Tag: Recap

Could Pedro Nobre Be the First UFC Fighter Ever to Be Released For Faking an Injury? [UPDATED]

This is Pedro Nobre, the TUF: Brazil alum who made his UFC debut last weekend at UFC on FX 7 against fellow Brazilian Iuri Alcantara. As you can tell from the neck brace he is sporting in the above photo, his debut did not go well. Alcantara landed a few supposedly illegal shots to the back of Nobre’s dome, and likely in an effort to make up for his poor performance during the Alessio Sakara/Patrick Cote debacle at UFC 154, referee Dan Miragliotta waved the bout off and declared it a no contest when Nobre was unable to continue.

The only problem was that 90% of the shots Alcantara landed, if not all of them, were neither illegal nor all that devastating (at least from our perspective), which prompted Dana White to post the following on Twitter:

In fact, White became so enraged by Nobre’s Oscar-worthy performance that he recently all but completely closed the door on Nobre’s future UFC aspirations.

After the jump: White’s scathing comments, along with a gif of the stoppage.

This is Pedro Nobre, the TUF: Brazil alum who made his UFC debut last weekend at UFC on FX 7 against fellow Brazilian Iuri Alcantara. As you can tell from the neck brace he is sporting in the above photo, his debut did not go well. Alcantara landed a few supposedly illegal shots to the back of Nobre’s dome, and likely in an effort to make up for his poor performance during the Alessio Sakara/Patrick Cote debacle at UFC 154, referee Dan Miragliotta waved the bout off and declared it a no contest when Nobre was unable to continue.

The only problem was that 90% of the shots Alcantara landed, if not all of them, were neither illegal nor all that devastating (at least from our perspective), which prompted Dana White to post the following on Twitter:

In fact, White became so enraged by Nobre’s Oscar-worthy performance that he recently all but completely closed the door on Nobre’s future UFC aspirations.

When White was pressed on the Nobre’s future in the UFC at the UFC 158 press conference yesterday, not only did he state that Alcantara had received a win bonus despite the no contest ruling, but that he “doubted” Nobre would be invited back to the octagon anytime soon:

I think he’s a fantastic actor. Did you hear he’s walking around Brazil with a neck brace on right now? 

Now, fighters have been released from the UFC for a plethora of reasons in the past: fighting after the bell, being a repeated lardass, and just being a generally shitty fighter with an all-too-large ego, but this might be the first time in UFC history that someone has not been invited back to the organization for (allegedly) faking an injury.

And as it turns out, Nobre did not suffer any long term injuries as a result of the fight, and recently told MMAJunkie that he was eager to get back in the octagon to rematch Alcantara:

We are both fighters with similar characteristics, who fight always moving forward. I wish to return to the octagon soon. In case the UFC asks for a [rematch], to remove any doubt, we would do everything to make it up to the audience. 

Unfortunately for Nobre, it doesn’t look like he will be getting that chance. Check out a GIF of the stoppage right here, courtesy of our friends at Fightlinker. Whether you feel Nobre was legitimately unable to continue or not is ultimately a moot point; the real question to ask yourself is whether or not the shots that were responsible for ending the fight were illegal or not. And unless you’re Mr. Magoo, you’re probably going to say they weren’t.

[UPDATED]

According to multiple sources, Nobre has indeed been released from the promotion, along with Ken Stone (2-2 UFC, victim of two of the most brutal knockout losses of all time during his WEC and UFC runs), Byron Bloodworth (0-2 UFC) and Josh Janousek, who was set to make his promotional debut on short notice against Michael Kuiper at UFC on Fox 6, but recently pulled out with a last-minute injury. 

Nobre recently responded to the allegations that he was faking an injury via Sherdog.com:

At no time during the fight did I complain about blows to the neck because I was almost knocked out there and did not know where the blows were coming. And nobody asked me also if I could continue, they just asked what hurt. Then I thought I had lost [the fight]. Only at the hospital did they tell me that it had been ruled a no contest. It was a bad thing to have taken the victory from Yuri, but when I reviewed the fight, I saw that the blows really came on the neck. It is illegal, so the no contest was fair. I felt the blows when I turned back. I was almost knocked out already. If he did not land those blows to the neck, he would have achieved a fair victory. As for the crowd, I did not understand why they called me quitter because, as I said, in my mind I was leaving to the hospital after losing by TKO. I saw the repercussions on the Internet, and I was sad. Everyone who has been following my career knows me. Everyone knows the character I have, but [some are saying] that I gave up the fight. Gee, brother, I was knocked out. The referee stopped it; the fight was over. I did not ask to stop, and they did not ask if I wanted to continue.

–J. Jones

‘TUF 17: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen,’ Episode 1 — The Good, The Bad, And the Ugly

The Ultimate Fighter returned last night with the two-hour premiere of “Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen,” and since the show is no longer on Friday nights, we figured we’d give it a look. Full results from the 14 middleweight elimination fights and team selections are at the end of this post, but first, let’s run through what worked, what didn’t, and what really didn’t…

The Good
– Allowing the fighters’ friends and family members to watch their elimination fights. It raised the emotional stakes for the competitors, removed the eerie silence that plagued the elimination rounds of previous seasons, and led to moments like this. Also, Andy Enz’s dad should be hired as an assistant coach. “REFUSE TO LOSE!”

– The stoppages. Eight of the 14 elimination fights ended in the first round. In general, there weren’t a lot of point-fighters or reality-show goofballs on display — just a bunch of raw, aggressive dudes who came to win.

The Ultimate Fighter returned last night with the two-hour premiere of “Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen,” and since the show is no longer on Friday nights, we figured we’d give it a look. Full results from the 14 middleweight elimination fights and team selections are at the end of this post, but first, let’s run through what worked, what didn’t, and what really didn’t…

The Good
– Allowing the fighters’ friends and family members to watch their elimination fights. It raised the emotional stakes for the competitors, removed the eerie silence that plagued the elimination rounds of previous seasons, and led to moments like this. Also, Andy Enz’s dad should be hired as an assistant coach. ”REFUSE TO LOSE!”

– The stoppages. Eight of the 14 elimination fights ended in the first round. In general, there weren’t a lot of point-fighters or reality-show goofballs on display — just a bunch of raw, aggressive dudes who came to win.

– The production values. Did anybody else get the feeling that the show has started trying harder? I think the UFC understands that this Jones vs. Sonnen season needs to work — or else they set up an absurd title fight for nothing.

The Bad
– Josh Samman’s verbal antics. Yelling “Are you guys ready?” after getting on top Leo Bercier was “Say Goodnight!“-caliber lame. And nobody was impressed with the shouts of “HAI!” he unleashed with each Sakuraba-wannabe double-chop and elbow he threw down during the drawn-out finish.

– Jon Jones shouting instructions at Clint Hester during his fight. I don’t know. It just kind of sucked for the other guy. Hester later became Jones’s #1 pick.

– Mentioning that Dylan Andrews grew up in a marijuana grow house, but failing to mention how Tim Williams got all those gnarly scars on his face.

– The Harley-Davidson product placement. Sure, it’s a cool incentive for the season’s winner, but watching Salesman Sonnen straddle on the bike like he was hosting a QVC segment was a bit awkward.

The Ugly
– Nik Fekete getting knocked out in like seven seconds. Yeesh. This guy was just born to be highlight-reel fodder for other fighters.

– “This guy’s name is Collin ‘The Dick’ Hart.”

– Sonnen’s insistence on speaking in rhyme. ”How you gonna deal with the team of steel, and how will you react when I put my boys on the attack.” Worst attempt at hip-hop from a white dude since Dee Dee King.

Complete fight results:

– Adam Cella def. Jake Heun via submission (armbar), round 1
– Zak Cummings def. Nik Fekete via TKO, round 1
– Kevin Casey def. Eldon Sproat via submission (rear-naked choke), round 1
– Tor Troeng def. Scott Rosa via submission (rear-naked choke), round 1
– Clint Hester def. Fraser Opie via decision
– Robert “Bubba” McDaniel def. Ryan Bigler via TKO, round 2
– Josh Samman def. Lou Bercier via TKO, round 1
– Kelvin Gastelum def. Kito Andrews via decision
– Jimmy Quinlan def. Mike Persons via TKO, round 1
– Uriah Hall def. Andy Enz via decision
– Gilbert Smith def. Eric Wahlin via submission (arm-triangle choke), round 1
– Luke Barnatt def. Nicholas Kohring via decision
– Dylan Andrews def. Tim Williams via decision
– Collin Hart def. Mike Jasper via submission (rear-naked choke), round 1

Sonnen wins the coin toss, and chooses to select the first fighter. The picks shake out like this…

Team Sonnen
Luke Barnatt
Uriah Hall
Zak Cummings
Tor Troeng
Jimmy Quinlan
Kevin Casey
Kelvin Gastelum

Team Jones
Clint Hester
Josh Samman
Robert “Bubba” McDaniel
Gilbert Smith
Collin Hart
Adam Cella
Dylan Andrews

Jones gets to select the first matchup, and decides to have Gilbert Smith take a run at Sonnen’s towering #1 pick, Luke Barnatt. It’s a very risky move — Smith could be walking into a death-trap, and losing the ability to pick the matchups would put Team Jones at a serious disadvantage. But if Smith manages to beat Barnatt, it would be a demoralizing loss for Team Sonnen right off the bat. We shall see…

(BG)

UFC on FX 7 Aftermath: There is a Jesus


(Now that we’ve settled our differences, Michael, I’d like to tell you about a friend of mine)

By Elias Cepeda

If Michael Bisping’s trash-talking mouth didn’t write checks that his fists couldn’t cash so often it’s very likely he’d be known as a British MMA pioneer with incredible work ethic and who improved greatly over the course of his career. Instead, Bisping has done his darndest to mask his real accomplishments by playing up imagined ones.

He’s campaigned, with his mouth, for a title shot for years despite losing to every top-tier fighter he’s faced and being gifted wins over less than top-tier ones. Coming into Saturday’s fight against Vitor Belfort in Sao Paulo Brazil, UFC President Dana White said that Bisping would earn a title shot against Anderson Silva with a win.

At that point, Bisping had a one fight win “streak.” Before that win, a decision against Brian Stann last September that could have easily been scored instead for Stann, Bisping lost to Chael Sonnen – who’s twice been beaten by Silva. Not long before that, Bisping walked away with a win against Jorge Rivera in a fight that he should have, in fact, lost by disqualification for his blatant and repeated fouls. His break-out UFC fight was a ludicrously bad decision win over Matt Hamill.

Every time the UFC has pushed Bisping into a fight with a fighter he’d given no indication he should be in the ring with, he’s lost. He’s said it is his destiny to be a world champion and insulted almost everyone else in his division, yet Bisping has lost to every fighter that had been or would go on to be a world champion that he’s faced.

Rashad Evans, Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson and now, Vitor Belfort. Bisping’s win streak is back down to zero after getting TKO’d by Belfort in the second round of their main event Saturday.

Hopefully the talk of him getting a title shot any time soon has also been knocked out.


(Now that we’ve settled our differences, Michael, I’d like to tell you about a friend of mine)

By Elias Cepeda

If Michael Bisping’s trash-talking mouth didn’t write checks that his fists couldn’t cash so often it’s very likely he’d be known as a British MMA pioneer with incredible work ethic and who improved greatly over the course of his career. Instead, Bisping has done his darndest to mask his real accomplishments by playing up imagined ones.

He’s campaigned, with his mouth, for a title shot for years despite losing to every top-tier fighter he’s faced and being gifted wins over less than top-tier ones. Coming into Saturday’s fight against Vitor Belfort in Sao Paulo Brazil, UFC President Dana White said that Bisping would earn a title shot against Anderson Silva with a win.

At that point, Bisping had a one fight win “streak.” Before that win, a decision against Brian Stann last September that could have easily been scored instead for Stann, Bisping lost to Chael Sonnen – who’s twice been beaten by Silva. Not long before that, Bisping walked away with a win against Jorge Rivera in a fight that he should have, in fact, lost by disqualification for his blatant and repeated fouls. His break-out UFC fight was a ludicrously bad decision win over Matt Hamill.

Every time the UFC has pushed Bisping into a fight with a fighter he’d given no indication he should be in the ring with, he’s lost. He’s said it is his destiny to be a world champion and insulted almost everyone else in his division, yet Bisping has lost to every fighter that had been or would go on to be a world champion that he’s faced.

Rashad Evans, Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson and now, Vitor Belfort. Bisping’s win streak is back down to zero after getting TKO’d by Belfort in the second round of their main event Saturday.

Hopefully the talk of him getting a title shot any time soon has also been knocked out. Bisping is well-rounded, fights hard, always comes in shape and promotes fights loudly and well.

The first three traits are admirable but don’t separate the Brit from dozens of other fighters in the middleweight division. It is his name recognition and nation of origin, a country that the UFC is aggressively trying to make establish itself in, that have put Bisping in title contention.

That’s unfair to the fighters who win more often and against better fighters, guys like Chris Weidman. Bisping losing to yet another person that has been starched by division champion Anderson Silva should make it impossible for even the UFC’s fantastic promotion machine to sell the world on Bisping vs. Silva fight.

The Orange County transplant landed a number of nice jabs to the face of Belfort in the first round as the Brazilian measured him up. By the end of the first, however, “The Phenom” had figured out Bisping and stalked him until he landed a head kick flush and staggered “The Count.”

Bisping, with his excellent conditioning, managed to surive the first round. Belfort came right back with another left head kick early in the second, though, and put Bisping down for good.

Post fight, Bisping exhibited the type of humility and class that he never shows leading up to fights. “Congrats to Vitor,” Bisping said afterward. “I have no excuses. I had a great training camp. He’s the better man than me tonight.”

The win was the first time Belfort has won a UFC fight that went longer than five minutes, and he showed that he’s still got some life left in his remarkable career.

Belfort is not, however, a very good trash talker. He’s a horrible one, actually. At the pre-event press conference last Thursday he shouted out, “I’m mad!” convincing no one that he was, in fact, angry.

After beating Bisping Saturday, Belfort put on the ill-fitting smack talker hat and called out light heavyweight Jon Jones, who submitted him this past summer.

“Tell that punk Chael Sonnen, get out,” Belfort said, referring to the two-time title contender that is coaching the next season of TUF opposite Jones and then fighting the champ in April. “Take him out. I want to fight Jon Jones. I need that rematch. Take that clown away. Go home.”

Sure, Sonnen has a hard-earned reputation of being a clown, on the mic and in the ring with shrill screams and submission denials, but Belfort calling out the much larger, younger, quicker champion who just made him say uncle is a bit…well, Bisping or Sonnen-like. Nontheless, Belfort is likely happy with his $50,000 Knockout of the Night bonus.

C.B. Dollaway and Daniel Sarafian earned $50,000 each for their Fight of the Night as well. Dollaway walked away with the split-decision win.

Ildemar Alcantara made his UFC debut extra sweet with a rare knee-bar submission win over Wagner Prado, earning Submission of the Night honors and a bonus check.

Bellator 85 Results: Chandler Dominates Hawn, Curran Sneaks by Pitbull, Babalu and Petruzelli Wash Out of LHW Tournament


(Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting.com)

If we needed any more proof that Michael Chandler deserves to be mentioned among the world’s best 155’ers, we got it last night at Bellator 85 in Irvine, California, when the reigning Bellator lightweight champion made decorated judoka Rick Hawn look like it was his first time on the mats. Chandler completed his takedowns with impressive ease, and when he saw an opportunity to take Hawn’s neck during a scramble in round two, he seized on it, sinking a rear-naked choke and showcasing the killer instinct that has now become a hallmark of Chandler’s game. To be honest, it wasn’t much of a fight, and this season’s lightweight tournament field doesn’t suggest that his next challenger will make things any harder for him. On the bright side, Chandler may have just established himself as Bellator’s greatest home-grown fighter — a budding superstar for the promotion’s new Spike TV era.

While Michael Chandler made his title defense with little resistance, reigning featherweight champion Pat Curran faced a much trickier test in Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. Their title fight (which led off the Spike TV broadcast) played out as a 25-minute kickboxing match, which started slow but built into an entertaining and evenly-pitched battle. Curran’s striking was just a little more active and accurate, however, and if you were judging on facial damage through the fight, Pitbull’s swollen-shut right eye and bloodied mouth didn’t exactly scream “winner.” When the scores were announced, “Judo” Gene LeBell saw it for the challenger, but the other two judges made the right call in awarding the win to the defending champ.

In addition to the two title fights, Bellator 85’s main card also featured a pair of light-heavyweight tournament quarterfinals. Unfortunately, those UFC castoffs we mentioned yesterday are well on their way to becoming Bellator castoffs as well, as Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Seth Petruzelli were steamrolled by their lesser-known competitors. Russian M-1 Challenge vet Mikhail Zayats stunned Sobral with a spinning-backfist near the end of the first round of their fight, then swarmed him to the canvas and fired down punches until the fight was stopped. (Eddie Alvarez’s wife called that shit, you guys.)


(Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting.com)

If we needed any more proof that Michael Chandler deserves to be mentioned among the world’s best 155′ers, we got it last night at Bellator 85 in Irvine, California, when the reigning Bellator lightweight champion made decorated judoka Rick Hawn look like it was his first time on the mats. Chandler completed his takedowns with impressive ease, and when he saw an opportunity to take Hawn’s neck during a scramble in round two, he seized on it, sinking a rear-naked choke and showcasing the killer instinct that has now become a hallmark of Chandler’s game. To be honest, it wasn’t much of a fight, and this season’s lightweight tournament field doesn’t suggest that his next challenger will make things any harder for him. On the bright side, Chandler may have just established himself as Bellator’s greatest home-grown fighter — a budding superstar for the promotion’s new Spike TV era.

While Michael Chandler made his title defense with little resistance, reigning featherweight champion Pat Curran faced a much trickier test in Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. Their title fight (which led off the Spike TV broadcast) played out as a 25-minute kickboxing match, which started slow but built into an entertaining and evenly-pitched battle. Curran’s striking was just a little more active and accurate, however, and if you were judging on facial damage through the fight, Pitbull’s swollen-shut right eye and bloodied mouth didn’t exactly scream “winner.” When the scores were announced, “Judo” Gene LeBell saw it for the challenger, but the other two judges made the right call in awarding the win to the defending champ.

In addition to the two title fights, Bellator 85′s main card also featured a pair of light-heavyweight tournament quarterfinals. Unfortunately, those UFC castoffs we mentioned yesterday are well on their way to becoming Bellator castoffs as well, as Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Seth Petruzelli were steamrolled by their lesser-known competitors. Russian M-1 Challenge vet Mikhail Zayats stunned Sobral with a spinning-backfist near the end of the first round of their fight, then swarmed him to the canvas and fired down punches until the fight was stopped. (Eddie Alvarez’s wife called that shit, you guys.)

It was an unexpected finish, but not nearly as strange as Petruzelli’s anti-climactic showing against Jacob Noe, in which the Silverback blew out his knee during a takedown attempt midway through the first round, and immediately turtled up as Noe ground-and-pounded the crap out of him. Ah well. We still have King Mo, right?

In prelim action, Emanuel Newton advanced in the LHW tournament bracket by choking out Atanas Djambazov, and UFC vet Jason Lambert pulled off a slick first-round armbar against Hector Ramirez in a non-tourney bout. Plus, Savant Young ended Mike Guymon’s brief lightweight comeback in violent fashion, and Jamie Yager indeed got his ass kicked. Hooray! Full results from Bellator 85 are below…

Main Card
– Michael Chandler def. Rick Hawn via submission (rear-naked choke), 3:07 of round 2
– Jacob Noe def. Seth Petruzelli via TKO, 2:51 of round 1
– Mikhail Zayats def. Renato Sobral via TKO, 4:49 of round 1
– Pat Curran def. Patricio Freire via split-decision (48-47 x 2, 47-48)

Preliminary Card
– Aaron Miller def. Joe Camacho via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
– Jason Lambert def. Hector Ramirez via submission (inverted straight armbar), 3:59 of round 1
– J.J. Ambrose def. Brian Warren via submission (guillotine), 0:50 of round 2
– Emanuel Newton def. Atanas Djambazov via submission (rear-naked choke), 2:21 of round 2
– Savant Young def. Mike Guymon via KO, 0:48 of round 2
– Joe Williams def. Jamie Yager via TKO, 4:02 of round 1
– Cleber Luciano def. Mario Navarro via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

Insult to Injury: ‘Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine’ Ratings Tank. Like Really Tank.


(Look at it this way, Nate, at least no one saw Tarec do this to you.) 

Over the past few weeks, we’ve referred to Strikeforce’s final event as a lot of things: “a series of pathetic mismatches on the level of Pros vs. Joes,” “an injury-riddled metaphor for MMA in 2012,” “a once great promotion, now, a study in moppishness,” but no matter how hard we try, words often fail to accurately depict Strikeforce’s drawn out fall from grace.

But where words fail, numbers often succeed. And ladies and gentlemen, the numbers that were just released for Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine say so, so much more than we ever could. According to MMAFighting’s Dave Meltzer, the promotion’s final event brought in less viewers than your average Tuesday afternoon rerun of a Law and Order: Special Victims Unit episode. No, I am not currently watching a rerun of a Law and Order: Special Victims Unit episode. Meltzer writes:

Saturday night’s show was headlined by Nate Marquardt vs. Tarec Saffiedine for the Strikeforce welterweight title, but was really promoted around being the end of an era. However, there was little fan interest in that nostalgia and the event did a 0.82 rating and 310,000 viewers among Showtime subscribers.

From a rating standpoint, the only major Saturday night show on the network that did a number in that ballpark was the September 10, 2011, show from Cincinnati…did an identical 0.82 rating, with 274,000 viewers.

Ouch. While there’s no doubt that the removal of guys like Luke Rockhold and Gil Melendez from the card — and the subsequent cancelling of their title fights — is at least partly responsible for these abysmal ratings, we’re not sure anyone could have seen the former #2 promotion in MMA ending its career on lamer terms than, say, Ice-T in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. 


(Look at it this way, Nate, at least no one saw Tarec do this to you.) 

Over the past few weeks, we’ve referred to Strikeforce’s final event as a lot of things: “a series of pathetic mismatches on the level of Pros vs. Joes,” “an injury-riddled metaphor for MMA in 2012,” “a once great promotion, now, a study in moppishness,” but no matter how hard we try, words often fail to accurately depict Strikeforce’s drawn out fall from grace.

But where words fail, numbers often succeed. And ladies and gentlemen, the numbers that were just released for Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine say so, so much more than we ever could. According to MMAFighting’s Dave Meltzer, the promotion’s final event brought in less viewers than your average Tuesday afternoon rerun of a Law and Order: Special Victims Unit episode. No, I am not currently watching a rerun of a Law and Order: Special Victims Unit episode. Meltzer writes:

Saturday night’s show was headlined by Nate Marquardt vs. Tarec Saffiedine for the Strikeforce welterweight title, but was really promoted around being the end of an era. However, there was little fan interest in that nostalgia and the event did a 0.82 rating and 310,000 viewers among Showtime subscribers.

From a rating standpoint, the only major Saturday night show on the network that did a number in that ballpark was the September 10, 2011, show from Cincinnati…did an identical 0.82 rating, with 274,000 viewers.

Ouch. While there’s no doubt that the removal of guys like Luke Rockhold and Gil Melendez from the card — and the subsequent cancelling of their title fights — is at least partly responsible for these abysmal ratings, we’re not sure anyone could have seen the former #2 promotion in MMA ending its career on lamer terms than, say, Ice-T in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. 

Meltzer continued:

The rating was only slightly better than most of the Challengers shows, low-budget Friday night shows with little or no name talent – and with very little promotion – that usually ranged from 0.5 to 0.75 ratings, and once hit the 1.0 barrier.

The ratings were down 43 percent and total viewing audience down 41 percent from the previous Strikeforce card on Aug. 18, which featured no name fighters outside of a Ronda Rousey vs. Sarah Kaufman main event.

As much as we should probably be surprised by that last bit of information, the fact that Strikeforce cancelled their two previous fight cards, then failed to put together even a few remotely hype-worthy fights for their final event likely drove more than a fair share of potential viewers away before all was said and done.

But if I can speak candidly, I would just like to say that Strikeforce deserved better than this. So, so much better than this. Over the past two years, the promotion has been abused, ridiculed, and purged from within, to the point that not even Detective Elliot Stabler could bring it comfort, let alone justice, in a two hour season finale of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. And for that, we will forever be in your debt, Strikeforce. You fought the good fight, and never once asked for anything but our undying viewership in return. Now let these ominous tones carry you into that good night.

–J. Jones

‘Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine’ Salaries: Josh Barnett Makes 250k The Really, Really, Easy Way


(“OK, Josh, now act like this Nandor fellow was somehow able to land a punch on you. We’ll use it for the gag reel.”)

The Oklahoma Athletic Commission recently released the payout figures for Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine, and wouldn’t you know it, Heavyweight Grand Prix runner-up Josh Barnett was able to walk away with nearly a quarter of the total disclosed $1,153,500 payroll for less than three minutes of work. Also of note, Tarec Saffiedine collected approximately $2.50 for each kick he was able to land on Nate Marquardt, yet still wound up a grand shy of, you guessed it, Frank Stallone Nate Marquardt when all was said and done. Speaking of Marquardt, dude somehow didn’t even get a precautionary suspension despite exiting the arena on crutches with a leg that looked like it had stared at the Ark of the Covenant. We were able to secure an exclusive interview with his doctor earlier today, who smugly stated that “Leg kicks certainly do not end lives” before throwing a smoke bomb and disappearing from the room. A strange man indeed.

Anyway, check out the full list of salaries along with our thoughts after the jump. Per usual, these figures are absent of any locker room bonuses, sponsorship bonuses, or invitations to Scott Coker’s BBQ bash this weekend that any of the fighters may have received.

Tarec Saffiedine: $39,000 ($19,500 win bonus)
def. Nate Marquardt: $40,000

Daniel Cormier: $120,000 ($60,000 win bonus)
def. Dion Staring: $8,000


(“OK, Josh, now act like this Nandor fellow was somehow able to land a punch on you. We’ll use it for the gag reel.”)

The Oklahoma Athletic Commission recently released the payout figures for Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine, and wouldn’t you know it, Heavyweight Grand Prix runner-up Josh Barnett was able to walk away with nearly a quarter of the total disclosed $1,153,500 payroll for less than three minutes of work. Also of note, Tarec Saffiedine collected approximately $2.50 for each kick he was able to land on Nate Marquardt, yet still wound up a grand shy of, you guessed it, Frank Stallone Nate Marquardt when all was said and done. Speaking of Marquardt, dude somehow didn’t even get a precautionary suspension despite exiting the arena on crutches with a leg that looked like it had stared at the Ark of the Covenant. We were able to secure an exclusive interview with his doctor earlier today, who smugly stated that “Leg kicks certainly do not end lives” before throwing a smoke bomb and disappearing from the room. A strange man indeed.

Anyway, check out the full list of salaries along with our thoughts after the jump. Per usual, these figures are absent of any locker room bonuses, sponsorship bonuses, or invitations to Scott Coker’s BBQ bash this weekend that any of the fighters may have received.

Tarec Saffiedine: $39,000 ($19,500 win bonus)
def. Nate Marquardt: $40,000

Daniel Cormier: $120,000 ($60,000 win bonus)
def. Dion Staring: $8,000

Josh Barnett: $250,000 (no win bonus)
def. Nandor Guelmino: $12,000

Gegard Mousasi: $175,000 (no win bonus)
def. Mike Kyle: $25,000

Ronaldo Souza: $100,500 ($28,000 win bonus)
def. Ed Herman: $34,000

Ryan Couture: $22,000 ($7,000 win bonus)
def. KJ Noons: $41,000

Tim Kennedy: $80,000 ($25,000 win bonus)
def. Trevor Smith: $8,000

Pat Healy: $42,000 ($15,000 win bonus)
def. Kurt Holobaugh: $9,000

Roger Gracie: $94,000 ($47,000 win bonus)
def. Anthony Smith: $10,000

Adriano Martins: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus)
def. Jorge Gurgel: $10,000

Estevan Payan: $12,000 ($6,000 win bonus)
def. Michael Bravo: $6,000

Before we get started, we’d like to commend Josh Barnett for battling through an illness that forced him to delay his fight week plans. The man is truly a fighter’s fighter and should be compensated as such. That said, damn. We’re not saying he’s overpaid, we’d just like to know why at a quarter million to show, Strikeforce would be happy throwing Barnett little more than a scary-looking training dummy for his final fight in the promotion. For that kind of money, you’d think they’d at least try and book a fight that didn’t resemble the beginning of a training montage. Seriously, swap Nandor with Sly Stallone and Barnett with Carl Weathers and that fight was basically the scene where Rocky gets dusted by Apollo Creed in a dead sprint on the beach. You know, before Adrian does her typical “What are you afraid of?! Death?! You should be, because HE’LL KILL YA ROCK!” thing and Rocky finds the inner courage to engage in homosexual water-splashing with Apollo or whatever.

Overpaid: According to Keith Kizer, the average MMA judge makes between $200 and $1,000 on a given night, depending on how big the show is, of course. I submit that the judges responsible for scoring the KJ Noons/Ryan Couture fight should not only be forced to turn over that money to the state, but should be ostracized from the MMA community entirely, possibly after a tar-and-feathering ceremony. When I worked at McDonald’s as a teenager, I only took home around $300 a week. I may not have been the perfect employee, but I could always tell the difference between a Filet-o-Fish and a hamburger. Clearly, two of those judges lacked this necessary discriminatory skill, and their ignorance should be eradicated before it infects the state of MMA judging any worse.

Underpaid: You think Strikeforce would have thrown Dion Starling a little more cash for accepting what was pretty much a death sentence on short notice. Looks like the poor bastard will have to continue cutting his own hair in the dark of his long since condemned apartment for the foreseeable future.

–J. Jones