2018 Awards: Comeback & Most Improved Fighter of the Year

As a refresher, our “Comeback” award is about coming back from inactivity or major injury (that we know about) and in doing so, really impressing.  You can see more details at the bottom of the post about specific qualifiers.

Comeback Fighter of the Year: Magomed Magomedkerimov

Magomedkerimov comes back in 2018 from nearly 2 years of inactivity, puts up a 5-0 record for 2018 and wins the $1 million prize over Ray Cooper III, who is our most improved fighter of the year.  Chad Mendes had this award in the bag, but his recent loss and retirement freed up the award.

Most Improved Fighter of the Year: Ray Cooper III

A relative unknown, Ray Cooper III went from a basically unranked fighter, to a Top 50 fighter.  Cooper and Magomedkerimov fed off of each other in these awards to some extent, but both are deserving.