Anderson (left) and Jones (right) will each compete for the ESPY Awards for the third time
UFC champions Anderson Silva (middleweight) and Jon Jones (light heavyweight) were once again nominated to compete in the award ceremony organized by ESPN, the ESPY Awards. They will compete in the “Best Fighter” category, for the year 2012.
This will be the third time that Anderson and Jones have competed for the award. The Brazilian was nominated in 2009 and 2012, while the American is nominated for the third consecutive time. They will face boxers Floyd Mayweather Jr, Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez and Danny Garcia.
Boxing dominates this ESPY Awards category. Created in 1993, the award had a section called “Best Boxer”, which was replaced by “Best Fighter” in 2007, due to the growth of MMA. Despite this, no athlete in the new sport managed to win the prize. In the six years of joint competition, Mayweather won four statuettes and Manny Pacquiao, two. The only MMA fighter honored in the history of the ESPY was congenital amputee Kyle Maynard, in the “Best Athlete with Disabilities” category, in 2012.
The next edition of the ESPY Awards will take place on July 17th, in Los Angeles, eleven days after Anderson defends his belt against Chris Weidman, at UFC 162, which will take place in Las Vegas.
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