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UFC's Edson Barboza says 2012 ESPY nomination is a win for MMA | MMAjunkie.com

Edson Baraboza didn't see his recent ESPY nomination as a personal accomplishment so much as he did a win for the sport of MMA.

Barboza's spinning-wheel-kick KO of Terry Etim at UFC 142 recently was nominated as one of the year's top 16 plays as part of the 2012 ESPN ESPY Awards.

Baraboza said that having an MMA highlight actually rank among those in the NFL, NBA, MLB and worldwide soccer is already a big win for his chosen sport.

Barboza said he learned of his nomination after manager Alex Davis read about it on MMAjunkie.com.

Fans ultimately will decide the winner of the 2012 "Best Play" ESPY through a vote up until the July 11 awards show. Each play is seeded No. 1-16. Barboza's kick, which took place in January and moved him to 10-0 (while also earning him a third straight "Fight of the Night" award), is seeded No. 14 (watch the clip) in the first round of voting. He's up against the PGA's Louis Oosthuizen and his double-eagle at the 2012 Masters, which is seeded No. 3 (watch the clip).

The eight matchups of the first 16 seeds have a voting period that ends Tuesday. The eight winners then advance to the round of eight, which will have voting from July 3-9. Four finalists then get a one-day voting period on July 9 to determine the winner.

Admittedly, Barboza isn't sure what to expect.

In addition to Barboza, UFC champions Jon Jones and Anderson Silva also are nominated for the "Best Fighter" ESPY award with boxers Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Andre Ward. Additionally, Kyle Maynard is nominated in the "Best Male Athlete with a Disability" category, which the congenital amputee won in 2004 as a high-school wrestler. This year, Maynard, who's dabbled in MMA, was nominated after he became the first quadruple amputee to reach the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro without assistance.

To cast your vote for the "Best Play" category, including Barboza's knockout, go to espn.com. To vote for the remaining 33 categories, go to espys.com.

Barboza, who recently suffered his first career loss at the hands of Jamie Varner, hopes his UFC 142 feat prompts MMA fans to vote.

[joeodd2]

Man I hope he wins, this was one of the best KO's of the year, if not the best. This technique almost never lands. He set that up all night with spinning heel kicks to the body, and made his opponent react to his initial movements.