By FCF Staff

ESPN has announced the nominees for the sport network’s 2011 ESPY Awards and MMA fighters Fabricio Werdum, Jon Jones and Georges St. Pierre are amongst the candidates.

UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre were both nominated for the “Best Fighter” category, joining boxers Bernard Hopkins, Sergio Martinez and Manny Pacquiao.

Jones (13-1) has earned his first ESPY (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards) nomination. Since last August, Jones has continued to impress by earning victories over  Vladimir Matyushenko,  Ryan Bader and most recently former champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in March.

St. Pierre (22-2) has been nominated three times now for the “Best Fighter” award. The welterweight has scored unanimous decision wins over Dan Hardy, Josh Koscheck and most recently Jake Shields since 2010 began.

Werdum (14-5-1) secured a “Best Upset” ESPY nomination for his shocking, first round submission of Fedor Emelianenko last June. Werdum became the first man to defeat the former Pride champion since December, 2000, ending Emelianenko’s 28 fight undefeated streak.

Other candidates for the “Best Upset” category include Blame defeating Zenyatta at the Breeder’s Cup horse race, the Seattle Seahawks eliminating the defending NFL champion New Orlean Saints, and the Virginia Commonwealth University basketball team’s NCAA Final Four run.

Fans can vote on the ESPYs from now until July 9^th. The award show and subsequent broadcast on ESPN will take place July 13^th.