2024 has been a year of many emotions for lovers of mixed martial arts (MMA). Many were the protagonists to make something unforgettable last season, but there were two athletes that stood out above the rest. The dispute over who should have been the fighter of the year was monopolized by Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira. Both made merits more than enough to be worthy of such a award.
On the one hand, Ilia Topuria finished two Living legends of the company. In February, Alexander Volkanovski ended, which for many was the best pen weight in history, or at least the second. Not happy with that, in October it became the first fighter to knock Max Hollowayanother historical and the best of the pen weight. On the other hand, Alex Pereira obtained three successful defenses of his belt, taking fights in short warning and saving the occasional event. Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree Jr. were their victims, all knocked out. The arguments were on the table and it seemed that no other fighter could match the year of these combatants.
The surprise was unanimous when in the ‘World MMA Awards’ the Hispanic-Georgian was not among the nominees. The truth is that this has an explanation. The period that was taken into account was from July 1, 2023 and on June 30, 2024. This would leave out Topuria’s defense against Max Holloway. However, in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, the Brazilian wanted to remember the great year that the matador did, ‘Sharing’ your prize.
«When I won the MMA prize I didn’t say this, but I will say it now: I will share it with Topuria because he has also done great things. It is a great guy who brings people a lot of joy, so he also deserves that prize. We are both best fighters of 2024»Poatan snapped (nickname by which Alex Pereira is known), showing a great sportsmanship.
With the interval that the ‘World MMA Awards’ determined, Pereira would have their triumphs against Jan Błachowicz, Jamahal Hill and two against Jiri Purchazka, while Topuria would only have his victory against Volkanovski, also being his fight against Josh Emmett . Thus, they would be four fighting against oneinstead of the three of Pereira and two of the Hispanic-Georgian they made in the calendar year.
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