Yearender: Zhang Weili Wins Female Fighter of The Year as UFC Reveal Winners of 2024 World MMA Awards

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The Ultiamte Fighting Championship has announced that UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili was voted Female Fighter of the Year at the 2024 World MMA Awards, held at the Virgin Hotels Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Zhang is the current and two-time UFC women's strawweight champion and #2 in the UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings. She is the first Chinese and first female Asian athlete to win a UFC championship.

Zhang previously won Fight of the Year at the 2020 World MMA Awards for her spectacular bout versus Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 248, which also was the UFC Honors 2020 Fight of the Year. Most recently, Zhang added another international award as the 2022 ESPN Female Fighter of the Year.

The World MMA Awards are awards are organized and presented by international combat sports magazine Fighters Only to honor exceptional performance in the mixed martial arts sports industry. Winners in twenty categories are chosen through online fan voting and announced at the annual year end gala event.

The 2024 edition is the 16th year the Awards have been held. In the category of Female Fighter of the Year, previous winners include UFC women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko; former UFC double champion and women's GOAT Amanda Nunes; and, former UFC champions Holly Holm, Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey.

This year, along with Zhang, athletes nominated included Olympic Judoka and UFC bantamweight contender Kayla Harrison; and, former UFC women's bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington.

The presenter for Female Fighter of the Year was actor Will Yun Lee, who said, "As someone who spent my career portraying strong, powerful characters, I've always been inspired by real life warriors. These women showed not just skill, but heart, determination and a relentless drive to be the best. The winner for Female Fighter of the Year is Zhang Weili!"

In her acceptance speech transmitted via video, Zhang Weili said, "Thank you for voting for me as the best female fighter of 2024. Thank you to all the fans that voted for me. Thank you to everyone at Fighters Only. Thank you to all my opponents. This year was a great year, and next year will be even better."

Apart from Zhang, there were several other UFC athletes and personalities, who were voted winners across various categories, including men's fighter of the year, among others. Here is a look at the others who were voted as the winners in their category included:

World MMA Awards 2024 Winners

• Charles Lewis Fighter of the Year: UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira
• Female Fighter of the Year: UFC women's strawweight champion Zhang Weili
• Breakthrough Fighter of the Year: UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall
• International Fighter of the Year: UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis
• Fight of the Year: UFC BMF Max Holloway vs. Justin Gaethje (UFC 300)
• Knockout of the Year: UFC BMF Max Holloway (def Justin Gaethje at UFC 300)
• Submission of the Year: UFC featherweight Diego Lopes (def. Gavin Tucker by Triangle Armbar at UFC Nashville)
• Comeback of the Year: UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall
• Upset of the Year: UFC middleweight Sean Strickland (vs. Israel Adesanya at UFC 293)
• Fighting Spirit Award: First ever UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman
• Leading Man: UFC President Dana White
• Best Promotion: UFC
• Best MMA Programming: Dana White's Contender Series