WEC 50 Salaries and Fighter Bonuses
WEC 50 last night on Versus once again delivered. It was an awesome night of fights which was action packed from start to finish like we have come to expect from the WEC. Scott Jorgensen led the payroll last night with his $25,000 with only one other fighter breaking the $20k mark, that being main event winner Dominick Cruz. Here is the full list of fighter salaries courtesy of Sherdog.com:
Dominick Cruz $22,000 ($11,000) defeated Joseph Benavidez $17,500
Anthony Pettis $12,000 ($6,000 show/win) defeated Shane Roller $16,000
Chad Mendes $11,000 ($5,500 show/win) defeated Cub Swanson $11,000
Scott Jorgensen $25,000 ($12,500 show/win) defeated Brad Pickett $7,000
Brad Palaszewski $16,000 ($8,000 show/win) defeated Zach Mickelwright $3,000
Maciej Jewtuszko $6,000 ($3,000 show/win) defeated Anthony Njokuani $7,000
Javier Vasquez $16,000 ($8,000 show/win) defeated Mackens Semerzier $4,000
Ricardo Lamas $14,000 ($7,000 show/win) defeated Dave Jansen $4,000
Fredson Paixao $6,000 ($3,000 show/win) defeated Bryan Caraway $4,000
Danny Castillo $19,000 ($9,500 show/win) defeated Dustin Poirier $3,000
As is traditional with Zuffa events the fighters also got some bonuses, I would hate to be the guy who had to chose but Fight of the Night went to Scott Jorgensen and Brad Pickett who each received an extra $10,000. Also bolstering their paychecks were Maciej Jewtzusko and Anthony Pettis who took home the extra $10k for Knockout of the Night and Submission of the Night respectively.
*These salaries do not include “locker room bonuses,” sponsorship income or any other incentives the WEC fighters may have been offered. They are simply the numbers provided to the NSAC by WEC in accordance with state publishing requirements. It should also be noted that fighters also have to pay taxes like the rest of us and in some cases give up a significant amount to their gym/coaches/teammates etc.
Jamie Varner vs Kamal Shalorus – A Controversial Draw
Jamie Varner took on Kamal Shalorus last night at WEC 49 in Edmonton, Alberta. The fight ended in a draw due to a point deduction in the second round for Shalorus after a second groin kick. Despite the point deduction Shalorus once again connected with a groin kick but no point was deducted. The image above is from Fight Metrics to see their full analysis of the fight click here.
Many believed that Varner with the point deduction did enough to win the fight, including Varner himself:
“I’m pretty sure I broke my right foot, broke my right hand, but I’m not going to lie: I think that was bogus. I definitely feel I won the fight. But you know what? Kamal Shalorus is now the toughest guy you have heard of. I have much respect for this guy.”
The quote from the post fight interview summed up how many felt including myself. I felt Varner won the first two rounds but Shalorus edged the final round with the take-down.
Give me your thoughts on the fight. Did Varner win it? Did the judges get the decision right?
Garcia vs. Jung – One of the best fights of all time!
WEC held it’s first ever PPV last night, the show turned out to be very well put together with some good action packed fights we have come to expect from the lighter guys in the WEC. To help increase buys two prelims were shown on Spike TV prior to the PPV broadcast one of which, Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung, ended up being one of the greatest fights I have ever seen.
The entire fight was filled with back-and-forth non-stop action from both fighters. In the opening round both were wildly throwing punches for well over a minute when Sung Jung caught Garcia and sent him down. Garcia hung on though. What was most surprising about the fight was that even in the third round they were not fully gassed out, sure they may not have been at first round pace but both were still giving it their all.
At the conclusion of the fight the fighters hugged it out before Bruce Buffer read the judges decision. I must say I had it 29-28 to Sung Jung but in such a closely contested fight you can barely complain. The official scores were 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28 in favor of Garcia.
Dana White: WEC 48 Video Blog Part 1
Miguel Torres Plastic Surgery Video
MMA Mania had the privilege of being able to film Miguel Torres getting his gruesome cut from WEC 47 fixed up.
WARNING: Contains blood, skull, scalpels and a gangsta!
Miguel Torres Surgery from Harris Masood on Vimeo.
WEC 47 Bowles vs Cruz Weigh-in Results
Image courtesy of MMAJunkie. Check out the entire WEC 47 gallery here!
WEC 47 will take place tomorrow night live from Columbus, Ohio. The fighters taking part in the event weighed in earlier tonight an below are the official numbers. The event will air live on Versus tomorrow night at 10PM EST.
Main Televised Card
-Brian Bowles (134.5) vs. Dominick Cruz (134)
-Joseph Benavidez (135) vs. Miguel Torres (134.5)
-Jens Pulver (145.5) vs. Javier Vazquez (145)
-L.C. Davis (144.5) vs. Deividas Taurosevicius (145)
-Karen Darabedyan (156) vs. Bart Palaszewski (155)
Preliminary Card
-Chad George (135.5) vs. Scott Jorgensen (135)
-Erik Koch (144) vs. Chad Mendes (145)
-Danny Castillo (155.5) vs. Anthony Pettis (154.5)
-Leonard Garcia (145) vs. George Roop (145.5)
-Courtney Buck (145) vs. Fredson Paixao (144.5)
-Bendy Casimir (155.5) vs. Ricardo Lamas (155)
Daily Fix: January 18th
Not much to report on in this second installment of the “Daily Fix.” The article today features GSP and the WEC.
GSP
GSP did an interview with Ariel Helwani yesterday where they got to talking about GSP moving up to middleweight. Here is the video:
WEC 47
A few fights were confirmed today to be taking place at WEC 47 on March 6th, in Columbus, Ohio. Former bantamweight champion, Miguel Torres, will be looking to rebound from his title fight loss to Brian Bowles when he takes on Joseph Benavidez. Jens Pulver was also added to the card, he will be taking on Javier Vazquez. This card will be broadcast on Versus live March 6th.
Things Worth Checking Out
James Toney believes Dana White’s first offer was a joke
AKA insists Herschel Walker is ready for debut
Diego Sanchez considering return to welterweight
“This Week in Quotes” from Bloody Elbow
Chris Horodecki Talks WEC Debut
Brian Bowles Shocks the MMA World in First Round KO over Miguel Torres
A quick check over at Best Fight Odds shows a $100 bet on Brian Bowles earning you somewhere around $300 if you would have dared to put your money on the underdog before the bout at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas, NV.
Brian Bowles looked good right from the get go stunning the WEC champ right off the bat. It looked like a small bit of luck though as Miguel Torres started handing out his own beating over the challenger.
Towards the middle of the first round Torres unleashed a flurry on Bowles and was caught with a short right which sent him crashing to the mat. All it took was a few more punches to his downed opponent and Bowles had shocked many by becoming the new WEC bantamweight champion.
WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber 2
Main Card
- Featherweight Championship bout: Mike Brown vs. Urijah Faber
- Featherweight bout: Jose Aldo vs. Cub Swanson
- Lightweight bout: Donald Cerrone vs. James Krause
- Featherweight bout: Jens Pulver vs. Josh Grispi
Undercard Bouts
- Featherweight bout: Manny Gamburyan vs. John Franchi
- Bantamweight Bout Scott Jorgensen vs. Antonio Banuelos
- Bantamweight bout: Noah Thomas vs. Frank Gomez
- Lightweight Bout: Mike Campbell vs. Anthony Pettis
- Bantamweight Bout Rolando Perez vs. Seth Dikun
- Bantamweight Bout: Kyle Dietz vs. Charlie Valencia