Tag: Ross Pearson

Jason High Receives One-Year Suspension, $1,900 Fine for Ref-Shoving Incident


(Shove a ref, receive a pink slip. Single leg takedown a ref, receive GIF glory.)

So those corrupt, two-timing, no-good shysters known as the New Mexico Athletic Commission held a meeting in Albuquerque to deal with the fallout from Fight Night 42 yesterday. On the evening’s agenda: Determining Jason High‘s punishment for shoving referee Kevin Mulhall following his second round TKO defeat to Rafael Dos Anjos, and upholding or denying Ross Pearson’s decision loss to Diego Sanchez.

Unfortunately for High, his moment of cloudy judgement had already seen him axed from the UFC before Dana White could even review the footage of the incident. And now, the hits just keep on coming for “The Kansas City Bandit”, who might want to consider changing his nickname to “H.R. Shoven Stuff” (I am so sorry). High was handed down a one year suspension from the New Mexico Athletic Commission for his err in judgment and fined 10% of his $19,000 purse, or $1,900. But that’s just a small price to pay for notoriety, amiright?

It’s a relatively unheard of suspension given the nature of High’s infraction. I can only think of a couple altercations between referees and fighters over the years that didn’t involve Gilbert Yvel — one was James Thompson/Dan Miragliotta at EliteXC: Primetime and the other was Phil Baroni/Larry Landless at UFC 45. While no punishment was given to Thompson for smushing Miragliotta’s face, Baroni actually punched Landless and received just a 4 month suspension for doing so. Diff’rent era, diff’rent rules, I guess.

Oh yes, as to the Sanchez/Pearson decision…


(Shove a ref, receive a pink slip. Single leg takedown a ref, receive GIF glory.)

So those corrupt, two-timing, no-good shysters known as the New Mexico Athletic Commission held a meeting in Albuquerque to deal with the fallout from Fight Night 42 yesterday. On the evening’s agenda: Determining Jason High‘s punishment for shoving referee Kevin Mulhall following his second round TKO defeat to Rafael Dos Anjos, and upholding or denying Ross Pearson’s decision loss to Diego Sanchez.

Unfortunately for High, his moment of cloudy judgement had already seen him axed from the UFC before Dana White could even review the footage of the incident. And now, the hits just keep on coming for “The Kansas City Bandit”, who might want to consider changing his nickname to “H.R. Shoven Stuff” (I am so sorry). High was handed down a one year suspension from the New Mexico Athletic Commission for his err in judgment and fined 10% of his $19,000 purse, or $1,900. But that’s just a small price to pay for notoriety, amiright?

It’s a relatively unheard of suspension given the nature of High’s infraction. I can only think of a couple altercations between referees and fighters over the years that didn’t involve Gilbert Yvel — one was James Thompson/Dan Miragliotta at EliteXC: Primetime and the other was Phil Baroni/Larry Landless at UFC 45. While no punishment was given to Thompson for smushing Miragliotta’s face, Baroni actually punched Landless and received just a 4 month suspension for doing so. Diff’rent era, diff’rent rules, I guess.

In regards to the Sanchez/Person decision, it might shock you to learn that the NMAC decided to uphold Sanchez’s controversial win, stating quote, “You leave it in the f*cking hands of those incompetent f*cking judges, you f*cking deserve whatever comes of it. F*ck Bellator.”

I’m sorry, I must have mixed up Dana White’s statement with that of the NMAC. My b.

As we previously mentioned, Pearson was granted his win bonus by the UFC despite the loss and is expected to receive a step up in competition for his next fight as if he had won it anyways. In other words, we have now reached the era of MMA where we don’t even have to pretend that decisions matter in terms of matchmaking. Chael Sonnen’s unretirement status: Imminent.

Personally, I’m just wondering how Sanchez is dealing with the fact that his first win in his past three contests is being all but invalidated by everyone but the people who are supposed to be in charge of determining that sort of thing. It doesn’t exactly serve as a vote of confidence in the TUF 1 alum, but then again, perhaps if he focused more on coming at his bros and less on asking his bros to come at him, bro, he wouldn’t be at the center of so many controversial decisions (*cough* Kampmann *cough* Gomi *cough*)

–J. Jones

UFC Fight Night 42 Salaries: Diego Sanchez Steals Six Figures, While Flyweights Continue to Be Undervalued


(Lol I got dis in da bag. Photo via Getty.)

In February of 2006, former UFC fighter Lee Murray orchestrated the now-infamous London Securitas heist and (temporarily) made off with nearly $90 million dollars. It was not only considered the biggest robbery in MMA History, but the largest cash robbery in the history of the UK.

Last weekend at Fight Night 42, Diego Sanchez accomplished a similar, albeit more modest feat, successfully robbing Ross Pearson of a hard-earned decision victory and the UFC of an event-high $140,000. And in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico, no less. While the New Mexico Athletic Commission’s involvement in the brilliantly executed heist remains under investigation, Sanchez appears to be in the clear. For now, at least.

Ben Henderson, on the other hand, must have renegotiated his contract at gunpoint. See what we’re talking about after the jump…


(Lol I got dis in da bag. Photo via Getty.)

In February of 2006, former UFC fighter Lee Murray orchestrated the now-infamous London Securitas heist and (temporarily) made off with nearly $90 million dollars. It was not only considered the biggest robbery in MMA History, but the largest cash robbery in the history of the UK.

Last weekend at Fight Night 42, Diego Sanchez accomplished a similar, albeit more modest feat, successfully robbing Ross Pearson of a hard-earned decision victory and the UFC of an event-high $140,000. And in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico, no less. While the New Mexico Athletic Commission’s involvement in the brilliantly executed heist remains under investigation, Sanchez appears to be in the clear. For now, at least.

Ben Henderson, on the other hand, must have renegotiated his contract at gunpoint…

Benson Henderson: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus)
Rustam Khabilov: $17,000

Diego Sanchez: $140,000 (includes $70,000 win bonus)
Ross Pearson: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)

John Dodson: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
John Moraga: $19,000

Rafael dos Anjos: $64,000 (includes $32,000 win bonus)
Jason High: $19,000

Piotr Hallmann: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
Yves Edwards: $24,000

Bryan Caraway: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
Erik Perez: $21,000

Sergio Pettis: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
Yaotzin Meza: $14,000

Lance Benoist: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
Bobby Voelker: $12,000

Scott Jorgensen: $52,000 (includes $26,000 win bonus)
Danny Martinez: $8,000

Jon Tuck: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
Jake Lindsey: $8,000

Patrick Cummins: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
Roger Narvaez: $8,000

Underpaid: Ben Henderson, a former champion who was making six figures just to show in his fights with Gil Melendez and Anthony Pettis, is now making just $45,000 to show. Diego Sanchez, who has dropped two out of his past three fights, never won a title, and hasn’t finished an opponent since 2008, is making $70,000 to show. You feel like taking this one, Kobe?

There it is.

Meanwhile, guys like John Dodson and John Moraga continue to receive peanuts for pay by virtue of being little flyweights that no one cares about alone. Even Bryan Caraway, who despite being a fish-hooking asshole now holds an impressive 4-1 UFC record (with 4 submission wins*), is making chump change. Further muddling the waters of the UFC pay structure is the fact Caraway’s opponent, Erik Perez, is somehow making double the TUF alum’s show rate despite holding the exact same UFC record as Caraway did heading into their fight last weekend. And Dana White wonders why not even the fighters competing on the reality show give a shit anymore.

To end the the exercise in depression that are these salary recaps on a high note, however, you should know that Dana White did in fact give Ross Pearson his win bonus, a.k.a the Cecil People’s “Decision of the Night” award, so perhaps Diego’s robbery was a victimless crime. Ehhhverybody hap-peh!!

*Following Caraway’s win, the UFC displayed a graphic stating that Caraway had tied Urijah Faber for the most submission wins in bantamweight history. At Four. I’m just sayin’, when a number that small is the record to beat, maybe it’s not a stat worth mentioning. 

–J. Jones

Diego Sanchez Tops UFC Fight Night 42 Payroll, Banks $140,000

It looks like two egregious scores from the Albuquerque, New Mexico, judges on Saturday were deciding factors in giving UFC lightweight Diego Sanchez a very lucrative payday at UFC Fight Night 42. 
Sherdog first released the official payroll from …

It looks like two egregious scores from the Albuquerque, New Mexico, judges on Saturday were deciding factors in giving UFC lightweight Diego Sanchez a very lucrative payday at UFC Fight Night 42. 

Sherdog first released the official payroll from the event on Wednesday, revealing that Sanchez walked home $140,000 richer.

The usual disclaimer rings true: the figures don’t include the UFC’s infamous locker room bonuses or the money deducted for taxes. 

Benson Henderson: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus)
Rustam Khabilov: $17,000

Diego Sanchez: $140,000 (includes $70,000 win bonus)
Ross Pearson: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)

John Dodson: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
John Moraga: $19,000

Rafael dos Anjos: $64,000 (includes $32,000 win bonus)
Jason High: $19,000

Piotr Hallmann: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
Yves Edwards: $24,000

Bryan Caraway: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
Erik Perez: $21,000

Sergio Pettis: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
Yaotzin Meza: $14,000

Lance Benoist: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
Bobby Voelker: $12,000

Scott Jorgensen: $52,000 (includes $26,000 win bonus)
Danny Martinez: $8,000

Jon Tuck: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
Jake Lindsey: $8,000

Patrick Cummins: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
Roger Narvaez: $8,000

Sanchez (25-7, 14-7 UFC) has been a part of the UFC since April 2005, when he scored a TKO over Kenny Florian to earn the distinction of the first Ultimate Fighter at middleweight. 

While he fought in the events co-headliner, The Nightmare seemed to make the most headlines in the aftermath of UFC Fight Night 42 since many considered his decision over Ross Pearson one of the worst in MMA history. 

According to FightMetric, The Real Deal outworked Sanchez in every major category: significant strikes, striking accuracy, takedowns and knockdowns. 

Nevertheless, two judges ruled in favor of the hometown favorite, with Judge Jeff Collins inexplicably scoring the fight 30-27 Sanchez—despite getting dropped with a big right hand in the second round. 

Despite the highly controversial outcome of the fight, UFC President Dana White has ruled out a rematch between Sanchez and Pearson and still awarded the English slugger his win bonus, per ESPN. 

Although both competitors initially expressed an interest in a rematch, they have apparently moved on as Sanchez wants to fight Nate Diaz and Pearson is respectfully asking for a matchup with Joe Lauzon.

The No. 2 earner out of the 22 combatants is former lightweight champion Benson Henderson, who submitted underdog Rustam Khabilov with a rear-naked choke in the fourth round. 

Bendo is now in a unique place at 155 pounds, as he boasts a 9-1 record during his time with the UFC, but he has already lost to current titleholder Anthony Pettis twice. 

Rafael dos Anjos, Pearson and Scott Jorgensen were the only other competitors to walk home with over $50,000 (on the books at least). 

 

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Fight Night 42: 5 Potential Opponents for Benson Henderson

UFC Fight Night 42 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was a big night for Benson Henderson, as the former lightweight champion scored his first stoppage victory inside the Octagon. His fourth-round rear-naked choke of Rustam Khabilov showed us that Henderson …

UFC Fight Night 42 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was a big night for Benson Henderson, as the former lightweight champion scored his first stoppage victory inside the Octagon. His fourth-round rear-naked choke of Rustam Khabilov showed us that Henderson is capable of more than simply doing enough to earn a decision, cementing his spot at No. 1 in the UFC’s rankings.

Is Henderson evolving into a full-blown finisher? That much remains to be seen. While we don’t know whom he’ll face in his next outing, we know it won’t be Anthony Pettis, who is currently gearing up to coach the 20th season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite Gilbert Melendez.

The two opposing coaches will face off for the lightweight title at the end of the year, leaving Henderson to continue his uphill march back to contention. With most of the lightweight heap already booked in upcoming fights, who should be next for Henderson?

Should he wait for the winner of one of the highly anticipated lightweight scraps taking place over the next two months? Or should he take on someone who doesn’t currently have a dance partner?

Should he take on someone down the ladder a bit, such as Joe Lauzon or Myles Jury? Or should he go toe-to-toe with Khabib Nurmagomedov or Rafael dos Anjos?

Let’s take a look at five options for Henderson’s next opponent.

Begin Slideshow

Ross Pearson on Diego Sanchez Loss: ‘The Whole World Knows I Won the Fight’

MMA pundits would have to search long and hard to find a group of people who felt Diego Sanchez did enough to beat Ross Pearson at UFC Fight Night 42, but as it turns out, two of the judges on hand in Albuquerque believed just that. 
Now, followin…

MMA pundits would have to search long and hard to find a group of people who felt Diego Sanchez did enough to beat Ross Pearson at UFC Fight Night 42, but as it turns out, two of the judges on hand in Albuquerque believed just that. 

Now, following what was almost unanimously viewed as one of the worst decisions in UFC history, “The Real Deal” spoke on Monday’s edition of Ariel Helwani’s “The MMA Hour” to voice his disbelief on the subject, per MMA Fighting: 

“The whole world knows that I won the fight, I know I won the fight,” Pearson said. “It just looks bad on my career. This was the last fight on my UFC contract, coming from a no-contest with Melvin which wasn’t my fault, than [sic] having this, which isn’t my fault, doesn’t look good from my situation with the UFC, you know what I mean? This is a fight game, the UFC can’t sell ‘Ross Pearson narrowly lost a judges’ decision to Diego Sanchez’ in his next fight, you know what I mean? I can’t go main event in a card now.”

After a brief stint at featherweight where he went 1-1, Pearson returned to his natural weight class at 155 pounds and scored back-to-back TKO’s over George Sotiropoulos and Ryan Couture. 

However, as he mentioned, he has since fallen on some hard luck, as he fought Melvin Guillard to a no-contest at UFC Fight Night 30 in October, an illegal knee rendering him unable to continue.

Then, of course, Saturday produced a real head-scratcher of a decision, to say the least, which saw a bloody and uncharacteristically tentative Sanchez get the nod. 

Pearson also confirmed on “The MMA Hour” that he has indeed filed an appeal with the New Mexico Athletic Commission over the puzzling decision, though he also admitted that he isn’t expecting that to change anything. 

Despite getting roasted in the court of public opinion, Sanchez maintains the belief that he won the fight, though he tweeted his willingness to rematch Pearson in a five-rounder. 

Additionally, the English striker said on the show that he has no problem with this notion, and UFC/FOX Sports 1 color commentator Jon Anik stated that this appears to be the route the UFC will take:

Sanchez is now 2-2 since opting to stop fighting at welterweight, defeating Pearson and Takanori Gomi (at a 158-pound catchweight) in another disputed decision and then losing to top contenders Gilbert Melendez and Myles Jury. 

In the event that a second rendezvous with Pearson does not materialize, Sanchez has expressed his interest in a grudge match with fellow ex-UFC light title challenger Nate Diaz, though the Stockton bad boy isn’t interested, per MMA Mania. 

Sanchez defeated Nate’s older brother, Nick Diaz, via unanimous decision all the way back at The Ultimate Fighter Season 2 Finale in November 2005. 

Is Sanchez vs. Pearson II the best plan of action for the UFC, or would it essentially just be a waste of time for Pearson? 

 

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Ross Pearson’s Teammate Confirms That the New Mexico Athletic Commission is Likely Corrupt as Sh*t [UPDATED]


(“Diego, chu need to stop worrying, meng. Drug tests? We don’t need no stinking drug tests. Viva Mexico!!” Photo via Sherdog.)

Update: Greg Jackson claims that Rustam Khabilov and Diego Sanchez were indeed drug tested for their fights.

You really have to feel for Ross Pearson right about now. For three straight rounds in the Fight Night 42 co-main event last weekend, the TUF 9 winner outstruck, outscored, and plain outworked fellow TUF winner Diego Sanchez, only to watch a clear cut decision victory inexplicably granted to his opponent. “The Real Deal” was not only robbed of his realness, the biggest win of his career, and the bonus money that typically follows, but has since appealed the decision in a move that stands absolutely zero chance of changing anything.

That the egregious decision happened to occur in Albuquerque, New Mexico — the home of both Sanchez and the infamous Jackson’s Gym at which he trains — only fueled the cries of corruption aimed at the New Mexico Athletic Commission following the verdict. And now, one of Pearson’s training partners, Dean Amasinger, has come forward with some equally sketchy information that kinda-sorta indicts the NMAC as the corrupt sonsabitches that we made them out to be (via MMAJunkie):

Ross was drug tested before the fight, which is perfectly normal. That’s absolutely fine, and all this stuff is supposed to be random. But when Ross came back from the drug test, he said to me, ‘I’ve seen the list; none of the Jackson guys are on the drug test list, or the New Mexican guys who are fighting on the card.’ And so I went and checked and that was the case.

With [Sanchez] being from New Mexico and specifically Albuquerque, there’s obvious connections there and obvious potential conflicts of interest. They don’t have a lot of experience with bigger shows, and I think that’s another factor that’s played into this happening.

Crooked commissions you say? THIS THING GOES ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP! (*puts on Serpico costume, brushes beard poetically*)


(“Diego, chu need to stop worrying, meng. Drug tests? We don’t need no stinking drug tests. Viva Mexico!!” Photo via Sherdog.)

Update: Greg Jackson claims that Rustam Khabilov and Diego Sanchez were indeed drug tested for their fights.

You really have to feel for Ross Pearson right about now. For three straight rounds in the Fight Night 42 co-main event last weekend, the TUF 9 winner outstruck, outscored, and plain outworked fellow TUF winner Diego Sanchez, only to watch a clear cut decision victory inexplicably granted to his opponent. “The Real Deal” was not only robbed of his realness, the biggest win of his career, and the bonus money that typically follows, but has since appealed the decision in a move that stands absolutely zero chance of changing anything.

That the egregious decision happened to occur in Albuquerque, New Mexico — the home of both Sanchez and the infamous Jackson’s Gym at which he trains — only fueled the cries of corruption aimed at the New Mexico Athletic Commission following the verdict. And now, one of Pearson’s training partners, Dean Amasinger, has come forward with some equally sketchy information that kinda-sorta indicts the NMAC as the corrupt sonsabitches that we made them out to be (via MMAJunkie):

Ross was drug tested before the fight, which is perfectly normal. That’s absolutely fine, and all this stuff is supposed to be random. But when Ross came back from the drug test, he said to me, ‘I’ve seen the list; none of the Jackson guys are on the drug test list, or the New Mexican guys who are fighting on the card.’ And so I went and checked and that was the case.

With [Sanchez] being from New Mexico and specifically Albuquerque, there’s obvious connections there and obvious potential conflicts of interest. They don’t have a lot of experience with bigger shows, and I think that’s another factor that’s played into this happening.

Crooked commissions you say? THIS THING GOES ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP! (*puts on Serpico costume, brushes beard poetically*)

Further confounding things is the fact that, less than two months ago, Dana White unveiled a new, more complete drug testing policy to media members. Where drug tests were handed out on an individual, random basis to several (but not all) fighters competing on a card in the past, White vowed to test every fighter on a card to help weed out recent criticism:

We’re testing the whole card now. The whole card is getting tested. Everyone is getting tested.

If you can make sure you take a hard enough stance and you can keep these young, talented kids off these drugs, their careers are going to last longer. Once all the kids realize there is a level playing field, you have these guys paranoid, ‘I know this guy is using, I know he is, I have to fight this guy and he’s on it, so maybe I should do it too’ once we can eliminate all that it’s going to make the sport a lot better for everybody, them and us.

UFC and NMAC officials have yet to respond to these rather bold allegations being thrown at them, but for now, let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that the drug tests of all of the Jackson-trained fighters were simply lost in the mail. Or that Pearson simply misread the list of fighters tested prior to Fight Night 42. Yeah, misread…

…I’m sorry. Our sport is either Cecil Peoples-incompetent one day or Don King-corrupt the next, and willful ignorance has become my only defense mechanism. We will have more on this story as it develops.

–J. Jones