MMA Hot Stuff

Nominations for 2009 World MMA Awards closes on Wednesday

Who do you think was the BreakThrough Fighter of the Year? Best MMA Promotion? 

As a reminder, the nomination stage for the 2009 World MMA Awards closes this Wednesday (tomorrow), Sept. 30. 

The World MMA Awards, which is operated by Fighters Only magazine, is viewed as one of the most prestigious awards for the sport, awarding in 18 different MMA related categories

Nominees will be announced on Oct. 5, and final voting will then run until Dec. 5. Winners will be announced at a Dec. 30 "Oscars-style" black-tie ceremony, which streams live on Versus.com (and throughout January on Versus) from The Joint at The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. 

"Response to the World MMA Awards has been huge this year with thousands of fans worldwide taking part," Fighters Only CEO Rob Hewitt recently stated. "Nominations have been very diverse, and ... most of the categories are still wide open." 

The categories range from Fight of the Year to KO and Submission of the Year to Best MMA Brand and best MMA Media Source. MMA equipment manufactures also vie for a variety of categories. 

But before you place your vote I encourage you to take a minute and think about things. What makes someone the Best Fighter of the Year? Is it the number of wins? Is it the most vicious KnockOut? The biggest upset? Or is it because of heart and dedication?

Another category is Best MMA Journalist. I've thought a lot about this one (for obvious reasons). Always keep in mind the best Journalist may not be the one that breaks every 'story'... Sadly, fact checking has taken a back seat more often than not over being the first to the party. And then there are times the stories are known weeks before the story actually gets out but can't be discussed for confidential reasons. I personally take pride in the fact that while I consider many Fighters (UFC, WEC & Strikeforce) my personal friends, a lot of the information I hear I keep to myself. I'm so proud of what my friends have accomplished and there are times I know the information is just best left unsaid or unwritten. I want them to have time to train in private for a fight before it's publicly announced who their next opponent is. Who do you consider to be a Journalist that writes funny or interesting stories? Gives a different perspective than the 12 other sites that covered the same thing the day before.

So now that I've given you something to think about, please hurry and vote. 

Also, feel free to follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/MMAHotStuff

Reed Harris and the WEC Love Women... FANS!

I had the pleasure of meeting with Reed Harris today over lunch. Ladies, Reed is the WEC General Manager. The purpose of the lunch meeting was to discuss the importance of you (us), the female fans, to the sport of MMA.

Reed said "It's great to see the female fan base not only growing but also evolving. Evolving in the sense of their place in the sport. They're no longer going to shows just to tag along with their boyfriends and husbands. They are now dedicated fans who have grown to love the sport."

While the sport itself continues to evolve, so do the fans. This is important for so many reasons. One reason is advertising and sponsorships. Brands/Advertisers are looking for that opportunity to put their brand next to a sport that's widely accepted. The more mainstream the sport, the more mainstream the advertising. Which in the long run means more money. More money means more fights, more fighters and more events. That's what we the MMA fans strive for. Right?

Brands/Advertisers want to reach us because ladies, we tend to control the household finances. When a marquee brand looks at advertising or sponsorship opportunities with a sport they look at the audience. Is the audience a group of people they want to reach? I can tell you right now who advertisers are looking to reach. People that spend money. People that will spend money on their brand.

It's up to us to keep the momentum going. Continue to educate your fellow friends on the sport (or better yet send them to my site) to gain that acceptance, attend the events, and buy the pay per views!

I'll be at UFC 98 where I'll be conducting interviews with some of you. If you're interested in being interviewed please feel free to email me (rachel@mmahotstuff.com) and we'll set something up.
Tell me why you're a fan!!! I want to know, Reed wants to know, and the WEC and UFC want to know!