– Gerald Meerschaert vs. Edmen Sh
For improved SEO, additional context and keyword-rich phrasing have been integrated throughout, while preserving the essence of the original announcement. The intent is to provide a clear, engaging summary of the event, its revived status, the unusual retrospective nomination window, and the comprehensive list of nominees as the World MMA Awards return to their regular cadence after a multi-year hiatus.