Another year has come and gone with MMA broadening it fan base while moving closer to mainstream acceptance in the sports marketplace.  UFC hosted it 100th major event, Strikeforce brought Fedor to CBS and Bellator came out of nowhere to deliver some of the best fights all year. It was a year of milestone and big fights.

Here are this year’s awards winners:

Fighter of The Year

Lyoto Machida (UFC)

2009 was the Year of The Dragon, as Machida laid claim to the title of best light heavyweight in the world.  All he did was dispatch two previously undefeated fighters in Thiago Silva to earn a title and Rashad Evans to win the UFC championship belt.  He then fought a tightly contested matchup versus former Pride champion Mauricio Rua and earned a controversial unanimous decision.   Machida recently underwent surgery on his hand, but a rematch versus Rua is on the schedule for early 2010

Fight Of The Year

Donald Cerrone vs. Benson Henderson (WEC 43)

Unquestionably the best display of mixed martial arts skills in any fight this year amongst top-tier fighters.   While other may point to Sanchez vs Guida or Melendez vs Thomson as their pick, those bouts were merely street fights in a cage.  Albeit entertaining, they are not representative of true MMA skill sets.  The Cerrone/Henderson was a back and forth war between the athlete (Henderson) and the technician (Cerrone).  Henderson would be the aggressor and land his shots and get his takedown, then Cerrone would turn the tied with his great defense and submission moves.  It was every MMA fans true delight to watch this match and most cannot wait for the rematch of this tightly contested fight.

Knockout of the Year – Dan Horbuckle vs Akihiro Gone (Sengoku)

This was a tough decision, as there were some fantastic knockouts in 2009.  UFC’s Dan Henderson’s drilling of Michael Bisping was one of the best punches delivered in a long-time.  Bellator’s Yahir Reyes’ spinning backfist of Estevan Payan rates high purely based on the sound of the crack of that hit.  In the end, you gotta give the kudos to Dan Hornbuckle for his leg kick to the head of Akhiro Gono.  Rarely do you see a guy knocked cold from a leg kick like the one delivered by Hornbuckle.  When you watch the super slow motion replay of the kick, you really feel Gono’s pain.

Submission of The Year – Toby Imada vs. Jorge Masvidal (Bellator)

The was the easiest to pick, simply because MMA has never seen such a move applied in its history.  Imada had everything thrown at him but the kitchen sink by Jorge Masvidal.  Imada never quit and Masvidal let his cockiness supercede sensibility.  Masvidal lifted Imada off the ground for a slam, and in the process got himself choked unconscious while standing on his feet.  It wasn’t just the submission of the year, it was the greatness submission of all time.

Breakthrough Fighter Of The Year

Jose Aldo (WEC)

Jose Aldo was a relative unknown to most MMA fans to start the year, just another featherweight in the stacked WEC.  His body of work was questionable as well, having fought mostly guys that had many losses on their records.  He caught the attention of fans with his highlight reel flying double-knee knockout of top contender Cub Swanson and followed that up with a dominant victory over WEC champion Mike Brown.  While’s Aldo longevity at the top is still questioned by many industry observers, his rise in 2009 from a preliminary bout fighter to close out 2008 to champion.