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| UFC 97 bonuses and awards for ‘Redemption’ PPV fights Posted: 18 Apr 2009 11:57 PM PDT
UFC 97: "Redemption" from The Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, 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 $70,000 each. The promotion dished out its standard post-fight monetary bonuses to four out of the 24 fighters on the card. And it shouldn't come as a shock whose wallets are leaving Quebec a little heavier. In addition to their base salaries, the UFC awarded lightweight warriors Sam Stout and Matt Wiman “Fight of the Night” for their gritty back-and-forth 155-pound war. It was a bout that was originally scheduled for the under card portion of the show, but when time expired both “Hands of Stone” and “Handsome” were bumped into the spotlight of the evening’s pay-per-view. And they certainly made the most of their opportunity. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who at one time was considered one of the world’s finest light heavyweights, may have moved a step closer to reaffirming that label after icing Chuck Liddell with a crushing left hand late in the first round. It not only earned him “Knockout of the Night,” but perhaps the dubious honor of being the man who retired the fading Liddell. “Submission of the Night” went to The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 alum Krzysztof Soszynski for his relatively quick work over former WEC banger Brian Stann. “The Polish Experiment” locked in a painful first round kimura to move himself up the light heavyweight ladder.. Here are the special fight bonuses for UFC 97:
Again, each fighter received $70,000 extra for their performances in addition to their respective base salaries, which we will pass along as soon as possible. For complete UFC 97 results and blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action click here and here. |
| UFC 97 recap and final thoughts Posted: 18 Apr 2009 10:09 PM PDT
UFC 97: "Redemption" from the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, has come to a close. And it was a record-setting performance for UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, scoring his ninth straight win inside the Octagon with a unanimous decision win over Thales Leites in the main event of the evening. That’s right, “The Spider” was taken the distance for the for the first time in his career since 2004, which clearly did not sit well with the fans sitting ringside or on their couches at home. The 185-pound showdown turned out to be quite a chess match (that’s being quite generous) with little to no real action for 25 minutes. Silva didn’t do much in the first two rounds against the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist, opting to keep his distance and stay out of harms way. But when he did attempt to engage, Leites did what most laymen and keyboard warriors would do and flopped to the canvas, looking to bait Silva into a ground match. He didn’t bite for a majority of the fight, but when he did hang with Leites on the ground he used the opportunity to lump him up. He couldn’t seal the deal, however, when all was said and done and it went to the judges scorecards. That is more than likely a tougher pill to swallow for everyone outside the Octagon tonight who wanted to see a devastating finish after the Patrick Cote debacle just last year. It didn’t happen. And Silva in his post-fight remarks didn’t seem to concerned about the perception, saying fans sometimes just don’t get it. He’s right, but that fight was just downright painful to watch … maybe that’s what happens when a title challenger gets his big chance with a finish over Drew McFedries. In the co main event, Chuck Liddell, with his legendary career seemingly hanging in the balance, had his back up against the wall against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, who many anointed the best fighter at 205 pounds not too long ago. He just couldn’t get it done.
“Shogun” found the button midway through the first round that has been his downfall of late with a straight left that put the “Iceman” on his back once again. He finished of the dazed 39-year-old fighter with a barrage of strikes for which Liddell had no answer. That’s now four losses in five attempts for the former world beater who “got caught” once again. He didn’t announce his retirement in the post-fight interview, saying “he just didn’t feel right.” But his future as a mixed martial arts headliner is certainly in serious doubt. This writer didn’t really feel right seeing it go down the way it did because he is such a staple of the sport. It was a very sad scene. No one of his stature should be forced into retirement, which is how it appears to have unfolded. However, perhaps that’s the best thing for him right now. He’ll clearly have a good talk with his good friend and boss, UFC President Dana White, about what the future holds. But at this point it doesn’t appear to be too rosy. The opposite can be said for Rua — talk about a big win that more than likely silenced the many critics … for now. Shogun is back, maniacs. That’s a good thing. The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) alum, Krzysztof Soszynski, was up next against against’ “The All American” Brian Stann — who revealed before the fight that he had been training for essentially four straight months at Team Jackson. Too bad he can’t get any of that time back. “The Polish Experiment” needed literally minutes to takedown the former Marine and sink-in a fight ending submission, which was a kimura that had Stann tapping almost immediately. It was an impressive win for the Team Quest fighter in front on his hometown fans, putting him in a nice position moving forward. Stann’s path, however, is not so certain now that he has tasted defeat for the second time in just as many fights. Cheick Kongo was out to prove that he is indeed a top contender in the heavyweight division against Antoni Hardonk, as well as string together his third straight win inside the Octagon. Mission accomplished. The Parisian weathered an early storm in the first round from the Dutch kickboxer, who was pressing the action in the early going with his crisp stand up attack. Kongo eventually responded with some nice strikes of his own and changed it up with a takedown and solid ground and pound. It was more of the same in the second round — Kongo dropped Hardonk early and followed it up with punishing ground strikes, cutting Hardonk open under the left eye. From that point forward, Hardonk had no answer for the domination and the referee had no other choice but to step in and call a halt to the action. Kongo scored a solid — but not spectacular win — that should get him back in the mix among the top dogs in the division later in 2009. He’s certainly an imposing force that could once again stir some serious waves in the very near future. Good luck, heavyweights. Three-fight UFC veteran and knockout specialist, Luis Cane, tonight had the pleasure of putting the last man to hold the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) light heavyweight belt, Steve Cantwell, to the first big test of his career inside the Octagon. And even though the “Robot” was game, he just didn’t have enough to pull out a win against “Banha.” The action-packed fight never hit the canvas — both gladiators traded leather for 15 straight minutes. Cane appeared to get the best of it in the first round and Cantwell rebounded in the second to make it close. However, Cane did what he had to do when in mattered most in the final frame, picking his spots and nailing Cantwell with several powerful strikes that found their marks. In the end, Cane notched his third straight victory inside the eight-walled cage with a unanimous decision, handing Cantwell his first loss in five fights. It was a solid scrap, which Cantwell can chalk up to solid experience against one of the best in the division …. a status that Cane deserves now of he didn’t have it already. UFC 97 was a solid but certainly not spectacular show. But it was an entertaining night that has some huge implications moving forward. For complete “Redemption” results and blow-by-blow coverage click here. We’ve said enough for one night, not it’s time to hear your thoughts. What did you think? |
| Posted: 18 Apr 2009 01:51 PM PDT
Click the banner above or right here for up-to-the-minute results and blow-by-blow coverage of UFC 97: "Redemption." 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 97 results post and not this one. Enjoy the show, Maniacs! |
| Reminder: Discount BSN supplements sale in full swing! Posted: 18 Apr 2009 01:33 PM PDT
Head over to FeelItNutrition.com right now to lock-in the awesome savings right here. |
| Chuck Liddell: Shogun Rua could be the first Brazilian on Mars (Video) Posted: 18 Apr 2009 12:02 PM PDT After the Iceman “kicks his head to the next planet …” |
| Nick Diaz passes drug test following Strikeforce win on April 11 Posted: 18 Apr 2009 11:45 AM PDT
Nick Diaz defeated Frank Shamrock via technical knockout at Strikeforce: “Shamrock vs. Diaz” from the HP Pavilion on Saturday, April 11 in San Jose, California. And now the California State Athletic Commission Assistant Executive Officer Bill Douglas has confirmed that he did it without the assistance of marijuana or any type of performance enhancing drugs, according to MMAWeekly. Here’s a snip:
Diaz tested positive for marijuana after his surprising and sensational win over PRIDE FC 160-pound champion Takanori Gomi at PRIDE 33 back on February 24, 2007. That win was quickly overturned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) and Diaz was suspended for six months. Because of that suspension, Diaz was unable to secure a corner's license for his brother Nate’s fight against Manny Gamburyan at The Ultimate Fighter Finale 5. Prior to the Shamrock fight, Diaz told the LA Times he was able to beat drug tests with the help of herbal cleansers and ten gallons of water per day. Were those claims just vintage Diaz? Or does the man with the medical marijuana card really know how to cheat the system? |
| UFC 97 video blog with Dana White (Episode three) Posted: 18 Apr 2009 07:37 AM PDT St. Pierre whoops BJ Penn once again: |
| Wanderlei Silva declares war on ‘cocky’ Anderson Silva Posted: 18 Apr 2009 07:30 AM PDT
Props: Sherdog.com Quoteworthy:
Former 205-pound Pride FC wrecking machine Wanderlei Silva has not taken kindly to recent statements made by current UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva, which referred to the “Axe Murderer” as “pretentious” for deciding to move down to middleweight. Now Wanderlei — who used to train alongside Anderson in the glory days of Chute Boxe — wants to beat his face badly for talking about him. Sounds like we got some serious beef brewing … who wants to see it settled inside the Octagon? |
| Dana White: UFC 97 could be Chuck Liddell’s last fight inside the Octagon Posted: 18 Apr 2009 07:14 AM PDT With all the “he said-she said” surrounding this issue leading up to tonight one has to wonder if White is merely doing his best to capture more interest by saying the things he has been saying. Or, perhaps “Shogun” could indeed be the man who melts “Iceman” once and for all. Color me curious. |
| Kingdom MMA weigh in results for ‘Miller vs. Hose’ Posted: 18 Apr 2009 07:06 AM PDT
Kingdom MMA — the latest creation from former SuperBrawl and Icon Sport founder T. Jay Thompson — is now set to stage its first-ever show from the Blaisdell Center Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii, later on this evening (April 18) now that the official weigh-ins are in the books. Main event participants, Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Kala Hose, have been given the green light to compete after each hitting the 185-pound mark. “Mayhem,” however, came in a half-pound heavy and needed additional time to shed the weight. This is an interesting battle between two former Icon Sport champions and island rivals — both fighters are eager to stake their claims on Hawaii bragging rights. The rest of the card has been packed with local-area talent looking to breakthrough and emerge as future stars. Here are the complete Kingdom MMA weigh in results:
Note: Fighters are allowed to weigh one pound more than the division limit in non-title fights. For those fans fortunate enough to be in the “Aloha State” today (Saturday, April 18), remember that the doors to the Blaisdell Center Arena open at 6:30 p.m. local time and the first fight starts at 7:30 p.m. All others should keep in mind that the under card portion of the event will be streamed live on BJPenn.com, beginning at 10:30 p.m. PT. MMAmania.com will pass along the latest “Kingdom MMA” results as soon as possible. The final preparations and setup are underway. |
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