Silva, Machida fall short in ESPY Award voting, Pacquiao wins "Best Fighter" category
Boxing reigned supreme over mixed martial arts. For one night, anyway.
Despite solid past years for UFC champions Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida, neither won the 2009 ESPY for "Best Fighter."
At an awards ceremony held at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday, boxer Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao earned the combat-sports award, which has never gone to an MMA fighter.
MMAjunkie.com reported last month that the three combat-sports stars, as well as boxer Shane Mosley, had earned nominations in the "Best Fighter" category, which the ESPY Awards added in 2007.
The awards, founded in 1993 by ESPN, honor the best achievements, moments and leading athletes of the previous year. The awards show, filmed Wednesday in L.A., debuts July 19 on ESPN with Samuel L. Jackson as host.
The online voters ultimately went with Pacquiao, who defeated Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton to pick up titles in a record six different weight classes. The two fights were some of the biggest boxing events of the past few years and won "Pacman" nearly ever major boxing award of 2008.
Machida's resume included wins over Tito Ortiz, Thiago Silva, and most recently, Rashad Evans to win the UFC's light-heavyweight title. Machida (15-0 MMA, 7-0) has now won 15 consecutive fights with stoppages in three of his past four.
Silva, meanwhile, is 3-0 over the past year with a non-title win over James Irvin and title defenses over Patrick Cote and Thales Leites, all in main event fights. Silva (24-4 MMA, 9-0 UFC) remains undefeated in the UFC.
Past MMA nominees have included Randy Couture and Quinton Jackson (2007) and Georges St-Pierre (2008).
U.S. Olypian Michael Phelps was the night's big winner at the 2009 ESPYs. He won the award in a variety of categories, including Best Male Athlete, Best Record-Breaking Performance, Best Championship Performance and Best Male Olympian. He was also honored with a group of Olympic swimmers who won the Best Moment category for the men's 4×100 metre medley relay.
Boxing reigned supreme over mixed martial arts. For one night, anyway.
Despite solid past years for UFC champions Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida, neither won the 2009 ESPY for "Best Fighter."
At an awards ceremony held at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday, boxer Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao earned the combat-sports award, which has never gone to an MMA fighter.
MMAjunkie.com reported last month that the three combat-sports stars, as well as boxer Shane Mosley, had earned nominations in the "Best Fighter" category, which the ESPY Awards added in 2007.
The awards, founded in 1993 by ESPN, honor the best achievements, moments and leading athletes of the previous year. The awards show, filmed Wednesday in L.A., debuts July 19 on ESPN with Samuel L. Jackson as host.
The online voters ultimately went with Pacquiao, who defeated Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton to pick up titles in a record six different weight classes. The two fights were some of the biggest boxing events of the past few years and won "Pacman" nearly ever major boxing award of 2008.
Machida's resume included wins over Tito Ortiz, Thiago Silva, and most recently, Rashad Evans to win the UFC's light-heavyweight title. Machida (15-0 MMA, 7-0) has now won 15 consecutive fights with stoppages in three of his past four.
Silva, meanwhile, is 3-0 over the past year with a non-title win over James Irvin and title defenses over Patrick Cote and Thales Leites, all in main event fights. Silva (24-4 MMA, 9-0 UFC) remains undefeated in the UFC.
Past MMA nominees have included Randy Couture and Quinton Jackson (2007) and Georges St-Pierre (2008).
U.S. Olypian Michael Phelps was the night's big winner at the 2009 ESPYs. He won the award in a variety of categories, including Best Male Athlete, Best Record-Breaking Performance, Best Championship Performance and Best Male Olympian. He was also honored with a group of Olympic swimmers who won the Best Moment category for the men's 4×100 metre medley relay.
