Israel Adesanya voted 'Fighter of the Year' at 12th World MMA Awards

The wait is over as the winners for the prestigious 12th World MMA Awards have been announced, with Israel Adesanya taking home the Male Fighter of the Year.

The awards, which are produced by fighters only, had an extended voting period due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The voting period lasted from January 2019 to July 2020. The awards ceremony took place remotely on December 27, 2020.

Israel Adesanya, Amanda Nunes, and Jorge Masvidal pick up major awards

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was named the Male Fighter of the Year, while two-division women's champion Amanda Nunes was named the Female Fighter of the Year. Apart from Israel Adesanya and Amanda Nunes, Jorge Masvidal was named the Breakthrough Fighter of the Year for his performances against Darren Till and Ben Askren in 2019.

Amanda Nunes, Israel Adesanya, Jorge Masvidal pace major winners at World MMA Awards https://t.co/565Mz3xW8F

— SavageSin (@SavageSin) December 27, 2020

During the voting period, Israel Adesanya tore through the entire middleweight division. It started with the fight against his idol, Anderson Silva. After dispatching Silva, Adesanya earned himself the interim title by emerging victorious in a back and forth war against Kelvin Gastelum.

Then came the big moment. The Last Stylebender knocked out former champion Robert Whittaker in a title unification bout that headlined UFC 243. In his first title defense, Israel Adesanya took on and defeated Yoel Romero. Adesanya is undefeated to date and has two successful title defenses under his belt.

He came, he saw, he conquered 🏆 Did @Stylebender get the best UFCANZ 🇦🇺🇳🇿 finish of the year?!📺📱 Watch all of @Stylebender's fights on @UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/3geQxgo9bk

— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) December 28, 2020

Check out the list of all the winners below:

'Charles Mask Lewis' Fighter of the Year: Israel Adesanya

Female Fighter of the Year: Amanda Nunes

Breakthrough Fighter of the Year: Jorge Masvidal

International Fighter of the Year: Israel Adesanya

Fight of the Year: Weili Zhang vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk - UFC 248

Knockout of the Year: Jorge Masvidal vs. Ben Askren - UFC 239

Submission of the Year: Demian Maia vs. Ben Askren - UFC on ESPN+ 20

The comeback of the Year: Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier - UFC 241

Upset of the Year: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway - UFC 245

Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year: Trevor Wittman

Trainer of the Year: Phil Daru

Gym of the Year: American Top Team

The referee of the Year: Herb Dean

Ring card Girl of the Year: Brittney Palmer

Leading Man: Dana White

Best Promotion: UFC

The personality of the Year: Joe Rogan

Analyst of the Year: Daniel Cormier

Best MMA Programming: Joe Rogan Experience

Media Souce of the Year: ESPN

Journalist of the Year: Ariel Helwani

Fighting Spirt of the Year Award: Dustin Poirier for Good Fight Foundation