The award ceremony, set to take place at the JW Marriott Hotel in Singapore on November 8, aims to honour superstar athletes, gifted coaches, innovative industry leaders, and media personalities for making an impact on the competitive world of martial arts in the past year.
Haider will go up against seven other local and international martial arts journalists for the award.
Although no Malaysian is in other categories, the Southeast Asian region is well represented with the likes of two-weight ONE Championship world champion Aung La N Sang of Myanmar, ONE Championship interim bantamweight champion Kevin Belingon of the Philippines, and Full Metal Dojo's Nithima Attasophonwatthana of Thailand being nominated.
2018 Global Martial Arts Awards nominees in full:
Martial Arts Hero of the YearAngela Lee
Aung La N Sang
Daniel Cormier
Eduard Folayang
Henry Cejudo
Martin Nguyen
Tenshin Nasukawa
Male Athlete of the Year
Aung La N Sang
Gegard Mousasi
Henry Cejudo
Joshua Pacio
Kevin Belingon
Kyoji Horiguchi
Tenshin Nasukawa
Female Athlete of the Year
Angela Lee
Ayaka Hamasaki
Kanna Asakura
Rose Namajunas
Seo Hee Ham
Stamp Fairtex
Xiong Jing Nan
Muay Thai Athlete of the Year
Kulabdam Kulabdam Sor Jor PiekuThai
Muangthai PKSaenchaimuaythaigym
Nong-O Gaiyanghadao
Petchdam Kaiyanghadao
Rodtang Jitmuangnon
Sam-A Gaiyanghadao
Yodlekpet TDed-99
Kickboxing Athlete of the Year
Giorgio Petrosyan
Petpanomrung Kiatmuu9
Sittichai Sitsongpeenong
Stamp Fairtex
Takeru Segawa
Tenshin Nasukawa
Tiffany Van Soest
Breakthrough Athlete of the Year
Brian Ortega
Derrick Lewis
Kevin Belingon
Kyoji Horiguchi
Saygid Guseyn Arsanaliev
Stamp Fairtex
Xiong Jing Nan
Bout of the Year
Aung La N Sang vs. Ken Hasegawa
Angela Lee vs. Mei Yamaguchi II
Eddie Alvarez vs. Dustin Poirier
Giorgio Petrosyan vs. Jo Nattawut
Justin Gaethje vs. Dustin Poirier
Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Tenshin Nasukawa
Robert Whittaker vs. Yoel Romero II
Knockout of the Year
Aaron Pico vs. Shane Kruchten
Aung La N Sang vs. Ken Hasegawa
Brian Ortega vs. Frankie Edgar
Li Kai Wen vs. Rodian Menchavez
Petchdam Kaiyanghadao vs. Josh Tonna
Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev vs. Timofey Nastyukhin
Yoel Romero vs. Luke Rockhold
Submission of the Year
Joshua Pacio vs. Pongsiri Mitsatit
Ariel Sexton vs. Kota Shimoishi
Shinya Aoki vs. Rasul Yakhyaev
Renzo Gracie vs. Yuki Kondo
Paul Craig vs. Magomed Ankalaev
Adam Wieczorek vs. Arjan Bhullar
Paddy Pimblett vs. Alexis Savvidis
Walkout of the Year
Andy Nguyen
Aung La N Sang
Eduard Folayang
Heo Jae-Hyeok
Rika Ishige
Shannon Wiratchai
Stamp Fairtex
Event of the Year
Bellator 192
ONE: Kingdom of Heroes
ONE: Reign of Kings
ONE: Unstoppable Dreams
Rizin 13
UFC 220
UFC 223
Gym of the Year
American Kickboxing Academy
American Top Team
Evolve MMA
Team Lakay
Tiger Muay Thai
Tribe Tokyo MMA
Tristar
Referee of the Year
Atsushi Onari
Jason Herzog
Kemp Cheng
Mark Goddard
Mike Beltran
Olivier Coste
Yuji Shimada
Coach of the Year
Duane “Bang” Ludwig (Bang Muay Thai)
Firas Zihabi (Tristar)
George Hickson (Tiger Muay Thai)
Javier Mendez (AKA)
Mark Sangiao (Team Lakay)
Matt Brown (ATT)
Ryo Chonan (Tribe Tokyo)
Ring Girl of the Year
Arianny Celeste
Camila Oliveira
Lee Bom Yi
Lee Ji Na
Nithima Attasophonwatthana
Red Dela Cruz
Siena
Martial Arts Journalist of the Year
Ariel Helwani (ESPN/MMA Fighting)
Chris Mohan (Malay Mail)
Haider Yutim (Astro Awani)
JM Siasat (GMA)
Manabu Takashima (MMA Planet)
Mike Bohn (MMA Junkie)
Mike Murillo (Business World)
Santino Honasan (ABS-CBN)
