Posted on 27-08-2008
Filed Under (Fedor Emelianenko, Randy Couture) by RedSweat

Here are some pics of the top two heavyweights in the world, Fedor and Couture, grappling at a gym in LA apparently doing a promo for Fight Sport Magazine. Hopefully a preview of what is to come in the not so distant future. There is a rumor from a pretty reliable source that Randy could fight at UFC 91 in Portland.

(Pics courtesy of TheMercenary at Sherdog Forums)

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Unfortunately, after doing a little research, I have come to find out that fighter salaries for UFC 87 are not going to be released.

Apparently fighter payout’s are not released in Minnesota as part of the state’s freedom of information legislation. At least that is what Scott LeDoux, the executive director of the Minnesota Combative Sports Commission told MMAJunkie.com.

I did read that George St. Pierre is on the same contract as his fight with Hughes when he pulled in $160,000 which means he would have made the same amount. If you combine that with his $60,000 "Fight of the Night" bonus, he would have pocketed a total of $220,000 for the event which is probably pretty accurate.

It’s fair to say that Brock Lesnar was probably the highest paid fighter of the night. At UFC 81 Lesnar pocketed a quarter million and had the opportunity to take another $200,000 if he had won the fight. The former WWE star most likely got paid in upwards of $400,000 for his victory over Herring including his win bonus.

Update: MMAChump has released some rumored payout’s for UFC 87. At the top of the payroll is Brock Lesnar who is rumored to have made a half a million dollars. It’s actually sounds about right considering Lesnar was paid $250,000 to show in his UFC debut and would have earned a $200,000 win bonus if he would have defeated Frank Mir for a total of $450,000.

Rumored UFC 87 Payouts:

  • George St. Pierre ($120,000)
  • Jon Fitch ($30,000)
  • Brock Lesnar ($500,000)
  • Heath Herring ($60,000)

UFC 87 "Seek and Destroy" Bonuses:

  • George St. Pierre ($60,000) - Fight of the Night
  • Jon Fitch ($60,000) - Fight of the Night
  • Rob Emerson ($60,000) - Knockout of the Night
  • Demian Maia ($60,000) - Submission of the Night

Stand by for more striking MMA news!

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Posted on 26-08-2008
Filed Under (Dana White) by RedSweat
criss angel dana white

Tune in to A&E on Wednesday night to catch UFC president Dana White as he makes a special appearance on Criss Angel’s hit show "Mindfreak."

White will apparently assist the magician, as he attempts to pull off another one of his "mind blowing" tricks. The episode starts at 10pm ET tomorrow night, August 27th.

Criss Angel, like many TV celebs, has been attending UFC events on a regular basis for the past few years.

Here is a little preview of what exactly tomorrow night’s show will entail.

“With the use of a blindfold, a knife, and a deck of cards, Criss attempts to teach UFC President Dana White first-hand how to do a prediction of his own. Can Dana pull off a little magic with the help of the Mindfreak?”

Stand by for more hardcore MMA news!

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Posted on 26-08-2008
Filed Under (EliteXC) by RedSweat

EliteXC VP Jared Shaw informed MMAJunkie.com today that four new players have been added to the mix for organization’s return to Showtime on November 8.

Shaw confirmed that top contenders Joey Villasenor, Nick Diaz, Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante, and Brett Rogers are all scheduled compete at the event.

Villasenor could headline the show in a rumored bout with EliteXC middleweight champ Robbie Lawler but as of now it’s only an option according to Shaw. Lawler is taking some time off and it is unclear as to when he may return to action.

Villasenor was originally slated to headline a September 20th event in New Mexico but the event was suddenly cancelled. Joey Villasenor has been on a tear since losing his middleweight title fight to "Ninja" Rua back in June of 2006. He has gone 3-0 since that fight with a decision victory over Riki Fukuda and two impressive knockouts over Ryan Jensen and Phil Baroni. Villasenor is right back in line for a title shot against the champ, Robbie Lawler.

Nick Diaz on the other hand was recently denied his title shot against KJ Noons at the Oct. 4 event when Noons and his camp refused to take the fight. In recent statements made by the champ, he claimed that it was an issue of pay and not the fact that he is afraid of losing his belt to Diaz in a rematch. I prefer to believe it is the latter that prevented him from accepting the fight. Noons’ manager Mark Dion played a big role in the non-acceptance of the fight, scoffing at the rematch and refusing to return EliteXC’s calls.

Brett Rogers was also denied his opportunity to display his skills on Network TV on Oct. 4. Rogers was originally considered as an opponent for Kimbo in the main event of EliteXC on CBS III, but Rogers was simply too big of a threat to their star player so the organization went with Ken Shamrock instead. Rogers, who called out Kimbo, most definitely would have been Kimbo’s biggest test to date.

As for Rafael Cavalcante, he has breezed through his first three EliteXC opponents with riveting first round knockouts. The 6′2 Brazilian will look to make it four in a row come November 8th. The question is; who will step into the ring with the Brazilian killer?

What I find interesting is the fact that this card is already miles ahead of EliteXC’s "Primetime" card on October 4th. The top contenders are forced to fight on the Showtime card, while Slice and Carano soak up the "Primetime" rays in front of a Network audience. In reality it should be the other way around.

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Posted on 26-08-2008
Filed Under (Quinton Jackson) by RedSweat
quinton jackson

The Quinton Jackson saga continues as the former UFC light heavyweight champion has now been formally charged with two felony and four misdemeanor counts by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office as of Monday.

Jackson’s downward spiral began back on July 15th when he led the Costa Mesa police on a high speed chase throughout the streets of California."Rampage" eventually lost the battle and was arrested at gun-point on a California Highway in Newport Beach.

Quinton was originally bailed out by his employer, UFC president Dana White, who flew to California via private jet to pay Jackson’s $25,000 bond. Jackson was then arrested the following day and taken to a local hospital for a 72-hour mental observation.

The list of Jackson’s official charges include:

  • 1 felony count of evading while driving recklessly
  • 1 felony count of evading a peace officer and driving against traffic
  • 3 misdemeanor counts of hit and run with property damage
  • 1 misdemeanor count of reckless driving

Adding insult to injury, Jackson later found out that 38 year old Holly Griggs, who was sideswiped in her 2007 Escalade, suffered a miscarriage following the incident and lost her 16-week old baby. Fortunately new evidence has surfaced that proves Jackson’s "Rampage" wasn’t the cause of her miscarriage.

“We reviewed all the medical records and spoke with the victim’s physician and the evidence showed that the loss of the fetus was not related to the crash,” said Farrah Emami, spokesperson for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office

Jackson’s run in with the law could end up costing him a maximum of three years in federal prison if convicted of the charges. He will be arraigned this Thursday in Santa Ana, CA with bail set at $25,000.

With the news of Jackson’s charges, his rumored December return to take on Mauricio "Shogun" Rua is looking more and more unlikely. "Shogun" recently confirmed that he accepted a bout with Jackson during an interview with Brazilian website Tatame.com.

Stand by for more updates concerning Jackson’s upcoming trial.

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