Admittedly, selecting a comeback fighter of the year depends on a few factors, some of which are subjective. Certainly, the math and data points are available to filter down to a select few possibilities before proceeding with the actual selection of the winner of said award. Luckily, for 2011, the choice is pretty obvious.
The 2011 Comeback Fighter of the Year is: Shinichi Kojima
After suffering a decision loss to Jussier da Silva and losing his #1 Flyweight ranking, Kojima tore his ACL and suffered a 25 month layoff. Kojima returned in August 2011 and took decision wins over Masaaki Sugawara and Kiyotaka Shimizu, propelling Kojima back up to #4 in the division.
Honorable Mentions: Ed Herman, Michal Materla