MMA News and Fight Videos

There’s no rest for the weary in the mixed martial arts (MMA) land of milk and honey.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is coming out of the gates like a bat out of hell in 2009, scheduling five events in less than 70 days to start the New Year.

That’s, of course, on the heels of a December that features three events, including the year-end blockbuster pay-per-view (PPV) event, UFC 92: “The Ultimate 2008,” on December 27.

Here is the early jam-packed schedule for 2009:

• UFC 93: “Franklin vs. Henderson” from The O2 in Dublin, Ireland, on January 17
• UFC 94: “St. Pierre vs. Penn 2” from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 31
• UFC Fight Night 17 [Location TBD] on February 7
• UFC 95 from the O2 Arena in London, England, on February 21
• UFC 96 from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on March 7

The only bad news, according to MMARated.com, is that the promotion is unable to hammer out a deal with its cable television provider, Spike TV, to air any of the European-based events for free so early in the year.

That means four of the first five UFC shows in 2009 (UFC 93, UFC 94, UFC 95 and UFC 96) will be broadcast on PPV, which could price out fans who may be unable to afford to watch all the shows because of the current state of the economy.

And that doesn’t even include the Affliction: “Day of Reckoning” PPV on January 24, which features a sick main event fight between WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko and former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski.

Talk about bitter sweet.

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MMAmania.com (www.mmamania.com) has received the fighter payouts for UFC 91: “Couture vs. Lesnar” from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for the monster pay-per-view (PPV) event held on November 15 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

And, as we reported before the show even started, Brock Lesnar was the big winner of the evening in more ways than one, pocketing a $450,000 base salary and prying the heavyweight title from Randy Couture’s grip with a second round technical knockout.

“The Natural” will of course went home with more than just bumps and bruises — he now has an additional cool quarter million in his bank account, which could will more than likely help soften the blow of losing his belt … a little.

Gabriel Gonzaga also cashed in, earning $110,000 for his lighting fast destruction of Josh Hendricks.

Here are all the UFC 91 payouts:

Brock Lesnar — $450,000 ($250,000 to show, $200,000 to win)
Randy Couture — $250,000
Brock Lesnar defeated Randy Couture via technical knockout (strikes) in round two

Kenny Florian — $80,000 ($ 40,000 to show, $40,000 to win)
Joe Stevenson — $35,000
Kenny Florian defeated Joe Stevenson via submission (rear naked choke) in round one

Dustin Hazelett — $28,000 ($14,000 to show, $14,000 to win)
Tamdan McCrory — $10,000
Dustin Hazelett defeated Tamdan McCrory via submission (armbar) in round one

Gabriel Gonzaga — $110,000 ($55,000 to show, $55,000 to win)
Josh Hendricks — $8,000
Gabriel Gonzaga defeated Josh Hendricks via technical knockout (strikes) in round one

Demian Maia — $40,000 ($20,000 to show, $20,000 to win)
Nate Quarry — $25,000
Demian Maia defeated Nate Quarry via submission (rear naked choke) in round one

Aaron Riley — $8,000 ($4,000 to show, $4,000 to win)
Jorge Gurgel — $10,000
Aaron Riley defeated Jorge Gurgel via unanimous decision

Jeremy Stephens — $16,000 ($8.000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Rafael dos Anjos — $4,000
Jeremy Stephens defeated Rafael dos Anjos via knockout in round three

Mark Bocek — $18,000 ($9,000 to show, $9,000 to win)
Alvin Robinson — $7,000
Mark Bocek defeated Alvin Robinson via submission (rear naked choke) in round three

Matt Brown — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Ryan Thomas — $3,000
Matt Brown defeated Ryan Thomas via submission (armbar) in round two

Keep in mind the salaries listed above do not include fight bonuses, sponsorships, percentages and other unofficial payments. It also does not include deductions for expenses such as insurance, taxes, etc.

For example, the UFC often hands out extra cash for “Fight of the Night,” “Knockout of the Night” and “Submission of the Night.” To check out these figures for UFC 91 go here.

The total base fighter payroll for the blockbuster PPV event, which attracted a near sellout crowd of 14,272 fans and a huge gate of $4.8 million, was $1,118,000.

For complete results and coverage of “Couture vs. Lesnar” click here and here.

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Click the banner above or right here for up-to-the-minute results and blow-by-blow coverage of UFC 91: “Couture vs Lesnar.”

Quick results of the prelim fights will begin to flow around 8:30 p.m. ET and LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of the main card action will start at 10:00 p.m. ET with the pay-per-view (PPV) telecast.

If you’re going to leave comments and discuss the fights with all the other MMAmania.com readers be sure to do it on the main UFC 91 results post and not this one.

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The official weigh-in event for UFC 91: “Couture vs. Lesnar” is set to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, TODAY (November 14) at 7 p.m. ET sharp.

Those who want to check it out in real-time should hit up ESPN.com or UFC.com to catch the live video feed. For those who miss it MMAmania.com will post up-to-the-minute results below.

Here are the official UFC 91 weigh-in results:

265 lbs.: UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture () vs. Brock Lesnar ()
155 lbs.: Kenny Florian () vs. Joe Stevenson ()
265 lbs.: Gabriel Gonzaga () vs. Josh Hendricks ()
185 lbs.: Demian Maia () vs. Nate Quarry ()
170 lbs.: Dustin Hazelett () vs. Tamdan McCrory ()
155 lbs.: Jorge Gurgel () vs. Aaron Riley ()
155 lbs.: Jeremy Stephens () vs. Rafael dos Anjos ()
155 lbs.: Alvin Robinson () vs. Mark Bocek ()
170 lbs.: Matt Brown () vs. Ryan Thomas ()

*Note: Fighters are allowed to weigh one pound more than the division limit in non-title fights.

MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action on fight night, which is slated to air at 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view (PPV) from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on November 15. Of course, the latest quick updates of the prelim bouts will begin to flow earlier than that at around 8:30 p.m. ET.

It’s going to be a fun night of fights … check us out for all the pre, during and post-fight coverage you can handle.

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MMA Live episode 27:

“MMA Live” At UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar:

There are a TON of additional videos from the Worldwide Leader in Sports after the jump.

“MMA Live” At UFC 91: Florian vs. Stevenson:

“MMA Live” at UFC 91: Gonzaga vs. Hendricks:

“MMA Live” at UFC 91: Quarry vs. Maia:

“MMA Live” At UFC 91: Hazelett vs. McCrory:

“MMA Live” at UFC 91: Expert Picks:

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Here’s a main card bout we have not talked much about:

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The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) yesterday confirmed that two additional fighters have passed initial screenings for drugs and illegal substances prior to their clash at UFC 91: “Couture vs. Lesnar” on Saturday, November 15.

Middleweights Demian Maia and Nate Quarry join UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture, Brock Lesnar, Nick Catone, Amir Sadollah, Aaron Riley, Jorge Gurgel, Mark Bocek and Alvin Robinson as competitors who have been tested several weeks out from fight night to eliminate the possibilities of “cycling off” performance enhancers such as steroids.

At this point more than half the fighters on the card (and some no longer even on it anymore i.e. Sadollah and Catone) have already been tested.

This is real good news, considering the spate of tests that have come back dirty in the past 12 months or so. Testing fighters so early before fight night is a proactive and unique measure — often referred to as the new “out of competition” testing policy — that the NSAC has adopted to curtail and prevent the use of banned substances.

If a positive test is returned early, which would essentially devastate a major PPV event such as UFC 91, “the commissioners would decide” on a course of action based on the results, according to NSAC Executive Director, Keith Kizer.

These fighters — along with other random participants slated to compete on the card — will likely be tested again right around showtime. It is merely an extra layer of protection to ensure good clean fights when it comes time to bang.

For all the UFC 91-related information you can handle be sure to hit up the MMAmania.com archive right here. To check out the latest UFC 91 fight card and rumors click here.

UFC 91 takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will air on pay-per-view (PPV), beginning at 10 p.m. ET. MMAmania.com will provide LIVE results and coverage of all the action right HERE on Saturday.

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UFC 94 tickets for “St. Pierre vs. Penn 2,” which is slated for the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 31, will go on sale to the general public on Sunday, November 16 at 1 p.m. ET.

UFC Fight Club members and UFC Newsletter subscribers, naturally, will be able to scoop of tickets prior to them being available for public consumption.

This is the blockbuster Super Bowl weekend pay-per-view (PPV) event for the promotion, which features the welterweight superfight between former 170-pound champion and current lightweight kingpin BJ Penn versus reigning welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.

Unbeaten light heavyweight contenders Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva are also expected to finally collide to determine the top division contender to start the 2009 fight season.

Here is the UFC 94 tickets sales schedule (all times are ET):

UFC Fight Club presale: Thursday, November 13 at 1 p.m.
UFC Newsletter presale: Saturday, November 15 at 1 p.m.
General tickets sale: Sunday, November 16 at 1 p.m.

UFC 94 tickets can be purchased through StubHub.com (Note: StubHub often has seats available even if the event is “sold out”). It will also be available to watch on pay-per-view (PPV) for $44.95 on fight night.

To check out the latest UFC 94 fight card and rumors click here.

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