Georges St-Pierre
Georges St-Pierre became just the fourth UFC fighter to win a title in two different weight classes. In this picture, St-Pierre of Canada celebrates his victory over Michael Bisping of England in their UFC middleweight championship bout during the UFC 217 event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Nov. 4, 2017. Mike Stobe/Getty Images

Georges St-Pierre, Rose Namajunas, Vasyl Lomachenko, and Terence Crawford are the four to be nominated for "Fighter of the Year" at ESPN's annual award show, the ESPYs.

The nominations were released on Thursday by ESPN as St-Pierre (26-2) was nominated for the fourth time in his career.

"GSP" returned to the octagon in November for the first time in four years as he not only moved up in weight to defeat middleweight champion Michael Bisping via a rear naked choke in the third round of their headliner at UFC 217, but became just the fourth fighter under the promotion's banner to become a two-weight world champion.

The Canadian is regarded as the greatest welterweight of all time, having last held the 170-pound title for over five years before taking time off from the sport in 2013 following his win over Johny Hendricks.

Also fighting at UFC 217 was Rose Namajunas who inflicted Joanna Jedrzejczyk's first-ever loss when she defeated her via first round knockout to win the women's strawweight title. The Milwaukee native had impressed earlier in the year when she defeated Michelle Waterson but the win over the formerly unbeaten Polish star really saw her catch the attention of the combat sports world.

Namajunas would later prove the win over Jedrzejczyk was not a fluke as the pair rematched at UFC 223 in April, with the former winning by a unanimous but close decision victory. This is the 25-year-old's first-ever nomination.

Rose Namajunas
Rose Namajunas has won six of her last seven fights. In this picture, Namajunas celebrates her victory over Joanna Jedrzejczyk of Poland in their UFC women's strawweight championship bout during the UFC 217 event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Nov. 4, 2017. Mike Stobe/Getty Images

The last three years (2015, 2016, 2017) have seen UFC fighters win the award in Ronda Rousey, Conor McGregor and Demetrious Johnson respectively. However, they will have some competition from the boxing world as pound-for-pound kings Vasyl Lomachenko and Terence Crawford are also nominated for the honor.

Lomachenko (12-1) started 2017 with dominant wins over Jason Sosa and Miguel Marriaga before taking part in his first super fight against Guillermo Rigondeaux in December. Despite having the size advantage, many felt this would be the Ukrainian's biggest test yet as he was facing a fellow two-time Olympic gold-winning champion.

However, Lomachenko defeated Rigondeaux with ease as he virtually made one of the top pound-for-pound fighters give up following the sixth round to inflict the Cuban's first-ever defeat.

Vasyl Lomachenko and Jorge Linares
Lomachenko recovered from a knockdown to defeat Jorge Linares. In this picture, Lomachenko knocks down Linares in the tenth round during their WBA lightweight title fight at Madison Square Garden in New York City, May 12, 2018. Al Bello/Getty Images

Lomachenko would then make history last month when he defeated Jorge Linares in the 10th round to not only become the World Boxing Association lightweight champion but also the quickest three-weight champion in boxing history. This is Lomachenko's first nomination.

Lastly, Crawford (33-0) was nominated for the third time in the last four years after his knockout win over Julius Indongo in August saw him completely unify the light-welterweight division.

Terence Crawford
Terence Crawford became a three-weight champion after his win over Jeff Horn. In this picture, Crawford celebrates his ninth-round TKO victory over Horn in their WBO welterweight title fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 9, 2018. Steve Marcus/Getty Images

"Bud" would then move up to 147 pounds and become a three-weight champion after he defeated Australia's Jeff Horn to win the World Boxing Organization welterweight title earlier this month.

Fans can vote for their "Fighter of the Year" on ESPN. The ESPYs will be hosted by Danica Patrick on July 18 and can be watched on ABC as well as Watch ESPN.

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