UFC 89, Birmingham, England: Leben Vs. Bisping / UFC 90, Chicago: Silva Vs. Côté

mookie blaylock 10

crazy first round! i can't believe nija was still standing after those early big shots from benji...but benji gassed himself throwing them i think. then a simultaneous knockdown!

ninja is going to finish this with an arm triangle in this round.

mookie blaylock 10

nope! benji finishes it with some big right hands after ninja falls throwing a flying knee. huge win for radach. it looked like ninja was on his way back like so many times before.

mookie blaylock 10

kelly proves her toughness again! she took a lot of shots. she was tenacious on the takedown, but only scored one and gina went for the gogoplata immediately like in the last fight. kelly recognized it right away, though and landed a few shots on the ground as the second ended. i thought gina might have that rear naked choke near the end of the third even though she ha no hooks in, but after the break she landed some beautiful head kicks and some sweet front kicks as well. great fight when kelly wasn't going for the takedown and the fighters were trading. scrappy fight.

easy decision for gina, but a tough fought victory.

edit: i enjoyed this fight much more the second time around. i think i was influenced by the crowd booing kelly's takedown attempts. gina only missed on a flying knee and a spinning back fist, but landed a couple of jumping knees to the head and body that i thought she might have missed. she landed more of the riskier stuff than i thought the first time. kelly took multiple right hands and kept coming forward! gina had a gorgeous combination to end the third round, multiple kicks to the head, leg and body. definitely the fight of the night for me on second viewing.

mookie blaylock 10

the pitbull coming up next!!!

mookie blaylock 10

arlovski showing beautiful technique again with his hands, knees and kicks. nelson employed a good game plan in round one and had side control (i disagree with the stand up from side control...a bit boring maybe, but it's still side control!) but good job by andrei to avoid the submission attempts and scramble out. good takedown defense against the big man too. he was picking nelson apart when the two separated, though.

big ko in the second for the pitbull!

mookie blaylock 10

the definition of a striker vs. grappler coming up...daley has excellent tekedown defense, but sheilds has excellent takedowns. i expect he'll get one eventually and submit daley, but if it stays standing he could be in trouble. should be a good one because i don't think shields will last long on the feet and i don't think daley will last long on the ground.

mookie blaylock 10

good fight. daley looked like he had jake in trouble a few times on the feet, but jake dominated the ground and got a nice armbar in the second.

seth vs. kimbo coming up...go seth!

mookie blaylock 10

seth knocked him out!

LONGRD

mookie blaylock 10 wrote:

good fight. daley looked like he had jake in trouble a few times on the feet, but jake dominated the ground and got a nice armber in the second.

seth vs. kimbo coming up...go seth!

Daley had no defense for the grounds attack. It was a matter of time when Jake put a submission hold on him.

Turns out Carano-Kobolt match was the best.

Arvolski looked really good against Nelson.

mookie blaylock 10

LongRd. wrote:

Daley had no defense for the grounds attack. It was a matter of time when Jake put a submission hold on him.

Turns out Carano-Kobolt match was the best.

Arvolski looked really good against Nelson.

indeed. he was having his way with him on the ground.

i'd tend to agree with the gina vs. kelly match. when there was action it was very good. kelly's striking is so weird the way she wades in with it, but she can certainly take a shot. she's tough and she wouldn't give up on the takedown. it made for a few stalemates when gina wasn't able to break off. overall it was a pretty good night of fights.

...and arlovski is looking really good right now. he had a great performance against ben rothwell and he looked sharp tonight. the pitbull!

mookie blaylock 10

after a good night of fights tonight, elitexc has their card for the november 8th on showtime already shaping up to be pretty solid too...

EliteXC, November 8, 2008 - Reno Events Center,Reno, Nevada - Showtime

Robbie Lawler Vs. Joey Villasenor II - EliteXC MW Championship
Nick Diaz Vs. Eddie Alvarez - Vacant EliteXC LW Championship
Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante Vs. TBA
Scott Smith Vs. Hector Lombard
Kaitlin Young Vs. Sarah Kaufman
Brett Rogers Vs. TBA

mookie blaylock 10

i enjoyed reading this short piece by michael rome. very well put, i thought.

"Gina Carano is a Great Fighter"
by Michael Rome
Oct 5, 2008

Gina Carano is one of the most criticized fighters among hardcore fans, and while there is no excuse for all the problems making weight, it's unfair to focus on that at the expense of her performances.

Tonight the difference between Gina Carano and Kimbo Slice was truly on display. Both were chosen as the faces of EliteXC, and both were given a lot of hype, but only one was able to deliver. Gina displayed much-improved takedown defense and excellent muay thai on her way to victory tonight over a much more experienced opponent in Kelly Kobald.

It seems like hardcore fans are always quick to dismiss her exciting and impressive performances in order to talk about her weight issues. Just 4 months ago almost everyone turned against Gina and predicted that Kaitlyn Young would destroy her, but it was Gina that picked Kaitlyn apart with ease. Then everyone that picked against her decided to just rip her for the weight issues after the fight.

If EliteXC survives long enough to put on Carano vs. Cyborg, I suspect we'll see a number of people predicting impending doom for the "overrated" Gina Carano. And then, if she beats Cyborg, people will just ignore the accomplishment. Hopefully they just fight at 145 so we can focus on the fight and not the weight.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2008/10/5/628508/gina-carano-is-a-great-fig

Phantom Pain

Kimbo exposed !!

Were these announcers for real when Kimbo went down ??

You would have thought it was Muhammad Ali going down in his prime

He's a street thug and nothing more..it makes me laugh when all these "tough" guys think they can win at MMA matches

I still can't believe he was dropped with a jab

mookie blaylock 10

Phantom Pain wrote:

Kimbo exposed !!

Were these announcers for real when Kimbo went down ??

You would have thought it was Muhammad Ali going down in his prime

He's a street thug and nothing more..it makes me laugh when all these "tough" guys think they can win at MMA matches

I still can't believe he was dropped with a jab

there was a bit of hyperbole involved with gus johnson screaming "the biggest upset in mixed martial arts history!"...just a lil' bit. :D

mookie blaylock 10

joe rogan posted this video on the mma underground forum on sunday. it's from backstage at his comedy show the night before where they're getting set to watch kimbo slice vs. seth petruzelli. joe, stoned and sporting his evan tanner tribute beard (which i hope he keeps for the show on the 18th in england! ), predicts the fight correctly. pretty funny reaction...thought i would post it for a laugh...

"if i'm wrong, you'll never see this!"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHG8nPvegO0

civ_eng_girl

mookie blaylock 10 wrote:

there was a bit of hyperbole involved with gus johnson screaming "the biggest upset in mixed martial arts history!"...just a lil' bit. :D

hahahahahaa!!!! "lil' bit"

the show on Saturday was great! Andrei looked amazing!! it was great to finally see him fight again.... fangs and everything! :cool:

i think Gina continues to prove herself as the real thing. she is so cool and collected during her fights. Kelly was looking rough, and Gina had barely broken a sweat! she rocks.

the Kimbo fight was pretty crazy. it is pretty shocking that a guy who found out he was fighting with hours to spare beat him with such ease....

mookie blaylock 10

hey ceg, that's awesome that you got to see the andrei fight and the others! i wonder who he'll face now, as he's been looking very good. there can't be a long list of people wanting to face him right now.

+1 on gina! i'm happy to start reading and hearing more stuff about her fighting ability after the weekend, instead of the cliche quips i'm used to seeing. people are FINALLY realizing that she can actually compete and is very skilled. the only better strikers on the card, in my opinion, were andrei and paul daley.

LONGRD

mookie blaylock 10 wrote:

i enjoyed reading this short piece by michael rome. very well put, i thought.

"Gina Carano is a Great Fighter"
by Michael Rome
Oct 5, 2008

Gina Carano is one of the most criticized fighters among hardcore fans, and while there is no excuse for all the problems making weight, it's unfair to focus on that at the expense of her performances.

Tonight the difference between Gina Carano and Kimbo Slice was truly on display. Both were chosen as the faces of EliteXC, and both were given a lot of hype, but only one was able to deliver. Gina displayed much-improved takedown defense and excellent muay thai on her way to victory tonight over a much more experienced opponent in Kelly Kobald.

It seems like hardcore fans are always quick to dismiss her exciting and impressive performances in order to talk about her weight issues. Just 4 months ago almost everyone turned against Gina and predicted that Kaitlyn Young would destroy her, but it was Gina that picked Kaitlyn apart with ease. Then everyone that picked against her decided to just rip her for the weight issues after the fight.

If EliteXC survives long enough to put on Carano vs. Cyborg, I suspect we'll see a number of people predicting impending doom for the "overrated" Gina Carano. And then, if she beats Cyborg, people will just ignore the accomplishment. Hopefully they just fight at 145 so we can focus on the fight and not the weight.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2008/10/5/628508/gina-carano-is-a-great-fig

Great article. She's definitely an amazing fighter, any Westerner can go to Thailand and become a champ in Muay Thai are legit. I think she is the American woman to do so. She showed her skills Saturday night with those knee attacks.

More than just a pretty face.

mookie blaylock 10

LongRd. wrote:

Great article. She's definitely an amazing fighter, any Westerner can go to Thailand and become a champ in Muay Thai are legit. I think she is the American woman to do so. She showed her skills Saturday night with those knee attacks.

More than just a pretty face.

she seems to have really turned a corner this weekend. more people are writing now about her fighting skills and not so much about her only being there because of her looks. finally, they are starting to take notice! i suppose making weight helped, of course, but there were so many other undeserved criticisms that seem to be fading now. i hope!

i really cannot wait for her and cristiane santos to meet. it should be a fantastic fight. two differing styles of muay thai meeting at the perfect time.

thanks again for your write up the other night. i enjoyed that. seems like many people are saying how horrible the show was because of the main event, but the rest of the card?!?! maybe they tuned in late. :D

mookie blaylock 10

arlovski has made out like a bandit so far this year! (he made 750,000$ for his win over ben rothwell in july, and 170,000$ for his win over jake o'brien in march), and i guess we know now why kimbo took the fight...half a million is somewhat tempting.

i'm surprised at gina only making 15,000$ to show. i would have thought she'd be making more, especially considering she's an audience draw. she's likely making more from her sponsors than her actual fight earnings.


"EliteXC: Heat" salaries: Arlvoski and "Kimbo" top earners with $500K
by MMAjunkie.com Staff
Oct 06, 2008


The total disclosed payroll for this past weekend's "EliteXC: Heat" event at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., topped $1.3 million -- with Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson and main-card fighter Andrei Arlovski taking the lion's shares with $500,000 each.

MMAjunkie.com today requested and received the list of official salaries directly from the Florida State Boxing Commission.

The total disclosed payroll for the event was $1,319,000.

Ferguson, who suffered a 14-second TKO loss to late replacement Seth Petruzelli in the night's main event, missed earning a $100,000 win bonus with the loss. Pertuzelli, who re-negotiated his deal after accepting the fight, earned $50,000 -- $15,000 of which was a win bonus. (Ferguson's original opponent, Ken Shamrock, cost himself a six-figure payday after being forced out of the bout due to a facial cut.)

The full list of salaries included:

Seth Petruzelli: $50,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus)*
def. Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson: $500,000*

Jake Shields: $50,000 ($10,000 win bonus)
def. Paul Daley: $12,000

Andrei Arlovski: $500,000 (no win bonus)+
def. Roy Nelson: $80,000

Gina Carano: $25,000 ($10,000 win bonus)
def. Kelly Kobold: $6,000

Benji Radach: $30,000 ($15,000 win bonus)
def. Murilo "Ninja" Rua: $35,000

Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos: $8,000 ($4,000 win bonus)
def. Yoko Takahashi: $2,000

Conor Heun: $5,000 ($2,500 win bonus)
def. Edson Berto: $6,000

Mikey Gomez: $4,000 ($2,000 win bonus)
def. Lorenzo Borgomeo: $1,500

Bryan Hamade: $1,000 ($500 win bonus)
def. David Gomez: $1,000

Nicolae Cury: $1,500 ($750 win bonus)
def. Jorge Bouchet: $1,000

* - Ferguson and Petruzelli negotiated new purses after Shamrock was forced out of the event.
+ - Arlovski and Nelson's purses were paid by Affliction Entertainment. The two competitors fought under the company's name on the CBS broadcast and were on loan to EliteXC.

Now, the usual disclaimer: the figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, which can oftentimes be a substantial portion of a fighter's income. They also do not include any un-reported "locker room" bonuses that organizations sometime pay.

In other words, these are simply base salaries reported to the Florida commission and and do not represent the total amounts earned by each fighter.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/12951/elitexc-heat-salaries-arlvoski-and-kimbo-top-earners-with-500k.mma