Tag: Breaking News

TUF 18 Finale Salaries: Maynard ($45K), Diaz ($30K) Top Event Payroll

Main-event winner Nate Diaz made a paltry $30,000—$15,000 to show and $15,000 earned for his stunning demolition of former lightweight title contender Gray Maynard at Saturday’s Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale. 
Maynard took home $45,000 for the …

Main-event winner Nate Diaz made a paltry $30,000—$15,000 to show and $15,000 earned for his stunning demolition of former lightweight title contender Gray Maynard at Saturday’s Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale. 

Maynard took home $45,000 for the loss. 

Diaz made $50,000 for his loss to former champion Benson Henderson a year ago.

In fact, the new contract Diaz appears to be on—the one that pays him $15k/$15k—is actually smaller than the one Diaz was operating under the second time he fought Maynard, back in 2010. Diaz is now making the same amount of money as he was with the contract he was on after winning season 5 of The Ultimate Fighter in 2007. 

Salaries from the event were obtained by Bleacher Report from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. They only constitute figures reported by the UFC to the NSAC; in all likelihood, each fighter will earn significantly higher than what is reported here. 

The first-ever female winner of The Ultimate Fighter, Julianna Pena, took home $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win). She steamrolled Jessica Rakoczy to win the season-long tournament; Rakoczy took home $8,000 in the losing effort.

Other notable salaries: Maximo Blanco earned $17,000 in a disqualifiation loss to Akira Corassani. Blanco hit Corassani with an illegal knee early in the first round, breaking the Swedish fighter’s nose in five places and forcing the fight to be waved off by Mario Yamasaki. Corassani, who remains on an Ultimate Fighter contract after appearing as a member of Michael Bisping’s team in the fourteenth season. 

Rani Yahya earned $20,000 in his loss to Tom Ninimaki. 

Full disclosed salaries list, with fight night bonuses added in for award winners Diaz, Chris Holdsworth and Ryan Benoit, who took home an extra $100,000 for Fight of the Night since his opponent Josh Sampo did not make weight:

Nate Diaz ($80,000) d. Gray Maynard ($45,000)
Julianna Pena ($16,000) d. Jessica Rakoczy ($8,000)
Chris Holdsworth ($66,000) d. Davey Grant ($8,000)
Jessamyn Duke ($16,000) d. Peggy Morgan ($8,000)
Raquel Pennington ($16,0000) d. Roxanne Modafferi ($8,000)
Akira Corassani ($16,000) d. Maximo Blanco ($17,000)
Tom Ninimaki ($16,000) d. Rani Yahya ($20,000)
Jared Rosholt ($16,000) d. Walter Harris ($8,000)
Sean Spencer ($16,000) d. Drew Dober ($8,000)
Josh Sampo ($16,000) d. Ryan Benoit ($108,000)

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Cris Cyborg Offers to Help Miesha Tate Ahead of Ronda Rousey Rematch at UFC 168

Former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate may have an ace in the hole during the home stretch leading up to her rematch with UFC women’s champ Ronda Rousey at UFC 168 later this month. 
Another ex-Strikeforce titleholder, curren…

Former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate may have an ace in the hole during the home stretch leading up to her rematch with UFC women’s champ Ronda Rousey at UFC 168 later this month. 

Another ex-Strikeforce titleholder, current Invicta FC women’s featherweight top dog Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino reached out to Tate via Twitter to offer her services as a training partner before the Dec. 28 title bout. 

The heavy-handed Brazilian fighter couldn’t resist ending the interaction without taking a shot at the “Rowdy” one. 

Despite a failed drug test controversy swirling around her last fight with Strikeforce, she remained under contract with Zuffa LLC, the UFC’s parent company, and it didn’t take long for negotiations for a Rousey vs. Cyborg superfight to get underway. 

However, after months of Rousey and Justino being unable to find a middle ground, Cyborg requested and was granted a release from her contract in February 2013. 

Since then, the 28-year-old has scored back-to-back TKO’s under the Invicta banner, winning the 145-pound title with her stoppage over Marloes Coenen in July. 

Meanwhile, Rousey and Tate’s rivalry has been going strong since early 2012, with Rousey‘s gruesome armbar finish over Tate in March of that year only intensifying the hatred. 

Rousey is currently 7-0 as a professional mixed martial artist, finishing all of her fights with a first-round armbar. 

On the other hand, Tate is 13-4 overall in her career, though she is just 1-2 in her past three matchups inside the cage. 

Their bitter feud was recently exacerbated as they coached opposite one another on season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter, with many pundits believing the reality series tarnished Rousey‘s reputation, casting Tate in a more favorable light at the same time. 

Would “Cupcake” be wise in accepting Cyborg’s offer quickly ahead of her pivotal title rematch with Rousey later this month?

 

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.

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Ronda Rousey Beat Up Two Guys at the Movies

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey went on Jimmy Kimmel Live and told a story about the time she fought two men at a movie theater. She’ll fill you in on the details: 

The lesson here? If you see Ronda Rousey at the movies, …

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey went on Jimmy Kimmel Live and told a story about the time she fought two men at a movie theater. 

She’ll fill you in on the details: 

The lesson here? If you see Ronda Rousey at the movies, be nice, and keep your feet off her seat! 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

TUF 18 Finale Medical Suspensions: Pena, Akira Among Possible Lengthy Layoffs

The Ultimate Fighter 18 finale featured just 10 fights, but of the 20 people that competed, a good percentage of them will be on the shelf for a while.
The UFC released the medical suspensions today, with fighters such as Akira Corassani, Drew Dober an…

The Ultimate Fighter 18 finale featured just 10 fights, but of the 20 people that competed, a good percentage of them will be on the shelf for a while.

The UFC released the medical suspensions today, with fighters such as Akira Corassani, Drew Dober and Ryan Benoit grabbing the lengthiest of suspensions. For a smaller-than-usual card, there were definitely a decent share of casualties.

The most high-profile of the suspensions comes to Corassani, whose fight was stopped due to an illegal knee from opponent Maximo Blanco. That knee broke Corassani‘s nose in five different places, showing the pure violence and destruction that fight-stopping knee caused.

Dober and Benoit also came out of the card wounded and with possible fractures. Benoit appears to have injured (fractured or broken) his hand, while Dober likely has a fractured orbital from the one-sided beating he took from Sean Spencer.

Another possible lengthy suspension could come for Julianna Pena, the first-ever women’s winner of the long-running reality show. She has to have one of her thumbs x-rayed for possible damage before she is cleared to return to training.

That thumb injury came on the heels of a one-side drubbing of Jessica Rakoczy. The fight saw Pena ground the former champion boxer, pound her into oblivion and claim the TUF 18 women’s title.

Plus, any fighter who was either stopped by strikes or competed in a rough bout got the normal suspension length that could be anywhere from a couple weeks to a month.

Here are the full medical suspensions from the card:

  • Gray Maynard: suspended until January 30, 2014, with no contact prior to January 15, 2014.
  • Jessica Rakoczy: suspended until January 15, 2014, with no contact prior to December 31, 2013.
  • Julianna Pena: must have her right thumb x-rayed; if positive, must be cleared by orthopedic doctor.
  • David Grant: suspended until January 15, 2014, with no contact prior to December 31, 2013.
  • Peggy Morgan: suspended until January 15, 2014, with no contact prior to December 31, 2013.
  • Akira Corassani: suspended until May 30, 2014, unless nasal fracture is cleared by doctor. He is suspended at least until January 30, 2014 with no contact prior to January 15, 2014.
  • Drew Dober: suspended until May 30, 2014, and must have orbital fractures cleared by doctor. He is suspended at least until January 30, 2014 with no contact prior to January 15, 2014.
  • Ryan Benoit: must have left hand x-rayed. If positive, he must be cleared by doctor or he is suspended until May 30, 2014. If there are no fractures, he is suspended until December 31, 2013 with no contact until December 22, 2013.

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UFC Rankings for Each Weight Division Following TUF 18 Finale

A former winner of The Ultimate Fighter, Nate Diaz turned in one of his best UFC performances at Saturday’s TUF 18 Finale. 
Having lost two straight fights heading into his bout with Gray Maynard, Diaz was in need of a victory to ensure …

A former winner of The Ultimate Fighter, Nate Diaz turned in one of his best UFC performances at Saturday’s TUF 18 Finale. 

Having lost two straight fights heading into his bout with Gray Maynard, Diaz was in need of a victory to ensure his job security. Not only did Diaz get his hand raised, but he earned Knockout of the Night honors for an impressive Round 1 finish of Maynard.

In beating Maynard, Diaz solidified himself as a Top 10 lightweight competitor. Having recently lost to multiple 155-pound contenders, though, how far did Diaz’s win over the weekend push him upward in the division’s rankings? 

With the TUF 18 Finale in the books and UFC Fight Night 33 ahead, here are the latest official UFC rankings.

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UFC 168: Herb Dean to Ref Chris Weidman-Anderson Silva Rematch

During a time when closely knit split decisions and highly contested point systems rule the world of mixed martial arts, the sight of a trustworthy referee often expels exuberance.
For fans who have been watching the UFC since its rebirth, they know ex…

During a time when closely knit split decisions and highly contested point systems rule the world of mixed martial arts, the sight of a trustworthy referee often expels exuberance.

For fans who have been watching the UFC since its rebirth, they know exactly how hard it is to find that one special ref.

For new fans, many of whom don’t know that the UFC has nothing to do with the selection of Octagon officials, spotting a good ref may be harder than ever.

But through all of the recent bad stoppages and miscalculations inside the cage, Herb Dean is one of the only referees left who still commands optimal respect and professional gratitude.

That’s why Dana White and Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer push for Dean to call some of the biggest fights of the year.

Luckily for them, the commission has approved Kizer’s recommendation for Dean to officiate an upcoming rematch between UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman and pound-for-pound legend Anderson Silva later this month at UFC 168, which may be the greatest grudge match of all time.

“The first fight was quite strange, and I normally don’t recommend the same ref for the rematch, but here, I think it would actually be very appropriate,” Kizer said on Monday, originally reported by MMA Junkie.

Dean’s stoppage early into the second round of Weidman and Silva’s first championship showdown this past July was mere perfection.  He did what he was trained to do and allowed the challenger to decisively defeat the champ.

This is a good sign to see considering how many times NSAC-appointed referees stumble when the spotlight is brightest.  Dean is one of the best around and should officiate one hell of a rematch.

For more UFC news and coverage,

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