Midyear MMA awards: Top fighters and moments of 2023 so far

With half the year in the books, theScore hands out the gongs to the best of the best in mixed martial arts across six categories.

Male fighter of the half-year

Winner: Jon Jones

This award recognizes the biggest achiever of the half-year, not necessarily the greatest fighter. But in this case, there's an argument that Jones cemented himself as both.

The former longtime UFC light heavyweight champion finally ended his three-year layoff at UFC 285 in March. Not only did he win his return fight in emphatic fashion, he also made good on his 11-year promise to move up in weight and win the heavyweight title.

As soon as Jones bulldozed his way past former interim heavyweight champ Ciryl Gane in two minutes and four seconds, it seemed awfully silly that anyone doubted this man. If you recall, there were a lot of questions about how Jones would perform after three years away, at a heavier weight, and against a big man like Gane. A lot of people thought Jones was past his prime and that Gane would be the one to give him his first legitimate loss in MMA.

Instead, Jones put forth the kind of performance that you come to expect from an all-time great, easily getting Gane to the mat and submitting him with a guillotine choke. No one had done that to Gane, not even Francis Ngannou. Jones regained his status as the UFC's pound-for-pound king and arguably cemented himself as the best MMA fighter of all time. That victory surely puts him in the lead in the Fighter of the Year race.

Honorable mentions: Alexander Volkanovski, Israel Adesanya, Leon Edwards

Female fighter of the half-year

Winner: Alexa Grasso

In 2021, it was Julianna Pena. In 2023, it was Alexa Grasso.

The Mexican pulled off one of the all-time biggest UFC upsets in March (in the co-main event to Jones-Gane, no less), finishing Valentina Shevchenko with a sudden rear-naked choke in the fourth round to capture the women's flyweight title.

It was a monumental victory that shook up the 125-pound division and women's MMA as a whole, reminiscent of Pena's shocking bantamweight title win over Amanda Nunes in December 2021 that we argued was the biggest upset in UFC history.

Grasso has only stepped into the Octagon once so far this year, but there's no performance more seminal than what she put together at UFC 285. And now she's living the good life as the first Mexican-born female to ever wear UFC gold. She also became the promotion's pound-for-pound queen after Nunes' retirement in June, and she has a chance to make it 2-0 against Shevchenko in their Sept. 16 rematch.

Honorable mentions: Erin Blanchfield, Amanda Nunes, Yan Xiaonan

Knockout of the half-year

Winner: Israel Adesanya's thunderous right-hand KO of Alex Pereira

There are always two sides when it comes to the Knockout of the Year debate: Those who think stakes and significance take priority, and those who believe style points - the overall creativity and coolness of the knockout - are the No. 1 criteria.

In this instance, the importance of Adesanya's title-regaining knockout of Pereira at UFC 287 in April gets the job done, but there's no denying it was also a brilliant finish.

This win saved his legacy, and that's not an exaggeration. Adesanya was coming off a TKO loss to Pereira five months earlier, his third overall defeat to Pereira after two in kickboxing. Had Adesanya fallen short to his boogeyman yet again, how he would be remembered would've been much different - even though he did have an incredible run as UFC middleweight champion from 2019-22 - than it will be now.

To make this knockout even more epic, it seemed as if Pereira was on the verge of repeating history when Adesanya improbably closed the show. Pereira had Adesanya up against the fence and was throwing bombs in a moment eerily reminiscent of Pereira's upset victory over Adesanya at UFC 281. Then Adesanya fired off two heavy right hands that sent Pereira to the canvas, and suddenly, the king was back on top.

Honorable mentions: Patchy Mix's flying-knee KO of Raufeon Stots, Sadibou Sy's wheel-kick KO of Shane Mitchell, Ismael Bonfim's flying-knee KO of Terrance McKinney

Submission of the half-year

Winner: Shavkat Rakhmonov's standing bulldog choke of Geoff Neal

There aren't many submissions that get more violent than Rakhmonov's finish of Neal.

As the last 60 seconds of the fight ticked away, the rising welterweight contender was comfortably ahead in the biggest moment of his UFC career so far. He had Neal stuck up against the fence, and it seemed like he was content to cruise to the victory.

But Rakhmonov apparently wanted to put an exclamation mark on his performance. He quickly and suddenly wrapped his arm around Neal's neck - both fighters still standing up - and locked in an excruciatingly tight bulldog choke. He forced the tap, dropped Neal to the canvas, and walked away with a smirk on his face.

What a gangster.

Honorable mentions: Alexa Grasso snatching title from Valentina Shevchenko with rear-naked choke, Yair Rodriguez proving himself with triangle choke over Josh Emmett

Fight of the half-year

Winner: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Moreno 2

Since February, the superfight between lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski had been the front-runner for Fight of the Year. But the July 8 flyweight title bout between Pantoja and Moreno overtook it at the 11th hour.

To be clear, it's a close race. Makhachev-Volkanovski was an edge-of-your-seat kind of fight. It had momentum shifts, was shockingly competitive, and was as high level as MMA gets. But there was something even more special about the thrills of the UFC 290 co-main event.

Pantoja walked into the Octagon to challenge Moreno for the UFC flyweight title as the underdog, despite holding two previous wins over the Mexican-born champion. And early on, it looked like Pantoja was going to end things quickly. He dropped Moreno with a nasty left hook. But Moreno stormed back in the second round, staying consistent with his sharp jab and landing heavy punches.

In Rounds 3 and 4, Pantoja and Moreno bit down on their mouthpieces and let it all fly - punches to the head, body shots, leg kicks, you name it. The pace was unreal. Pantoja's face was a bloody mess midway through the fight, but he didn't let that stand in the way of him and the flyweight title. He also racked up a solid amount of control time, though Moreno was never close to being submitted.

When it comes to action in flyweight bouts, expectations are always high. The speed and athleticism of most flyweights compared to fighters in heavier divisions is unmatched. And the proof that flyweight is one of the most entertaining divisions is right there in front of us. The four title fights between Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo were all memorable, especially their first Fight of the Year candidate in 2020. Former longtime champ Demetrious Johnson owns some of the all-time greatest highlights, including a flying armbar.

That said, Pantoja and Moreno did more than exceed expectations. They stole the show.

Honorable mentions: Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski, Dan Hooker vs. Jalin Turner, Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev

Upset of the half-year

Winner: Alexa Grasso def. Valentina Shevchenko

There is no upset in 2023 that comes remotely close to Grasso's win over Shevchenko.

Shevchenko's stock was not at its absolute highest at the time of the fight, as she was coming off the first split decision of her title reign. To many, that was a sign of vulnerability. But she was still a longtime, dominant champ who had completely separated herself from the rest of the division.

Perhaps more imperative to the argument that Grasso's fourth-round submission at UFC 285 in March was an all-time upset is the fact Grasso wasn't viewed as the second- or even third-best fighter in the division. She wasn't viewed as a threat.

Often, those are the ones that get you. There Grasso was, capitalizing on a missed spinning kick by Shevchenko, sinking in a rear-naked choke, and beginning a new era at 125 pounds.

This may not be quite as big as Pena-Nunes 1, but it's darn close. Something truly insane would have to happen in the next six months for Grasso not to win Upset of the Year.

Honorable mention: Dricus Du Plessis def. Robert Whittaker