UFC 88 Fighter Salaries

Chuck Liddell – $500,000

Dan Henderson – $250,000

Rashad Evans – $180,000 (Includes $60,000 KO of the Night Bonus and $60,000 win bonus)

Jason MacDonald – $104,000 (Includes $60,000 Submission of the Night Bonus)

Rich Franklin – $100,000

Kurt Pellegrino – $84,000 (Includes $60,000 Fight of the Night Bonus)

Thiago Tavares – $73,000 (Includes $60,000 Fight of the Night Bonus)

Nate Marquardt -$56,000

Dong Hyun Kim – $46,000

Ryo Chonan – $30,000

Jason Lambert – $17,000

Tim Boetsch – $16,000

Martin Kampmann – $15,000

Matt Hamill – $10,000

Roan Carneiro – $9,000

Matt Brown – $8,000

Rousimar Palhares – $7,000

Mike Patt – $5,000

UFC 88 Thoughts and Recap

Quick Results:

Rashad Evans def. Chuck Liddell by KO in round 2

Rich Franklin def. Matt Hamill by TKO in round 3

Dan Henderson def. Rousimar Palhares by unanimous decision

Nate Marquardt def. Martin Kampmann by TKO in round 1

Dong Hyun Kim def. Matt Brown by split decision

Jason MacDonald def. Jason Lambert by submission in round 2

Tim Boetsh def. Mike Patt by TKO in round 1

Kurt Pellegrino def. Thiago Tavares by unanimous decision

Ryo Chonan def. Roan Carneiro by split decision

Fight of the Night: Kurt Pellegrino vs. Thiago Tavares

Submission of the Night: Jason MacDonald

Knockout of the Night: Rashad Evans

My Predictions: I went 6 of 9 (I missed the Rashad Evans vs. Chuck Liddell, Martin Kampmann vs. Nate Marquardt and Kurt Pellegrino vs. Thiago Tavares fights)

My Thoughts on UFC 88:

• Rashad Evans was impressive as heck.  I was utterly shocked.  I thought after round 1 Chuck would finish it.  Rashad looked good all round 2.  He was winning that fight even before the KO.  By the way, that was one of the most vicious KO’s I have ever seen in one punch.  That will be a highlight reel KO for years to come.  That will be knockout of the year candidate.  Rashad Evans showed he was no joke.  I don’t know if he deserves the title shot he was granted in December, but I won’t complain about it too badly.  I still think Machida deserves it.
• Rich Franklin is back.  I love Rich Franklin.  He is a class act fighter.  He is super talented and always improving.  His striking is world class.  He is a threat in the light heavyweight divison.  There are some guys he would lose to, but I think he would beat Forrest or Rashad right now.  I am glad to see him back on track.
• Matt Hamill looked good in the loss.  He showed he is improving his striking.  I think he still needs to rely on his bread and butter more of take downs and ground and pound, but he wants to show his striking.  Rich was just too experienced for him and found a weakness in his game and exploited it.  Hamill will be back and in my opinion he is still a top 15 light heavyweight.
• Dan Henderson looked alright, but nothing special.  I think that is because Palhares is that good.  Palhares has a solid chin and superior submissions.  Keep his name in mind because he will be back too.
• The most impressive performance to me was Nate Marquardt.  Nate has always had excellent grappling and submissions, but he showed versatile and skilled striking against a dangerous Kampmann.  He looked crisp and solid.  He is in the top heap at 185.  I’d love to see him fight Dan Henderson or Michael Bisping with the winner getting a title shot.  However, it may be that after Cote, Silva will get Okami.  Then Bisping is likely the next guy in line.  Then perhaps a re-match with Marquardt or Henderson. 
• Some people think Matt Brown should have gotten the decision over Dong Hyun Kim, but I don’t think so.  I think Kim won round 1 due to submission attempts and a near finish and I think he won round 3 due to the take downs and big elbows out the end.  I think Kim looked really good against a tough as nails Matt Brown who showed some improvement.  Kim is a contender at 170 and though many people think he shouldn’t have won, and though I am sure he would have rather finished the fight, a win is a win and he will climb the ladder.
• Tim Boetsh looked impressive against UFC newcomer Mike Patt, and I think if he can gain some cardio he can be a contender at 205.

UFC News: Liddell vs. Griffin Possible at UFC 92

It looks very likely that Chuck Lidell’s next fight is in the works.  Of course his next fight will be determined by his fight at UFC 88 against Rashad Evans, however it is being reported that if Chuck beats Rashad that he will get a crack at Forrest Griffin at UFC 92.  I would be curious as to what would happen if Liddell loses to Evans.   IcemanRX, on of Liddell’s sponsor’s leaked this news. 

I know the UFC wants that Liddell vs. Griffin match, but I don’t know if it is fair to a guy like Lyoto Machida, who with a with at UFC 89 would undoubtedly get a title shot.  Liddell better not look past Rashad Evans who is a great wrestler and dangerous striker.  Some people will be picking Evans to win this fight.

UFC News: Jason Day vs. Jason Lambert at UFC 88

MMAjunkie is reporting that a fight between jason Day and Jason Lambert will take place at UFC 88.  Lambert previously fought at light heavyweight and is coming off of a loss to Luis Cane at UFC 85.  Lambert will drop down to 185.  He is a heavy guy, but perhaps those flabby boobies of his will not look so bad at 185.  Jason Day looked impressive in his debut against Alan Belcher.  However, Day got destroyed at UFC 85 by Micahel Bisping.  This fight should help the undercard look a little better.

UFC News: Nate Marquardt vs. Martin Kampmann at UFC 88

It appears that a middleweight bout between Nate Marquardt and Martin Kampmann willt ake place on the televised portion of the UFC 88 card in September.  Marquardt is coming off of a cotnroversial loss to Thales Leithes and Kampmann looked impressive in his return against Jorge Rivera recently.  Both guys are top ten middleweights in the UFC.  The goal of both these guys is a title shot and both have a little ways to go to get there.  Marquardt has a loss to Silva aldready and many think Kampmann is a good contender.  I agree.  I think Kampmann is a better cotnender than Cote.  However, he likely must get in line behind Patrick Cote, Yushin Okami and Michael Bisping.  I would highly favor the winner of this fight facing the winner of the Bisping vs. Leben fight to clear up the mess around the top of the divison.  The winner of a Bisping/Leben vs. Marquardt/Kampmann fight would have to be considered the number 2 contender behind Okami.  That is assuming Cote gets bumped by Silva at UFC 90.

UFC News: Anderson Silva vs. Patrick Cote at UFC 88 Possible

It has neen no secret that the UFC and Anderson Silva hoped to work out a title defense for Silva’s middleweight belt in September.  The expected fighter was to be Yushin Okami.  Dana White made clear that if Silva go out of his fight with Irvin injurt free then he would most likely fight September 6th and then again in December.  Here is what Dana White said now:

Okami’s out of that fight. He broke his hand. If (Silva) fights in September it’ll be (Patrick) Cote,” stated White at Saturday night’s post-fight press conference at the Palms in Las Vegas.

Patrick Cote is coming off a lackluster win over Ricardo Almeida. The fight was billed as determining who would geta  shot at the title.  It looks like Cote will get that shot and get it earlier than expected.  Okami’s hand is broken and that will allow for Cote to fight for the title.  I am sorry, but Patrick Cote is way out of his league here.  At least it will be one more step before Silva cleans out the divison.  I presume he has 3-4 more fights to officially clean out the divison.  I would say he needs to beat Kampmann, Bisping, and maybe Quarry to officially clean out the divison.

 There seems to be more plans for Silva than any other fighter in the UFC.  Why not?  He is the best and his popularity is growing quickly.  Dana White added more speculation…

“(Silva) said he wants to defend his 185-pound title. He said he wants to test the waters at 205. He did (on Saturday night),” continued White. “He’s going to defend his title again in September and then probably try to take another fight at 205.I think he wants to take his time. I think he wants to stay at 185 and completely clean out that division, go from there. (Silva) took the fight (with Irvin) on short notice, moved up to 205, wants to fight all the best guys in the world at 185 pounds, wants to fight all the best guys at 205 pounds, wants to fight every three months… uh, yah. It’s a little difficult for us to move things around, but when a guy has that mentality… I love it.”

I believe Silva’s win over Irvin means he is not done at 205.  I kmow Silva is very close to Machida and feels right now the belt is Machida’s at 205, I respect that and I really like Machida, however many people don’t like Machida.  The UFC’s worry about Machida is his marketability.  He has a upcoming bout with Thiago Silva, and a win there makes a title shot inevitable.  Perhaps Machida and Silva will never fight, but there are appealing fights out there for Silva, more than Silva-Cote.  We can think of a move of WEC middleweight champ Paulo Filho to the UFC and get a title shot, but he has to get through Chael Sonnen in September first.  We can think of a dream match at 205 between Liddell and Silva, but Liddell has to get through Evans first and he would call for a title shot if he does.  We could imagine Wanderlei vs. Anderson.  The list goes on and obviously there are more appealing fights for Silva at 205 than 185.  For now, it looks like it is right back to the grind for Anderson as he prepares for a possible Sept. 6 fight with Patrick Cote at middleweight, no sweat. 

UFC News: Matt Brown vs. Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 88

It has been learned that a bout between welterweights Matt Brown and Dong Hyun Kim will take place at UFC 88.  Matt Brown was a cast member on the Ultimate Fighter 7, where he looked very impressive.  Also Matt Brown is coming off of a win against TUF 6 cast member Matt Arroyo.  Following his stint on TUF as a middleweight Brown dropped to the welterweight divison where he is better suited.  Brown will be fighting a tough Korean fighter in Dong Hyun Kim.  Kim impressed everyone with his UFC 84 performance and debut against Jason Tan.  Kim was aggresive and rained down vicious elbows.  This could be a tough match for Matt Brown.

UFC News: Ryo Chonan vs. Roan Carneiro at UFC 88

According to Tatame.com Ryo Chonan will square off against Roan Carneiro at UFC 88 in September.  This bout was originally scheduled for UFC 85, but Chonan was forced to pull out due to an injury.  He was replaced by Kevin Burns who beat Carneiro via a triangle.  Of course Ryo Chonan is most known as the guy who defeated Anderson Silva.  This really should be a good fight.  Chonan lost his first UFC fight in a decision loss to Karo Parisyan.

UFC 89 to Air on Spike

This taken from MMAmania

UFC 89: “Leben vs. Bisping” at The NIA in Birmingham, England, on October 18 will be televised for free on Spike TV, according to Dave Meltzer at WrestlingObserver.com.

The event so far features two great match ups, including a middleweight slugfest between Michael Bisping and Chris Leben, as well as a tentative welterweight war that pits Thiago Alves against Diego Sanchez.

Meltzer indicates that the UFC will likely stage a major pay-per-view (PPV) event one week later on Saturday, October 25. It has not been announced at this time nor is a location or venue known, but we will assume that it will be dubbed UFC 90.

This is good news.  Free MMA is always good news.  A UFC 90 also in October is good news as there are countless fights I am anticipating and many guys I am waiting to see return to the octagon, including Wanderlei Silva, Thiago Silva, Shane Carwin, etc.

Anderson Silva To Fight 3 or 4 More Times in ’08

This from Dana White per MMAweekly

Anderson Silva, being the monster that he is, you all know is going to move up to 205 on July 19. He’s going to fight at 205. If everything goes well, he wants to move back to 185 and fight Sept. 6 in Atlanta, probably against Yushin Okami, then he wants to fight again two months later…. When I talk about real fighter, this is the kind of guy I’m talking about. This guy sat down in a meeting with us, literally, two months ago and said you’re not fighting me enough, I want to fight more. And he wants to keep proving himself. He’s one of these guys that said my window is this big and I want to get everything in before this window closes. He wants to fight (July) 19. He wants to fight again Sept. 6 (at UFC 88), back down to 185 (pounds); he wants to defend his title, then again two months later. Anderson Silva might fight three or four more times this year. He might fight three or four more times this year and it’s almost August!”

I suspect for sure we will see Anderson Silva fight at UFC 88 or 89 against Yushin Okami and I suspect that fight will be announced shortly after the James Irvin fight on July 19th.  Also, we could see Anderson another time by year end! That is incredible. Dana is known for exagerating slightly. I do believe Anderson could fight a few more times this year, but I don’t know about 3 or 4 more times.   I would bet that we will see Anderson July 19 and one more time.  Then I suspect he will fight again in early 2009.  Dana White told MMAweekly:

“He wants to hold both the 185 and the 205 pound belt and he wants to defend them both. Normally I won’t let guys do stuff like that because it’s just… stupid. I’ll let Anderson Silva do it,”

I hope he does well at Light Heavyweight and alternates between middleweight and light heavyweight.  I am sure he’d love to get the light heavyweight belt, but I’d say he must win 2 or 3 before he gets the title shot.

UFC News: Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hamill at UFC 88

Yesterday MMAblog reported that Rich Franklin was set to fight at UFC 88 in a Light Heavyweight match.  I threw out a couple of options for his opponents, and one of the ones I mentioned was Matt Hamill.  Well, go ahead give me the props I deserve.  It seems to be a reality.  Rich Franklin and Matt Hamill will square off at UFC 88 in Atlanta. MMAblog confirmed from reliable sources that the fight will indeed take place. 

     I don’t know about this fight for Rich my friends.  I think Rich Franklin is a top 3 middleweight in the world.  I understand his predicament.  He is probably the #2 guy in the UFC and the world.  He can beat everyone in the divison except for the number 1 guy.  He is stuck.  A light heavyweight fight is not a bad idea, in fact, I like the move to light heavyweight for Rich.  There are 10-15 great figths for him there.  However, out of all the top 15 light heavyweights he could have fought, Matt Hamill may pose more danger to him than most.  Matt Is big.  Matt is strong.  Matt is big for a light heavyweight.  Matt has amazing wrestling.  I still think Rich can win this fight if he keeps it standing, but personally I don’t like to see two of my favorite fighters fight each other.  It means one will rise and one will fall in the divison.  Both those guys are good guys and class acts.  I still think that most will consider Rich the favorite in this fight, but I wouldn’t be shocked if Hamill beats Franklin in this fight.  Oddly, the fight most people called for was Franklin vs. Dan Henderson at middleweight.  Dan Henderson is on the card, fighting at middleweight against Rousimar Palhares.  Personally, I was hoping for Rich Franklin vs. Forrest Griffin. UFC 88 is looking decent so far with Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans to headline. Stay tuned for more. 

UFC News: Rich Franklin To Fight At UFC 88 At Light Heavyweight

It appears that Rich Franklin will next fight on the UFC 88 card in Atlanta, which headlines Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans. 

A source closed to the Sept. 6 event tells MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Franklin has been targeted for the event, and the search for an opponent “is in full swing.” Franklin will likely be slotted for UFC 88’s co-main event. Franklin, who lost his title and a subsequent rematch to current middleweight champ Anderson Silva, most recently scored a second-round TKO of Travis Lutter at UFC 83. 

This brings about several question…

1. Will the move to Light Heavyweight be permanent? (If at all)

I doubt it would be permanent.  He needs to stay away from Anderson Silva.  If Rich, Anderson and Dan Henderson move up to light heavyweight it would take out the top three middleweights in the UFC.  I believe we could see the three of them fight in both divisons.  However, Franklin has cleaned out much of the divison except Henderson and Silva. 

After the victory, Franklin told MMAjunkie.com that a third fight with Silva probably wouldn’t be marketable. Many have suggested that a move to the light-heavyweight class could open some new possibilities, though Franklin has been quick to dismiss the suggestion. However, according to our source, he and the organization are now considering a move to 205 pounds, though it wouldn’t necessarily be a permanent move and could simply depend on whether or not he thinks the match-up makes sense. Although he’s one of the sport’s bigger middleweights and sheds considerable weight to make the 185-pound limit, Franklin recently told MMAjunkie.com that his body is better suited for the middleweight division. Although he’s one of the sport’s bigger middleweights and sheds considerable weight to make the 185-pound limit, Franklin recently told MMAjunkie.com that his body is better suited for the middleweight division. “I’ve been at 185 (pounds) for several years,” Franklin said in April. “I think that over the past couple years, I’ve really changed my body composition. It used to kill me to make weight, but now it’s much easier than it was three years ago, and I think it’s because my body’s changed a lot. I just don’t think I’m big enough to compete effectively as a light heavyweight anymore.” Franklin last competed at 205 pounds at The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale in April 2005. He called it a “special case” since the first-ever Spike TV broadcast would reach millions of viewers and could catapult his popularity. After defeating Shamrock, the victory did just that. Franklin said if a similar opportunity presented itself, he may be inclined to take it.

2. Who Would Rich Franklin fight at UFC 88, at Light Heavyweight?

• Dan Henderson is already rumored to be on the card against Rousimar Palhares in a middleweight fight.  This is the fight I would want to see, but no need for it to be at light heavyweight
• Forrest Griffin would seem a likely choice if he loses to Jackson Saturday, seeing as how Forrest is a Georgia native.  I would almost expect Forrest to make it onto this card if he comes out unhurt from the Jackson fight, and my bet would be on a Franklin vs. Griffin fight (if Forrest loses to Quinton)
• A newcomer that I would never consider?? Maybe.  I would expect the fight to be a draw somehow. 
• A guy like Sokoudjou, Reljic, or Lambert — ehhh don’t count on it.
• Matt Hamill is on this card supposidly, that could happen, but it seems like too much contrast in styles and that may be a bad match up for Rich as Matt is big and strong even at Light Heavyweight. 
• A star like Wanderlei Silva.  It could happen.  That would be a huge fight.  Size wise it would be great for both.  A win would get Wanderlei a title shot.  Though I still like the idea of a Thiago vs. Wanderlei or even Wanderlei vs. Jackson III
• A guy like Keith Jardine — that is a good choice too.  We will see.

The UFC is stacking their Light Heavyweight divison.  Recently they have added Brandon Vera and Anderson Silva.  Though both those guys will alternate between their former and enw divisons it seems.  Dan Henderson doesn’t appear done at Light Heavyweight as Vera was offered to fight him at LHW.  Rich Franklin jumping up would add some serious force to the divison. 

 

UFC News: Rashad Evans to Face Chuck Liddell

It was recently announced that Chuck Liddell would in fact headline the UFC 88 card in September in Atlanta, Georgia.  When rumors began swirling about Anderson Silva jumping up to Light Heavyweight bloggers everywehre salivated, hoping for a super match between the two.  It looks like the two will not fight, but Chuck Liddell will fight Light Heavyweight up and comer Rashad Evans.  According to ESPN the Magazine:

Evans will have his chance to break through in September. According to a UFC source, he will be Chuck Liddell’s mystery opponent in the organization’s debut in Atlanta. The fight has been agreed to in principle—the only thing left is the paperwork. Any kind of win over the Iceman would probably vault Evans into light heavyweight title contention and be a defining moment for him and MMA fans. They’d have to embrace him, right? Right?

We knew that Liddell was fighting in September, but there were many rumors as to who he would fight.  Some people suggested that he would fight his original opponent in Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.  Others expected a Liddell vs. Silva II fight.  I think both of those fights could eventually happen, but now it appears it is Rashad Evans.  I am not sure about this one.  Rashad is good and this may eb a dangerous fight for Chuck due to his hamstring injury.  However, a win here gets him into the title picture real quick.  The problem with this fight is that it does not remove the crowded top 5-6 of the divison.  Evans is a top ten guy and a win moves him into the heap.  If I was the UFC I would want to uncrowd that loaded top 5 or 6 of Jackson, Griffin, Wanderlei, Lyoto, Chuck, and Shogun.  I would guess they are looking to cement a few guys at the top. 

UFC News: Anderson Silva Offered to Fight At Light Heavyweight

He [Dana White] promised an announcement that will blow people’s minds on Thursday. Don’t necessarily read anything into this as being the announcement, but I do know that they have talked with Anderson Silva about being on the card and fighting at light heavy and he wasn’t opposed to it, but there was nothing agreed to as of last week.”

Obviously, we do not know if Anderson Silva will take a fight at Light Heavyweight, but the offer is out there and the dream match ups can begin to be thought up.  The reasoning for such an offer is because Anderson has literally cleaned out the middleweight divison and there are not many serious contenders.  He could fight Yushin Okami, but moving up makes more sense.  I do not know if it would be a permanent move up with him vacating the middleweight title or if he would fight in both classes or if he would just fight once at light heavyweight.  The rumors have swirled about Rich Franklin moving up to avoid Anderson Silva, but this is new to hear of Anderson moving up.  The rumor I have heard is Anderson Silva moving up to fight Chuck Liddell in September at UFC 88.  This would make for a UFC superfight and would draw a huge rating.  Now, I do not think that this is the huge announcement to be made next week, but it could be related.  I still think that a network deal will be announced and that the first card on the newtwork television will be UFC 88 featuring Chuck Liddell vs. Anderson Silva.  Imagine: if Kimbo vs. Thompson drew 6.51 million viewers what would Liddell vs. Anderson Silva do on network televison.  I suspect over 10 million!  I kind of wonder why Silva wouldn’t be given an immediate title shot if he moved up, but a win over Liddell at Light Heavyweight would make him next in line for Rampage’s belt and then we can see if he can start to clean out the light heavyweight divison.  Talk about a legacy. 

Upcoming UFC Fights

I love to play the guessing game with what fights will be booked.  This summer has some good fights planned.  UFC 85 was pulled out of near failure by Matt Hughes and Thiago Alves.  UFC 86 will feature Jackson vs. Griffin for the title.  UFC 87 will have Lesnar vs. Coleman.  It was just announced that UFC 88 will take place September 6.  I thought that Lesnar vs. Coleman was going to be the main event of UFC 87, but UFC.com says otherwise.  There is apparently another bout to be announced.  That means between UFC 87 and UFC 88 there are two main event fights to be announced.  Here are the possibilities…

• Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch – This fight is going to happen for sure it is just a question of when.  My bet is that this will be on one of the cards main event or co-main event.  I see this at UFC 88 the main event.
• Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami –  This fight is also likely to happen.  I would predict this one to be a UFC 87 bout  because it doesn’t stand alone as a main event well because Yushin Okami is not that marketable, but you add it as a co-main event with Lesnar vs. Coleman and it has more draw.
• Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson  –  This could be a UFC 88 bout, but not as the main event.  I look for this fight to happen.  It just makes sense. 
• Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra – My guess is that this will be on the October card, along with the return of Chuck Liddell.  Matt Hughes says that win or lose he is fighting Serra next. 
• Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua – This fight seems like it could happen we just don’t know when these guys will recover.  Shogun mentioned maybe fighting in September, but I think that is a bit early.  I’d lean towards October or November for this fight.  The winner would be in title talk along with the winner of Jardine/Silva. 

Don’t be shocked if after UFC 84 of 85 one of the guys on that card will fight there.  There are some great fighters on the next two cards who could be featured on a main card by August or September.  I imagine outcomes of these fights may play a role.