Welcome to part one of the 2018 MMA Squared Awards! First up, Fighter of the Year is Daniel Cormier. Coming off the worst loss of his career, DC Embraced his love of Popeye’s chicken, won the heavyweight title and defended both it and the LHW belt.
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Honorable mention: Kyoji Horiguchi, for leaving the UFC and establishing himself as the linchpin of RIZIN and defeating Bellator’s Darrion Caldwell via submission.
Knockout of the Year: Yair Rodriguez’s reverse elbow KO of the Korean Zombie.