Chael Sonnen not only pounded his way into the number one middleweight contender slot last night at UFC 109, but the tough vet earned an extra $60,000 in bonus money for his efforts, as he and opponent Nate Marquardt were awarded Fight of the Night honors. Of course Marquardt would have rather taken the win but getting an extra 60 g’s should help take the edge off. (Hopefully Nate didn’t blow out on the craps table afterwards…)
As for Sonnen, we suggest he invests that money in a documentary crew who will follow and record the fighter’s every move. Chael has always rivaled fighters like Tito Ortiz in the ‘please bend our ear’ category, but now that he’s finally receiving the spotlight, Sonnen ‘zingers’ could be coming to an internet near you daily. Case in point, check out his post fight interview with Ariel Helwani, where before telling Anderson Silva that his “15 minutes of fame are up,” he offers some nice ‘Sonnens’ regarding various training methods (including screaming ‘yes’ a bizzillion times as you walk to the Octagon; I think it’s safe to say he’s talking about you Diego…)
Sit back and enjoy the ride folks; the middleweight title picture is getting a healthy dose of drama.
Other fighters that took home bonuses last night included Matt Serra for his KO dismissal of Frank Trigg and Paulo Thiago for his nighty-night D’arce choke on Mike Swick.