FanSided MMA 2022 Awards: Fighter of the year, KO of the Year + more awarded

View the full list of FanSided MMA 2022 Awards.

The team at FanSided has come together to vote on their annual end-of-the-year awards. We choose everything from male and female fighters of the year, to the most gruesome injury, and fight cards of the year. Follow along for each winner plus why we picked them right here.

Paul Felder FanSided MMA’s Analyst of the Year

Paul Felder was a fighter’s fighter, and that straightforward approach has molded Felder into a great analyst for the UFC. Felder combines the no-nonsense Dominick Cruz technical approach with a bit of cup-check comedy without the endless giggles. As a result, he brings unmatched authenticity to the broadcast.

In addition, Felder offers diversity, enabling him to wear many hats on the broadcast team. He can be paired with anyone in a three-person booth and adjust accordingly for seamless broadcast chemistry. Whether it be Cruz, he can bring some comic relief; Michael Bisping, he’ll take a more technical course off Bisping’s comedy; and his work with Laura Sanko is a genuine and informative treat. The post-fight interviews in the Octagon are yet another area Felder thrives, as you can feel his empathy even more so. His questions are on point, and he has fun. These qualities make Paul Felder FanSided MMA’s 2022 analyst of the year.

via Brian Cook

Rafa Garcia’s cut is FanSided MMA’s Most Gruesome Injury of the Year

At UFC Vegas 66, Rafa Garcia suffered one of the bloodiest cuts we saw all year, perhaps all decade! The cut nicked an artery on his head and sent blood spurring all over the cage, his opponent, and himself. After the fight, the UFC needed two hours to stop the bleeding and 16 stitches to keep it closed.

“They told me I lost 20 percent of my blood,” Garcia said on the UFC post-show. “I got a cut artery. They told me they had never seen that before.

Beware if you are squeamish HERE’S THE NASTY CUT.

Kayla Harrison vs. Larissa Pacheco 3 FanSided MMA’s Rematch of the Year

This year we had a lot of incredible rematches:  Weili Zhang vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk 2,
Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway 3 and Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards 2, just to name a few. But none of them carried as much shock as the trilogy bout between undefeated GWOAT Kayla Harrison and relatively unknown Larissa Pacheco.

Their third fight came during the PFL Finals and was the third time the two fighters met in the PFL cage. It was looking to be, on paper, another win for Harrison who seemed unbeatable and unstoppable. But something clicked in Pacheco and she dominated Harrison for five full rounds winning the bout and shocking not just PFL fans but the MMA community as a whole.

The fight was also awarded the FanSided MMA Upset of the year