“Hands of Stone”? Yup, that sounds about right. (Pic: UFC.com)
There is so much to love about the UFC’s Fight Night Bonuses. Often times one of these rewards can double, triple, or even quadruple a fighter’s take home pay for the evening. They also serve as bounties for action, encouraging the knockouts, submissions, and exciting fights that we all enjoy. But I love them best for another reason altogether. They give Dana White the opportunity to do what he does best: wield his godlike power with impunity. That sword has two edges of course, one of which has cut us frequently, but when dolling out these bonuses we get to see the best of Dana White. There’s Dana the Vindictive, who snubbed Mir’s poor performance against Cro Cop by denying the night’s only KO a bonus; Dana the Fight Fan, who loves action packed bouts so much that sometimes he can’t bring himself to award only one “Fight of the Night” bonus; and Dana the Merciful, who sets right the grave injustices cast down from the judges table. It was this last Dana who reared his head last night, giving an “unofficial” bonus to Michihiro Omigawa, who lost a unanimous decision to Darren Elkins in the prelims. White felt that Omigawa clearly deserved the victory and awarded him his win bonus for his performance. This fight, particularly one judge scoring it 30-27 for Elkins, is sure to add more fuel to the firestorm that is MMA judging. And now, on to the $70k bonuses…
Knock Out of the Night: Sam Stout picked up some spending cash and a highlight clip for the ages with his first-round knock out of Yves Edwards. The end came with both men exchanging punches; Edwards connected first with a decent right hook, but Stout landed a big left to the jaw that folded Yves forwarded as he slowly careened to the canvas. No follow up was needed, as the Thug Jitsu master was out cold.
Submission of the Night: Matt Serra student Chris Weidman extended his record to a perfect 6-0 with his first round submission over Jesse Bongfeldt. Weidman looked fluid on the ground as he transitioned around Bongfeldt with great control, but the end would come via the rare standing guillotine with only six seconds left in the first round.
Fight of the Night: Dave Herman and Jon Olav Einemo paired up in a back-and-forth heavyweight tilt that saw both men in trouble on more than one occasion. Herman battered Einemo with knees to drop him late in the second round and draw the TKO stoppage. The five years spent at Golden Glory didn’t show in Einemo’s stand-up. It was good news for him, though, as he would have lost to Carwin much faster and not picked up the additional $70k.