UFC Fighters up for ESPYs

MMA Junkie reports that three UFC fighters have been nominated for ESPY awards.  Ronda Rousey, Jon Jones and Chris Weidman are all up for awards for ESPN’s award show.  s

Rousey is up for “Best Female Athlete” and “Best Fighter.” `Jones is competing with Rousey in the “Best Fighter” category.   Weidman is up for the category of “Best Upset”  for his upset of Anderson Silva last July.

Rousey is up against WNBA player Maya Moore, Olympic skier Mikaela Shiffrin and UConn women’s basketball player Breanna Stewart.

Jones is up against Rousey, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Andre Ward in the fighter category.

Weidman is up against UConn winning the men’s college title and Mercer (#15) defeating Duke (#2) during March Madness.

Fans can vote for the winners of these categories and more.

Payout Perspective:

The nominations reflect the fact that ESPN does not have a problem in promoting the UFC.  Rousey is the obvious mainstream star that may receive more attention at the ESPYs.  Aside from Rousey, it gives the UFC more exposure at the July award show.  There is not a lot more value in the ESPYs as they are a self-generated award by the network.