Alan Belcher | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

UFC 159 Salaries: The Case Against Michael Bisping’s Ceaseless Rage

(High-fEYEve! Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)

In the weeks leading up to his battle with Alan Belcher at UFC 159, we noticed that Michael Bisping appeared to be even more irked than usual — which is saying something when you’re talking about a guy whose rage often exceeds the physical limitations of his human vessel — and hypothesized that “The Count” might just be the kind of fighter who needs anger as a motivator. Bisping has admitted it himself and famed hacker Jerry Rips has since passed along audio proof.

But after taking a gander over the UFC 159 salaries, which were released by The New Jersey State Athletic Commission (via MMA-Manifesto) over the weekend, one begins to wonder just what the hell Bisping is so angry at these days. Either the “grudge match” angle is the only one he knows how to play or the $275,000 to show/$150,000 to win rate he is currently receiving is being stolen out from under him, because with that payday, you think he’d be all smiles.

Bisping’s $425k is just one of many head-scratchers that the UFC 159 salary list has to offer, so join us after the jump for a full rundown of the payout and a few totally unbiased observations.

(High-fEYEve! Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)

In the weeks leading up to his battle with Alan Belcher at UFC 159, we noticed that Michael Bisping appeared to be even more irked than usual – which is saying something when you’re talking about a guy whose rage often exceeds the physical limitations of his human vessel – and hypothesized that “The Count” might just be the kind of fighter who needs anger as a motivator. Bisping has admitted it himself and famed hacker Jerry Rips has since passed along audio proof.

Bisping’s $425k is just one of many head-scratchers that the UFC 159 salary list has to offer, so join us after the jump for a full rundown of the payout and a few totally unbiased observations.

Attendance: 15,227
Gate: $2,700,000

Michael Bisping: $425,000 ($275,000 to show, $150,000 win bonus)

Jon Jones: $400,000

Pat Healy: $152,500 ($17,500 to show, $5,000 win bonus, $65,000 Fight of the Night bonus, $65,000 Submission of the Night bonus)

Roy Nelson: $113,000 ($24,000 to show, $24,000 win bonus, $65,000 Knockout of the Night bonus)

Jim Miller: $106,000 ($41,000 to show, $65,000 Fight of the Night bonus)

Cheick Kongo: $70,000

Phil Davis: $60,000 ($30,000 to show, $30,000 win bonus)

Chael Sonnen: $50,000

Alan Belcher: $37,000

Ovince St. Preux: $34,000 ($17,000 to show, $17,000 win bonus)

Cody McKenzie: $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 win bonus)

Leonard Garcia: $20,000

Rustam Khabilov: $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 win bonus)

Bryan Caraway: $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 win bonus)

Steven Siler: $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 win bonus)

Sara McMann: $12,000 ($6,000 to show, $6,000 win bonus)

Gian Villante: $12,000

Vinny Magalhaes: $8,000

Johnny Bedford: $8,000

Yancy Medeiros: $6,000

Sheila Gaff: $6,000

Kurt Holobaugh: $6,000

As always, these figures are absent of any locker room bonuses or undisclosed payments/fees the fighters may have received.

Overpaid: Where do we begin? Oh yeah, we already started with Bisping. But rather than attempt to somehow invalidate Bisping’s current pay rate with a series of faux facts and personal attacks (which is, oddly enough, the name of the glam metal band I was in back in the 80′s. Your town wasn’t even on the map if FF&PA hadn’t rocked your local strip mall.), we’d like to try and justify it. So here we go:

-According to UFC.com, Bisping is currently the 4th ranked middleweight in the UFC, just below Yushin Okami (current pay rate: $42k/42k) and Vitor Belfort (also 275k to show).

-Bisping also happens to be a large draw in the UK market, which isn’t exactly quantifiable, but hey, we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Then again, he hasn’t fought in his native country in nearly three years, so that kind of makes you wonder how much of an impact he’s been having on the British MMA scene nowadays.

-Following a three-fight win streak, Bisping signed an eight-fight extension at the end of 2011. In the time since, he has gone 3-2, with wins over Jason Miller, Brian Stann, and Belcher. None of those fights earned him an end-of-the-night bonus.

-Taking all of those factors into account (foreign draw, top 5 ranking, 3-2 in his last five); the closest fighter you could compare Bisping to would be Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, the 5th-ranked LHW who has received near deity-status from the Brazilian people along with his big bro. Lil’ Nog currently makes $174,000 to show, so with the outlier being Bisping’s coaching/fighting gigs on TUF, do you think the Brit has earned his pay rate?

Oh yeah, and 70k for Cheick Kongo’s clearly overrated striking, repeatedly horrendous performances in victory, and history of dirty tactics? Get the fuck out of here.

Underpaid: By the UFC’s current standards, no one really. We all know that Chael Sonnen has made more money in pay-per-view percentages than George Foreman has in grill sales, so let’s just take his figure with a massive grain of salt. While Roy Nelson can chalk up his low show rate to the woes of being a TUF alum (and being a thorn in Dana White’s ass), it’s hard to call a guy who continuously picks up fifty to sixty thousand dollar KOTN bonuses “underpaid.” Swing away, Roy, for your livelihood depends on it.

–J. Jones

Photo: Alan Belcher’s Eyeball Is Doing Just Fine, Relatively Speaking

(Photo via @alanbelcherufc)

As we mentioned yesterday, Alan Belcher is currently recovering from the nasty eye-poke he received from Michael Bisping at UFC 159, and had to receive eight stitches in his right eyelid — which sounds like he got off easy when you consider how absolutely awful that thing looked on Saturday. (I was bracing myself for a gruesome spray of half-and-half.) No word yet on a timetable for Belcher’s return to competition; let’s just hope this isn’t a career-ender.

Previously: MMA Photo Tribute: 16 Seriously Messed-Up Eyes

(Photo via @alanbelcherufc)

Previously: MMA Photo Tribute: 16 Seriously Messed-Up Eyes

UFC 159 Results: The Most Impressive Performances from Newark

At the top of the UFC 159 fight card on Saturday, the champion Jon Jones, as expected, defended his belt once again and ran through Chael Sonnen, the least likely championship contender in the entire division. As predictable as that win was, others on …

As predictable as that win was, others on the card were less so and brought out of their protagonists performances which will linger in the memory as we look forward to the next UFC event in May.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen Aftermath, Part Two — These Tired Eyes

(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

If there’s anything positive for Alan Belcher to take away from his loss to Michael Bisping in the co-main event of last night’s UFC 159, it’s that he was right about Bisping being unable to knock him out. Bisping had plenty of opportunities to do so throughout the fight, yet Belcher was too resilient of an opponent. Unfortunately, that’s right about where the positive notes end. Bisping not only outstruck Belcher by a considerable margin throughout their fight, but also avoided all of Belcher’s takedowns. Simply put, Belcher didn’t have any answers for Bisping’s jab-n-jog offense.

And then there was the eye poke that ended up stopping the fight, awarding Michael Bisping the technical decision victory. It was a disappointing way to end an otherwise decent scrap – especially considering Belcher’s previous troubles with that eye. Fortunately, Belcher has since tweeted that he is doing okay.

Perhaps the strangest thing about the eye poke is that this fight wasn’t the only bout on the card to end in technical decision due to an eye poke. Earlier in the evening, the light heavyweight bout between Ovince St. Preux and Gian Villante also ended when St. Preux inadvertently poked Villante in the eye. St. Preaux walked away with a technical majority decision victory. Kind of makes a case for changing the design of MMA gloves.

Elsewhere on the card…

(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

Elsewhere on the card…

– Roy Nelson picked up his third straight first round knockout last night – as well as the $65,000 Knockout of the Night honors – by dropping Cheick Kongo with a huge overhand right just two minutes into the fight. While the end result isn’t particularly surprising, it is a bit odd to hear Dana White say that Nelson earned a fight against either Mark Hunt or Daniel Cormier for his next outing. Not only are both fighters gigantic steps up in competition from Kongo, but also Roy Nelson is a step backwards for each of them. Strange times.

– For all that we heard about the improved striking of Vinny Magalhaes, he certainly didn’t let it show last night. He looked lost on his feet against Phil Davis – who isn’t exactly a world-class striker himself – even though Davis threw the same combination for pretty much the entire fight. “Mr Wonderful” was able to avoid Vinny’s leg kicks for most of the fight and utilize his superior reach on his way to a unanimous decision victory. While his striking appears to have improved, the lack of aggression that Davis displayed after hurting Magalhaes with an attempted head kick early in the first round seems to suggest that he isn’t quite ready for the deep end of the division just yet.

– Don’t let his unimposing MMA record fool you: Pat Healy is tough draw for anyone right now, and he proved it last night by taking out the always game Jim Miller. Healy survived an early onslaught from Miller that saw his right eye swell up. He went on to control the second and third rounds before locking up the fight ending rear-naked choke. If anyone is still questioning the legitimacy of the Strikeforce lightweights, you can kindly stop doing so now.

– Not only did both Jim Miller and Pat Healy take home $65,000 for Fight of the Night, but Pat Healy also took home the $65,000 Submission of the Night honors. Taking home $130,000 in bonus money alone for a victory is about as successful of a return to the big leagues as one can possibly hope to make.

– Leonard Garcia lost to Cody McKenzie, making it five straight losses in a row in the UFC. He now joins Steve Cantwell as the only two fighters to lose five consecutive fights that have all been in the UFC (in other words, five straight fights, five straight losses, no time in the minor leagues between any of them). His future is officially “not looking good.”

– One last note, Sheila Gaff immediately answered our questions as to whether or not she can stop Sara McMann’s takedowns by running directly into one. I can’t remember the last time I saw a fight end up on the ground that quickly, but at least McMann wasn’t content to just coast to an easy victory. McMann earned a first round TKO in the third WMMA fight in UFC history.

Full Results:

Main Card:
Jon Jones def. Chael Sonnen via TKO, 4:33 of Round One
Michael Bisping def. Alan Belcher via Technical Decision (unanimous), 4:29 of Round Three
Roy Nelson def. Cheick Kongo via KO, 2:03 of Round One
Phil Davis def. Vinny Magalhaes via Unanimous Decision
Pat Healy def. Jim Miller via Submission (rear naked choke), 4:03 of Round Three

Preliminary Card:
Rustam Khabilov def. Yancy Medeiros via TKO (injury), 2:32 of Round One
Ovince St. Preux def. Gian Villante via Technical Decision (majority) 0:33 of Round Three
Sara McMann def. Sheila Gaff via TKO (punches), 4:06 of Round One
Bryan Caraway def. Johnny Bedford via Submission (guillotine choke), 4:44 of Round Three
Cody McKenzie def. Leonard Garcia via Unanimous Decision
Steven Siler def. Kurt Holobaugh via Unanimous Decision

@SethFalvo

Previously: UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen Aftermath, Part One — Jobber to the Stars.

Michael Bisping vs. Alan Belcher Full Fight Technical Breakdown

A common saying in the fight business is that speed kills, which is something Michael Bisping made abundantly clear in his UFC 159 co-main event bout against Alan Belcher.The British middleweight contender somehow managed to outpoint one of the best st…

A common saying in the fight business is that speed kills, which is something Michael Bisping made abundantly clear in his UFC 159 co-main event bout against Alan Belcher.

The British middleweight contender somehow managed to outpoint one of the best strikers in the entire division with little difficulty.

It was easily one of the best performances of Bisping‘s UFC career, despite the ending being ruined by an accidental eye poke in the third round. The bout was all Bisping, and after the eye poke, he was awarded a much-deserved technical decision.

Looking back, this fight will likely haunt Belcher for a long time. He was by far the more skilled and diverse striker on paper, but Bisping still managed to stand toe to toe with him in the center of the Octagon and best the exchanges.

Bisping did a good job of mixing up his punches with kicks, but his combinations remained very basic. Throughout most of the fight, he generally stuck with either a basic one-two or two jabs and a cross. He would occasionally throw in a kick at the end of a combination.

Belcher was simply the slower fighter in this bout. He allowed Bisping to bounce around outside and move in and out of the pocket at will.

A smarter strategy for Belcher would have been to be more aggressive and cut off the cage. He could have sought out opportunities to close the distance and slow the fight down by pressing Bisping against the fence and working from the clinch.

Instead, he chose to fight on Bisping‘s terms, which ultimately led to the decision loss.

Critics can say what they want about Bisping, but few fighters can keep up with the incredibly high pace he sets in fights. He is constantly moving and making himself an elusive target. His footwork and great utilization of feints allows him to dance around in the pocket and keep opponents guessing.

His style of fighting can almost be compared to that of former UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar. This isn’t to say Bisping possesses the same boxing abilities as Edgar, but his ability to quickly move in and out of the pocket typically overwhelms everyone he faces.

Bisping‘s only problem has been a tendency to drop his hands while moving backward or circling. These mistakes led to knockout losses to Dan Henderson and Vitor Belfort.

As long as Bisping maintains a solid defensive posture, he should be well on his way to earning a shot at the UFC title.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 159: 5 Fights for Alan Belcher to Take Next

While the end of the bout came sooner than expected, it was clear that UFC middleweight Michael Bisping was getting the better of Alan Belcher before an accidental eye poke caused the referee to call the fight.Ending up on the wrong side of a technical…

Ending up on the wrong side of a technical decision, that makes two losses in a row for “The Talent,” who will now need a win if he wants to guarantee his job with the world’s largest MMA promotion.

With a third straight loss usually resulting in a pink slip from the UFC, let’s take a look at some potential future fights to get Belcher back on track.

Begin Slideshow