....and no, this is not a post about Hinduism. Ok, really bad jokes aside, the last few weeks have been full of crazy upsets and I'm not just talking about fights, I'm talking about Couture’s departure from the UFC and the losses sustained by Liddell and Shogun. On the other hand you can be optimistic about these things, including the “loss” of Couture. Anyhow, I’m in class right now and as of Friday after about 4PM, I don’t have to be at work for a month, so you better believe I’m going to be doing a better job of keeping up on the news from the world of MMA, primarily UFC.
Second, let’s think about the guys who were supposed to win and then lost. Personally I’m a bit sad about the loss of Liddell but only from the larger perspective of what that meant for UFC and MMA. It was better for him to win for the sport because it meant so many exciting match ups and sort of made you guess regarding who the best fighter in the division is. Optimistic take? Well, Liddell is still the most beloved US figure in the sport (yeah, believe it or not, people and know and love Liddell which I’ve always found a bit strange because he’s not talkative…I think it’s something about his image…oh yeah, and he used to knock everyone out!) and therefore he’s going to be around for a while. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, the Dec. 29th event (UFC 79 or 80) will showcase the American knockout artist himself, Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell vs. the Pride of Brazil, Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva who, like Liddell, has had a stellar career at light heavyweight, is also coming off of two consecutive losses, the last being a knockout loss he suffered at the hands of Dan Henderson who fought and loss Quinton “Rampage” Jackson the current light heavyweight champ who knocked out Liddell less than two minutes into the first round.
Then we have Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, from the same camp in
Now there’s a lot more to talk (write) about, but I don’t have time, so I am going to add a bunch of good stories here, including the outcomes of UFC 77. Take care guys and get ready for the next big event (UFC 78) which will answer the following questions and more: did Bisping really deserve to beat Matt Hamil? If not, he is going to get handed a beat down by Rashad Evans. What a match up! Both of these guys should be fighting other people (remember Rashad vs. Ortiz was a draw and, of course, Bisping's fight was fraught with controversy). Other questions: Does Karo "The Heat" Parisyan really have what it takes for a title shot in the white hot welterweight division? Is Houston Alexander the most violent fighter ever? Will he end his third fight with a KO just like he did his last two fights. How good is Spencer Fisher? If he wins this fight does he get a shot at the lightweight belt? Is Ed Herman going to go on a tear all the way to a middleweight title fight?
UFC 78: VALIDATION
Main card
- Light heavyweight bout:
Rashad Evans vs. 
Michael Bisping[2] - Welterweight bout:
Karo Parisyan vs. 
Ryo Chonan[4] - Light heavyweight bout: Houston Alexander vs.
Thiago Silva[5] - Lightweight bout: Spencer Fisher vs. Frank Edgar[6]
- Middleweight bout: Ed Herman vs. David Terrell[6]
Preliminary card
- Welterweight bout: Akihiro Gono vs. Tamdan McCrory[6]
- Welterweight bout: Chris Lytle vs. Thiago Alves[6]
- Lightweight bout: Joe Lauzon vs. Jason Reinhardt[6]
Props: MassLive.com
Quoteworthy:
“Gabriel Gonzaga put Ludlow on the mixed martial arts map. His manager, Marco Alvan, is trying to make sure it stays there. Alvan has added two renowned fighters to his Team Link stable, which already includes Gonzaga - a top heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Thiago Silva is 11-0 and will fight at next month’s “UFC 78″ in Newark, N.J., while Paulo Filho is the middleweight champion of UFC’s sister promotion - World Extreme Cagefighting.”
Interesting aside: In the article Filho confirms his rumored WEC 185-pound title bout against former UFC welterweight contender Frank Trigg on December 12. Good fight.
UFC veteran Ricardo Almeida recently signed a six-fight contract to return to the middleweight division and will fight sometime in early 2008, according to GracieMag.com.
The good news was confirmed over the weekend during the UFC 77: “Hostile Territory” post event press conference.
Almeida — a Renzo Gracie-trained jiu-jitsu black belt — has been absent from professional mixed martial arts competition since 2004. His resume of opponents prior to the layoff is impressive, however, including notables such as Ryo Chonan (win), Nathan Marquardt (win) and Kazuo Masaki (win), among others.
The Brazilian debuted inside the Octagon against Matt Lindland in 2001, which resulted in a loss via disqualification (multiple fouls). Almeida redeemed himself with a submission win (triangle choke) over Eugene Jackson four months later, but was defeated by Andrei Semenov via technical knockout in his third and final UFC bout in 2002.
Now he’s back … and it couldn’t come at a better time. The 185-pound division is desperate for an opponent to step up and declare himself the number one contender to challenge Anderson Silva for his middleweight crown.
With a few impressive wins — and a shiny new contract — Almeida has that opportunity.
Props: NBCSports.com
During the in-ring UFC 77 post-fight interview “The Maine-iac” called out Cheick Kongo after he defeated Brandon Vera. He did it again in the UFC 77 post-event press conference.
In the video above (also just after UFC 77), however, he says he’s fighting Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. “Minotauro” says he’s fighting Sylvia at UFC 81 in February on SuperBowl weekend.
What gives? Does Sylvia want Kongo but is facing “Big Nog” instead? Confusion.
UFCmania.com has received the fighter payouts for UFC 77: “Hostile Territory” from the Ohio Athletic Commission (OAC) for the event held on October 20 at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Former heavyweight champion Time Sylvia was the top earner, hauling in a $200,000 purse for outpointing Brandon Vera in the co-main event of the evening.
UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva brought home the next highest purse with $120,000 for his successful 185-pound title defense against Rich Franklin.
Here are all the UFC 77 payouts:
Anderson Silva — $120,000 ($60,000 to show, $60,000 to win)
Rich Franklin — $45,000
Silva defeated Franklin via technical knockout (strikes) in round two
Tim Sylvia — $200,000 ($100,000 to show, $100,000 to win)
Brandon Vera — $100,000
Sylvia defeated Vera via unanimous decision
Alvin Robinson — $6,000 ($3,000 to show, $3,000 to win)
Jorge Gurgel — $7,000
Robinson defeated Gurgel via unanimous decision
Stephan Bonnar — $44,000 ($22,000 to show, $22,000 to win)
Eric Schafer — $6,000
Bonnar defeated Schafer via technical knockout (strikes) in round two
Alan Belcher — $22,000 ($11,000 to show, $11,000 to win)
Kalib Starnes — $7,000
Belcher defeated Starnes via technical knockout (doctor stoppage because of a cut) in round two
Yushin Okami — $24,000 ($12,000 to show, $12,000 to win)
Jason MacDonald — $17,000
Okami defeated MacDonald via unanimous decision
Demian Maia — $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 to win)
Ryan Jensen — $4,000
Maia defeated Jensen via submission (rear naked choke) in round one
Josh Burkman — $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Forrest Petz — $6,000
Burkman defeated Petz via unanimous decision
Matt Grice — $6,000 ($3,000 to show, $3,000 to win)
Jason Black — $8,000
Grice defeated Black via split decision
Keep in mind the salaries listed above do not include fight bonuses, sponsorships, percentages and other unofficial payments. For example, fighters receive bonuses for “Submission of the Night,” “Fight of the Night,” and others.
In fact, UFC President Dana White announced at the post-event press conference that Silva earned a $40,000 bonus for his stoppage of Franklin. Grice and Black each earned and extra $40,000 for their scrap. And Octagon newcomer Maia pocketed an additional $40,000 for almost putting Jensen to sleep.
The total base fighter payroll for the UFC 77 was $652,000. The 16,054 fans in attendance paid a collective $2,519,850 to watch the festivities live.
For results, recaps and blow-by-blow coverage of UFC 77 click here and here.
Former champions Chuck Liddell (20-5) and Wanderlei Silva (31-7-1) will indeed clash in a light heavyweight super fight at UFC 79: “Nemesis” on December 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
UFC President Dana White made the highly anticipated (and well-known) announcement during a commercial break for the 2007 Scream Awards on the Spike television network this evening.
Here’s a bit of what he had to say:
“This is the most anticipated fight in the history of mixed martial arts…. It is the perfect way to end 2007.”
Fans can now take a collective deep sigh of relief because even though all signs pointed to a match up between the two icons it was never really official until it came from the UFC brass.
The fight has been on-and-off since both 205-pound fighters held the belts in their respective organizations — Liddell for the UFC and Silva for PRIDE FC.
It almost went down during a tournament-style event back in 2003, PRIDE: Final Conflict. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, however, played the role of spoiler that night, taking out “The Iceman” in the semifinals in an upset.
He went on to lose later that night to “The Axe Murderer.”
Since that time the bout between Liddell and Silva has taken on a life of its own. In fact, when the two were reigning champions back in 2006, White made the bold move of bringing Silva into the Octagon and announced that the two champions would finally square off.
It never happened for various reasons.
Then earlier this year, as the PRIDE organization was about to fold, Silva was knocked out by Dan Henderson, losing his middleweight title.
At the time, White said that PRIDE had thrown away the biggest fight in the history of the sport.
That is until Liddell lost his belt to Rampage three months later at UFC 71, and then lost his next fight against Keith Jardine — a fight in which fans were teased again with the potential showdown.
“The Dean of Mean” stepped in for Silva at UFC 76 last month after negotiations on a date for the bout with the Brazilian fell through at the last minute.
Finally … After all these years and teases the fight is booked once and for all. And even if it doesn’t have the same value in terms of declaring an international or unified champion, it will settle one of the longest-running (and perhaps most intriguing) debates in the relatively brief history of MMA:
Who wins a fight between Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva?
We’ll find out on New Year’s Eve weekend.
See … Dreams really do come true.
For the most recent rumored UFC 79 fight card click here. Note: UFC.com has also issued an official press release on the fight that can be found here.
UFC 77 Fighters Salaries: Tim Sylvia Gets Reported $200,000; Anderson Silva Gets $120,000
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has received official UFC 77 salary information from the Ohio Athletic Commission.
UFC 77 took place at Cincinnati’s U.S. Bank Arena on Saturday, Oct. 20. The pay-per-view event produced a live gate of $2,519,850 (a U.S. Bank Arena record). A sold-out crowd of 16,054 attended the show.
Tim Sylvia, who defeated Brandon Vera in the night’s co-main event, received the highest reported salary at $200,000 (Vera earned $100,000). Anderson Silva, who defended his middleweight title in the night’s main event, earned a reported salary of $120,000. His opponent, Rich Franklin, earned $45,000.
The total disclosed payroll for the event was $652,000.
The full list of reported salaries includes:
- Anderson Silva ($120,000) def. Rich Franklin ($45,000)
- Tim Sylvia ($200,000) def. Brandon Vera ($100,000)
- Alvin Robinson ($6,000) def. Jorge Gurgel ($7,000)
- Stephan Bonnar ($44,000) def. Eric Schafer ($6,000)
- Alan Belcher ($22,000) def. Kalib Starnes ($7,000)
- Yushin Okami ($24,000) def. Jason MacDonald ($17,000)
- Demian Maia ($10,000) def. Ryan Jensen ($4,000)
- Josh Burkman ($20,000) def. Forrest Petz ($6,000)
- Matt Grice ($6,000) def. Jason Black ($8,000)
Every winning fighter earned a salary that was 50 percent to show and 50 percent as a win bonus. For example, Sylvia earned $200,000; $100,000 of that was his base salary, and the other $100,000 was earned as a win bonus. (Likewise, all of the night’s losing fighters would have doubled their salaries with a victory because of the win bonuses.)
Now, the usual disclaimer: the figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, which can oftentimes be a substantial portion of a fighter’s income. They also do not include any bonuses paid to some of the main-card fighters who sometimes earn a small cut of pay-per-view revenue. They also do not include other special/non-disclosed bonuses the UFC sometimes pays.
In other words, these are simply base salaries reported to the CSAC and do not represent the total amounts earned by each fighter.
In addition to the salaries above, Silva earned an additional $40,000 Knockout of the Night bonus, Maia earned a $40,000 Submission of the Night bonus, and Grice and Black each earned a $40,000 Fight of the Night bonus.
For more on UFC 77, check out:
Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79 — It’s Finally Official
The worst-kept secret in UFC history was finally revealed this evening; UFC President Dana White confirmed that former UFC champion Chuck Liddell (20-5 MMA, 15-4 UFC) will face former PRIDE title-holder Wanderlei Silva (31-7-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at UFC 79 on Dec. 29.
The pay-per-view event takes place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
White made the announcement during a spot on Tuesday night’s “Scream 2007” special on Spike TV.
The one-time cross-promotion mega-fight, which had been promised a few times over the past couple years (most recently at UFC 61), never came to fruition because UFC and PRIDE officials couldn’t work out the details. However, owners of Zuffa LLC (the UFC’s parent company) purchased PRIDE earlier this year, signed Silva to a contract, and then scheduled him to fight at UFC 79.
Liddell was the likely opponent — until a split-decision loss to Keith Jardine at UFC 76 in September appeared to temporarily derail the idea. However, despite both fighters coming off back-to-back losses (Liddell to Quinton Jackson and Jardine; Silva to Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Dan Henderson), the bout remains one of the most-anticipated in MMA history, and UFC officials booked the fight anyway.
As MMAjunkie.com exclusively announced in July, Silva was expected to fight Liddell at UFC 76. However, when Silva requested a November fight date instead (to accommodate his move to the U.S.), the bout was scrapped and Jardine got the fight instead. White went on the offensive soon after, saying Silva was ducking Liddell and that the fight would probably never happen.
Three weeks later, though, White boasted that he had signed Silva — and even posted a video of the actual contract signing on UFC.com. However, he never clarified his claims that Silva was trying to avoid a fight with Liddell.
MMAjunkie.com spoke to Silva over the weekend during Cincinnati’s UFC 77 event, and the Brazilian confirmed he would be fighting Liddell. White, though, remained tight-lipped about the fight, saying only that the two fighters would face off sometime “soon.“
Now officially booked, the fight will take second billing to a main event between UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra and former champ Matt Hughes.
For the latest rumored UFC 79 fight card, check out the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
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