Tag: MMA News

UFC 121 Fighter Salaries & Medical Suspensions

On Tuesday the California State Athletic Commission released fighter salaries and medical suspensions for this past Saturdays UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez event.
Not surprisingly, the fighter to receive the top salary and longest suspension, was former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. For his loss, Lesnar earned a $400,000 payday while also receiving a 180 […]

ufc121posterOn Tuesday the California State Athletic Commission released fighter salaries and medical suspensions for this past Saturdays UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez event.

Not surprisingly, the fighter to receive the top salary and longest suspension, was former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. For his loss, Lesnar earned a $400,000 payday while also receiving a 180 day medical suspension, barring a doctors clearance.

His opponent, and new UFC heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez earned $200,000 for the win, $100,00 for the fight and a further $100,000 for the victory. The first Mexican-American heavyweight champ was not assessed any medical suspension by the CSAC, leaving a Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos bout open for a possible UFC 125 or 126 date.

The full fighter salaries paid out for UFC 121 was $1.513 million dollars, with former UFC champ Tito Ortiz earning the second highest payout with $250,000 for his loss to Matt Hamill.

The full UFC 121 salaries and medical suspensions, according to MMAFighting.com, are as follows:

UFC 121 Fighter Salaries
Brock Lesnar ($400,000) vs. Cain Velasquez ($100,000 + $100,00 win bonus)
Jake Shields ($75,000 + $75,000) vs. Martin Kampmann $27,000
Diego Sanchez ($50,000 + $50,000 win bonus) vs. Paulo Thiago ($18,000)
Matt Hamill ($29,000 + $29,000 win bonus) vs. Tito Ortiz ($250,000)
Gabriel Gonzaga ($67,000) vs. Brendan Schaub ($10,000 + $10,000 win bonus)
Court McGee ($15,000 + $15,000 win bonus) vs. Ryan Jensen ($10,000)
Patrick Cote ($21,000) vs. Tom Lawlor ($10,000 + $10,000 win bonus)
Mike Guymon ($8,000) vs. Daniel Roberts ($8,000 + $8,000 win bonus)
Sam Stout ($16,000 + $16,000 win bonus) vs. Paul Taylor ($16,000)
Chris Camozzi ($8,000 + $8,000 win bonus) vs. Dongi Yang ($8,000)
John Madsen ($8,000 + $8,000 win bonus) vs. Gilbert Yvel ($30,000)

UFC 121 Medical Suspensions
Patrick Cote 180 days – retina
Chris Camozzi, 60 days – left brow laceration
Dongi Yang, 45 days (30 days of no contact)
Court McGee 180 days – possible broken hand; 45 days (30 days of no contact)
Ryan Jensen, 45 days (30 days of no contact)
Gilbert Yvel, 45 days (30 days of no contact)
Brendan Schaub, 45 days (30 days of no contact)
Gabriel Gonzaga, 45 days (30 days of no contact)
Tito Ortiz, 45 days (30 days of no contact)
Diego Sanchez, 180 days – possible wrist fracture
Paulo Thiago, 60 days – laceration
Jake Shields 180 days – bleeding in eye, blurred vision
Brock Lesnar 180 days – eye; 60 days – cheek laceration

NSAC Adds New Drug Testing Measure, Amends Steroid Rule

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has added another screening test in its attempts to stop fighters from taking illegal measures to improve their performance.
On Tuesday the NSAC will add hemoglobin testing to the list which can sometimes indicate the use of performance enhancing drugs, could indicate blood doping when compared to previous hemoglobin […]

medicalsuspensions8dThe Nevada State Athletic Commission has added another screening test in its attempts to stop fighters from taking illegal measures to improve their performance.

On Tuesday the NSAC will add hemoglobin testing to the list which can sometimes indicate the use of performance enhancing drugs, could indicate blood doping when compared to previous hemoglobin levels.

The LasVegasSun.com spoke to Keith Kizer, the commission’s executive director, who broke it down this way today:

“Basically, when you get the testing done on the blood for diseases like HIV and hepatitis, for a few extra bucks you can check for hemoglobin levels. It shows the amount of red blood cells in a person’s blood. You can compare that to future tests and if there’s a significant variance that could be proof someone took blood doping.”

The NSAC also amended a ruling on the use of anabolic steroids for medical reasons. Now fighters will not only have to provide a doctors note but will also have to undergo an immediate steroid test.

Under the previous policy, any participant looking to secure an exemption for therapeutic testosterone, which can be used to treat several diseases, only needed to submit a doctor’s note to the commission legitimizing its use.

“They do grant therapy exemptions if someone has valid, low testosterone levels,” Kizer said. “One of the things they have to do now though, in addition to proving it’s a legitimate medical condition, is do an immediate steroids test.”

As a fan of mma, this is a step in the right direction for the commission. A fighter showing up with a doctors note saying they require anabolic steroids for a condition probably happens more than we think, but adding an immediate drug test could discourage those trying to cheat the system or catch someone who is trying to pull a fast one at the last minute.

Undertaker Thinks Brock Lesnar Should Train Harder

Awesome interview by Ariel Helwani post-UFC 121 with WWE star the Undertaker.
Right after the headliner, the Undertaker was giving Helwani a little post-fight analysis, when Brock Lesnar walked by them. The Undertaker and Lesnar exchanged a tense look and a few words. Then, the Undertaker started giving Helwani a more candid view of Lesnar, more […]


Awesome interview by Ariel Helwani post-UFC 121 with WWE star the Undertaker.

Right after the headliner, the Undertaker was giving Helwani a little post-fight analysis, when Brock Lesnar walked by them. The Undertaker and Lesnar exchanged a tense look and a few words. Then, the Undertaker started giving Helwani a more candid view of Lesnar, more or less admitting there is some tension between the two WWE greats and that Lesnar should be training harder.

Kudos to Helwani for seeing an opportunity to get Undertaking talking and asking the right questions.

Watch above for more, and look for the Undertaker/Lesnar exchange around the :48 mark.

Interesting side note on that: did odds makers know Lesnar wasn’t training hard for this fight?

UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez – “Fight Night” Bonuses & Gate Numbers

Saturday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship event saw the crowning of a new heavyweight champ in Cain Velasquez, and the emergence of a #1 welterweight contender in Jake Shields.
The Anaheim, California event was held at the Honda Center and saw a reported total of 14,856 fans through the doors, bringing in a live gate of $2.15 million.
Those […]

ufc121posterSaturday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship event saw the crowning of a new heavyweight champ in Cain Velasquez, and the emergence of a #1 welterweight contender in Jake Shields.

The Anaheim, California event was held at the Honda Center and saw a reported total of 14,856 fans through the doors, bringing in a live gate of $2.15 million.

Those fans got to watch the performances of Diego Sanchez, Paulo Thiago, Velasquez, and Daniel Roberts who all walked away with $70,000 “Fight Night” bonuses.

“Fight of the Night” went to Diego Sanchez and Paulo Thiago for their three round battle. Sanchez appeared to have returned to from at 170 after faltering to John Hathaway in his last fight. “Nightmare” survived a first round mainly dominated by Thiago, and would go on to score decisive takedowns in the next two to earn a unanimous decision.

The “Knockout of the Night” went to the new UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez, who pummeled former Champ Brock Lesnar in their fight. Lesnar came out strong in the opening moments rushing Velasquez for a takedown, but was unable to match Cain’s boxing skills and found himself on the bottom of a ground-and-pound. The bout was stopped at 4:12 of the first round when the referee stepped in to end the fight.

Lastly, the “Submission of the Night” went to Daniel Roberts who faced another UFC sophomore, Mike Guymon, on the unaired preliminary card. Roberts was able to quickly secure a standing modified anaconda choke, bringing Guymon to the mat. As both men twisted and turned for position, Roberts was able to lock the anaconda choke in forcing the tap at 1:13 of the first.

‘W1: New Ground’ Weigh-in Results – Brett Rogers Hits Scales Twice

The Canadian promotion, Warrior 1, held the weigh-ins for its latest event on Friday evening in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
W-1 New Ground will go down Saturday night at the Halifax Forum on Oct. 23rd, featuring big names such as Brett “The Grim” Rogers (10-2) and Murilo “Ninja” Rua (20-10-1) on the 12 bout card.
According to […]

W1 New GroundThe Canadian promotion, Warrior 1, held the weigh-ins for its latest event on Friday evening in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

W-1 New Ground will go down Saturday night at the Halifax Forum on Oct. 23rd, featuring big names such as Brett “The Grim” Rogers (10-2) and Murilo “Ninja” Rua (20-10-1) on the 12 bout card.

According to TopMMANews.com there were a few issues with the official weigh-in scale, with fighters claiming the “commission scale…was two pounds off.”

Rogers, who is set to face fellow heavyweight Rueben Villareal (18-18-3) in the main event, was forced to hit the scales twice. On his first attempt “The Grim” weighed in at 267.4 pounds, and then came in on weight at 265.2 pounds for his second attempt after the scale was moved to a different surface.

“Ninja” Rua, who has fought at light-heavyweight and middleweight in his career, weighed in at 190.6 pounds for his catchweight (190 lbs) bout with Roy Boughton (4-1), who came in overweight at 195.2 pounds.

The full weigh-in results for the W1 New Ground event is as follows:

Heavyweight bout: Reuben Villareal (252.2) vs Brett Rogers (267.4, 265.2 on 2nd attempt)
Middleweight bout: Chad Cox (185.2) vs Nordine Taleb (184)
Catchweight (190 lbs) bout: Roy Boughton (195.2 ) vs Murilo “Ninja” Rua (190.6)
Light-heavyweight bout: Mychal Clark (206.8) vs Roger Hollett (204.2)
Middleweight bout: Ryan Machan (171.6) vs Matt MacGrath (173.8)
Featherweight bout: Doug Evan (145.6) vs Tristan Johnson (144.6)
Welterweight bout:Sean Pierson (170.8) vs Ricky Goodall (170.4)
Featherweight bout: Musa Tolliver (143.4) vs Jason MacKay (145.8)
Catchweight (190 lbs) bout:Jeremy Hamilton (186.2) vs Chris Johnson (189)
Welterweight bout: Todd Henry (179.2) vs Jeremiah Bernard (174.8)
Featherweight bout: Pat Schilling (145) vs Tom Waters (144.6)
Bantamweight bout: Jeff Black (142.6) vs Michael Imperato 140.4 – (2 hrs) Both Over 135 weight limit.

HT: TopMMANews.com for the full weigh-in results and updates.

“UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez” Weigh-in Results

The weigh-ins for Saturdays latest Ultimate Fighting Championship event, UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez, are taking place just outside of the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Saturdays broadcast will begin with the “UFC Prelims” special on Spike TV, which kicks off at 9PM EST (6PM PST) with two preliminary bouts featuring matches between Patrick Côté vs. […]

ufc121posterThe weigh-ins for Saturdays latest Ultimate Fighting Championship event, UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez, are taking place just outside of the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Saturdays broadcast will begin with the “UFC Prelims” special on Spike TV, which kicks off at 9PM EST (6PM PST) with two preliminary bouts featuring matches between Patrick Côté vs. Tom Lawlor and Court McGee vs. Ryan Jensen.

In the main event, UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar puts his title on the line against number one contender Cain Velasquez. While the co-main event has welterweights Martin Kampmann taking on Jake Shields, who makes his UFC debut.

The full UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez weigh-in results are as follows:

Main card

Heavyweight Championship bout: (c) Brock Lesnar (264) vs. Cain Velasquez (244)
Welterweight bout: Jake Shields (170.5) vs. Martin Kampmann (170)
Light Heavyweight bout: Tito Ortiz (206) vs. Matt Hamill (203.5)
Heavyweight bout: Brendan Schaub (239) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (254)
Welterweight bout: Diego Sanchez (170.5) vs. Paulo Thiago (170.5)

Preliminary card (Spike TV)

Middleweight bout: Court McGee (184.5) vs. Ryan Jensen (185)
Middleweight bout: Patrick Côté (185) vs. Tom Lawlor (185)

Preliminary card

Welterweight bout: Mike Guymon (170) vs. Daniel Roberts (170)
Lightweight bout: Sam Stout vs. (155.5) Paul Taylor (155)
Middleweight bout: Dong Yi Yang (186) vs. Chris Camozzi (185)
Heavyweight bout: Gilbert Yvel (249) vs. Jon Madsen (254.5)