MMA Universe

Props: SportsRadioInterviews.com

Quoteworthy:

"Life is kinda moving along pretty fast now, especially after this (Andre) Arlovski fight. I feel this is well deserved, I mean, everything that happened, happened for a reason, and I was the one to complete it. I feel that I’m a different fighter for Fedor; he hasn’t felt the power that he’s about to get. He’s talented, but the same things he’s skilled in, I’m skilled in. It’s just we’re gonna see who’s more hungry."

Undefeated heavyweight wrecking machine Brett Rogers anticipates giving former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko more power than he can handle when the two clash this Fall for the Strikeforce promotion on Showtime. "Da Grim" has taken a serious step up in competition after knocking out Andrei Arlovski at the "Lawler vs. Shields" event back in June. Is he ready to dethrone "The Last Emperor?" Or will Emelianenko drop the iron curtain on the aspiring heavyweight? Time will tell…

"Leben hasn’t spent much time on the ground with somebody who’s really tried to pass his guard and advance positions. I knew sooner or later that was going to come out of him, he was going to get frustrated. He’s tough. He’s got a good chin and he doesn’t tap. I knew that I was basically going have to put him out. I want to become the best fighter I can become down the road. If I’m able to go out there, stand-up and frustrate people and really use my boxing and striking to set up those takedowns, they’re going to come easier. It’s going to wear those people down and give me more opportunities when I do get it to the ground."

Up-and-coming middleweight Jake Rosholt reflects on his UFC 102 win over former TUF bad boy Chris Leben at UFC 102 on August 29 in Portland. The decorated collegiate wrestler tells Cagewriter that his ability to frustrate his opponents will be the key to his success going forward as it was against "The Crippler." Does Rosholt have the goods to become a serious threat to the top 185-pounders? Or is he boarding a sinking ship on the seas of Belfort, Marquardt and Silva? Opinions please…

The Oregon State Athletic Commission today issued its list of medical suspensions for UFC 102, which took place on Saturday, August 29 from The Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon.

As standard practice for combat sports in “The Beaver State,” all 22 fighters were issued medical suspensions for their participation in the “Couture vs. Nogueira” pay-per-view event.

While everyone got a mandatory time-out, most of the suspensions were only for seven days as a precautionary measure.

UFC middleweight Ed Herman got the stiffest sentence, getting suspended indefinitely after blowing out his knee in the second round against Aaron Simpson.

Other notable and lengthy health-related suspensions were dished out to Tim Hague (60 days) for being put to sleep by Todd Duffee and Chris Tuchscherer (45 days) for his facial laceration suffered at the hands of Gabriel Gonzaga.

Here is the complete list of UFC 102 injuries and their medical instructions:

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira — 30-day suspension for precautionary reasons
Randy Couture — 30-day suspension for precautionary reasons
Nogueira defeated Couture via unanimous decision

Thiago Silva — Seven-day mandatory minimum suspension
Keith Jardine — 30-day suspension for precautionary reasons
Silva defeated Jardine via technical knockout (strikes)

Jake Rosholt — Seven-day mandatory minimum suspension
Chris Leben — 30-day suspension and must have CT scan of possible facial fractures
Rosholt defeated Leben via submission (arm-triangle choke)

Nate Marquardt — Seven-day mandatory minimum suspension
Demian Maia — 21-day suspension for precautionary reasons
Marquardt defeated Maia via knockout (punch)

Brandon Vera — Seven-day mandatory minimum suspension
Krzystzof Soszynski — 30-day suspension for facial laceration
Vera defeated Soszynski via unanimous decision

Aaron Simpson — Seven-day mandatory minimum suspension
Ed Herman — Suspended indefinitely and must have left knee cleared by a physician
Simpson defeated Herman via technical knockout (knee injury)

Gabriel Gonzaga — Seven-day mandatory minimum suspension
Chris Tuchscherer — 45-day suspension due to facial laceration
Gonzaga defeated Tuchscherer via technical knockout (strikes)

Mike Russow — Seven-day mandatory minimum suspension
Justin McCully — 30-day suspension due to possible left-eye injury
Russow defeated McCully via unanimous decision

Todd Duffee — Seven-day mandatory minimum suspension
Tim Hague — 60-day suspension for precautionary reasons
Duffee defeated Hague via knockout (punches)

Mark Munoz — 30-day suspension for right-elbow injury
Nick Catone — Seven-day mandatory minimum suspension
Munoz defeated Catone via split decision

Evan Dunham — Seven-day mandatory minimum suspension
Marcus Aurelio — 14-day suspension for precautionary reasons
Dunham defeated Aurelio via split decision

Just a quick reminder: Fighters often return to action much quicker once doctors give them the green light. The lengthy suspensions are just a precaution in most cases.

For complete results and coverage of UFC 102 click here and here .

Michael DiSanto, UFC - The first word that comes to mind the morning after UFC 102 is WOW.The televised portion of the fight card, while not stacked with championship bouts, was as entertaining as any in recent memory. In fact, it had a little something for everyone.

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - It was Gerard Butler's first UFC event, and the star of the upcoming film "Gamer" (which opens in theatres this Friday, September 4th), and as he makes clear, being in Philadelphia for UFC 102 earlier this month was quite an eye-opening experience.

Here are the official fighter salaries for UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira as released by the Oregon State Athletic Commission.

• Antonio Nogueira – $400,000
• Randy Couture – $250,000
• Gabriel Gonzaga – $120,000
• Nate Marquardt – $80,000
• Brandon Vera – $70,000
• Thiago Silva – $58,000
• Keith Jardine – $55,000
• Chris Leben – $30,000
• Demian Maia – $28,000
• Jake Rosholt – $26,000
• Ed Herman – $24,000
• Mark Munoz – $24,000
• Mike Russow – $20,000
• Aaron Simpson – $18,000
• Justin McCully – $15,000
• Evan Dunham – $14,000
• Marcus Aurelio – $13,000
• Chris Tuchscherer – $10,000
• Todd Duffee – $10,000
• Krzysztof Soszynski – $8,000
• Tim Hague – $7,000
• Nick Catone – $5,000

The UFC also awarded $60,000 “superlative” bonuses for the event. Randy Couture and Antonio Nogueira both won for “Fight of the Night,” Jake Rosholt won for “Submission of the Night,” and Nate Marquardt won for “Knockout of the Night.”

The total disclosed fighter payroll was $1,285,000.

WEC stars Donald Cerrone and Leonard Garcia will join us tonight at 9 p.m. ET on MMAmania.com’s exclusive presentation of Pro MMA Radio .

“Cowboy” will weigh in on his recently postponed interim title fight against Ben Henderson that is now scheduled for October 10 while “Bad Boy” sounds off on his split-decision victory over Jameel Massouh at WEC 42.

Make sure you stick around to hear about their “Fighter House” venture and what happened when they ran into WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner backstage at UFC 101.

Hosted by Larry Pepe, Pro MMA Radio is professional, guest-driven program that features some of mixed martial arts biggest names.

If you’re looking for a radio show that revolves around a couple of MMA fans ranting and raving about everything that’s already been covered ad nauseam, then Pro MMA Radio probably isn’t for you.

However, if you want to hear from actual fighters and industry insiders answering questions that are relevant to the current MMA scene, tune in every Monday night at 9 p.m. ET for our exclusive live feed.

See you tonight at 9 p.m. ET!

“Boxing is bullshit.”

Paulie Malignaggi, disgust written all over his face, all over his body language, repeated the mantra:

“Boxing is bullshit.”

With those words, Paulie Malignaggi summed up the feelings of so many combat sports fans, and answered exactly why it is that boxing is commonly referred to as a dying sport, especially in terms of comparison with its more dynamic sibling, Mixed Martial Arts.

Malignaggi had fought a close fight against Juan Diaz in Diaz’s hometown of Houston, Texas, one which most observers, including this one, thought he had taken by a round or two.  Unfortunately for Paulie, the only observers that counted, the judges, all saw it the other way, with one judge laughably awarding ten of the twelve rounds to Diaz.

Although Paulie and his supporters were complaining of a robbery, this was too close a fight to fit that description; still, that one judge’s scorecard — ten rounds to two — sticks in the craw as so egregious (if you watched the fight, there’s simply no way to reasonably explain the score) that it should in the future become some sort of shorthand reference to the corruptibility of judicial scoring in boxing.  Given Malignaggi’s heartfelt and memorable post-fight promo, this might indeed come to pass.

Boxing is bullshit, everyone has known it for decades, and now there’s a boxer screaming it in the ring after he’s on the losing end of a decision he believes he deserves.  Fans watching — even those who believe Diaz won — know that ten rounds to two is a travesty.  The worst part about this is how unsurprising it all is.  Boxing fans have actually become conditioned to expect a screwjob if a fight goes the distance.

If asked to name the promoter to have gained the most from boxing’s skulduggery many would probably name Don King, but I want to suggest another: Dana White.  Much has been made of all that UFC and Dana White have done right in terms of growing their business, but I wouldn’t underestimate the value to UFC in all that boxing has done wrong.  At the very least, in a parallel universe where over the last 15 years the top boxers fought the top boxers, and decisions were not obviously corrupt, UFC would have had a much more difficult time making inroads against the established sport.  We’ve reached the point now, in 2009, where boxing matches that would have been placed on ppv a year or two ago, and would have provided at least some level of competition against UFC, are now airing on HBO pay cable.

On September 19, there’s going to be a lot of talk about MMA (UFC 103) vs. boxing (Mayweather/Juan Manuel Marquez) as the UFC and Mayweather pay-per-views go head-to-head, but the fact of the matter is that discussing the ppv battle at that level of generality, MMA vs. boxing, is either ignorant or disingenuous.  It’s not MMA that’s huge; rather, it’s UFC whose business is booming.  Likewise, what Mayweather is able to draw on ppv has no relation at all to the state of boxing’s health.  I fully expect Mayweather to outdraw 103 on ppv (based primarily on UFC’s lackluster line-up), perhaps significantly, and for the ”Bible of Boxing,” The Ring, to make way more of it than it deserves, but the real story was told last week, in Houston, Texas, for anyone bothering to listen.

Props: Winnipeg Sun

Quoteworthy:

"I fought an A-level fighter, we went the distance, and he didn’t dominate me. I’ll come back a lot stronger from this fight the next time around. I don’t know how to explain it, but I just felt flat. It wasn’t my day. When my head told my body to go, it just wouldn’t respond. Brandon Vera is very good, and he’s very tough. He’s the toughest and most skilled fighter I’ve ever fought. But I learned I belong in the UFC and that I’m here to stay. I know where the A level is, and I know how close I am to it. I’ll get there. I know I will."

Former Ultimate Fighter 8 contestant Krzysztof Soszynski talks about his unanimous decision loss to Brandon Vera at UFC 102: "Couture vs. Nogueira" on August 29 in Portland. "The Polish Experiment" took the fight on short notice to fill in for the injured Matt Hamill but came up short on the judges scorecards after being picked apart on his feet by "The Truth." The tough Canadian vows to come back better than ever and no doubt UFC fans will see him return to the Octagon sooner rather than later.

Props: BloodyElbow.com

Check out more videos and interviews from UFC 102: ‘Couture vs. Nogueira’ including Jake Rosholt, Nate Marquardt and the post-fight press conference after the jump.

MMAPayout.com has learned from the Oregon State Athletic Commission that the total disclosed payroll for UFC 102 was $1,285,000. The fighter by fighter breakdown:

• Antonio Nogueira – $250,000 + $150,000 = $400,000
• Randy Couture – $250,000
• Thiago Silva – $29,000 + $29,000 = $58,000
• Keith Jardine – $55,000
• Jake Rosholt – $13,000 + $13,000 = $26,000
• Chris Leben -  $30,000
• Nate Marquardt – $40,000 + $40,000 = $80,000
• Damien Maia – $28,000
• Brandon Vera – $35,000 + $35,000 = $70,000
• Krzysztof Soszynski – $8,000
• Aaron Simpson – $9,000 + $9,000 = $18,000
• Ed Herman – $24,000
• Gabriel Gonzaga – $60,000 + $60,000 = $120,000
• Chris Tuchscherer – $10,000
• Mike Russow – $10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000
• Justin McCully – $15,000
• Todd Duffee – $5,000 + $5,000 = $10,000
• Tim Hague – $7,000
• Mark Munoz – $12,000 + $12,000 = $24,000
• Nick Catone – $5,000
• Evan Dunham – $7,000 + $7,000 = $14,000
• Marcus Aurelio – $13,000

The official fighter purses for those who competed at UFC 102: “Couture vs. Nogueira” this past Saturday night (August 29) from the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, were released earlier today and come courtesy of MMAWeekly.

Two former champions — Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira — were the big winners of the night, taking home a combined $650,000. Not too shabby considering they also tacked on another 60 grand with their sensational “Fight of the Night” performance.

Former number one heavyweight contender Gabriel Gonzaga was the only other competitor to break six figures (along with breaking the sack of C-Tuch). “Napao” raked in $120,000 for his nut-cracking win.

Thiago Silva, Brandon Vera and Nate Marquardt also made off with boku bucks following their winning performances.

Here is the complete list of UFC 102 payouts:

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira — $400,000 ($250,000 to show, $150,000 to win)
Randy Couture — $250,000
Nogueira defeated Couture via unanimous decision

Thiago Silva — $58,000 ($29,000 to show, $29,000 to win)
Keith Jardine — $55,000
Silva defeated Jardine via technical knockout (strikes)

Jake Rosholt — $26,000 ($13,000 to show, $13,000 to win)
Chris Leben — $30,000
Rosholt defeated Leben via submission (arm-triangle choke)

Nate Marquardt — $80,000 ($40,000 to show, $40,000 to win)
Demian Maia — $28,000
Marquardt defeated Maia via knockout (punch)

Brandon Vera — $70,000 ($35,000 to show, $35,000 to win)
Krzystzof Soszynski — $8,000
Vera defeated Soszynski via unanimous decision

Aaron Simpson — $18,000 ($9,000 to show, $9,000 to win)
Ed Herman — $24,000
Simpson defeated Herman via technical knockout (knee injury)

Gabriel Gonzaga — $120,000 ($60,000 to show, $60,000 to win)
Chris Tuchscherer — $10,000
Gonzaga defeated Tuchscherer via technical knockout (strikes)

Mike Russow — $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Justin McCully — $15,000
Russow defeated McCully via unanimous decision

Todd Duffee — $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 to win)
Tim Hague ($7,000)
Duffee defeated Hague via knockout (punches)

Mark Munoz — $24,000 ($12,000 to show, $12,000 to win)
Nick Catone — $5,000
Munoz defeated Catone via split decision

Evan Dunham — $14,000 ($7,000 to show, $7,000 to win)
Marcus Aurelio — $13,000
Dunham defeated Aurelio via split decision

Keep in mind the salaries listed above do not include fight bonuses, sponsorships, percentages and other unofficial payments. It also does not include deductions for expenses such as insurance, taxes, etc.

For example, the UFC often hands out extra cash for “Fight of the Night,” “Knockout of the Night” and “Submission of the Night.” To check out these figures for UFC 102 go here.

The total base fighter payroll for the blockbuster pay-per-view (PPV) event, which attracted an official crowd of 16,088 attendees and a solid gate of $1.92 million, was $1,285,000.

For complete results and coverage of “Couture vs. Nogueira” click here and here.

Following his loss to Antonio Nogueira in the main event of UFC 102, Randy Couture announced that he had signed a new six-fight contract with the UFC.

The new contract will replace Couture’s existing contract and will cover a potential total of six fights over a period of 28 months.

“We just signed a new contract, today [August 29]. 28 months, six more fights. The opportunity to stay with the organization was my motivation. The way things are going this is the place to be. I intend to finish my career here in the UFC. I’m going to take it one fight at a time as I did 12 years ago when I started this thing. I’ll see where that goes. I’m interested in interesting fights. There’s a lot of guys in both divisions that are interesting to fight.”

At the age of 46, the UFC hall of famer is clearly slowing down and showing his age. My question is this: do any of us really want to see Randy fight six more times? Do any of us really want to see Randy fight until age 48 or 49? Does Zuffa really think Randy Couture is that big of a name draw that he is worth fighting until he his half a century old?

I, for one, and not interested in seeing Randy vs. Chuck IV. I’m not interested in seeing Randy vs. Tito II. I’m not even interested in seeing Randy vs. Mirko.

Here are the results for the MMA HQ Fight Camp at MMAPlayground.com after Saturday night’s UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira event.

Points Winners
1. chosen141 – 56 pts
2. Bola14 – 55 pts
3. maxx – 50 pts
4. i_rgenius 50 pts
5. MMAHQ – 49 pts

Wager Winners
1. robnashivlle – $6,333
2. maxx – $306
3. chosen141 – $270
4. Bola14 – $260
5. MMAHQ – 255

Current Season Standings
1. Banned2 – 165 pts
2. MMAHQ – 153 pts (+2)
3. robnashville – 152 pts (+2)
4. Bola14 – 151 pts (+3)
5. Lam – 149 pts (+1)

UFC 102 was a tough event for a lot of the fight camp members and the overall season standings where shaken up a bit. There are still seven events left this season, so there is plenty of time for anyone to claw their way to the top, but with each passing event the odds get smaller and smaller.

UFC 102 was the third of ten events for Season 6. If you are interested in joining the MMA HQ Fight Camp, now is a great time. You have only missed two events, and have plenty of events left to make a run at the title in Seaon 6.

"I expected him to come out aggressive, I waited for him to make the first move and I countered with the jab. I kind of felt him on the ground, I saw him go ‘Oh Shit!’ so I was like ‘Man, maybe he’s hurt’ so I went after him. I want to fight the best of the best. I want to fight the top guys when they’re at the top. I want to find out where I stand in the history books. I don’t want the ‘gimme fights’ because I train too hard and work too hard to do that."

Up-and-coming heavyweight sensation Todd Duffee reacts to his seven-second knockout over Tim Hague at UFC 102 on August 29 in Portland. The 23-year-old American Top Team product pushed his perfect record to 5-0 while setting a new UFC record for fastest knockout — however refuses to rest on his laurels, instead calling for fights against "top guys." Does the 6′3" 260-pound slugger have the goods to make a run at the division title? Or is he in for a rude awakening against the promotion’s elite players? Opinions please…

Main Card
• Antonio Nogueira def. Randy Coture via unanimous decision
• Thiago Silva def. Keith Jardine via TKO in Rd. 1
• Nate Marquardt def. Demian Maia via TKO in Rd. 1
• Brandon Vera def. Kryzsztof Soszynski via unanimous decision
• Jake Rosholt def. Chris Leben via submission in Rd. 3

Undercard
• Aaron Simpson def. Ed Herman via TKO in Rd. 2
• Gabriel Gonzaga def. Chris Tuchscherer via TKO in Rd. 1
• Mike Russow def. Justin McCully via unanimous decision
• Todd Duffee def. Tim Hague via KO in Rd. 1
• Mark Munoz def. Nick Catone via split decision
• Evan Dunham def. Marcus Aurelio via split decision

Check out the final footage of Couture’s seven-part UFC 102 blog series after the jump.

…and Keith Jardine is apparently the first recipient. Ouch.

“For most of the people who say you’re done, when you can come back and prove you’re still in the game and put on a good fight, that’s what I did. I worked a lot, more than I ever did in my life for this fight. A lot of respect I have for (Couture), he’s a true champion. I have a lot of respect for him, that’s why I trained so hard to put on a good show. It was a tough fight but I was prepared for that. I was ready to go five rounds.”

–Former PRIDE Heavyweight and UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira talks about his thrilling victory over former champ Randy “The Natural” Couture at the post-fight press conference for UFC 102 on August 29 in Portland. “Minotauro” came under heavy criticism following his TKO loss to Frank Mir at last year’s UFC 92 event. The stoppage, the first of Big Nog’s career, opened the door for speculation that years of abuse had finally caught up to the battle-weary veteran and that his fighting days were numbered. Nogueira, in very Couture-like fashion, proved he cannot be counted out under any circumstance. The question now of course is where does he go from here? Fantasy matchmakers, do your thing…