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All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to MMA Fighting's 2025 year-end award show.

I am Mike Heck.

Thank you for joining us as we recap the very best the sport of mixed martial arts had to offer in 2025 and sort of set the bar for fighters heading into 2026 as always a wacky year in our sport a lot happened along the

way and we celebrate not the good but the great from the year that was.

But let me assure you of something right here and now, ladies and gentlemen, as you watch or as you listen.

For the first time, since we started doing the show, things, at least some takes are going to be probably chastised.

Things might get a little heated.

Maybe as heated as it's ever gotten on this award show.

The fighter of the year was all but decided.

But one person on our staff went against the bold.

In fact, I'd be willing to bet a significant amount of money that this individual is probably the only person on planet earth that didn't nominate this particular fighter for the fighter of the year did not even put this fighter

in their top five and because of this incredibly wild move it cost this fighter at least a share

of the award if not outright winning this award and we are

going to discuss this in wild take and more than likely not be very kind to the person who presented

it so do not go anywhere award show history will be made right here on the 2025 m.A. Fighting Awards show. But speaking of the panel, speaking of the takers and the tastemakers, let us introduce the panelists, the co-host of the show as you get ready to give out some hardware. First, this man is the Prince of Positivity, the man who carries the torch, so to speak,

the man who organizes this whole thing, these award shows, these awards for us.

He's our under the radar MVP over at M.AFighting.com, without a doubt, the one and only,

Alexander Kaylee, repping the greatest website in the world, my best friend. Hello, AK. Hi, everybody. I'm gonna, Mike, I'm gonna do the whole show in that voice. Is that okay? I'm trying a new thing. Is that Mickey? Is it goofy? Is it a combination of the two? I can't figure it out. I'm not familiar with those characters, so I'm not sure who you you're talking about that's an original creation of mine um what's not my best word yeah listen uh

it it may be a little contentious today um not between us we're going to be very careful here

because uh you have teased a segment later which uh unfortunately i think may not involve

the uh the voter in

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