Tag: Chris Leben

For Chris Leben, Most of UFC 116 Victory Is a Blur

Filed under: MMA Videos, UFCIn the second round of their UFC 116 fight, Chris Leben and Yoshihiro Akiyama had an exchange of punches that saw Akiyama connect cleanly to Leben’s chin, and Leben somehow shake off the punches and keep going.

But while Le…

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In the second round of their UFC 116 fight, Chris Leben and Yoshihiro Akiyama had an exchange of punches that saw Akiyama connect cleanly to Leben’s chin, and Leben somehow shake off the punches and keep going.

But while Leben was able to continue and ultimately force Akiyama to tap to a triangle choke with 20 seconds remaining in the third round, he says he wasn’t all there mentally after that exchange with Akiyama. In fact, Leben says he couldn’t even remember most of what happened in the aftermath of the fight.

Full UFC 116 Fighter Salaries

Filed under: UFC, NewsThe Nevada athletic commission recently released the UFC 116 payroll for not just the four headliners, but for the entire roster competing on the card.

The disclosed salaries are below, but as always, they are not complete as fig…

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The Nevada athletic commission recently released the UFC 116 payroll for not just the four headliners, but for the entire roster competing on the card.

The disclosed salaries are below, but as always, they are not complete as fighters have other sources of income including sponsorships and locker room bonuses, that are reported to the IRS, but not the media. That night specifically, which UFC president Dana White called the “greatest night of fights I’ve ever seen,” should have an even wider discrepancy than usual.

“We’re writing some [expletive] checks tonight. We’re writing checks – more than what you heard here tonight,” White told reporters following the event. “Guys are going to get very well taken care of tonight.”

Falling Action: Winners and Losers in the Aftermath of UFC 116

Filed under: UFCThe UFC’s July pay-per-view event is quickly becoming the MMA version of a mid-summer classic. Last year it was UFC 100 that took the organization – and, you could argue, the sport – to a whole new level. This year, UFC 116 brought us a…

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The UFC’s July pay-per-view event is quickly becoming the MMA version of a mid-summer classic. Last year it was UFC 100 that took the organization – and, you could argue, the sport – to a whole new level. This year, UFC 116 brought us a slightly less star-studded card, but one that delivered just as many great moments.

It’s one thing to stack an event with multiple title fights or big pay-per-view draws. That’s the easy way to guarantee big numbers, though it doesn’t always guarantee great fights. UFC 116 delivered in part because of guys like Brock Lesnar, but also in no small part because of guys like Chris Leben, Chris Lytle, and Stephan Bonnar.

They aren’t mainstream superstars and they can’t headline a pay-per-view on their own. All they do is put on gritty, entertaining fights on a consistent basis, which is exactly what they did on Saturday. For that, they deserve a greater share of the attention, and maybe also a bigger cut of the money. But enough preamble. Now on to the best and worst of UFC 116.

Brock Lesnar, Chris Leben Lead UFC 116 Salary List

(Gerald Harris: One finger for each of ’em. Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com)
The UFC paid out $1,373,000 in disclosed salaries and bonuses to the fighters at UFC 116, with Brock Lesnar taking home over a third of the total payroll with his $400…

Gerald Harris UFC 116 afterparty
(Gerald Harris: One finger for each of ’em. Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com)

The UFC paid out $1,373,000 in disclosed salaries and bonuses to the fighters at UFC 116, with Brock Lesnar taking home over a third of the total payroll with his $400,000 salary and $75,000 Submission of the Night bump. Chris Leben, Yoshihiro Akiyama, and Stephan Bonnar also cracked the six-figure mark after their Fight of the Night bonuses were factored in. The full payout list is below. Keep in mind that these numbers don’t include additional income from sponsorships, undisclosed "locker room" bonuses, or percentages of the pay-per-view gross that some of the UFC’s stars (i.e., Brock Lesnar) are entitled to.

Brock Lesnar: $475,000 (no win bonus; includes $75,000 Submission of the Night bonus)
def. Shane Carwin: $40,000

Chris Leben: $161,000 (includes $43,000 win bonus, $75,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
def. Yoshihiro Akiyama: $120,000 (includes $75,000 Fight of the Night bonus)

Chris Lytle: $52,000 (includes $26,000 win bonus)
def. Matt Brown: $10,000

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Armchair Matchmaker: UFC 116 Edition

(Chris Leben wades through punches at UFC 116 like a drunk man on steroids. Oh. Sorry, dude. Bad choice of words. / Photo courtesy of LasVegasSun.com)
Brock Lesnar already has a date with Cain Velasquez — potentially at UFC 119 in September &m…

Chris Leben UFC 116 punch face mma photos
(Chris Leben wades through punches at UFC 116 like a drunk man on steroids. Oh. Sorry, dude. Bad choice of words. / Photo courtesy of LasVegasSun.com)

Brock Lesnar already has a date with Cain Velasquez — potentially at UFC 119 in September — but the fates of all the other winners and losers from Saturday night are still up in the air. So let’s run down a few of the notables and try to determine who they should take on next. You’re really gonna have to start paying us, Joe.

Shane Carwin: Word on the street is that the winner of Junior Dos Santos vs. Roy Nelson at UFC 117 will receive the next heavyweight title shot after Velasquez, which means the loser could be a good opponent for Carwin’s return fight. Cigano and Big Country are both skilled enough to drag Carwin into round 2, where he’ll either crumble again, or prove to everyone that cardio is not his achilles heel.

Chris Leben: He called out Wanderlei Silva following his unbelievable submission victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama, and the Axe Murderer is down with it. Seems like a no-brainer to us. Who wouldn’t want to see two of the UFC’s most beloved brawlers beat the stuffing out of each other? Dana White says he wants to have Leben fight again soon rather than have him sit out the rest of the year while Silva’s knee heals up. But after two fights in two weeks (and $100,000 in bonus money), we think Leben could use a nice vacation.

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UFC 116 Bonuses: Two Fight of the Nights

Filed under: UFC, NewsOn a card full of back-and-forth matchups, two Fight of the Night awards were handed to Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama and Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 116 Saturday in Las Vegas.

The other recipients of post-f…

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On a card full of back-and-forth matchups, two Fight of the Night awards were handed to Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama and Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 116 Saturday in Las Vegas.

The other recipients of post-fight honors were Brock Lesnar for Submission of the Night and Gerald Harris for Knockout of the Night. All six competitors each received a $75,000 bonus for their efforts.

“In 10 years of being in the business i don’t believe I’ve seen guys deliver like they did tonight,” UFC president Dana White said at the post-fight press conference.