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| UFC Fight Night 17 bonuses and awards for ‘Lauzon vs Stephens’ Posted: 08 Feb 2009 02:17 AM CST
UFC Fight Night 17: "Lauzon vs. Stephens" from the The University of Southern Florida (USF) Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida, has officially wrapped, which means that it's time for those select fighters who went above and beyond in their respective fights to get a little extra grease for their efforts. To the tune of $30,000 each. The promotion dished out its standard post-fight monetary bonuses to four out of the 20 fighters on the card. And it shouldn't come as a shock whose wallets are leaving The Sun Dome a little heavier. In addition to their base salaries, the UFC awarded lightweight scrappers Josh Neer and Mac Danzig for their gritty back-and-forth 155-pound war. It was a gutsy performance by Neer and a very tough loss for Danzig, his second straight inside the Octagon. Former TUF 5 standout Joe Lauzon locked up a submission bonus right along with the arm of Jeremy Stephens. The “Lil Heathen” wasn’t exactly cannon fodder, but in the end “J-Lau’s” stellar display of jits was enough to force the armbar tapout. One person who probably should have also tapped out was the prodigious Denis Stojnic. While the Bosnian Banger wasn’t laid out cold, he was on the receiving end of a Velasquez flurry that saw him go fetal at the ref’s feet, prompting the man in black to implement the mercy rule. That stoppage was inexplicably given “Knockout of the Night,” despite Anthony Johnson’s crushing right hand that put Luigi Fioravanti onto his knees and ushered in the beginning of the end to their welterweight brawl. Here are the special fight bonuses for "Lauzon vs. Stephens:"
Again, each fighter received $30,000 extra for their performances in addition to their respective base salaries, which we will pass along if possible. The live SpikeTV event drew 7,596 attendees for an approximate gate of $428,000. For complete UFC Fight Night 17 results and blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action click here . | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UFC Fight Night 17 recap and final thoughts Posted: 07 Feb 2009 10:09 PM CST
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) must subscribe to the notion that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. That’s because its debut show in Tampa, Fla., tonight was dynamite. UFC Fight Night 17: "Lauzon vs. Stephens" didn’t have an ounce of the promotion that UFC 94: “St. Pierre vs. Penn 2″ had just last week (for obvious reasons). But that didn’t stop the fighters from delivering an action-packed show at the University of South Florida (USF) Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla. — only one match went the distance. In the main event of the evening, Joe Lauzon collided with Jeremy Stephens — the protege of Hermes Franca, the man who was supposed to headline the Spike TV event opposite “J-Lau” before pulling out with an injury. Unfortunately, his instruction wasn’t enough for Stephens to defend the myriad submission attempts from the Boston-area native. Lauzon put on a Brazilian jiu-jitsu clinic, transitioning from submission attempt to submission attempt in an effort to finish the heavy-handed replacement. His hard work eventually paid off, but it wasn’t easy. In the second round, “Lil Heathen” connected with a wig-splitting elbow that had Lauzon gushing blood. Sensing that he could be in trouble because of a cut, Lauzon turned up the heat and hit a nice armbar from side control. Stephens did his best to defend, but it was just in too deep — he tapped before the horn for the second round blared. Solid fight, capping off a night full of them. Let’s get to the rest of the televised main card:
Before his fight with Denis Stojnic, blue chip heavyweight prospect said he wasn’t buying into all the hype that has been heaped on him since his Octagon debut. He might want to start. The former NCAA wrestling champion from Arizona State University (ASU) showed of his stand up against the resilient Dutch striker. Velasquez hit him with everything but the kitchen sink and it did not appear to have much of an effect. Stojnic was tired, but somehow managed to survive the relentless attack from all angles. It was more of the same in round two — a first for Velasquez — until he finally got the fight to the ground and was able to unleash some serious punishment from the top position. Stojnic was turtled up and not doing nothing to defend himself, refusing to give in. Fortunately for him, the referee made his decision for him and stopped the bout before he could sustain further damage. His granite chin more than likely earned him another opportunity with the promotion. It also earned Velasquez some great experience and perhaps a high profile opponent in his next appearance. Velasquez indicated that he’s already heading back into the gym to work on his game. Yikes. Josh Neer and Mac Danzig came out guns blazing in their 155-pound scrap. Danzig indicated that he didn’t travel all the way to the “Sunshine State” to lay on his back for three rounds like he did against Clay Guida his last time out. Neer was happy to oblige — the two slugged it out for the entire first round. “The Dentist” appeared to be showboating, twirling his fists and daring Danzig to trade with him. He did, drilling the Iowa native with a nice left hook that appeared to have him stunned. Danzig followed it up with several nice uppercuts and strikes, but it didn’t appear that Neer was going out like that. And when he smelled his own blood (Neer is a bleeder) he, too, turned it up another notch. “The Dentist” came out for the second round on fire. He was able to immediately get Danzig to the ground and drop Check Kongo-esque elbows on the head of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6 winner. Danzig was able to escape, but not for long. He managed to land in Neer’s guard, which Melvin Guillard can tell you, is not a smart place to be. Neer soon sunk-in a triangle choke that had Danzig feverishly tapping to release. Great fight — both fighters were very game. The crowd booed Neer during the post-fight interview, but that more than likely had more to do with his antics inside the Octagon and not so much the performance. Hopefully, Neer resolves his legal troubles outside the cage and can get back in it as soon as possible. He is very, very exciting to watch win or lose. Always has been. Anthony Johnson continued to rumble in the 170-pound division, taking out the tough and experienced Luigi Fioravanti with a bruising first round technical knockout. The size difference was noticeable from the opening bell. And Johnson used it to his advantage, staying on the short end of the heavy-handed Fioravanti’s punches. It just didn’t seem like the American Top Team (ATT) product could get close to connect. Johnson snapped leg kicks and jabs, which kept Fioravanti retreating for most of the fight. When Fioravanti did close the distance, he ended up pressing Johnson up against the cage and drilling him in the balls with an errant knee. Bad idea. Johnson took his time to recover and came out of the break looking to finish the fight … and he did, dropping Fioravanti with a big right that put him down on a knee. Fioravanti tried to recover, but Johnson was able to close it out with punishing ground and pound that had Fioravanti tapping to escape the abuse just as the referee went in to rescue him. Now with four wins inside the Octagon (all stoppages) in six attempts, Johnson appears to be ready to challenge welterweights in the upper echelon of the weight class. His speed, power and athleticism are going to cause a lot of fighters a lot of problems for a very long time — Johnson is just 24 years old. That’s scary. To check out complete UFC Fight Night 17 main card blow-by-blow coverage click here. Great night of fights! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UFC Fight Night 17 results, coverage and winners LIVE tonight! Posted: 07 Feb 2009 02:23 PM CST
Click the banner above or right here for up-to-the-minute results and blow-by-blow coverage of UFC Fight Night 17: “Lauzon vs. Stephens.” If you're going to leave comments and discuss the fights with all the other MMAmania.com readers be sure to do it on the main UFC Fight Night 17 results post and not this one. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mike Brown vs Leonard Garcia video promo for WEC 39 on March 1 Posted: 07 Feb 2009 01:59 PM CST | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mac Danzig: Not playing for points against Josh Neer at UFC Fight Night 17 Posted: 07 Feb 2009 01:14 PM CST
He already has a lifetime of experience in mixed martial arts, winning 18 professional bouts in 23 career contests. It’s safe to say, however, that the former King of the Cage and Gladiator Challenge title holder did not become a well-known name among casual fans until his winning performance on the Spike TV series back in late 2007. Better late than never. "It definitely made me recognizable,” Danzig explained in an exclusive interview with MMAMania.com. “I don't know if it is always in a good light [laughs] … the way things went on the show. It definitely put my name out there and got me on the map. Instead of as before the hard core fans knew who I was. But being on the show got me the mainstream attention, which is one of the main reasons why serious fighters try to get on the show — to give their career a bit of a boost and a jump start. For Danzig, the opportunity also meant that he could focus full-time on what he liked to do best, fight, rather than trying to squeeze it all in while trying to make ends meet elsewhere.
“I was successful with it and I was able to put myself in a position where I'm finally fighting for a living, which is really nice,” he said. “Before I had a couple other jobs at any given time. Just to survive, pay the rent and get gas and food and everything. Now I actually have a career with fighting for the first time in my life. Money isn't everything but it's defiantly a plus for me because now I can concentrate on training and on nothing else. That is what you need at this level. The guys I am fighting in the UFC right now, there is no time to be doing other jobs and things like that. You have got to have 100 percent of your time focused." Indeed, Danzig’s next fight will be against fellow veteran Josh Neer at Ultimate Fight Night 17 from the University of South Florida (USF) Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla., later on this evening. And it may be his stiffest test to date inside the Octagon despite losing a unanimous decision to Clay Guida his last time out. "Josh Neer is a tough guy,” he said. “What can I say? I have watched film on him. I've been seeing a few of his fights here and there throughout the years. He is well rounded. He is good at everything and not particularly excellent at any one thing. But his wresting is good, his stand up is good, his submissions are good. It is one of those things where I don't have a clear advantage anywhere. He is a very tough dude so it should be a good scrap. I'm just looking forward to fighting someone that wants to keep moving and having an exciting fight." Perhaps that’s a dig at “The Carpenter” — Guida smothered Danzig for most of the three-round fight with a relentless wrestling attack. It was a frustrating loss and one that Danzig wants to put behind him as soon as possible. There is only one way to do that: Get into a good scrap, put on a show for the fans and hope to walk away the winner when all is said and done. He shouldn’t have a problem regarding the first two points — Neer is a 25-year-old competitor who also already has a lifetime of experience with a solid record (24-7-1). He also has a recent arrest record. Neer was accused of drinking and driving and arrested after a car chase on New Year's Eve night. Police had to use stop sticks to flatten the tires of Neer’s car to end the pursuit. He was charged with a DUI and eluding police. For a time it was unclear whether or not Neer would be allowed to compete at UFC Fight Night 17. The uncertainty didn’t rattle Danzig. “When that whole thing first happened I took a wait and see attitude,” he said. “I waited like a day or two and once a few statements were released by his management I kind of realized that this was just a thing for him. He will probably have a court date after the fight sometime and he will have to deal with that. He will probably end up with some fines, who knows, but I kind of had a feeling that I knew it wouldn't really affect the fight.” And for Danzig, he says it’s really none of his business in the first place. All he cares about is Neer continuing to train and coming in the best shape possible to fight him. “He is not the type of guy to pull out and knowing that he was out of jail I knew he would get back to the gym and train and fight,” Danzig said about his opponent. “To be honest, the way I look at it, it is not really a whole lot of my business as long as he is in the gym and training which I know he is. So that is all I'm worried about. Whatever goes on in his personnel life I'm not judging the guy. I don't live my life that way but, to each his own. I knew for a second he may not be able to fight and I said to myself, I now the UFC will give me a replacement, so I just kept doing my thing." What is his business is his growing family — Danzig and his girlfriend, Angeline Grace, recently had a child together. As any new father would tell you, it is one of the most difficult challenges imaginable. But he’s up to the task, knowing that he is now fighting for way more than just himself and training partners. Diapers are expensive. "I just had my first baby, a daughter, on Nov 16,” he said. “It has definitely changed my life — she is everything to me. It is probably the best thing that has ever happened to me. It is a huge undertaking and it is something you can never quite totally prepare for. It is just one of those things, when it happens, you got to go with it.” Fortunately for her, she takes after her mother. “She is extremely cute — one of the most adorable baby's and I'm not just saying that,” he gushed. “It's the truth. I really lucked out. I don't know if she got many of my genes because she is cute but she got Angeline's. It's a lot of fun. A lot of hard work but it is definitely rewarding. I'm going to do my best to raise her the right way and to watch her live her life. It has been a huge part of my life lately but I haven't let it be a distraction." When he hasn’t been changing dirty diapers and attending to his daddy duties, Danzig has kept himself busy preparing for Neer with the All-Star cast at X-Treme Couture. It’s a gym that is loaded with worldclass talent. which Danzig admits has helped him take his already well-rounded game to exciting new heights. “It is by far the best gym that I know of in the world right now for anyone in MMA,” he said. “We have the best roster of guys and a lot of guys people haven't heard of yet that are really really good. They just haven't come out on the scene yet. We always have a lot of really good pros passing through and training for a week or two. My boxing coach is Gil Martinez. He is also Gray Maynard's boxing coach. As far as sparring partners go I've got Gray Maynard. I've got Tyson Griffin. I've got Robert Emerson, Martin Kampmann, Jay Hieron, Mike Pyle, John Alessio and Josh Haynes — the list just goes on and on.” “Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonner are in there quite a bit even though those guys are bigger and I usually don't do a lot of sparring with them,” he continued, “they are there and we train a little bit.” There are always a lot of good fighters coming through the gym as well. We have Rob McCullough at the gym right now. Sam Stout. The gym is always full of really tough guys." Danzig has put in all the hard work and sacrifice. He’s trained alongside some of the best in the business. Now it’s time to lay it all on the line and see if Neer can handle it. Based on what he’s been through and what he’s seen, Danzig does not think he will. "The game plan is not to necessarily worry about him and his style,” he said. “I watch tape. I have a pretty good idea on what he is going to do but the main game plan is for me to just fight my fight and impose my will. Like I said I am just looking forward to getting in there with someone who isn't trying to stall or play for points. I'm just going to go at it and not really worry about him or what he brings." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seth Petruzelli, Bobby Lashley and more to return at Roy Jones Jr.-promoted MMA/boxing PPV March 21 Posted: 07 Feb 2009 01:05 PM CST Roy Jones Jr. — one of the greatest pound for pound boxers of all time — has planned an interesting event titled “March Badness” at the Pensacola Civic Center in Pensacola, Fla., for March 21, featuring a hybrid boxing and mixed martial arts card. While Jones is the one promoting the event, he’ll also double as a fighter. In the main event, he’ll step into the ring for the first time since dropping only the fifth fight of his illustrious career to Joe Calzaghe by unanimous decision in November. His opponent will be Omar Sheika (27-8). The MMA portion of the card is expected to feature three pretty solid match-ups. First off, Seth “The Silverback” Petruzelli (10-4) is set to face ex-WEC light heavyweight champion Doug “The Rhino” Marshall (9-3). The “Silverback” is a two-fight UFC veteran (1-1) who was a contestant and semi-finalist on season two of “The Ultimate Fighter.” He hit the MMA lotto in October of last year when he filled in at the last minute for the injured Ken Shamrock in the main event of Elite XC: “Heat” and stopped the previously undefeated YouTube.com street fighting legend Kimbo Slice in 14 seconds. This will be the Orlando native’s first fight since that career-changing win last October. The second fight expected to go down is a heavyweight battle between former International Fight League (IFL) standout Roy “Big Country” Nelson (13-3) and former UFC number one contender Jeff “The Snowman” Monson (27-8). Both guys are well versed in all aspects of the game and this one should be a very technical match-up. Former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley (1-0) will make his second professional start in the last MMA match on the card. The decorated amateur wrestler was scheduled to face Mike Hayes on the Palace Fighting Championships card in California this weekend, but the big man pulled out of the fight almost two weeks ago because of an ankle injury. His opponent for March 21 has not been announced at this time. “March Badness” will only be available on pay-per-view (PPV). Also, if you live in the area, tickets can still be had for as low as $28. It should be an interesting show. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UFC Fight Night 17 odds and betting lines sportsbook Posted: 07 Feb 2009 10:54 AM CST
Time is running out to get your bets in for UFC Fight Night 17. The SpikeTV event at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla., begins TONIGHT (Saturday, Feb. 7) at 9 p.m. ET. And the preliminary card action begins sooner than that around 7 p.m. ET. Therefore, here are the latest UFC Fight Night 17 odds:
Time to put up or shut up for all us keyboard warriors … get in on the action before it’s too late. These are the types of events that — even though they get kind of lost in the shuffle (especially trailing UFC 94) — bettors can score big money nights. Remember that MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action later on this evening. See you then! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UFC Quick Quote: Anderson Silva may not retire after all Posted: 07 Feb 2009 10:36 AM CST
Ed Soares — the manager for UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva — casts a shadow of doubt via MMA Fanhouse on the September 2008 retirement statements made by “The Spider,” who’s been adamant about hanging up his gloves when he fulfills his contractual obligations and hits the ripe old age of 35. Silva turns 34 in April and has five fights remaining on his contract, meaning he could very well retire around the time he initially mentioned — assuming his manager hasn’t done us all a favor and talked him out of it before then. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UFC 94 greasing controversy prompts UFC officials to consider new corner rules Posted: 07 Feb 2009 10:17 AM CST
What was supposed to be the biggest fight in UFC history has somehow mushroomed into the biggest controversy in UFC history, whether we like it or not. During the main event of UFC 94 ‘St. Pierre vs. Penn 2,’ cornerman Phil Nurse applied Vaseline to the back and shoulders of Georges St. Pierre, which is prohibited under the current rules of the sport. Ringside officials noticed the petroleum jelly on the backside of the Canadian and sprung into action, wiping him down with towels after rounds two and three. "Rush" isn't giving excuses for the incident, saying it was just a minor mistake caused by the between-round frenzy and was part of a breathing technique. UFC President Dana White — who is taking the issue very seriously — has since blamed "stupid" cornermen (Greg Jackson and Phil Nurse) for the infraction. Lightweight champion BJ Penn — who was dominated by the Canadian for four straight rounds before he was unable to answer the bell for the fifth and final frame - recently requested that the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) investigate St. Pierre and his corner for "greasing" during their main event fight. The letter to the NSAC states the application of Vaseline put Penn at a serious disadvantage during the fight because as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist, "The Prodigy" relies on his ability to apply techniques and strategies designed to immobilize or cause potential injury to his opponent. In light of the controversy and some gray areas regarding what is allowed and what is not, UFC officials are considering a change in the rules for cornermen. A few of the proposed changes courtesy of SI.com:
Penn and St. Pierre have been engaging in a very public war of words over the incident. St. Pierre vehemently denies any cheating allegations and promises the results would be the same in a third fight - even going so far as to offer to fight him again. Penn has accepted his challenge and wants Dana White to set it up for the summer of 2009. Unfortunately outside of Penn and St. Pierre, not too many people want to make a possible third fight a reality. Whatever hype and excitement that existed prior to January 31 is now long gone thanks to a greasy back and week of finger pointing. If the cornermen involved in the controversy are facing disciplinary action, then hopefully it comes quickly and quietly so that we can get back to the business of cage fighting. No matter where you stand on the issue, I know there are at least two other people, like me, who want this matter to be resolved in a timely manner. Their names are Kenny Florian and Thiago Alves. |
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