Best of 2008 Awards

Sherdog.com rolled out its Best of 2008 awards. Undefeated UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans snagged two -- Fighter of the Year and Knockout of the Year for his highlight-reel win over Chuck Liddell at UFC 88. Dustin Hazelett won Submission of the Year for his whizzer-into-armbar transition that defeated Josh Burkman on June 21, while Fight of the Year went to Eddie Alvarez and Tatsuya Kawajiri for their spirited July 21 scrap in Dream. The rise and fall of EliteXC and the sport’s debut on network television won Story of the Year.

ESPN.com’s “MMA Live” polled fans for its 2008 awards. Fighter of the Year went to Anderson Silva; Fight of the Year went to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson v. Forrest Griffin at UFC 86; Knockout of the Year went to Rashad Evans over Chuck Liddell; Submission of the Year went to Hazelett over Josh Burkman; Breakout Star of the Year went to Brock Lesnar; Card of the Year went to UFC 92; and Biggest Upset went to Frank Mir, who, at UFC 92, became the first man ever to finish Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

In addition, the UFC announced its own “Highly Unofficial” 2008 awards through the company Web site. Fighter of the Year went to Evans, Fight of the Year to Griffin v. Jackson, Best Knockout to Evans, Best Submission to Hazelett, Best Newcomer to Lesnar and Biggest Upset to Mir. Meanwhile, Thiago Alves was named Fighter of the Year by MMAWeekly.