UFC 68: Fighter Salaries

UFCJunkie.com did some heavy lifting this morning and captured the fighter’s salaries from this past Saturday’s UFC 68 PPV.

Note that the Purse Amount is the amount the fighters get paid. This amounts don’t include fight of the night, submission of the night, or knock out of the night, as well as the amounts champions and challengers get from the PPV buys/gate.

Total Purse: $697,000
Total Gate: $3,014,520
Attendance: 19,079

Jamie Varner def. Jason Gilliam via submission (round 1, 1:34)

Jamie Varner: $6,000 ($3,000 to show, $3,000 to win)
Jason Gilliam: $3,000 ($3,000 to show, no win bonus)
Gleison Tibau def. Jason Dent via unanimous decision

Gleison Tibau: $6,000 ($3,000 to show, $3,000 to win)
Jason Dent: $3,000 ($3,000 to show, no win bonus)
Jon Fitch def. Luigi Fioravanti via submission (round 2, 3:05)

Jon Fitch: $28,000 ($14,000 to show, $14,000 to win)
Luigi Fioravanti: $8,000 ($8,000 to show, no win bonus)
Matt Hamill def. Rex Holman via TKO (round 1, 4:00)

Matt Hamill: $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 to win)
Rex Holman: $3,000 ($3,000 to show, no win bonus)
Jason Lambert def. Renato Sobral via KO (round 2, 3:26)

Jason Lambert: $18,000 ($9,000 to show, $9,000 to win)
Renato Sobral: $21,000 ($21,000 to show, no win bonus)
Matt Hughes def. Chris Lytle via unanimous decision

Matt Hughes: $150,000 ($75,000 to show, $75,000 to win)
Chris Lytle: $10,000 ($10,000 to show, no win bonus)
Rich Franklin def. Jason MacDonald via TKO (round 2, 5:00)

Rich Franklin: $42,000 ($21,000 to show, $21,000 to win)
Jason MacDonald: $14,000 ($14,000 to show, no win bonus)
Martin Kampmann def. Drew McFedries via (round 1, 4:06)

Martin Kampmann: $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Drew McFedries: $5,000 ($5,000 to show, no win bonus)
Randy Couture def. Tim Sylvia via unanimous decision

Randy Couture: $250,000 ($125,000 to show, $125,000 to win)
Tim Sylvia: $100,000 ($100,000 to show, no win bonus)

Nick Diaz Tests Positive for Marijuana

According to MMAWeekly’s Ivan Trembow, Nick Diaz tested positive for Marijuana in a drug test taken moments before his submission victory over Takanori Gomi at Pride 33: The Second Coming. That might explain some of the reason’s Diaz was acting the way he did at certain moments during the first round (and even the reason why he didn’t finish Gomi when he clearly could have).

Diaz will have the opportunity to defend himself in a hearing on the issue with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, however the typical punishment for a positive drug test is a six-month suspension within the state of Nevada and with Pride’s recent announcement of the cancellation of the April 28th event that was supposed to be held in Nevada, it doesn’t look like his Pride committments will be an issue.

For those that failed to see the fight, Diaz survived an early on-slaught by Gomi and turned the fight heavily in his favor. Gomi showed no defense on his feet and was a punching bag for Diaz.

Instead of me explaining it, view the Diaz vs. Gomi fight below.

UFC 68: The Uprising Results

It’s been awhile since I last made a post. I’ve been busy with a few things, but plan on getting things back on track here. Last night’s UFC 68: The Uprising from The Nationwide Arena in Colombus, OH was an amazing event with an even more amazing finish with Randy “The Natural” Couture capturing the UFC Heavyweight Title for the 3rd time in a 50-45 unanimous decision over Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia.

Jason Lambert beat Renato Babalu Sobral

In the opening bout of the PPV telecast, Jason “The Punisher” Lambert beat Renato “Babalu” Sobral by TKO at 3:36 in the 2nd round. Sobral started the fight strong and clearly won the opening round with a good early take down, and at one point getting Lambert’s back and a near choke. However in the remaining 30 seconds, the fight returned to the feet and Lambert blasted Sobral. Sobral survived the first round, however Lambert’s strike clearly changed the course of this match.

Round two was all Lambert. Lambert got a take down, and punished Sobral in the guard. Referee John McCarthy stood both men up, and Lambert nailed Sobral with left as Sobral was charging in.

Matt Hughes beat Chris Lytle

Next up was Matt Hughes defeating Chris Lytle via a 30-27 unanimous decision. This was probably the sleeper fight of the night (and when I say sleeper, I mean, falling asleeper) unless you’re a true mat wrestling fan. Hughes clearly dominated the entire fight with Lytle getting a few nice reversals. The end saw Hughes going for an armbar, however Lytle was able to twist his body out of it. Crowd booed heavily at the ending. This clearly wasn’t a strong performance for Hughes, however it is a confidence builder on his way back to contention for the Welterweight belt.

Post fight saw the crowd booing Anderson Silva as Franklin vs. MacDonald was up next.

Rich Franklin beat Jason MacDonald

The second bout of the telecast was Rich “Ace” Franklin defeating Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald by corner stoppage at 5:00 in the 2nd round via TKO. Rich Franklin, a Cincinnati, OH native was clearly the crowd favorite here (as the event was from Colombus). The opening round saw good strikes and take down defense by Franklin. His training clearly showed an improved Rich Franklin.

Round two was dominated late by Franklin. Franklin was on top in the closing moments and MacDonald was clearly done. As MacDonald went back to his corner, the corner called it off and Franklin was determined the winner. Post fight saw Anderson Silva and Rich Franklin pose in the ring. Dana White announced their rematch will be in Cincinnati (which didn’t go over that well with the Colombus natives).

Martin Kampmann beat Drew McFedries

The next bout saw Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann defeat Drew McFedries via submision at 4:06 in the first round via head and arm triangle choke. For about 3:30 McFedries was landing blow after blow to Kampmann’s face. It was all but a matter of time before Kampmann was to be knocked out. Kampmann took the fight to the mat, got side control, spun around the top to the other side and secured a quick head and arm triangle. McFedries was out. In my mind, a huge upset.

Randy Couture beat Tim Sylvia to capture the UFC Heavyweight Title

Randy “The Natural” Couture defeated Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia by unanimous decision and capture the UFC Heavyweight Title for the 3rd time. From a fight standpoint, this wasn’t the greatest fight in the world. However, from an emotional standpoint, this was clearly the MMA’s “Rocky moment”, or something similar to the USA beating Russia in Olympic Hockey.

In the opening seconds, Couture landed a nasty right to the jaw of Sylvia that dropped Sylvia to the mat. Couture pounced, took the back of Sylvia, however Sylvia defended a rear choke attempt. The next few rounds were very similar in that Couture’s gameplan was to duck and weave the strike attempts by Sylvia to get in close and get the take down. Sylvia’s takedown defense was very weak, especially with a 60 pound weight difference Couture was easily able to take the fight to the mat in all five rounds. Round three saw both men on their feet the entire time, however Couture outstruck Sylvia.

Couture’s next challenge is likely Mirko Cro Cop, a man above and beyond Tim Sylvia in all aspects. It’s hard to bet against Randy Couture, however this fight with Sylvia had a LOT of people nay-saying the ability of Randy Couture at 43 years old. I was under the impression this would be similar to the Jeff Monson title defense, and more or less it was, however Tim Sylvia seemed a lot more prepared for that fight than this one.

Did you happen to see the PPV, what were your thoughts?