UFC 97: “Redemption” from The Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, has officially wrapped, which means that it’s time for those select fighters who went above and beyond in their respective fights to get a little extra grease for their efforts.
To the tune of $70,000 each.
The promotion dished out its standard post-fight monetary bonuses to four out of the 24 fighters on the card. And it shouldn’t come as a shock whose wallets are leaving Quebec a little heavier.
In addition to their base salaries, the UFC awarded lightweight warriors Sam Stout and Matt Wiman “Fight of the Night” for their gritty back-and-forth 155-pound war. It was a bout that was originally scheduled for the under card portion of the show, but when time expired both “Hands of Stone” and “Handsome” were bumped into the spotlight of the evening’s pay-per-view.
And they certainly made the most of their opportunity.
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, who at one time was considered one of the world’s finest light heavyweights, may have moved a step closer to reaffirming that label after icing Chuck Liddell with a crushing left hand late in the first round.
It not only earned him “Knockout of the Night,” but perhaps the dubious honor of being the man who retired the fading Liddell.
“Submission of the Night” went to The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 alum Krzysztof Soszynski for his relatively quick work over former WEC banger Brian Stann. “The Polish Experiment” locked in a painful first round kimura to move himself up the light heavyweight ladder..
Here are the special fight bonuses for UFC 97:
Fight of the Night — Sam Stout vs. Matt Wiman
Knockout of the Night — Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
Submission of the Night – Krzysztof Soszynski
Again, each fighter received $70,000 extra for their performances in addition to their respective base salaries, which we will pass along as soon as possible.
For complete UFC 97 results and blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action click here and here.
81 Comments »
Wiman got robbed…… that was weak
I had wiman winning round 2 and 3. Can’t believe chuck got nailed again, see ya chuck strikeforce here he comes. As far as main event that fight was terrible. Silva dominating and leites goin for some real pathetic takedown attempts.
Wiman got robbed and if that sh_t was fight of the night, it looks like my wallet got robbed too.
I’m kinda pissed I bought this one. Bad taste in my mouth just like after the Silva v Cote main event.
Would have liked to have seen the Nate the Rock Quarry fight where he beat that red-headed stepchild.
—-Chuck Retired—-
Last thing, say goodbye to Ryo Chonan.
***Fight announcement*** Dont now if this has been posted yet, but it caught my eye and I figured I would share it:
WEC 41: Aldo vs. Cub Swanson! FIREWORKS!
70K. Nice. I’m a big advocate of increasing fighter pay. And don’t give me that endorsement BS. But I completely support these bonuses. And 70K is a good chunk of change. That will really get you motivated.
I really thought Wiman took that one. He was the aggressor through the fight, had Stout’s back, seemed to have a better overall plan. Stout just wanted to stand and trade.
*****Last night, Dana issued the following statement: “Chuck Liddell is RETIRED” -Dana white post UFC 97
I think it’s the right time to retire.. he might still have the skill in him, but injuries and his age holds him back and makes it impossible for him to perform..
“70k will get you motivated” unless your name is anderson silva
i want my 45 bucks BACK!!
they even stopped rd. 2-3 of the silva fight 10 secs early! did anyone else notice that!
M bear I had a houseful that noticed the 10 seconds still on clock. What a joke
MIkeybear: i thought I was crazy when it happened….but they really did end one of the rounds 10 seconds early!
Yeah, I noticed it as well. The bell went to end the round instead of the usual belt crack warning.
Hey John, I said it in another thread but congrats on your pick/support for Shogun.
they definately did…we all noticed it where we were watching
THanks DJ! I actually predicted him to win by a leglock submission….I was really close on that one…I thought Shogun was going to lock on that heel hook in the middle of the round!
I noticed that as well, what a joke. That fight was a debacle but thats what happens when mediocre fighters are given title shots, serves the UFC right for booking a blatant mismatch and expecting a quick KO.
John, when I saw Shogun drop for the leg, all I could think was “…fuckin john…” lol
hahaha
they DID stop it 10 seconds early and the guys i was watching it with said i was too wasted and that i was seeing things. thanks for letting me know im not crazy yall
Bocek should have gotten sub of night. Much better than TUF reject subbing guy who doesn’t belong in UFC.
Didnt get to see it,was it worth 70k?
It wasn’t shown but he supposedly ran an BJJ train on Bielkieden before taking his back and subbing him. David is legit on the ground and trains with Brazilian Top Team. He’s definitely a lot better than a guy who can’t sweep when a dude with no base is failing to kimura him from half guard.
wiman won 1st and 3rd round i thought but Stout did alot more damage i had it 28-28 with stout wining 2nd 10-8
I had the first round 10-10 and Stout with a 10-9 round 2 and round 3 I had 10-9 Wiman. I think 10-10 rounds should be more common in MMA. I don’t see how you can give either fighter an edge in the first round.
I think your right 3000, wiman did win rounds 1 and 3. I previously posted 2 and 3, but I was pretty liquored up at that point. And wasn’t paying as much attention as I would for a couple big names.
I agree but then again it was in stout’s home town.
70k damn talk about extra cash.
Way off subject but For Hatton and Pacquiao I got Pacman and I hope Mayweather comes out and fights the Pacman.Also I hate the whole”cant beat them join them”crap like how now Mayweather Sr. is training Hatton.
Stout is actually from London, Ontario.
LMFAO London,Ontario CANADA!
Canada is a country, not a town. It is actually bigger geographically than the US.
That’s like saying any US born UFC fighters fighting in any event from Ohio to Vegas are in their hometown.
mayweather sr. trained hatton for like 7 years before hatton fought mayweather jr., but hatton got a new trainer for floyd because of the conflict of interests with hatton fighting his trainers son.
I dont think so Child,Hatton has been with his previous trainer for 13 years and fired him then hired Mayweather Sr.
Also you might be thinking of DelaHoya because Mayweather Sr. trained him for awhile then didnt when he forught his son.
So what do all the Shogun haters say now? “Chuck is too old”? Shogun still hasn’t recovered 100% from his knees. Next champ coming through!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Damn Right baby! CHAMP is BACK!!!! BANDWAGON is closed to all yo0u shogun haters that are already half way back on his nut sacks….GO AWAY!!! Keep bashing shogun cause you guys are not allowed on the Shogun War Wagon! SEats are RSVP’s for the fans that stood by him through the tough times!
Thank you shogun…I collected $300 with that win!
Hey, as you know I picked Chuck to win but as you also know I was not hating on your boy. If he continues to show he belongs, good.
HA,ha!damn,im still pump of shogun fight last night.Man i lost my voice cause,i was in the few who was cheering for him in the Bell center.Good times!specialy that i rob friends of 200$ on that match up alone.Seriously tough,I don’t know what,people cry about for the event we had a great time.All the fight were good.In the main event,people were booing but sometime when you hear boo it’s because,people don’t understand what is really going on.I mean,it’s not like,Anderson Sylva was running for is life in the cage(like Kalib/Quarry)so,he can keep is belt.He was pin point accurate and Leites fell every shot that the spider give him.Leites,to me,look like a little bitch who’s afraid to get hit.We should not be,so hard on the spider for is performance.Then again it’s maybe cause i was in the action that i have’nt see the fight like it looks on tv.Anyway the only disappointment that i got was for the crows fight,but props to short fuse he really deserve to stay in the UFC.Bocek is another that keep impress me everytime.Beautiful rear naked choke on Bielkheden.I was a little bit disappointed for macdonald,Quarry erase all my doubt him.Another disappointment was for Banha Cane,i don’t know maybe is cause i kept reading john comment saying he was the next big thing!Oh,yeah,john your professor x sucks by the way.I am not comment on every fight cause i’m already bored to write a post that long,but in general that was a great night.
yeah, I dont get why so many people were hating on Rua…Not saying you are one of them, but in general…he was getting Bashed to death on this site…and I hated seeing that.
It baffles me thats so many people wanted to see him get destroyed. He is only 27 years old and is easily one of themost skilled fighters in the division with a bright future ahead of him. Shogun returning to top form just makes the division that much more exciting…Fans should have been praying for Shogun to return to top form, but instead they crucified him….I just dont get it!
john…its simple, fans want blood! and Shogun looked awfull his last two fights. Obviously that was due to his nusted knee. I didn’t think he looked GREAT against Chuck, but he is definately improving. Chuck’s time is just up, he dropped WAY TO EASILY, you can only take so many bombs to your face throughout your career and Chuck has taken ALOT.
I’d like to see Shogun vs Rampage II!!!! Bring it on baby I like Page for that fight!
Chuck Ko’in Shogun was not gonna happen i knew that, and i said to my friend that i thought Shogun was going to win and he did.. I was excited to see him back, and his movement looked great
Shogun was damn impressive, thats what everybody has been waiting to see since he signed for the UFC. Chuck may be passed it now but that was still a fantastic performance and makes up for his last 2 showings. I’m still concerned about his takedown defence and his cardio was pretty much untested but at least now it looks like Shogun is back to his best. The LHW division just got a lot more interesting now.
stout won that fight without a doubt. wiman couldn’t handle his stand up and landed hardly any shots the 1 time he held stout down, the other take downs stout got right back up without taking any damage
i agree, wiman won
good fight
but bs call
leitas should be released
or give him maia so he wont want 2 go 2 the ground.
Mayhem just destroyed Kala Hose in that Kingdom MMA event so he’ll now be facing Jacare again in Dream for the Middleweight belt (Mousasi is moving to 205)
lol, the only fight worth watching is iceman vs shogun..so much for the best p4p scam./. jst dirty dancing and boring fights…im very excited about shogun vs rashad…wow! rashad will pick his head up to the stands when shogun stomp his airy head
war shogun!!! once again
amen
Let’s no get carried away with this victory vs chuck. Yes shogun looked good but the cardio question is still there and who didn’t beat chuck his last 6 fights in ufc? while I was impressed with his win I’m not ready to give him a title shot. He’s still at least 2 fights away. If they gave everyone that knocked out chuck a title shot we would have guys lining up around building. And shogun wants non of Rashad anyways.
Great, Shogun just beat 2 washed up fighters and everyone is saying he is back LMAO.
Now every body’s on Shogun’s nutz?I think if you called him wining the Liddell fight then fine if not F*CK OFF!!
EXACTLY!!!!!!
have u ever tried 2 fight someone who keeps trying 2 pull in guard its not fun. but silva kept it interesting with his crazy kicks. being a fighter i thought it was a good win for silva but as a fan i wanted more n i blame that on thales no show …. and wat the hell is that 1 judge givin him 2 rounds i must have missed something. thales layed on top 4 round 2 while silva did damage that is the only round i can c. I love the iceman ufc 100 H.O.F. inductee but at least shogun is back
Yeah I thought you could have possibly in some way given Leites the second round. And can anyone tell me how it’s possible that one judge had it 50-46? I’m no mathematician but that makes no sense.
He scored one of the rounds even (10 – 10)
Silva (10 * 5 = 50); Leites (10 + 9*4 = 46)
Thank you Abelardo!
I don’t know reddog, I guess one of the judges had a round at 10 to 10. I didn’t know that was possible, I thought the only draw rounds we’re 9 to 9. Guess I’m wrong.
Yeah, I didn’t know about the 10-10 either.
yeah shoguns back he has fought 2 washed up old fighters and won so what i dont think he should get a title shot he sucks the only way he gets respect from me is if he beat a top ten contender and there some guy here saying he deserves a title shot give me a break
In my opinion,
Silva vs. Leites should’ve won the “Shittiest Fight of the Year.”
that was the strangest fight i have seen..i loved the spider in his earlier form..now i have lost my respect..i mean..sure once again he is fighting someone he could run through..but man..do it..take his head off with his wicked kicks..instead..he was cheap shot knee kicking..dancing around..dropped his gloves..walking away..maybe he is responding to dana telling him to go 5 rounds?? but that was a weak, weird fight..now i am gonna sound like all the others..i am finally thinking gsp could drop him!!
the ufc should try and get true contenders 2 fight him some1 who will try and win not try and survive the fight.
Holy FUCK!!!!!!!
Anderson greased !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM8lRIwm9wg&feature=player_embedded
Agreed- That fight sucked nuts. Silva has been dancing around for his last two fights now. Is he afraid to take a hit? Some fans call it smart fighting I call it being a puss. Leites wasn’t much better. Falling on the ground like a submissive Cocker Spaniel with your legs in the air is not fighting. If he wanted him on the ground he should have taken him down. Silva looked more like Dancing with the Stars than UFC. His behavior is downright wacky his last couple of fights. I think I’m ready to see him get pounded.
Couldn’t agree more. Silva should try out for dancing with the strs. His behavior for his last two fights is nutty. Is he not a BJJ black belt? Why is he afraid to go to the ground? Leites looked like a submissive Cocker Spaniel. If he wanted a ground fight he should have taken him down! SIlva din’t even follow up his kicks with anything. Time for somoene to woop his ass. I vote GSP too.
I cant blame silva for the fight I thought he looked great blame thales “the runner”leites I mean come’on at least try 2 fight at least silva was trying to hit him silva was just trying to put a show on for the crowd cause leites didnt show up 2 fight and give the people what they wanted
Exactly mate, Leites had no business being in the main event his performance was dreadful, he did nothing to Anderson all fight aside from one takedown and even then he just laid on him. Best BJJ fighter my arse, Demian Maia would school him.
it looks like silva has run threw all top contenders and is fighting what ever is left over. Like Dana said he has to move up to 205 lbs. to have a good fight or have GSP come up, now that will be a fight .
it rediculous that wiman lost. he def won that fight but they give it to stout cus hes from canada. gay! this is jus like bisping hammill. this should teach fighters not to fight fights in other fighter’s back yards. god forbid it goes to a decision home towns gonna win. i dont get this. dont they jus bring their judges over or do they use canadian jugdes?
Wiman got robbed, very disappointing
How bout Krzysztof? Surprised me last night.
Chuck is an icon of the sport. He has nothing to be ashamed of…after a while you can’t take the hits anymore regardless of how in shape you are…it happens to all of them…he made a lot of great mma memories…and now it’s in with new…Shogun looked great as well.
Wiman/Stout was great… I personally liked Cantwell vs. Cane better.
All great fighters challenge themselves going up a weight class. For Silva it seems the logical next step, he has run through every great fighter in his weight class some even twice and is still untouchable. GSP after the pitbull alves should move up as well, for the fans.
anyone who says wiman should have gotten the decision is either..drunk, dumb, blind or all of the above.
Don’t know if wiman necessarily won fight , but I do know cane cantwell should have gotten fight of the night.