One of the most exciting categories is where you can catch future stars in the making, this year what tipped the scale in favor of the winner Cody Garbrandt was his upset victory for the bantamweight belt against Dominick Cruz. The rest of the nominees are headlining cards and working their way to title fights.
Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
Winner: Cody Garbrandt
Nominated: Yair Rodriguez, Doo Ho Choi, Derrick Lewis, Michael Page
International Fighter of the Year
Winner: Khabib Nurmagomedov
Nominated: Michael Bisping, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Conor McGregor, Gegard Mousasi
One of the surprises of the night was Khabib Nurmagomedov winning the award for International Fighter of the Year ahead of champions Michael Bisping, Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Conor McGregor.
(On the next page Fight and Knockout of the Year)
