Rising UFC welterweight Stephen Thompson may have picked up what ranks as by far his biggest win when he knocked out former champion Johny ‘Bigg Rigg’ Hendricks in the main event of last weekend’s (Sat., February 6, 2015) UFC Fight Night 82 from the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, but his paycheck didn’t
Rising UFC welterweight Stephen Thompson may have picked up what ranks as by far his biggest win when he knocked out former champion Johny ‘Bigg Rigg’ Hendricks in the main event of last weekend’s (Sat., February 6, 2015) UFC Fight Night 82 from the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, but his paycheck didn’t necessarily reflect it.
Thompson was paid $24,000 to win and $24,000 for a total of $48,000 for the thrilling performance against Hendricks, an amount that was actually $2,000 less than the much-deserved $50,000 ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus he received afterward.
In an odd twist, UFC Fight Night 82 featured a high number of six-figure earners aside from Thompson, as five total fighters made $100,000 or more last Saturday. They were headlined by Hendricks ($100,000), Roy Nelson ($150,000), Joseph Benavidez ($118,000), Ovince St. Preux ($102,000), and longtime veteran Mike Pyle, who earned $106,000 in addition to $50,000 more for ‘Fight of the Night’ in his exciting stoppage win over Sean Spencer.
Here is the full list of disclosed UFC Fight Night 82 payouts:
Main Card (FOX Sports 1):
Stephen Thompson ($24,000 + $24,000 = $48,000) def. Johny Hendricks ($100,000)
Roy Nelson ($75,000 + $75,000 = $150,000) def. Jared Rosholt ($33,000)
Ovince St. Preux ($51,000 + $51,000 = $102,000) def. Rafael Cavalcante ($42,000)
Joseph Benavidez ($59,000 + $59,000 = $118,000) def. Zach Makovsky ($19,000)
Misha Cirkunov ($12,000 + $12,000 = $24,000) def. Alex Nicholson ($10,000)
Mike Pyle ($53,000 + $53,000 = $106,000) def. Sean Spencer ($17,000)
Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 1):
Josh Burkman ($45,000 + $45,000 = $90,000) def. K.J. Noons ($34,000)
Derrick Lewis ($25,000 + $25,000 = $50,000) def. Damian Grabowski ($18,000)
Justin Scoggins ($17,000 + $17,000 = $34,000) def. Ray Borg ($18,000)
Diego Rivas ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Noad Lahat ($17,000)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass):
Mickey Gall ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Mike Jackson ($10,000)
Alex White ($12,000 + $12,000 = $24,000) def. Artem Lobov ($13,000)
UFC Fight Night 82’s main card began with a welterweight tilt between Mike Pyle (27-11-1) and Sean Spencer (12-5). While “Quicksand” hoped to avoid his third straight defeat, “Black Magic” looked to get put his controversial loss to Cathal Pendred behind him. Spencer became the aggressor early in the fight. Pyle got in a kick
UFC Fight Night 82’s main card began with a welterweight tilt between Mike Pyle (27-11-1) and Sean Spencer (12-5). While “Quicksand” hoped to avoid his third straight defeat, “Black Magic” looked to get put his controversial loss to Cathal Pendred behind him.
Spencer became the aggressor early in the fight. Pyle got in a kick to the body. “Black Magic” found the home for his jabs. “Quicksand” targeted the leg of his opponent with a couple of kicks. Pyle landed a left hand, but was dropped with a right hand.
Pyle returned to his feet and had blood running from his nose. The round ended with Pyle throwing a series of punches.
The second stanza opened with Spencer in his usual boxing stance. Pyle began creating distance using oblique kicks. “Black Magic” was rocked by a forearm. Spencer recovered and connected with a left hook. A counter left hand found the mark for “Quicksand.” Pyle took his opponent down and had his back against the fence to end the second frame.
Spencer went after Pyle at the start of the final round. A combination connected for “Black Magic.” Pyle looked to play possum as commentator Brian Stann pointed out. The fight went to the ground and “Quickstand” looked for a choke. He couldn’t get it, but landed a knee to the body. The fight returned to the feet. Pyle landed a knee and Spencer responded with a left hook. Spencer lunged forward, but ate a knee. “Black Magic” was then rocked by a spinning back elbow and ate some knees and elbows. Referee Yves Lavigne finally stopped the fight as Pyle had been asking him to do.
Final Result: Mike Pyle def. Sean Spencer via TKO (Strikes) – R3, 4:25
If you want to know the full results of the card, we’ll have them right here:
Preliminary Card
Neil Magny vs. Alex Garcia
Beneil Dariush vs. Tony Martin
Matt Hobar def. Aaron Phillips via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Ben Saunders def. Chris Heatherly via submission (omoplata) at 2:18 of round one.
Wilson Reis def. Joby Sanchez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Main Card
James Vick vs. Walmir Lazaro
Chas Skelly vs. Tom Niinimaki
Max Holloway vs. Mirsad Bektic
The fights are tomorrow, dudes. Come back to CagePotato.com at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT for our liveblog of the UFC on FOX 12 main card. Have a great weekend!
The fights are tomorrow, dudes. Come back to CagePotato.com at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT for our liveblog of the UFC on FOX 12 main card. Have a great weekend!
Round-by-round results from the UFC 170 main card will be after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and shoot us your own thoughts in the comments section.
Round-by-round results from the UFC 170 main card will be after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and shoot us your own thoughts in the comments section.
Preliminary Card Results
– Alexis Davis def. Jessica Eye via split-decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
– Raphael Assuncao def. Pedro Munhoz via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Aljamain Sterling def. Cody Gibson via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Zach Makovsky def. Josh Sampo via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
– Erik Koch def. Rafaello Oliveira via TKO, 1:24 of round 1
– Ernest Chavez def. Yosdenis Cedeno via split-decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Robert Whittaker vs. Stephen Thompson
Naturally, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson comes out to “Wonderboy” by Tenacious D. Whittaker shows love to Australia by walking out to AC/DC’s “Hells Bells.”
Round 1: Thompson opens with a side kick. Whittaker sticks the jab. Whittaker throws a high kick. Thompson marches forward with punches, then lands a leg kick. Body kick then a leg kick from Thompson. He tries an outside axe kick that scores him style points if nothing else. Great head movement and counters from Thompson. Truly, he is the white Machida. A hook kick from Thompson lands. Whittaker pops the jab. Thompson drops Whittaker with a dead-on right straight, then swarms as Whittaker tries to get to his feet. Thompson clinches, fires in some knees, and clubs Whittaker down to the mat again. Thompson with a frenzy of ground and pound until Mario Yamasaki calls a stop to it. Impressive, violent finish from Wonderboy. Stephen Thompson def. Robert Whittaker via TKO, 3:43 of round 1.
Mike Pyle vs. TJ Waldburger
And now Waldburger is coming out to “TNT” by AC/DC. What the hell. He’s not even Australian. And Mike Pyle is rocking the mullet tonight. Waldburger is already dead.
Round 1: Waldburger lands first with a leg kick. Pyle lands a kick but almost eats a big overhand left in return. Pyle fires a pair of leg kicks. They trade leg kicks. Pyle dashed forward with punches. Pyle grabs a clinch and Waldburger pushes him against the fence. Pyle escapes with ease. Waldburger slips while throwing a kick and Pyle chases him when he gets up but can’t capitalize. Waldburger lands a right, then a left, then a leg kick. Pyle tries a front kick to the body, Waldburger grabs him, Pyle sweeps him to the mat and gets on top. Then, Pyle transitions into side control. Very slick work by Pyle tonight. But then Waldburger powers up to his feet and escapes. They clinch against the fence. Knees to the body then to the head from Pyle. Waldburger throws a pair of knees to Pyle’s leg as the round expires. 10-9 Pyle.
Round 2: Uh…I think my dog just erased everything I wrote for this round when he ran across my laptop. WTF. Short version: It was a much closer frame…Waldburger may have had a slight edge in the striking total, but Pyle had some good grappling moments and bloodied Waldburger’s face with knees.
Round 3: Hard right hand from Pyle and he smells blood. They clinch, Pyle shoulder-checks im in the face then lands a hard left hook. And then a spinning back elbow. Pyle is on fire. He lands two nasty elbows in the clinch then fires punches until Waldburger stumbles to the mat. Pyle almost gets a guillotine but Waldburger pulls out. Pyle bears the ever-loving fuck out of Waldburger with punches and elbows from the top. Joe Rogan asks Herb Dean why he’s not stopping the fight. This beating…it just keeps going. Okay, now Herb stopped the fight. Mike Pyle def. TJ Waldburger via TKO, 4:03 of round 3.
Rory MacDonald vs. Demian Maia
Round 1: They meet in the center of the cage and trade haymakers. Demian Maia shoots once, MacDonald defends. He tries it again and single-legs MacDonald to the mat. Maia trying to pass guard. He throws down an elbow. And boom, Maia scores mount. Maia softening MacDonald up with punches to the head and body. MacDonald tries to shrimp out and almost does it. Maia in half-guard now. MacDonald uses double-butterfly guard, trying to prevent the mount again. MacDonald kicks him off and gets up. Maia shoots and Rory defends. The two fighters start brawling and Maia lands the harder shots. MacDonald is bloodied. The round ends, and it’s an easy 10-9 for Maia.
Round 2: Maia landing some serious power punches, but MacDonald comes back with a series of head kicks that have Maia hurt. Maia shoots and fails. McDonald with a hard body kick and Maia shoots in desperation. MacDonald is having a lot of success with his kicks right now, which are landing at all levels. MacDonald lands a head kick as Maia is shooting in. MacDonald has Maia rocked with punches and kicks. MacDonald using his range really well, landing long jabs and straights. Overhand left from Maia, kicks to the body and leg from MacDonald. MacDonald with a kick to the body, a kick to the head. He tries a superman punch. MacDonald measure up Maia and stings him with a cross. He lands another body kick as the round ends. That round was all MacDonald, 10-9. We’re even heading into round 3, but Rory has the momentum.
Round 3: MacDonald with more long punches. Maia lands a left straight. MacDonald with more kicks to the body and head. MacDonald with another clean right hand. Maia shoots, unsuccessfully once again. MacDonald punches him in the face for it. MacDonald thoroughly outboxing Maia. Maia shoots for a single. Then he grabs both legs and slams MacDonald to the mat. Maia on top, MacDonald pushes him off and scrambles away. MacDonald fends off another takedown attempt. And another. MacDonald with a body punch before stuffing another takedown. MacDonald with a front kick to the body. MacDonald stuffs a takedown and makes Maia pay, landing a nice uppercut. MacDonald with jabs and another big uppercut. And a right straight. MacDonald stuffs one last takedown before the bell. Pretty clear 10-9 for Rory as far as I’m concerned. After a couple of back-to-back stinkers, that was a fantastic performance from Rory MacDonald. Hey look, all the judges got it right! Rory MacDonald def. Demian Maia via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3). “The animal is back,” MacDonald says. “I’m ready to kick some ass, I’m ready to kill…I want that belt.”
Ladies and gentlemen, we have now entered the “squash match” portion of the evening…
Daniel Cormier vs. Patrick Cummins
Round 1: Cormier takes the center of the cage. Cummins lands a sharp leg kick. He shoots, Cormier defends. Cummins with a nice body kick. Cormier lands a hard uppercut. Some hockey-fighting from the clinch. Cummins literally turns his back and runs away. Cormier follows him and throws bombs. An uppercut from Cormier glances off the side of Cummins’s head, and Cummins hits the mat. Cormier starts throwing down bombs. Cummins rolls and turtles. More big, nasty shots from Cormier and it’s all over. Cummins tries to get to his feet. He looks disappointed with the stoppage, but come on bro, you were gonna get killed out there. Daniel Cormier def. Patrick Cummins via TKO, 1:19 of round 1.
Ronda Rousey vs. Sara McMann
Round 1: Rousey storms to the center of the Octagon, and McMann lands multiple punches to Ronda’s dome as she’s coming in. They clinch against the fence and Rousey lands a hard knee to the body and a sharp elbow. They trade knees. Rousey lands another knee to the liver and McMann drops to the mat and covers up. Herb Dean steps in…just as McMann grabs a leg and tries to recover. The crowd boos the stoppage as premature. But what are you gonna do, McMann dropped like a corpse. Ronda Rousey def. Sara McMann via TKO, 1:06 of round 1. So that’s what it looks like to see Ronda win by something other than an armbar…interesting.
Well damn, the main card is over in two hours, and it doesn’t look like they’re going to replay any of the prelims. Are Goldberg and Rogan going to have to kill time for a full hour? I want no part of this. Good night, all.
At the UFC 165 post-fight presser last month, UFC president Dana White showered praise upon UFC interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao, calling him one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport and remarking that the media hadn’t given enough credit to his eight-year, 32-fight undefeated streak, which has remained pristine since May 2005.
Barao has only tasted defeat once, and it was in the first fight of his career. The fact that he’s rebounded with the longest current undefeated streak in mixed martial arts — despite the fact that his first loss could have ruined his confidence forever — is absolutely amazing to me, as many young would-be prospects have crashed and burned in their debuts, never to be heard of again.
It got me thinking: What other mixed martial artists lost their first fight but then went on to have great success? I expected to bang out a list of ten fighters, but once I started doing the research, it blew my mind that some of the best fighters to ever compete in the sport, and a number of currently top 10-ranked fighters, actually lost their very first fight.
And so, I compiled a list of the top 24 MMA fighters of all time who lost their first fight. The list is based on accomplishments in the sport, overall skill level, and potential. Enjoy, and if I somehow missed somebody notable, please leave a comment below and explain why he or she should be included.
On July 26, 1996, at the age of 19 years old, Travis Fulton fought Dave Strasser in his MMA debut at Gladiators 1 in Davenport, Iowa, losing the fight via first-round submission. He then went on to win 249 fights, the most wins in mixed martial arts history. Fulton also holds the record for most fights (309) and most knockout wins (91) in MMA history.
Mind = blown.
Was Fulton a can crusher? Yes, yes he was. Or, should I say, yes he is, as he beat some nobody in his native Iowa just this past March. But you don’t win 249 MMA fights by accident, and Fulton deserves a place on this list based on volume alone.
(Renan Barao: Started from the bottom, now he here. / Photo via Getty)
At the UFC 165 post-fight presser last month, UFC president Dana White showered praise upon UFC interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao, calling him one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport and remarking that the media hadn’t given enough credit to his eight-year, 32-fight undefeated streak, which has remained pristine since May 2005.
Barao has only tasted defeat once, and it was in the first fight of his career. The fact that he’s rebounded with the longest current undefeated streak in mixed martial arts — despite the fact that his first loss could have ruined his confidence forever — is absolutely amazing to me, as many young would-be prospects have crashed and burned in their debuts, never to be heard of again.
It got me thinking: What other mixed martial artists lost their first fight but then went on to have great success? I expected to bang out a list of ten fighters, but once I started doing the research, it blew my mind that some of the best fighters to ever compete in the sport, and a number of currently top 10-ranked fighters, actually lost their very first fight.
And so, I compiled a list of the top 24 MMA fighters of all time who lost their first fight. The list is based on accomplishments in the sport, overall skill level, and potential. Enjoy, and if I somehow missed somebody notable, please leave a comment below and explain why he or she should be included.
On July 26, 1996, at the age of 19 years old, Travis Fulton fought Dave Strasser in his MMA debut at Gladiators 1 in Davenport, Iowa, losing the fight via first-round submission. He then went on to win 249 fights, the most wins in mixed martial arts history. Fulton also holds the record for most fights (309) and most knockout wins (91) in MMA history.
Mind = blown.
Was Fulton a can crusher? Yes, yes he was. Or, should I say, yes he is, as he beat some nobody in his native Iowa just this past March. But you don’t win 249 MMA fights by accident, and Fulton deserves a place on this list based on volume alone.
Akihiro Gono was just 19 when the Japanese icon made his MMA debut in his home country against Yasunori Okuda in the first round of the Lumax Cup: Tournament of J’ 94, way back in April 1994. Like many of the fighters of the time, Gono wasn’t ready to defend submissions, and he tapped out to a first-round toe hold.
Gono may have lost the fight, but he would go on to have a very solid career that saw him compete in the UFC, PRIDE, Shooto, Pancrase, Sengoku, and finally Bellator, which would be his final stop.
In May 2012, after a solid 18-year run as a fan favorite, Gono fought for the last time against current Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler at Bellator 67, losing the fight via first-round KO.
Some will laugh that Minowaman is on this list, but he deserves to be after amassing a respectable 55-35-8 record during his cult-legendary career as a journeyman, where — like the great Fedor Emelianenko — he was notorious for fighting and beating larger opponents in the UFC, PRIDE, Dream and Pancrase, amongst other promotions.
However, he was also notorious for losing to some of them.
The first of his 35 losses came to Yuzo Tateishi via decision on March 30, 1996, at the Lumax Cup: Tournament of J ‘96 in Japan. It was the first of many career losses for Minowa, who started off his career 2-9-2 in his first 13 fights. To his credit though, he rebounded to eventually leave the sport with a winning record, and became a big star in PRIDE because he always put on exciting fights and feared no man.
The name “Minowaman” is always one that makes the hardcores’ hearts beat whenever anyone brings it up. Not bad for a guy who at first glance looked like he would contribute nothing in the sport.
(NOTE: The graphic in the video say his record was 3-1 but that tally likely referred to his amateur fights.)
Back on February 15, 1997 in – surprise, surprise – Iowa, a 24-year-old Shonie Carter got into his first professional MMA fight, the first of many for him.
It didn’t last long, however, as he was KO’ed by future five-time UFC vet Laverne Clark at Monte Cox’s Extreme Challenge 3, just nine seconds into the first round in what was the MMA debut of both men.
It became a classic KO in regional circuit MMA history.
Despite that early career loss, Carter then went on to have an unexpectedly awesome career where he attained 50 wins, including 26 by stoppage. He even made it to the Ultimate Fighting Championship and, in total, he fought six times in the UFC — one more than Clark, who knocked him out in that first battle.
One of those 26 aforementioned stoppage wins I mentioned — and one of the best KOs in UFC history — was his spinning back fist knockout of Matt Serra at UFC 31. Serra, who at the time was considered to be below Carter in the ranks, later defeated Georges St-Pierre at UFC 69 to win the UFC welterweight title. Carter, on the other hand, never quite made it to the top of the sport, to say the least, but at least he built a memorable persona as a stone-cold pimp.
Brian Ebersole’s first MMA bout took place on February 24, 2000 against Chris Albandia at TCC – Total Combat Challenge in Chicago. He lost the fight via decision.
He was just 18 years old.
However, despite the loss, Ebersole has gone on to have an awesome journeyman career that has seen him compile an excellent record of 50-15-1, 1 NC.
Ebersole finally made it to the UFC in 2012, upsetting Chris Lytle at UFC 127 and then winning three more in a row before a split decision loss to James Head at UFC 149 ended his win streak. He has sat out the past year with injuries.
But things are looking up for Ebersole, as he will finally make his return to the cage at UFC 167 against Rick Story. It’s a difficult matchup on paper, but it’s winnable. And even if he loses, the fans get to see the Hairrow — well hopefully, anyways — or at least one of those fancy cartwheel kicks. Make it happen, Brian.
On April 7, 2007, at UCW 7 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, two unknown Canadian women fought each other. One was Sarah Kaufman, who would later go on to win the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion and who will be making her UFC debut this Saturday at UFC 166, and the other was a 21-year-old Alexis Davis, who would eventually make it into the UFC as well.
On that night, Kaufman was the better woman, as she finished Davis via strikes in the third round. And Kaufman would demonstrate her superiority once again, defeating Davis via majority decision in March 2012 at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey.
However, Davis looks to be on the rise, and she certainly showed her potential in defeating Rosi Sexton in her Octagon debut at UFC 161. If her and Kaufman ever meet for a trilogy match, it’s possible Davis might finally get a win over her rival.
