2018 ESPY Awards: UFC’s Rose Namajunas, Georges St-Pierre nominated for ‘Best Fighter’

Who was the best fighter of 2017?

That depends on you, the fickle fight fan, charged with voting for one of four candidates in this year’s ESPY awards on ESPN. The choices are Terence Crawford and Vasyl Lomachecnko from the world of boxing, as well as Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) stars Rose Namajunas and Georges St-Pierre.

Sorry, no Conor McGregor and no Floyd Mayweather Jr., who put together a massively profitable spectacle last August, but the ESPY Awards are designed to recognize athletic achievements, not pay-per-view (PPV) bucks.

After strangling Michelle Waterson to kick off her 2017 fight campaign, Namajunas (8-3) shocked the mixed martial arts (MMA) world by knocking out Joanna Jedrzejczyk later in the year, securing the strawweight title in the process.

St-Pierre (26-2), meanwhile, returned from a four-year layoff to capture the middleweight crown with an emphatic submission win over Michael Bisping at UFC 217, the same event that saw “Thug Rose” make history at 115 pounds.

Namajunas would move on to defend her title against Jedrzejczyk at UFC 223, while St-Pierre relinquished his strap to focus on his deteriorating health. You can cast your vote over at ESPN by clicking here.