We’ve almost reached the end of 2023 which means it’s time to dish out a few more awards.
Last year, to celebrate our fifth year, we launched our inaugural Fight Record UK Fighter of the Year Awards.
Josh Hill and Iman Barlow claimed the accolades last year, and now it’s time to decide who has earned spot amongst the nominees this year.
Without further ado, here’s our five nominees for our Fighter Record UK Male Fighter of the Year 2023.
Jonathan Haggerty
This one undoubtedly falls into the no-brainer category. Despite only two fights in 2023, ‘The General’ Jonathan Haggerty has become a superstar this year.
In April, he became a two-weight Muay Thai world champion, dismissing the previously unstoppable Nong-O with a first round knockout.
And as if that wasn’t enough, he also became a two-sport World champion when he stopped Fabricio Andrade for the vacant ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing world title in November.
Joe Ryan
Let’s be clear, the 18-year-old wonderkid has many years ahead of him to reach a pinnacle. But 2023 was a breakout year for the young Merseyside man.
This year, he successfully defended his WBC Muay Thai European title, then won the WMO Muay Thai World title with a huge first-round head kick knockout over Magnus Andersson.
But it was the latter half of the year in which Joe Ryan etched his name in the history books. After a convincing win over Reza Ahmadnezhad, Joe Ryan was named the Rajadamnern Stadium #1 ranked Middleweight.
Then in December, he became the first-ever UK Muay Thai fighter to win a Rajadamnern Stadium title when he defeated #3 ranked Petchmai.
Nico Carrillo
Much like Haggerty, 2023 saw Nico Carrillo become a global superstar. In March, he became a two-weight WMO Muay Thai World champion when he defeated Pasquale Amoroso.
It was his performances in ONE that made him a global star, though. After a debut win over Furkan Karabag, the Scotsman went on to defeat former top 5 ranked Bantamweight and Muay Thai superstar, Muangthai PK Saenchai.
The win earned him a six-figure deal with the global martial arts giants, and he ended the year by defeating former Bantamweight champion Nong-O via second round knockout.
Alfie Pearse
By far the most active of all. Alfie Pearse has accrued 10 fights in 2023 with just a single defeat, which came in a razor-close decision against Rajadamnern Stadium Lightweight champion Jom Parunchai.
The Hertfordshire man, who has trained at Sor Dechapan in Bangkok throughout the year, also earned a huge win over Adam Noi on RWS Muay Thai, earning his spot in the Rajadamnern Stadium Lightweight rankings.
Anthony Deary
Another Lightweight rising star, Anthony Deary has totaled 5 wins from 5 fights in 2023.
He kicked the year off with a WBC British title win at SuperShowDown before winning the WBC International title in April.
That was then followed by two big domestic victories before finishing a perfect year with a flawless performance against Carlos Campos to win the ISKA Muay Thai world title at Road to Rajadamnern.
How is the winner decided?
To keep it fair and open, we have selected a panel of 5 independent judges, all of whom have no connection to either of the above 5 fighters.
These judges will score the fighters based on who they think has had the most successful year in 2023, giving their preferred athlete 3 points, then 2 points to the 2nd and 1 point for 3rd.
The points will then be accumulated across all 5 judges votes and the athlete with the most points will be declared the winner of the Fighter Record UK Male Fighter of the Year 2023.
Winner will be announced on the week between Christmas and New Year.