MMAVu

Here’s what the UFC fighters rake in on Saturday night, keeping in mind the UFC does not disclose any hidden bonuses or sponsorship money.

Main Event:

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson $325,000 (with $100,000 win bonus) defeated Keith Jardine $55,000 by decision.

Main Card:

Shane Carwin $32,000 (with $16,000 win bonus) defeated Gabriel Gonzaga $60,000 by KO.

Matt Brown $16,000 (with $8,000 win bonus) defeated Pete Sell $12,000 by TKO.

Matt Hamill $40,000 (with $20,000 win bonus) defeated Mark Munoz $12,000 by KO.

Gray Maynard $20,000 (with $10,000 win bonus) defeated Jim Miller $9,000 by decision.

Preliminaries:

Tamdan McCrory $20,000 (with $10,000 win bonus) defeated Ryan Madigan $3,000 by TKO.

Kendall Grove $44,000 (with $22,000 win bonus) defeated Jason Day $5,000 by KO.

Jason Brilz $10,000 (with $5,000 win bonus) defeated Tim Boetsch $12,000 by decision.

Brandon Vera $60,000 (with $30,000 win bonus…wow, quite the far cry from the 100k +100k, 115k+115k he was offered about 18 months ago by the UFC) defeated Mike Patt $5,000 by TKO.

Shane Nelson $16,000 (with $8,000 win bonus) defeated Aaron Riley $6,000 by TKO.

UFC 96 Awards and Bonuses, a cool $60,000 each

96 Fight of the Night:
Quinton Jackson and Keith Jardine. Not a surprise, both guys showed guts, especially Jardine who kept coming back for more punishment.

UFC 96 Knockout of the Night:
Matt Hamill. Really, this award could have easily gone to Shane Carwin or Kendall Grove. There were KOs and TKOs galore on this card, a real crowd pleaser, even if the card itself lacked real star power. This is one of the pains we have to deal with as the UFC works through injuries as well as loads up on UFC 100 in July.

UFC 96 Submission of the Night:
There were no submissions…but couldn’t they have handed out TWO KO’s of the night awards?? Carwin and Grove deserved better.

Prelims:

Aaron Riley (27-10) and (Sugar) Shane Nelson (11-3)

Nelson is best known for being Junie Browning’s sidekick during TUF 8. The guy has a big mouth and could not back up his words, quickly getting subbed by Efrain Escudero. I’ll take Riley by submission, despite Nelson’s training with BJ Penn.

Brandon (The Truth) Vera (9-3) vs Mike Patt (12-3)

Vera, by TKO in the 1st round. Seems the UFC is setting Vera up for success, as he’s key to their Asian expansion plans.

Tim (The Barbarian) Boetsch (8-2 vs Jason (The Hitman) Brilz (16-1)

Have to go with the Jeet Kun Do deciple in this one…how can you not? Boetsch by 1st round TKO.

Kendall (Da Spyder) Grove (10-4) vs Jason (Dooms) Day (17-6)

I’m pulling for Day, but think Grove will squeak out a decision.

Tamdan (The Barncat) McRory (10-2) vs Ryan (The Lion) Madigan (5-0)

No idea about Madigan. McRory by 2nd round sub.

MAIN CARD:

Gray (The Bully) Maynard (6-0) vs Jim Miller (13-1)

Maynard is almost the 2nd coming of Sean Sherk. He’ll smother Miller and take the nod by decision.

Matt (The Hammer) Hamill (5-2) vs Mark (The Philippine Wrecking Machine) Muñoz (5-0)

This is a tough call, as I know next to zero about Munoz. Hamill by 2nd round TKO.

Matt (The Immortal) Brown (8-7) vs Pete (Drago) Sell (8-4)

These guys’ records sure aren’t impressive, are they? Brown’s claim to fame is smacking Jeremy May after May messed with his chew. Sell by decision.

Shane Carwin (10-0) vs Gabriel (Napão) Gonzaga (10-3)

This is almost a gatekeeper match for Carwin, a test of his mettle. Gonzaga could throw a wrench into the UFC’s plan on building up Carwin, and that’s exactly what he’ll do. Gonzaga by 2nd round sub.

Keith (The Dean of Mean) Jardine (14-4-1) vs Quinton (Rampage) Jackson (29-7)

Tough call, despite the book maker’s odds favoring Rampage by 3-1. Jardine has a wonky style, and is tough to figure out. I’ll go out on a limb and go with Jardine by decision. THEN see what the UFC does, as they seem to be banking on Evans vs Jackson this summer.