All fighters age. Sometimes, even those in their prime lose a step or are unable to compete with today’s blend of diverse mixed martial artists. In fact, the following men—Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson, Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira…
All fighters age. Sometimes, even those in their prime lose a step or are unable to compete with today’s blend of diverse mixed martial artists. In fact, the following men—Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson, Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua—represent a group of fighters who at multiple points experienced greatness in the forms of championship titles and numerous other accolades.
However, in their last four bouts, the fighters in question collectively hold a record of 4-16. Their wide array of losses not only jeopardizes their ranking but their possible standing in the UFC as well.
For many MMA fighters, fighting is all they know. There is no life after hanging up the gloves for some guys.
The guys on this list don’t fall into that group of fighters.
That’s because whether it’s stepping into an announcer’s booth, sitting down beh…
For many MMA fighters, fighting is all they know. There is no life after hanging up the gloves for some guys.
The guys on this list don’t fall into that group of fighters.
That’s because whether it’s stepping into an announcer’s booth, sitting down behind a news desk or running classes in a gym, the fighters on this list will have successful post-fight careers. If anyone has been around enough fighters, you’ll know that some are made to be coaches or have the gift of gab and some simply don’t.
These guys have those qualities and then some. For them, fighting is fun, but they don’t have to ever worry about getting to the point of fighting for a paycheck because they know (or should know) that there will be a steady stream of money following their active careers.
It might be hard to believe when looking at him now, but there was a time not too long ago when Tim Sylvia was paid money to compete in physical activities. I know right? I’m seriously. It was the mid-2000’s, and “The Maine-iac” weighed in at a svelte 265 pounds. He was also the UFC Heavyweight champion, but looking back, I think the former accomplishment is arguably more impressive than the latter.
Regardless, after testing positive for stanozolol in his second title defense over Gan McGee at UFC 44, Sylvia would voluntarily relinquish his belt in disgrace*…and wind up receiving an immediate fight against Frank Mir for the belt he had just vacated at UFC 48 on June 19th, 2004 — ten years ago today.
It did not end well.
It might be hard to believe when looking at him now, but there was a time not too long ago when Tim Sylvia was paid money to compete in physical activities. I know right? I’m seriously. It was the mid-2000′s, and ”The Maine-iac” weighed in at a svelte 265 pounds. He was also the UFC Heavyweight champion, but looking back, I think the former accomplishment is arguably more impressive than the latter.
Regardless, after testing positive for stanozolol in his second title defense over Gan McGee at UFC 44, Sylvia would voluntarily relinquish his belt in disgrace*…and wind up receiving an immediate fight against Frank Mir for the belt he had just vacated at UFC 48 on June 19th, 2004 — ten years ago today.
It did not end well.
Not unlike a monster mash, Sylvia’s arm-breaking loss to Mir got on in a flash (again, my sincerest apologies). After a brief exchange on the feet, Sylvia latched onto Mir and drove him to the canvas, likely thinking that a ground and pound TKO over a fighter of Mir’s caliber would make for a nice addition to his already impressive resume. Problem was, Sylvia could barely get settled before Mir locked up a tight armbar that had “The Maine-iac” suddenly trying to slam his way out of trouble.
It was too late, and Mir proceeded to fracture Sylvia’s right radius bone in half. Herb Dean would lose his goddamn mind while witnessing this and wave off the fight, emitting a chorus boos from the audience so overwhelming that Bruce Buffer even forgot to announce Mir as champion.
The damndest thing is, Sylvia didn’t seem to care or even realize what kind of damage had been done to his arm — Herb Dean had to convince *him* that his arm had been broken. And even after seeing the footage of his arm doing just that, Sylvia would still not accept the stoppage.
“We’ll fight again,” said Mir in his post-fight interview. “We’ll fight right now,” Sylvia angrily replied.
I don’t know what was more impressive in that exchange, Sylvia’s toughness or his stupidity. Let’s go with toughness.
Unfortunately, Mir and Sylvia never would meet again. Mir would be forced to vacate his title after breaking his leg in a motorcycle accident and would not compete again for nearly two years. Sylvia, however, would eventually go on to reclaim his heavyweight championship and defend it two more times before running into some guy named Randy Couture at UFC 68. He would get axed from the UFC a couple fights later, get wrecked by Fedor in under a minute at Affliction: Banned, and then put on approximately 415 pounds while eating (heh) even quicker losses to Abe Wagnerand Ray Mercer. Sylvia has since been rallying for another fight in the UFC ever since, but are you fucking kidding me?
Just moments prior to Sylvia’s bone-shattering loss, Ken Shamrock picked up his last UFC win (and last notable win) over Kimo Leopoldo via KO (knee). It was quite an impressive accomplishment for the 40 year-old to say the least. The years that followed, however, would be filled with heartache. Heartache and defeat and lawsuits and more defeat. Also, heartache. But hey, Shamrock seems to be enjoying life as a bodyguard to the stars these days, and has even repaired his relationship with the UFC. So hooray for happyish endings.
We’ve thrown a video of Shamrock vs. Kimo below for your enjoyment. Drink in the nostalgia, you buncha bitches.
*Say what you want about Timmeh, you gotta give the man credit for owning up to his mistake and accepting his punishment like a man (looking at you, Vitor).
When Frank Mir and Alistair Overeem fought each other at UFC 169, fans might as well have dubbed it a “loser leaves town match.” But it seems like the man who lost, Mir, isn’t leaving the UFC anytime soon.
Mir’s manager, Malki Kawa, spoke with Fox Spor…
When Frank Mir and Alistair Overeem fought each other at UFC 169, fans might as well have dubbed it a “loser leaves town match.” But it seems like the man who lost, Mir, isn’t leaving the UFC anytime soon.
Mir’s manager, MalkiKawa, spoke with Fox Sports about what the former UFC heavyweight champion has been up to since the UFC 169 loss.
“He’s just taking time off,” Kawa said. “He’s taking a little bit of time and we’ll figure out what his next fight is going to be, and what he’s going to do next. Right now we haven’t come to a conclusion on that time frame yet.”
UFC President Dana White had previously said that both Mir’s and Overeem’s roster spots in the UFC were on the line at UFC 169. The loss to Overeem was Mir’s fourth in a row. But to Mir’s credit, the guys he was losing to were ranked in the top five within recent memory.
Mir has been with the UFC since UFC 34 in 2001 and sports a 14-9 record in the Octagon. He won the UFC heavyweight title against Tim Sylvia at UFC 48 in 2004. The fight ended in devastating fashion as Sylvia’s arm visibly broke onscreen as Mir cranked on an arm-bar attempt.
Mir also won an interim title at UFC 92, becoming the first man to defeat Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via strikes. Mir is also the only man to defeat the touted Brazilian by submission as well. The Las Vegas native owns a number of UFC records for the heavyweight division, including most wins in the UFC and most fights, and he is tied for most finishes.
For his sake, I hope Mir does step away from the sport. He’s been great on the mic, providing analysis for the WEC in the past, and is one of the more knowledgeable fighters in MMA. He’s also not at the point to where he can’t form sentences and needs captions for when he talks.
It’s clear Mir can’t hang on the same level as the heavyweight elite, and other than collecting another paycheck, there’s really nothing for Mir to obtain by stepping back into the Octagon. There are plenty of ways for a man like Mir to get paid without having his brain cells scrambled.
(“What are you doing out there, Alistair? Quit playing around and put a *real* hurting on this guy!” Photo via Getty.)
The official salaries for UFC 169 were released earlier today, and despite being panned by 100% of Dana Whites across the globe, Alistair Overeem and Jose Aldo managed to walk away with the two highest salaries of the evening, banking $407,143 and $240,000, respectively. In a slight departure from what we have come to expect, three other fighters also cleared six figures at UFC 169, although in the case of Abe Trujillo, it was thanks greatly in part to the pair of “end of the night” bonuses he picked up for his second round KO of Jamie Varner to open up the main card.
The full list of salaries for UFC 169 is below, so follow us after the jump and take a gander, then entertain us as we yell at a wall.
Alistair Overeem: $407,143 ($285,714 to show, $121,429 win bonus) Jose Aldo: $240,000 ($120,000 to show, $120,000 win bonus)
(“What are you doing out there, Alistair? Quit playing around and put a *real* hurting on this guy!” Photo via Getty.)
The official salaries for UFC 169 were released earlier today, and despite being panned by 100% of Dana Whites across the globe, Alistair Overeem and Jose Aldo managed to walk away with the two highest salaries of the evening, banking $407,143 and $240,000, respectively. In a slight departure from what we have come to expect, three other fighters also cleared six figures at UFC 169, although in the case of Abe/ Trujillo, it was thanks greatly in part to the pair of “end of the night” bonuses he picked up for his second round KO of Jamie Varner to open up the main card.
The full list of salaries for UFC 169 is below, so follow us after the jump and take a gander, then entertain us as we yell at a wall.
Alistair Overeem: $407,143 ($285,714 to show, $121,429 win bonus) Jose Aldo: $240,000 ($120,000 to show, $120,000 win bonus) Frank Mir: $200,000 Abel Trujillo: $145,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 win bonus, $75,000 FOTN bonus, $50,000 KOTN bonus) Urijah Faber: $100,000 Jamie Varner: $92,000 ($17,000 to show, $75,000 FOTN bonus)
Nick Catone: $26,000 ($13,000 to show, $13,000 win bonus)
Chris Cariaso: $24,000 ($12,000 to show, $12,000 win bonus) Renan Barao: $22,000 ($11,000 to show, $11,000 win bonus) Ali Bagautinov: $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 win bonus)
Al Iaquinta: $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 win bonus)
Alan Patrick: $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 win bonus)
Clint Hester: $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 win bonus)
Rashid Magomedov: $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 win bonus)
Neil Magny: $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 win bonus)
John Makdessi: $12,000 Ricardo Lamas: $10,000
John Lineker: $8,000
Danny Martinez: $8,000
Tom Watson: $8,000
Kevin Lee: $8,000
Andy Enz: $8,000
Tony Martin: $8,000
Gasan Umalatov: $8,000
Per usual, we should inform you that these figures are absent of any undisclosed locker room bonuses, training fees, etc.
Underpaid: Once you realize that former WEC lightweight champ Jamie Varner only makes 17k to show after 11 years in the game, you start to understand why he’s so willing to put it all on the line, even if it means walking face first into his opponent’s fists, to secure an “end of the night” bonus. We’re not saying he’s underpaid per se, considering he’s dropped 3 out of his past 4 fights, we’re just saying that it sucks to see how undervalued he is.
Who else? Let’s scan down the list here an-RENAN BARAO ONLY MADE 22K R U SRS BRO?! RICARDO LAMAS MADE 10K TO FIGHT FOR A TITLE?!! GAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
