Tag: UFC+134

UFC 134 Bonuses: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Leads $100,000 Winners

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In what may have been the biggest international showcase for the UFC in its history, the promotion handed out some of its biggest bonuses, as well.

Fight night bonus awards in the amount of $100,000 each were given to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Edson Barboza and Ross Pearson after the historic UFC 134 card in Rio de Janeiro. It was the UFC’s first trip to Brazil since 1998.

There was no submission in the 12 fights on the card at HSBC Arena in Rio, so UFC president Dana White said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference he got to save a little money. Previous six-figure bonuses have been awarded at UFC 129 in Toronto, where fighters got $129,000 bonuses after fights in front of a UFC record of more than 55,000 fans. And at UFC 100, bonus winners also got $100,000 each.

Nogueira won Knockout of the Night for his first-round stoppage of surging heavyweight contender Brendan Schaub. Nogueira, fighting for the first time in front of his home country after more than 40 career fights, and just a mile from his gym and three miles from his home, returned after an 18-month layoff to record the upset. Schaub had won four straight fights.

Nogueira had to beat out several other candidates for the KO award, including debuting Brazilian Erick Silva, who stopped fellow countryman Luis Ramos just 40 seconds into the first round. And on the main card, Stanislav Nedkov upset Luiz Cane with a first-round TKO and Shogun Rua beat Forrest Griffin with a first-round finish, as well.

In the main event, Nogueira’s Blackhouse teammate Anderson Silva defended his middleweight title for the ninth straight time with a TKO of Yushin Okami. And that, too, could have vied for the knockout bonus.

Barboza and Pearson each won $100,000 for Fight of the Night for a close bout that saw Barboza, from Brazil, win a split decision. Pearson seemed to win much of the standup battle, though Barboza scored a knockdown early in the second round. Barboza improved to 9-0 overall and 3-0 in the UFC. The Fight of the Night bonus was his second straight.

 

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In what may have been the biggest international showcase for the UFC in its history, the promotion handed out some of its biggest bonuses, as well.

Fight night bonus awards in the amount of $100,000 each were given to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Edson Barboza and Ross Pearson after the historic UFC 134 card in Rio de Janeiro. It was the UFC’s first trip to Brazil since 1998.

There was no submission in the 12 fights on the card at HSBC Arena in Rio, so UFC president Dana White said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference he got to save a little money. Previous six-figure bonuses have been awarded at UFC 129 in Toronto, where fighters got $129,000 bonuses after fights in front of a UFC record of more than 55,000 fans. And at UFC 100, bonus winners also got $100,000 each.

Nogueira won Knockout of the Night for his first-round stoppage of surging heavyweight contender Brendan Schaub. Nogueira, fighting for the first time in front of his home country after more than 40 career fights, and just a mile from his gym and three miles from his home, returned after an 18-month layoff to record the upset. Schaub had won four straight fights.

Nogueira had to beat out several other candidates for the KO award, including debuting Brazilian Erick Silva, who stopped fellow countryman Luis Ramos just 40 seconds into the first round. And on the main card, Stanislav Nedkov upset Luiz Cane with a first-round TKO and Shogun Rua beat Forrest Griffin with a first-round finish, as well.

In the main event, Nogueira’s Blackhouse teammate Anderson Silva defended his middleweight title for the ninth straight time with a TKO of Yushin Okami. And that, too, could have vied for the knockout bonus.

Barboza and Pearson each won $100,000 for Fight of the Night for a close bout that saw Barboza, from Brazil, win a split decision. Pearson seemed to win much of the standup battle, though Barboza scored a knockdown early in the second round. Barboza improved to 9-0 overall and 3-0 in the UFC. The Fight of the Night bonus was his second straight.

 

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Renzo Says a Gracie Should Fight in Rio, but It Won’t Be Him

Filed under: UFCThe UFC’s August fight card in Rio de Janeiro is just about set, but one question remains: Will anyone from the first family of Brazilian jiu jitsu be a part of it?

One member of that family, Renzo Gracie, says he feels strongly that a…

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The UFC’s August fight card in Rio de Janeiro is just about set, but one question remains: Will anyone from the first family of Brazilian jiu jitsu be a part of it?

One member of that family, Renzo Gracie, says he feels strongly that a Gracie should be a part of the event. But Renzo says it won’t be him, because he simply hasn’t had time to prepare for an MMA fight with all the work it takes to run his own jiu jitsu school.

“In reality, I can’t,” Gracie said on The MMA Hour. “I have no time now. I was planning to, I began the training, but my life is so crazy I couldn’t dedicate 100 percent to that.”

Gracie said he would love to see his cousin Royce Gracie, the first UFC champion, fight on the UFC 134 card. And if not Royce, Renzo thinks someone named Gracie should be in the Octagon representing the family.

“I hope Royce fights,” Renzo said. “To have a Gracie fight there would be great — great for the fans, to have someone from my family fighting. I hoped to do it but I don’t have the time to concentrate to it.”

Renzo said his next competition will be an Abu Dhabi Combat Club grappling match with Mario Sperry, and then he’ll begin preparing for another UFC fight.

“For sure, I’ll be fighting,” Renzo said. “I would fight for free anywhere. That’s how much I like this. The UFC is paying me, so how could I say no, but that’s the reality. … I love the sport so much.”

Renzo, who last fought against former welterweight champion Matt Hughes in April of 2010, said that when he does fight again he’ll move down to lightweight. He also said that he’s sure he’ll continue to fight in the UFC and not move to another promotion, because of his respect for UFC President Dana White.

“It’s great,” Renzo said of the UFC. “I love Dana. I’ve known Dana since before he was the UFC president and I’ve always had a great relationship with him.”

According to Renzo, the fighting future of the Gracie family is bright and includes his own 16-year-old son, whom Renzo expects to see fighting in the UFC some day. Renzo said his son is a passionate student of jiu jitsu, and Renzo would love to see his son turn his attention full-time to jiu jitsu and MMA right now, but his wife insists that their son finish school first.

So we can rule out Renzo and his son UFC 134. But Renzo is still holding out hope that the UFC Rio card will include a Gracie.

 

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Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio Rua Rematch to Take Place at UFC Rio Event

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsA rematch of the epic September 2007 matchup between Forrest Griffin and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will take place at the UFC’s upcoming event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, MMA Fighting has learned from sources with k…

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A rematch of the epic September 2007 matchup between Forrest Griffin and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will take place at the UFC’s upcoming event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, MMA Fighting has learned from sources with knowledge of the situation.

Early Friday morning, UFC president Dana White confirmed to MMA Fighting that the two former light-heavyweight champions would clash again.

The original scrap between the two took place at UFC 76, with Griffin winning via third-round submission, pulling off the finish with just 15 seconds left in the bout. Griffin used the momentum of that win to propel him into a championship victory over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in July 2008.