MMA Universe

Welcome to MMAPayout.com’s 2009 Power Rankings!

This year’s edition features a slightly new format that considers the gross pay-per-view and gate revenue generated by each fighter in both main and co-main events. The revenue generated by an event will be split 70-30 between the main and co-main events for any given show. The switch was made to include co-main events because the appeal of many PPV shows is no longer singularly driven by the main event; fights like UFC 97, UFC 100, UFC 101, UFC 107, etc. all featured strong co-main events.

*Note that the rankings consider gross revenue – the UFC receives about half of the actual PPV revenue generated by any given event.

Observe the change in position of MMA of the UFC’s fighters from the 2008 rankings:

The results are obviously influenced by the host of factors that impede a fighter from entering the cage regularly, but in combining the results over the last two years we get to see which fighters are consistently involved in the highest grossing events. (Note: fighters that had less than 3 headlining fights were omitted for obvious reasons.)

 Predicting 2010

St-Pierre and Mir will likely become the early favorites to lead 2010 in generated gross revenue, but BJ Penn and Lyoto Machida may not be far behind with big fights rumored for each of them in April and May, respectively.

Anderson Silva’s talent should ensure that he continues to develop as a credible draw. Although it’s too bad he was unable to jump back into the cage soon after his destruction of Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 – that momentum and another stellar performance would have put him over the top.

The wild cards here are Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, and Rich Franklin. Griffin lost a lot more than the fight when he was crumpled by Anderson Silva – his drawing ability saw a dramatic decrease at UFC 106. Evans simply hasn’t competed a great deal, but he could revive much of his drawing ability should he defeat Thiago Silva at UFC 108 and set up the long awaited match between he and Rampage Jackson sometime in May or June. Franklin, isn’t a contender at either the 185 or 205 weight classes, but still retains the name value from his reign as middleweight champion to be an effective secondary draw on occasion.

Possible New Entrants?

Shane Carwin – The heavyweight could easily make next year’s rankings if he is able to defeat Frank Mir in their rumored interim heavyweight title bout this Spring. It would assure him another headlining date – possibly against Brock Lesnar.

Jon Jones – The talented newcomer is set to headline his first show – albeit a cable show on Versus – in March, but could easily land in a main or co-main event role by Summer 2010.  He’s too dynamic not to feature, and the UFC has big plans for this kid.

Kenny Florian – Likely the second best lightweight in the UFC, he’s a virtual guarantee – barring injuries – to be a main or co-main on the UFC PPV in Boston next August. Expect him to fight three times in 2010, and perhaps even challenge for the title once more.

Honorable mentions: Antonio Rodrigo Nogeuira, Cain Velasquez, Rampage Jackson, Vitor Belfort, Nate Marquardt, and Dan Hardy.

According to TMZ.com, UFC President Dana White is in the process of trying to get current heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar into the Mayo Clinic for diagnosis and treatment.

Brock Lesnar is so sick, he’ll be going to the Mayo Clinic so doctors can figure out what to do — but it will probably require major surgery … UFC Prez Dana White tells TMZ.

White tells us Lesnar — the UFC heavyweight champ — is “very, very sick” with some sort of intestinal disorder, although listening to White, it sounds a lot more serious than that. White says the condition will require “major surgery.”

White is going to visit Lesnar in the hospital and is trying to get him transferred to the Mayo Clinic, one of the most renowned medical facilities in the world.

White says Lesnar — formerly of the WWE — was diagnosed with mono more than a week ago and was “bummed out” that he had to cancel the fight and went to Canada to rest. White says Lesnar collapsed in Canada a week ago today and has been hospitalized ever since.

White acknowledges the current condition is not mono but he will not be specific. White says the condition is not HIV or cancer.

And, White tells TMZ, “There’s a possibility Lesnar will never fight again.”

Brock Lesnar? Sick. Lyoto Machida? Hurt. Anderson Silva? Recovering. Georges St. Pierre? Rehabbing. BJ Penn? Busy.

That’s the hand the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was dealt as it prepares for its traditional blockbuster year-end pay-per-view (PPV) event, which is slated for the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2.

So with all its champions unable to headline the card, the promotion today announced that former UFC interim heavyweight champion and mixed martial arts legend, Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, would indeed face off against undefeated rising star, Cain Velasquez, in the UFC 108 main event of the evening.

But just because there is no title at stake doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot on the line.

UFC President Dana White explains the significance:

“Nogueira vs. Velasquez is a great matchup between the present and the future of the heavyweight division. Nogueira showed in the Couture fight that he still has plenty left to offer at the top level of the game, and Velasquez was devastating in his win over Ben Rothwell, so with both guys in top form, we’re definitely going to see a number one contender emerge from this fight to take on the winner of the Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin title fight.”

UFC 108 was expected to feature a reshuffled main event between ailing heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar, and number one division contender, Shane Carwin. However, Lesnar is still suffering from a serious illness, mononucleosis, which scrapped the intended main event at UFC 106 on Nov. 21.

As expected, former 205-pound champion, Rashad Evans, will collide with Brazilian slugger, Thiago Silva, in the co-featured fight of the night.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more on UFC 108 as it develops and everything else.

Props: LA Times

Quoteworthy:

“CBS would be out of their mind to put that rinky-dink [Strikeforce] . . . on the air again … and without that backing, [promoters] won’t have the money to pay [Emelianenko]. The guy just got his face smashed in by Brett Rogers. Do you know what Brock or [UFC heavyweights] Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez would do to Brett Rogers? It’s time to bring [Fedor] in, to see Brock Lesnar smash his head.”

UFC President Dana White has some unkind words for the CBS broadcast of “Saturday Night Fights.” The event featured a main event of Brett Rogers taking on Fedor Emelianenko and while “The Grim” was hanging tough, ultimately fell to an overhand right from the “Last Emperor.” White was not impressed with either fighter, claiming Zuffa champ Brock Lesnar would “smash” the Russian — and also suggesting fellow heavyweights Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez would do likewise against Brett Rogers. Anyone want to take a guess at the outcome of Strikeforce putting their top three heavyweights against the three best 265-pounders the UFC has to offer?

“Guys, my manager Jason Genet just told me that UFC 108 is not happening. Brock has Mono and what the UFC has told me is that I have earned the title shot but I have to wait for the title holder.”

– UFC heavyweight number one contender Shane Carwin engineers another blog post at ShaneCarwin.com confirming his title fight against Brock Lesnar will not happen at UFC 108 on Jan. 2 due to the champ’s lingering illness. The two goliaths were originally set to throw down at UFC 106 on Nov. 21; however, Lesnar was forced to withdraw from the event after spending more than three weeks battling illness, prompting the UFC to postpone the match to a pending date of early 2010. Is this a case for another interim title? Or should the fans (and Carwin) wait patiently for Lesnar to nurse himself back to health? Thoughts?

“I’m not sure exactly what it is he has, mono or whatever, but I know that he was sick and couldn’t get a good, hard workout in. There’s a big difference between making an appearance and smiling and waving at a football game and going out and doing what he has to do in his training.”

– Greg Nelson, the founder, owner and head coach at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy in Minneapolis, Minn., tells Yahoo!Sports.com that his biggest fighter, UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, is still not well. Lesnar was recently forced to withdraw from his upcoming title fight against number one contender, Shane Carwin, at UFC 106 on Nov. 21. It was a difficult decision that did not sit well with most fans, setting off a firestorm on conspiracy theories that Lesnar wasn’t really sick, but just preferred to fight on the blockbuster year-end show, UFC 108, which is scheduled for Jan. 2, 2010. Most of those Oliver Stones pointed to Lesnar’s appearance at a Minnesota Vikings football game as proof that his illness was hogwash. Nelson defends Lesnar, saying that he has been unable to train hard because of the mysterious malady. In fact, he even indicates that Lesnar still has not returned to full strength and that he may have to postpone his return until the Superbowl weekend event in early February.

“Last week was the first week that I actually started feeling better from a strain of the swine flu. I had lost over 15 pounds (something I could not afford to loose) and had just pulled some muscles in my leg during training. As 104 approached my manager said, ‘we should be thankful we are not fighting, from your re-broken nose to the leg, this wasn’t our time’. As I prepared to go to 104, I began slowly realizing what was ahead of me; I needed to be home training and rehabbing, not traveling and missing days of necessary time with my Team. I was due to be fighting for the UFC Heavyweight title. I called Jason back and said you are right, but I can’t go to LA I need to train. I was reminded about my commitments to the fans at Kmart and the Q&A, and I knew I had to go. In LA I was reminded exactly why we do this sport. Fans were all over the place and every interaction was a positive one. While at Kmart I meet a young man who competes in the Special Olympics and he said he looked up to us fighters. I was so taken back by the fact that he put us fighters on a pedestal. Here was this young man who defied incredible odds in life to reach the Olympics and he pushes himself every day to do things you and I take for granted. I was bitching about a flu, my leg (that would heal), and taking time away from training and this young man looks up to me? He gave me his Octagon necklace and I do not think he realized what an impact he made on me. I knew right then that I was going to suck it up and drive on. Edward and the rest of Team Carwin would be the fuel to carry me through the rough times and make sure that come fight night I will be the champion … Fighting for the UFC belt is my path and honestly Brock coming down with his illness only gives me more time to be in that much better shape. It is a blessing if you want to know the truth. I would have never pulled out of the fight. I would wheel myself to the cage if it was my choice. I know this is my destiny and I don’t need everything to be perfect I just need my opportunity to show the world what I can do and who I am.”

UFC heavyweight number one contender Shane Carwin engineers a blog post at ShaneCarwin.com detailing his own troubles leading up to his recently kiboshed UFC 106 title fight against Brock Lesnar. The champ was forced to withdraw from their bout after spending more than three weeks battling illness, prompting the UFC to postpone the match to a pending date of Jan. 2 in Las Vegas. Now Carwin reveals he too was on the mend — but would have preferred they wheel him to the cage in a wheelchair instead of canceling the match. Perhaps they’ll need that wheelchair after he faces Lesnar at UFC 108 — or will he be the one doing the crippling? Opinions, Maniacs?

Props: Las Vegas Sun (via Bloody Elbow):

Quoteworthy:

“He actually practiced (Sunday) and thought he might be feeling alright. He said, ‘Wow, I think I’m doing OK today.’ (Monday) he got here and it was the same old stuff — fatiguing right away, not being all there. After practice we were all sitting around, we were actually going to come back later at night to work out again, and he basically told us, ‘Hey guys, I’m going to pull out of this thing. There’s a lot of cases of (swine flu) around here. I don’t want to say it’s that for sure, but it wouldn’t surprise me. He was very excited for this fight. He was always in good spirits. I could tell he was kind of let down today and he told us he felt really bad.”

Chris Tuchscherer, friend and team mate of current UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar,  recalls the events that led up to the champ’s decision to withdraw from his UFC 106 main event title fight against Shane Carwin on Nov. 21. Lesnar was reportedly sick for weeks and unable to prepare for his pending title defense, prompting him to withdraw from the card altogether as the clock was winding down. The UFC is trying to move the fight to UFC 108 on Jan. 2. Does that mean we get a super-sized show that not only features the former WWE star, but the elbow-impaired Anderson Silva as well? Or does the inclusion of the pay-per-view friendly Lesnar give the UFC a reason to postpone “The Spider’s” bout with Vitor Belfort? Still a lot of debris to sift through. Thoughts?

UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar has been forced to withdraw from his UFC 106 heavyweight title fight on Nov. 21 against Shane Carwin after battling a lengthy illness that kept him from training for over three weeks.

From UFC President Dana White, courtesy of Yahoo Sports:

“He said he’s never been this sick in his life. He said it’s been going on for a long time and he just hasn’t been able to shake it.”

This is devastating news for a pay-per-view that is less than a month away; however, the UFC has already promoted Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz II into the main event slot and is currently assembling a co-main event to help round out the televised portion of the card.

According to Shane Carwin’s official Twitter account, his chance to dethrone Lesnar for the heavyweight strap will come at UFC 108 on Jan. 2 in Las Vegas.

“I just heard from Jason. Looks like it is postponed till Jan 2. I had h1n1 myself and I understand how devastating it can be.”

Carwin was originally paired with Cain Velasquez for UFC 104 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif., to determine a number one contender for Lesnar’s title.

It didn’t last.

With Randy Couture and Antonio Nogueira having already committed to the main event of UFC 102, there were some concerns within the organization that a suitable opponent would not be found for Lesnar by year’s end following his destruction of Frank Mir at UFC 100.

There was also the possibility of eliminating two major prospects within the division in a very short period of time had the winner of Carwin vs. Velasquez gone on to be defeated by the champ.

Velasquez subsequently obliterated Carwin’s replacement, Ben Rothwell, at the Oct. 24 event and with his victory, is likely to face the winner of Lesnar vs. Carwin at some point in 2010.

Unless, of course, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has something to say about it.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more information on this story as it develops.

Kevin Iole is reporting that current UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar has pulled out of his UFC 106 title fight with Shane Carwin.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the news to Yahoo! Sports. White said Lesnar has been ill for more than three-and-a-half weeks and unable to train. With the bout at UFC 106 less than a month away, Lesnar was forced to postpone the title defense.

“He said he’s never been this sick in his life,” White said. “He said it’s been going on for a long time and he just hasn’t been able to shake it.”

White said he does not believe Lesnar had the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu.

White said he is not sure when the fight will be rescheduled or if Carwin will still fight on the card.

“We’re still working everything out,” he said.

It now appears that the Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin light heavyweight fight will now become the main event of the fight card unless the UFC can pull something off in a short period of time.

** UPDATE **

According to Shane Carwin’s Twitter account, it looks like the fight has been pushed back to the UFC 108 New Year’s card on January 2nd.

Special thanks to the Minnesota Vikings for the pic. Follow them on Twitter here.

“I feel like I have paid my dues and so have a lot of fighters waiting for their shot. Brock is what they call a ‘Draw,’ he sells tickets, I am what they call a ‘Fighter,’ I fight who I am told to fight the way my coaches train me too. We are different people and we treat people different. To me this sport is as much about respect and honor as it is paychecks sound bites.”

– Shane Carwin sounds off in a recent interview with FiveOuncesofPain.com about his simmering feud with UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. The war of words kicked off when Carwin criticized Lesnar’s questionable post-fight antics after defeating Frank Mir earlier this year. Lesnar has responded in kind, saying Carwin “hasn’t fought anybody” and that he’s just a Division II wrestler. At this rate, the back-and-forth will more than likely come to a boil way before the pair is locked inside the Octagon together at UFC 106 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 21. Will the fight live up to the hype?