MMAFighting.com 2006 Year End Awards

The annual MMAFighting.com awards are voted upon by the readers of the site.

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
Heavyweight of the Year

WINNER: Mirko Cro Cop 61.11%
RUNNER UP: Fedor Emelianenko 20.37%
Josh Barnett 11.11%
Tim Sylvia 4.63%
Brandon Vera 1.85%
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 0.93%

Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell
Light Heavyweight of the Year

WINNER: Chuck Liddell 87.13%
RUNNER UP: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua 6.93%
Wanderlei Silva 5.94%

Anderson Silva
Middleweight of the Year

WINNER: Anderson Silva 48.31%
RUNNER UP: Kazuo Misaki 23.60%
Denis Kang 15.73%
Paulo Filho 7.87%
Matt Lindland 2.25%
Yoshihiro Akiyama 2.25%

Georges St. Pierre
Welterweight of the Year

WINNER: Georges St. Pierre 87.80%
RUNNER UP: Diego Sanchez 8.54%
Matt Hughes 1.22%
BJ Penn 2.44%

Gilbert Melendez
Lightweight of the Year

WINNER: Gilbert Melendez 48.65%
RUNNER UP: Takanori Gomi 25.68%
Sean Sherk 14.86%
Shinya Aoki 10.81%

Takeshi "Lion" Inoue
Featherweight of the Year

WINNER: Takeshi "Lion" Inoue 47.92%
RUNNER UP: Urijah Faber 41.67%
Hatsu Hioki 10.42%

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Josh Barnett
Fight of the Year

WINNER: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Josh Barnett (PRIDE Final Conflict) 35.16%
RUNNER UP: Diego Sanchez vs. Karo Parisyan (UFC Fight Night 6) 29.67%
Gilbert Melendez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri (PRIDE Shockwave) 10.99%
GSP vs. BJ Penn (UFC 58) 7.69%
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Kestutis Smirnovas (K-1 HERO'S 8/5) 5.49%
Joachim Hansen vs. Luiz Azeredo (PRIDE Bushido 10) 4.40%
Tara LaRosa vs. Amanda Buckner (BodogFight) 3.30%
Ed Herman vs. Kendall Grove (UFC TUF 3 Finale) 2.20%
Ivan Menjivar vs Hideo Tokoro (K-1 HERO'S 8/5) 1.10%

Shinya Aoki's Gogoplata on Joachim Hansen
Submission of the Year

WINNER: Shinya Aoki's Gogoplata on Joachim Hansen 48.81%
RUNNER UP: Marcus Aurelio's Arm Triangle on Takanori Gomi 23.81%
Shinya Aoki's Flying Triangle on Clay French 8.33%
Mauricio Shogun's Kneebar on Kevin Randleman 8.33%
Yoshihiro Akiyama's Rolling Armbar on Melvin Manhoef 4.76%
Denis Kang's one-arm Rear Naked Choke on Amar Suloev 5.95%

Mirko Cro Cop vs. Wanderlei Silva
Knockout of the Year

WINNER: Mirko Cro Cop vs. Wanderlei Silva 46.15%
RUNNER UP: Scott Smith vs. Pete Sell 37.36%
Kid Yamamoto (flying knee) vs. Kazuyuki Miyata (HEROs 5/3/06) 8.79%
Anderson Silva vs. Tony Fryklund (Cage Rage 16) 6.59%
Spencer Fisher vs. Matt Wiman (UFC 60) 1.10%

Ultimate Fighting Championships
Promotion of the Year

WINNER: Ultimate Fighting Championships 78.05%
RUNNER UP: PRIDE Fighting Championships 21.95%

International Fight League
Promotion of the Year Not Named UFC or PRIDE

WINNER: IFL 46.38%
RUNNER UP: K-1 Hero's 17.39%
Cage Rage 14.49%
Strikeforce 13.04%
TKO 5.80%
Icon Sport 1.45%
King of the Cage 1.45%

PRIDE Final Conflict Absolute 2006
Event of the Year

WINNER: PRIDE Final Conflict Absolute 2006 75.00%
RUNNER UP: UFC 66: Liddell vs Ortiz 2 15.63%
PRIDE Shockwave 2006 4.69%
UFC 58: USA vs Canada 3.13%
PRIDE Bushido 12 1.56%

Previous Awards

Heavyweight Fighter of the Year
2006: Mirko Cro Cop
2005: Emelianenko Fedor
2004: Emelianenko Fedor
2003: Emelianenko Fedor
2002: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Light Heavyweight Fighter of the Year
2006: Chuck Liddell
2005: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
2004: Wanderlei Silva
2003: Randy Couture
2002: Chuck Liddell

Middleweight Fighter of the Year
2006: Anderson Silva
2005: Rich Franklin
2004: Ryo Chonan
2003: Matt Lindland
2002: Murilo Bustamante

Welterweight Fighter of the Year
2006: Georges St. Pierre
2005: Georges St. Pierre
2004: BJ Penn
2003: Matt Hughes
2002: Matt Hughes

Lightweight Fighter of the Year
2006: Gilbert Melendez
2005: Takanori Gomi
2004: Takanori Gomi
2003: BJ Penn
2002: Jens Pulver

Featherweight Fighter of the Year
2006: Takeshi "Lion" Inoue
2005: Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto

Fight of the Year
2006: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Josh Barnett
2005: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Mirko Cro Cop
2004: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva II
2003: Mirko Cro Cop vs. Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira
2002: Bob Sapp vs. Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira

Knockout of the Year
2006: Mirko Cro Cop over Wanderlei Silva
2005: Takanori Gomi over Luiz Azeredo
2004: Yves Edwards over Josh Thompson

Submission of the Year
2006: Shinya Aoki's Gogoplata on Joachim Hansen
2005: Matt Hughes's Rear Naked Choke on Frank Trigg
2004: Ryo Chonan's Flying Scissor Heel Hook on Anderson Silva

Best Promotion of the Year
2006: Ultimate Fighting Championships
2005: PRIDE Fighting Championships
2004: PRIDE Fighting Championships
2003: PRIDE Fighting Championships

Best Promotion of the Year Not Named PRIDE FC or UFC
2006: International Fight League
2005: Cage Rage

Best Event of the Year
2006: PRIDE Final Conflict Absolute 2006
2005: PRIDE Bushido 9: The Tournament
2004: PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004
2003: PRIDE Final Conflict 2003