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Here are the official fighter salaries for UFC 108 as released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

• Rashad Evans – $375,000
• Junior Dos Santos: $60,000
• Thiago Silva: $55,000
• Martin Kampmann: $46,000
• Paul Daley: $34,200 *
• Mark Munoz: $32,000
• Gilbert Yvel: $30,000
• Jim Miller: $30,000
• Sam Stout: $24,000
• Cole Miller: $24,000
• Jake Ellenberger: $20,000
• Rafaello Oliveira: $20,000
• Dustin Hazelett: $19,800 *
• Mike Pyle: $16,000
• Dan Lauzon: $15,000
• Joe Lauzon: $12,000
• Duane “Bang” Ludwig: $12,000
• Jacob Volkmann: $6,000
• Ryan Jensen: $6,000
• John Gunderson: $5,000

The UFC also awarded $50,000 superlative bonuses to the following fighters: Paul Daley for “Knockout of the Night”, Jim Miller for “Submission of the Night” and Sam Stout and Joe Lauzon for “Fight of the Night.”

The total disclosed fighter payout was $843,000

* Paul Daley failed to make the contracted weight limit of 170 lbs. and was fined 10% of his fight purse, which was awarded to his opponent, Dustin Hazelett.

According to a new report on tatame.com, heavyweights Junior dos Santos and Gilbert Yvel are expected to fight at UFC 108

Dos Santos was originally slated to fight Gabriel Gonzaga, but Gonzaga withdrew from the fight two weeks ago due a case of staph infection.

Dos Santos last fought in September at UFC 103 where he defeated Mirko Cro Cop via strikes and is riding a four fight winning streak.

Yvel will be making his UFC debut after twelve years of professional MMA competition. The Dutch striker last fought in June when he defeated Pedro Rizzo via KO.

Former lightweight champion Sean Sherk (33-4-1) has been penciled in to collide with promotion sophomore Rafael Oliveira (9-2) at UFC 108, which is slated for the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2, as reported by Wisconsin Combat Sports.

A recent shoulder injury forced Sherk out of his 155-pound match-up against Gleison Tibau at UFC 104: “Machida vs. Shogun” at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif., back on Oct. 24.

At the ripe old age of 35, the “Muscle Shark” looked as though he was heading back into title contention with a unanimous decision win over Tyson Griffin at UFC 90: “Silva vs. Cote,” demonstrating much improved striking skills.

Primarily known for his overwhelming wrestling attack, Sherk’s new multidimensional approach earned him and Griffin the “Fight of the Night.”

Unfortunately, he may have become too reliant on his stand-up and not his wrestling, which was a big factor is his divisional dominance for so many years. That helped Frankie Edgar outpoint him en route to a unanimous decision loss at UFC 98: “Evans vs. Machida” back in May.

Which Sherk shows up for the Oliveira fight remains to be seen.

The “Tractor” had won three straight prior to coughing up a unanimous decision to Nik Lentz in his Octagon debut at UFC 104: “Machida vs. Shogun” just last month. Like Sherk, he is also an aggressive fighter with a strong rate of finishing fights, having stopped 75 percent of his opponents before the final bell.

Finishing the former champ won’t be easy — only two men have been able to do it in 38 attempts.

UFC 108 will produce the next heavyweight number one contender when former Interim champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira takes on surging prospect Cain Velasquez in a bid to determine who will face the winner of Shane Carwin vs. Brock Lesnar at some point in 2010.

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

For more on UFC 108 click here.

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: MMAWeekly

Quoteworthy:

“(Carlos) is a great fight for myself. He’s a great, game striker. Like’s to have a bang, has some good submissions, and a bit of wrestling. But in my opinion, he’s a slightly worse version of (Martin) Kampmann, in that I don’t think he’s as solid in every area as Kampmann is. Of course I think I’m going to win and of course I think I’m going to win by knockout.”

Cocky and confident welterweight striker Paul Daley weighs in on his next opponent, former WEC stud Carlos Condit, who will meet “Semtex” on the main card of UFC 108. The heavy-handed Daley vaulted himself to the upper echelon of welterweights after knocking out Martin Kampmann at UFC 103 on Sept. 19 and doesn’t expect much resistance from “The Natural Born Killer” on Jan. 2. Will the crafty Condit get steamrolled in Las Vegas? Or is Daley getting a little too big for his britches after his win over “The Hitman?”

Former UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Nogueira and rising contender Cain Velasquez are likely going to battle for a No. 1 contender spot at UFC 108 this coming January.

The heavyweight clash will add some much needed punch to a quickly diminishing fight card. The “New Years” event is typically an action-packed fight card with top names throughout the lineup, but a recent rash of injuries has depleted the next three or four UFC Pay-Per-View events.

An already rescheduled heavyweight title fight between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin now appears to be once again in jeopardy for UFC 108, which may very likely leave the event without a championship title fight.

Velasquez is coming of a very strong showing against Ben Rothwell at UFC 104 while “Big Nog” is coming off a victory over Randy Couture at UFC 102 this past August.

Former UFC interim heavyweight champion and mixed martial arts legend, Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, is in talks to take on undefeated rising star Cain Velasquez at UFC 108, which is slated for the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2.

Sensei Sportv (via Tatame.com) was the first to report the potential showdown. No official announcement has come from the promotion, or Velasquez’s camp, at this time.

Stay tuned.

UFC 108 is expected to feature a reshuffled main event between ailing heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar (if he can recover from a serious illness), and number one division contender, Shane Carwin. Former 205-pound champion, Rashad Evans, is currently penciled in to collide with Brazilian slugger, Thiago Silva, in the co-featured fight of the night.

Tickets for UFC 108, which is slated for the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2, will go on sale to the general public on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 12 p.m. PT.

UFC Fight Club members and UFC Newsletter subscribers, naturally, will be able to scoop up tickets prior to them being available for public consumption.

UFC 108 is expected to feature a reshuffled main event between ailing heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar (if he can recover from a serious illness), and number one division contender, Shane Carwin.

Anderson Silva was expected to headline the event, defending his 185-pound title against former light heavyweight champion, Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort. However, “The Spider” will likely need more time to recover from elbow surgery before returning to action so soon in the New Year.

Former 205-pound champion, Rashad Evans, is currently penciled in to collide with Brazilian slugger, Thiago Silva, in the co-featured fight of the night.

UFC 108 will serve as the traditional year-end blockbuster pay-per-view (PPV) show for the promotion, meaning that tickets will likely sell super fast. So don’t delay if you intend to watch it all go down live in “Sin City.”

Here is the UFC 108 tickets sales schedule (all times are PT):

• UFC Fight Club presale: Thursday, Nov. 12 17 at 10 a.m.
• UFC Newsletter presale: Friday, Nov. 13 at 10 a.m.
• General tickets sale: Saturday, Nov. 14 at 12 p.m.

UFC 108 tickets can be purchased through StubHub.com (Note: StubHub often has seats available even if the event is “sold out”). It will also be available to watch on PPV at 10 p.m. ET on fight night.

For more on UFC 108 stay dialed in to MMAmania.com and remember to check out the latest fight card and rumors right here.

There’s a welterweight brouhaha cooking between 170-pound veterans Jake Ellenberger (21-5) and Mike Pyle (19-6-1) for the upcoming UFC 108 card from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2, MMAmania.com can confirm.

Ellenberger is a dangerous striker who got people talking after shutting off the switch on Marcelo Alfaya at Bellator Fighting Championships 9 back on June 12.

The former middleweight made his Octagon debut against the crafty Carlos Condit at UFC Fight Night 19  just last month. The Elite Performance product was pouring it on in the opening round, but “The Natural Born Killer” hung on and survived, squeaking out a split decision victory.

That loss interrupted a four fight winning streak that saw Ellenberger take eight out of ten bouts with five (T)KO stoppages.

Like Ellenberger, Pyle didn’t exactly have it easy in his UFC debut. “Quicksand” was knee deep in submissions trying to overcome the offense of top WEC prospect Brock Larson when he debuted at UFC 98: “Evans vs. Machida.”

Despite getting choked out, Pyle quickly rebounded and did some choking of his own, sending Chris Wilson packing in the third round of their bout at UFC Fight Night 19.

Expect an entertaining and highly competitive scrap between these two.

UFC 108 is expected to feature a main event between 185-pound division deity Anderson “The Spider” Silva defending his division title against former light heavyweight champion Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort. Another former 205-pound champion, Rashad Evans, will also likely return to action against another Brazilian, Thiago Silva, in the co-featured fight of the night.

How the recent dissolution of the UFC 106 main event between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin — now rumored to be heading for Jan. 2 — affects this tentative line up, remains to be seen.

In the meantime, check out the latest UFC 108 fight card and rumors click here.

Up-and-coming middleweights Mark Munoz (6-1) and Ryan Jensen (14-5) have agreed to hook ‘em up in a 185-pound affair at UFC 108 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2, MMAmania.com can confirm.

Munoz first turned some heads with two strong showings under the WEC banner in 2008. The collegiate wrestling champion from Oklahoma State University debuted for the promotion at WEC 34: “Sacramento,” scoring an impressive first round technical knockout win over Chuck Grigsby.

Six months later he was back in action on the WEC 37: “Torres vs. Tapia” card. And, again, he was impressive with a first round technical knockout, this time over WEC newcomer Ricardo Barros.

Munoz looked to carry that momentum into his UFC debut against Matt Hamill on March 7, unfortunately “The Hammer” used a brutal head kick to send  “The Philippine Wrecking Machine” to his first career loss — and a date with a ringside stretcher.

After shaking the cobwebs out, Munoz returned to UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira to outpoint a game Nick Catone to steal the split decision win and hopes to take that momentum into his Jan. 2 affair.

Jensen had a rough start inside the Octagon. After debuting with back-to-back losses to submission specialists Thales Leites and Demian Maia, the Elite Performance fighter went 2-1 outside of the promotion only to return and get submitted by Wilson Gouveia at UFC Fight Night 15.

In what was unquestionably a do-or-die situation, he submitted Steve Steinbeiss via guillotine choke back in September at Fight Night 19 to record his first UFC win.

UFC 108 is expected to feature a main event between 185-pound division deity Anderson “The Spider” Silva defending his division title against former light heavyweight champion Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort. Another former 205-pound champion, Rashad Evans, will also likely return to action against another Brazilian, Thiago Silva, in the co-featured fight of the night.

How the recent dissolution of the UFC 106 main event between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin — now rumored to be heading for Jan. 2 — affects this tentative line up, remains to be seen.

In the meantime, check out the latest UFC 108 fight card and rumors click here.

Hard-hitting welterweight striker Martin Kampmann will try to inch his way back into title contention when he takes on former IFL stud Rory Markham at UFC 108 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2, according to multiple sources.

“The Hitman” last competed at UFC 103: “Franklin vs. Belfort,” going limp against the heavy hands of replacement fighter Paul Daley. “Semtex” stepped in for an injured Mike Swick and delivered the goods for a memorable UFC debut win.

Prior to the loss — just his second in 13 fights — Kampmann had strung together back-to-back wins after dropping to 170-pounds in an effort to test the waters at a lighter weight class.

That’s because his nine-fight win streak was snapped by the much larger Nate Marquardt at UFC 88: “Breakthrough” back in September 2008. It was apparently a wake up call for the Danish kickboxer that perhaps he is better suited to compete in a division 15 pounds lighter.

Kampmann was in line for a possible shot at reigning welterweight kingpin Georges St. Pierre, until the misstep against Daley sent him back to square one. Now he has the chance to rebound against the IFL vet, who is also coming off a knockout loss earlier this year.

Markham ate leather against British export Dan Hardy this past February at UFC 95: “Sanchez vs. Stevenson.” It was a fight that saw him a tad overeager to brawl it out — which he would pay dearly for.

The loss erased the memory of his head kick victory over Brodie Farber at UFC Fight Night 14 in July of last year, a knockout that was widely considered to be one of the most brutal of 2008.

History may repeat itself against Kampmann in January — but who who does the knocking and who gets knocked out?

UFC 108 is expected to feature a main event between 185-pound division deity Anderson “The Spider” Silva defending his division title against former light heavyweight champion Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort. Another former 205-pound champion, Rashad Evans, will also likely return to action against another Brazilian, Thiago Silva, in the co-featured fight of the night.

To check out the latest UFC 108 fight card and rumors click here.

Props: Terra Magazine

Quoteworthy:

“Anderson pulled out some pieces of bones damaged because of the use of his elbows along the years. It’s a simple procedure and he will start training in a month. The surgery took place two and a half weeks ago so he will face Vitor Belfort. Everyone wants this fight, I want this fight. I just think it would be at 88kg whereas Vitor just returned to the event. Be calm people, Spider will throw his web again.”

Anderson Silva’s coach, Josuel Distak, is confident that his star pupil will be healthy enough to throw hands with Vitor Belfort at UFC 108, which is scheduled for Jan. 2, 2010. “The Spider” underwent a minor surgical procedure to remove bone fragments that had been giving his elbow trouble after many years of fighting. Like team mate Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, the recovery time is very quick and “The Phenom” should have his chance to do what no man in the UFC has done before him: Defeat Anderson Silva.

Surging lightweight contender Tyson Griffin (14-2) is in talks to take on the venerable Jim Miller (15-2) at UFC 108 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2, 2010, MMAmania.com can confirm.

The embattled Griffin finally notched himself a finish inside the Octagon after knocking off Hermes Franca at UFC 103 on Sept. 19 in Dallas. The talented Xtreme Couture product is the winner of a staggering five “Fight of the Night” bonuses but had gone to a decision in seven straight bouts dating back to 2006 and taking heat from fans and media alike in his inability to seal the deal — despite going 6-2 during that span.

The veteran lightweight seemed to be keeping himself out of serious title consideration for his inability to finish, something likely to be forgotten — and quickly — if he can make it two stoppages in a row with a finish over the crafty wrestler.

Miller is fresh off a technical knockout win over Steve Lopez at the same event, during which Lopez and his shoulder decided to part ways early into the second round, effectively halting the bout.

It was the fifth fight for the New Jersey product inside the Octagon and his fourth win. A unanimous decision loss to the streaking Gray Maynard at UFC 96 back on March 7 is the only blip during that span. His other wins include Matt Wiman and David Baron.

UFC 108 is expected to feature a main event between 185-pound division deity Anderson “The Spider” Silva defending his division title against former light heavyweight champion Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort. Another former 205-pound champion, Rashad Evans, will also likely return to action against another Brazilian, Thiago Silva, in the co-featured fight of the night.

To check out the latest UFC 108 fight card and rumors click here.

Former WEC welterweight champion, Carlos Condit (24-5), is in talks to take on former Cage Rage 170-pound kingpin, Paul “Semtex” Daley (22-8-2), at UFC 108 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2, 2010, according to Fighters Only magazine.

Condit recently redeemed himself after suffering his first loss in nearly three years, a competitive split decision to top 170-pound contender, Martin Kampmann, at UFC Fight Night 18 back in April. The “Natural Born Killer” was able to somehow survive a brutal first round onslaught dished out by Jake Ellenberger at UFC Fight Night 19 last month to storm back and capture a hard-fought split decision.

The win over Ellenberger was more than likely tougher than Condit, as well as most fans, thought it would be … especially after his undefeated (5-0) and dominating run with Zuffa’s sister promotion.

And it’s not going to get any easier against the hard-hitting British brawler from Nottingham, England.

In fact, Daley actually flattened Kampmann — who had championship-contending hopes on the line — in his Octagon debut at UFC 103 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Sept. 19. The 26-year-old instantly vaulted himself to the upper echelon of welterweights after Mike Swick withdrew from the event.

He’ll be out to cement that status against another top-flight competitor in the division. However, the submission-prone Daley will have to be very aware, and careful, of the submission-savvy Condit if he has any shot at walking away a winner on fight night.

UFC 108 is expected to feature a main event between 185-pound division deity Anderson “The Spider” Silva defending his division title against former light heavyweight champion Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort. Another former 205-pound champion, Rashad Evans, will also likely return to action against another Brazilian, Thiago Silva, in the co-featured fight of the night.

To check out the latest UFC 108 fight card and rumors click here.

That’s the latest ominous word from “The Spider” camp”

“They found some things that they weren’t aware of (during the surgery), which is a good thing. If we’re going to be fighting for the title, we want to make sure Anderson’s 100-percent…. Vitor has not fought in the UFC at 185 pounds. Now, I know people can say Anderson fought for the belt after one fight, and that’s true, but he fought at 185 pounds. At 195 pounds, he didn’t make weight, at first. So he couldn’t make weight at 195 pounds, but now he’s going to fight for the title at 185 pounds?”

Ed Soares, who manages Silva, indicated that out of respect for company president Dana White that they will accept the UFC 108 match, which is scheduled for Jan. 2, 2010, despite their reservations about Belfort’s weighty issues (although he competed twice at 185 pounds before the 195-pound catchweight fight against Rich Franklin last month). Ultimately, he said, it’s a “doctor’s decision” that should come within the next 10 days. Until then, we wait. Impatiently.

The traditional “year-end” show for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) keeps getting bigger.

Literally.

Hard-hitting heavyweights Junior dos Santos and Gabriel Gonzaga are expected to tangle at UFC 108, which is scheduled to take place from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2, 2010, according to Fighters.com.

“Cigano” recently cemented his place among the heavyweight big guns when he had former Pride FC star Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic pleading for “No Mas!” after a three-round drubbing at UFC 103 just last month. The Brazilian slugger is now undefeated (3-0) inside the Octagon with three straight technical knockout finishes.

Gonzaga, on the other hand, warmly welcomed Chris Tuchscherer to the promotion with a devastating first round ball bash at UFC 102 back in August. The Minnesota Martial Arts Academy-trained fighter was given time to recover; however, he returned to get utterly smashed shortly thereafter by a relentless “Napao.”

It marked the third win in four attempts for Gonzaga. But the former number one contender has struggled against top competition. He’ll try to shuck that label once again when he squares off against his fellow countryman on fight night.

UFC 108 is expected to feature a main event between 185-pound division deity Anderson “The Spider” Silva defending his division title against former light heavyweight champion Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort. Another former 205-pound champion, Rashad Evans, will also likely return to action against another Brazilian, Thiago Silva, in the co-featured fight of the night.

To check out the latest UFC 108 fight card and rumors click here.

Bout agreements have been distributed for a possible lightweight match up between Dan Lauzon and Cole Miller at UFC 108, which is scheduled to take place from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2, 2010 according to MixedMartialArts.com.

“The Upgrade” (12-2) will return to action after a back injury forced him to withdraw from his scheduled fight against Rafaello “Tractor” Oliveira at UFC 103 back on Sept. 19 in Dallas.

The East Bridgewater, Mass., native was extracted from the rubble that was Affliction MMA shortly after the “Trilogy” event went belly up and his fight against Chris Horodecki was canceled when the promotion decided to pull the plug on its fighting endeavors.

Lauzon — the younger brother of current UFC lightweight and The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 alum Joe Lauzon — has strung together an impressive eight-fight win streak since suffering back-to-back losses more than two years ago (Spencer Fisher and Deividas Taurosevicius).

“The Upgrade” was the youngest fighter ever to compete inside the Octagon (18) when he accepted a fight against the much more experienced (and older) Fisher at UFC 64 back in Oct. 2006, which he dropped via first round technical knockout.

Now he’s back to try his luck one more time inside the Octagon — but don’t expect a very warm welcome from Cole Miller upon his return.

“Magrino” is a talented submission specialist who fell just short of the TUF finals, eventually succumbing to Dan’s older brother Joe Lauzon after being rattled with an illegal punch to the back of his head in the TUF 5 semifinals.

Since his UFC debut in June of 2007, Miller has gone 4-2, including an impressive submission victory over exiled lightweight Jorge Gurgel at UFC 86 and then the quick work of Junie Browning at UFC Fight Night 18 last April.

While his most recent appearance ended with a TKO loss to undefeated TUF champion Efrain Escudero, Miller is still considered one of the division’s brighter prospects.

In short, expect an exciting fight from these two hungry up-and-comers.

UFC 108 is expected to serve as the promotion’s traditional “year-end” event because the Christmas holiday falls on the last weekend of 2009. Former light heavyweight champion Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort has been courted to challenge current division deity Anderson “The Spider” Silva in the night’s main event.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more information on UFC 108 as it becomes available.