2022 MMA Fight of the Year: Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira's classic brawl; Amanda Nunes-Julianna Peña 2

Jiri Prochazka, in only his third UFC fight, got the opportunity to challenge then-champion Glover Teixeira for the light heavyweight title on June 11 in the main event of UFC 275 in Singapore. Expectations were high for the bout, but who knew it would turn into one of the greatest fights in the history of the promotion?

There were surprises throughout, all the way to the end when Prochazka, a noted striker, submitted Teixeira, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, with a rear naked choke with just 28 seconds left in the fight. It was Prochazka's third submission victory among 29 professional wins and was his first submission in more than eight years.

They tore into each other from the opening bell and it was nonstop action the rest of the way. The momentum probably changed 30 times in the fight and each man had plenty of near-finishes.

This is as no doubt as it gets: Prochazka versus Teixeira is the 2022 Yahoo Sports men's MMA Fight of the Year.

As for runners-up, the middleweight bout between Luke Rockhold and Paolo Costa at UFC 278 in August definitely makes the list. Stephen Thompson's TKO of Kevin Holland following the fourth round of UFC Orlando is second runner-up. It was an amazing battle of striking until Holland told his corner between the fourth and the fifth that his hand was injured and he couldn't go on.

My third runner-up is Mateusz Gamrot's thrilling decision over Arman Tsarukyan on June 25 in Las Vegas.

Women's Fight of the Year

The women have had better years in terms of great fights, but the rematch between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Peña at UFC 277 in Dallas on July 30 was everything it was cracked up to be.

Nunes was dominant throughout the fight in her bid to regain the women's bantamweight belt she'd lost to Peña the previous year.

Peña survived several seemingly impossible positions, but refused to tap. In the end, Nunes never let up and won going away to regain her title.

That bout is the 2022 Yahoo Sports female MMA Fight of the Year.

Knockout of the Year

Men: Leon Edwards was seconds away from his second consecutive loss to Kamaru Usman. His corner was pleading with him to do something, mostly to no avail, until there were fewer than 10 seconds remaining on the clock in their welterweight title fight at UFC 278 in Salt Lake City on Aug. 20.

As Usman was moving in, Edwards threw a kick to the head that sent Usman down and quickly out. Edwards won the welterweight title with the 2022 Yahoo Sports male MMA Knockout of the Year.

Alex Pereira's KO of Israel Adesanya at UFC 282 to claim the middleweight title was also a great KO and very dramatic. Michael Chandler's front kick to the face of Tony Ferguson at UFC 274 in May drove the crowd wild.

The Edwards KO was the best of the year, though.

Women: Zhang Weili earned a title shot by knocking out Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 275 with a spinning backfist in a rematch of their 2020 classic. But Molly McCann had an incredible fight with Luanna Carolina and knocked her out with a spinning back elbow on March 19 in London.

Zhang's KO gets the nod because it came against better opposition and more was on the line. Zhang rode that win over Jedrzejczyk to a title shot against Carla Esparza. She used the shot successfully and won the belt by submitting Esparza.

And so Zhang Weili's KO of Joanna Jedrzejczyk is the 2022 Yahoo Sports female MMA KO of the Year.

Submission of the Year

Men: Charles Oliveira held off the challenge of Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 in May, submitting him with a rear naked choke after a wild first round. It's the Submission of the Year because of the significance of the victory, the quality of the opponent and the way the round played out.

Women: Jessica Andrade scored a surprising submission over Amanda Lemos on April 23 in Las Vegas, pulling off the win with a standing arm-triangle choke.

Coach of the Year

Eric Nicksick opened the year by guiding an injured Francis Ngannou to a victory over Ciryl Gane in January, using a brilliantly devised game plan. Nobody expected Ngannou to wrestle, but Nicksick put together the plan and coached Ngannou to execute it.

He was in the corner for so many successful fighters it's almost easy to forget how much he did. He's become a go-to trainer for struggling fighters looking to turn their fortunes around, but he's also able to take the thoroughbreds and keep them on track.

Nicksick is the choice as the 2022 Yahoo Sports MMA Coach of the Year.