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By Anthony De Franco  August 31, 2009, at 9:50 pm  Antonio Minotauro Nogueira makes Georges St. Pierre money. This is just shocking to me. I know that Nog was a huge draw in PRIDE, but I just feel like he’s been far too average since coming over to be making the kind of cash he is. Other shocking news: Jardine makes 55,000 for losing to Silva. Talk about being overpaid.
Here’s the full list from MMA Weekly:
MAIN EVENT FIGHTERS
– Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira ($400,000/includes win bonus of $150,000) def. Randy Couture ($250,000)
*Nogueira and Couture also earned an extra $60,000 for “UFC 102 Fight of the Night”
MAIN CARD FIGHTERS
– Thiago Silva ($58,000/includes win bonus of $29,000) def. Keith Jardine ($55,000)
– Jake Rosholt ($26,000/includes win bonus of $13,000) def. Chris Leben ($30,000)
*Rosholt also earned an extra $60,000 for “UFC 102 Submission of the Night”
– Nate Marquardt ($80,000/includes win bonus of $40,000) def. Demian Maia ($28,000)
*Marquardt also earned an extra $60,000 for “UFC 102 Knockout of the Night”
– Brandon Vera ($70,000/includes win bonus of $35,000) def. Krzystzof Soszynski ($8,000)
PRELIMINARY CARD FIGHTERS
– Aaron Simpson ($18,000/includes win bonus of $9,000) def. Ed Herman ($24,000)
– Gabriel Gonzaga ($120,000/includes win bonus of $60,000) def. Chris Tuchscherer ($10,000)
– Mike Russow ($20,000/includes win bonus of $10,000) def. Justin McCully ($15,000)
– Todd Duffee ($10,000/includes win bonus of $5,000) def. Tim Hague ($7,000)
– Mark Munoz ($24,000/includes win bonus of $12,000) def. Nick Catone ($5,000)
– Evan Dunham ($14,000/includes win bonus of $7,000) def. Marcus Aurelio ($13,000)
UFC 102 DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $1,285,000
UFC 102 AWARD BONUSES
(as disclosed by UFC president Dana White)
Each fighter received a $60,000 bonus for the following awards.
Fight of the Night:
– Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Knockout of the Night:
– Nate Marquardt
Submission of the Night:
– Jake Rosholt
By Anthony De Franco August 31, 2009, at 9:11 pm The Giants are lucky. As a team, they have put themselves in a position where there aren’t too many holes they need to fill on a year to year basis. The core that they have built continues to be one of the strongest in the NFL, and if you really think about it, the only reason they have any holes on their team whatsoever is because Plaxico shot himself in the leg.
That being said, The Giants front office are some of the best talent evaluators in the league. They have routinely dug deep in the draft and had success finding players of a high caliber. This year, yet another one of these players will come to light as Ahmad Bradshaw is a more integral part of the offense than ever before. That makes cutting players pretty difficult, but let’s play Jerry Reese for a moment and see if we can cobble together a roster.
Guaranteed to Make the Team
QB: Eli Manning, David Carr
RB: Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, Danny Ware
FB: Madison Hedgecock
WR: Domenik Hixon, Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, Ramses Barden, Mario Manningham
TE: Kevin Boss, Travis Beckum
T: David Diehl, William Beatty, Kareem McKenzie, Guy Whimper
G: Rich Seubert, Chris Snee, Kevin Boothe,
C: Shaun O’ Hara, Tutan Reyes,
DE: Osi Umeniyora, Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka,
DT: Fred Robbins, Chris Canty, Rocky Bernard, Barry Cofield
OLB: Michael Boley, Danny Clark, Bryan Kehl, Clint Sintim
MLB: Antonio Pierce, Chase Blackburn, Jonathan Goff
CB: Corey Webster, Aaron Ross, Terrell Thomas
S: Michael Johnson, Kenny Phillips, C.C. Brown
K: Lawrence Tynes
P: Jeff Feagles
LS: Zak DeOssie
Using some simple math, we end up with 45 players who are locked to make the team. That gives the Giants nine guys to add to their active roster. Let’s take a look at the possibilities. Players in bold.
QB: Andre Woodson, Rhett Bomar
After a season of Andre Woodson on the practice squad, the Giants still really don’t know what they have in him. They completely reworked his mechanics due to his long throwing motion. He still struggled this preseason, and because of that, Bomar will probably make the team.
RB: Allen Patrick, Dwayne Wright
Patrick has played most of the fourth quarter snaps, and will likely get a long look in the final preseason game. However, Since the G-men are so deep at running back that neither might make the team.
WR: Sinorice Moss, David Tyree, Derek Hagan
This is probably the toughest spot on the roster to project. All three of these guys have been pretty awful, but Hagan likely has the most upside. People might be upset to see Tyree go, but he is what he is: A special teams player.
TE: D’Arcy Johnson, Michael Matthews
Johnson is an athlete who is learning to play tight end; Matthews is the bane of my existence.
T: Adam Koets, Andrew Carnahan
The Giants invested a draft pick in Koets a couple of years ago, and he can play inside if he has to, which will likely be why they choose to keep him.
G: None
C: None
DE: Maurice Evans, Dave Tollefson, Tommie Hill
It may look weird, but if any team is going to keep five defensive ends, it’s going to be the Giants. The plan is to keep them all in rotation, and both Evans and Tollefson have shown pass rush ability.
DT: Anthony Bryant, Leger Douzable
Neither will come close to making the team.
OLB: Gerris Wilkinson
Wilkinson has never been able to stay healthy, but the Giants have always liked his speed coming from outside linebacker. He’ll have to play special teams to stick, but I think he will the last man to be cut.
CB: Kevin Dockery, Bruce Johnson, DeAndre Wright
The secondary situation is interesting. Wright was drafted this year and has gotten a bunch of run in the preseason. He has upside, which is more than you can say for Johnson, who unequivocally sucks.
S: Ra’sheed Shareef
Sorry, buddy. Great name, great dreads, not such a great name.
That was really hard. Wilkinson is the last man out as it took a half an hour to pick him. I think he’s the kind of player that can latch on with another team, but just can’t make one of the leagues best rosters.
By Jason Comack August 31, 2009, at 1:11 pm Did you know UFC 103 is right around the corner? We are in the golden age of Mixed Martial Arts,and there seems to be a UFC event every other week at this point. While there is no title fight the upcoming UFC 103 card it’s stacked from top to bottom and the one fight I’m really looking forward to is Cro Cop Vs. Dos Santos.
For the record I was a big fan of PRIDE. Count me among the many who said that the PRIDE guys would walk over and smash everyone in the UFC. Since the organizations merged it’s been a mixed bag. On the positive side in the UFC; Ramapge is 5-1, Nog is 3-1, Henderson is 3-2 and of course Anderson Silva is 10-0 and unstoppable. On the flip-side big acquisitions, Wanderlei Silva, 1-3, and Mirko Cro Cop, 2-2, have disappointed. Many have questioned Cro-Cops worth, and I’ve defended him almost to a fault. However, he must beat Dos Santos to justify his billing.
Cro-Cop debuted in September 2006 at UFC 63 against Eddie Sanchez. Sanchez was undefeated at the time but no one gave him a shot at winning. He was suppose to be a human punching bag for Mirko. Mirko was suppose to kick his head into the third row. Fans in the underground forums were making RIP Eddie Sanchez threads. Well Mirko won but we didn’t get to see vintage Cro-Cop. He overwhelmed Sanchez with strikes but wasn’t able to land a solid single blow. Old Cro-Cop would have killed Sanchez.
Fans wanted to just hand the title belt to Mirko, but one more test stood in his way in the form of Gabriel Gonzaga a ju-jitsu expert who didn’t have a ton of MMA experencie. Mrikos next victim…well, that’s what was suppose to happen at least. We all know how this one ended. Gonzaga landed the head kick heard round the world. Watching Cro-Cop crumple in a heap made my draw drop and my stomach turn. While everyone remembers the highlight-reel finish of the fight they forget what happened in the first four minutes. Cro-Cop landed a sick body kick that lead to Gonzaga taking him down. Gonzaga ate a trademark Crop-Cop kick without any ill effects. That kick has brought bigger men and more accomplished fighters to their knees in the past.
Fluke right? It was a fluke? At least that’s what I told myself.
Mirko needed to rebound and a match up against Cheick Kongo seemed to be just what the doctor ordered. Kongo was a pure striker with no take-down defense or any semblance of a ground game and even better, like Mirko, he was on the small side for a heavyweight. Perfect match-up, at least in theory. Kongo won a three round decision….another lackluster performance for Mirko.
Crop-Cop rode off into the sunset to fight again in Japan. His short-stint in the UFC made many fans question everything they knew about MMA. What happened to Cro-Cop? Was it age? Was it steroids? Did all those PRIDE tourneys shorten your fight lifespan? Did Cro-Cop just not constantly fight top flight competition in Japan? No, it couldn’t be. Mirko went to war against the likes of Josh Barnett, beating him three times, and Anotonio Nogeuira. The man went the distance with Fedor Emelianenko and while he lost, so has everyone else that’s fought Fedor. But he brought Fedor to the brink. Don’t believe me? Watch it.
Part 1:
http://www.dailymotion.com/videox57px2
Part 2:
http://www.dailymotion.com/videox57q38
Part 3:
http://www.dailymotion.com/videox57q8d
Look at his face! No man has come as close to beat Fedor as Mirko did.
It’s not like that fight was ancient history it was only four years ago. How does Mirko go from that, to losing to Cheick Freakin Kongo? I don’t get it.
And in a very round about way that’s why I, and you, should care so much about Crop-Cop vs Dos Santos. I can’t believe that the man that could do that to Fedor is gone. The same man that was once unanimously considered the most feared strike on the planet, I can’t fathom that he just disappeared.
Maybe I’m a sucker but, when Wild Boys blares throughout the arena and Mirko makes his way down to the ring I’m still going to get goosebumps. I still have faith that the Cro-Cop of old is alive.
By Jason Comack August 30, 2009, at 1:37 pm The NFL season is right around the corner. That means that very soon teams will be purging their roster of camp bodies as they must cut to 53 players instead of 80. Teams will have a lot of tough decisions, will X player clear waivers so we can put him on the practice squad? Do we carry two QB’s or three? Can we keep seven WR’s who we all like and sacrifice depth at another position?
The 49ers are going to have some very tough choices to make. Let’s break it down.
Guaranteed To Make The Roster:
QB: Hill, Smith (2)
RB/FB: Gore, Coffee, Robinson, Norris (4)
WR: Bruce, Jones, Morgan, Crabtree (4)
TE: Davis, Walker (2)
LT: Staley, Sims (2)
LG: Baas (1)
C: Heitman, Wallace (2)
RG: Richal, Wragge (2)
RT: Synder (1)
LE: Soapoga, Balmer, Evans (3)
RE: Smith, McDonald (2)
DT: Franklin (1)
LOLB: Lawson (1)
MLB: Willis, Spikes, McKilliop, Ulbrich (4)
ROLB: Haralson (1)
CB: Clements, Bly, Brown, Spencer (4)
FS: Goldston, Roman (2)
SS: Lewis, Smith (2)
K: Nedney (1)
P: Lee (1)
LS: Jennings (1)
By my crude math that’s 43 guarantees to make the roster. Leaving 10 spots.
Position Battles (Prediction in bold):
QB: Huard, Davis – (1) – Odds are one of the two make the team. The 49ers can’t afford to carry four QB’s and Davis has been so strong in pre-season that he would likely be snatched up on waivers.
RB/FB: Sheets, Miller – (1) – Again odds are one of the two makes it. Sheets, an undrafted free agent, much like Davis has been so good in pre-season it’d be hard to slip him through waivers. Miller has also been fantastic. A linebacker turned FB his progress has been amazing.
WR: Battle, Ziegler, Spurlock, Hill -(2) – With four locks (Bruce, Jones, Morgan, Crbatree) and four guys who deserve to make the team this is by far the deepest position. It’d be extremely difficult, and unlikely that the 49ers keep seven WR’s. My guess is they go with six and boot the low man on the totem pole when Crabtree eventually signs. Battle is the veteran, Ziegler has the best hands, Spurlock is the most versatile and despite Hills strong play last year he seems to be the odd man out.
TE: Pascoe, JJ Finley – (1) – JJ Finley has had a very strong camp, Pascoe not so much. The book on Pascoe was that he was a very strong blocker but it hasn’t shown. Finley played as the 3rd TE in the third preseason game and Pascoe barely played. The writing seems to be on the wall.
OL: Jacob Bender, Alex Boone, Matt Spanos – (1) – Every year the 49ers seem to be shallow along the offensive line and this year is no exception. Marvel Smiths sudden retirement kicks Barry Sims from the maybe to the definite list. It also increases the chances of Boone making the team as a developmental right tackle. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Niners trade for a veteran. For a team that needs depth at QB a Huard for an O-Lineman trade would make sense.
DL: Egboh, Mitchell, Jean-Francois – (0) – Nothing super exciting here. Jean-Francois is a developmental guy but is likely bound for the practice squad.
LB: Harris, Moore, Washington, Briggs, Brooks, Roland – (2) - Harris is a veteran, every else is developmental. Jay Moore just never could seem to get his career started due to injuries. 49ers need a pass rush and have to hope a few of these guys can show something.
DB: Eric Green, Curtis Taylor, Marcus Hudson – (1) - Green was a late addition but offers the most upside. Taylor is raw and probably bound for the practice squad.
KR: Allen Rossum – (1) – Pretty self explanatory
Wow that was tough. So my final 10 players are: Davis, Sheets, Battle, Spurlock, Finley, Boone, Harris, Brooks, Green and Rossum. In case you were curious my 54th man was Matt Spanos.
By Jason Comack August 30, 2009, at 1:56 am News from the post fight press conference:
- Dana White confirms Couture signs a new 6 fight 28 month contract.
- White said Chuck Liddell was texting him all night about fighting. “When Chuck gets done dancing he’ll come looking for me”
- White said he won’t use 5 rounds for non-title fights even though it was approved by the NSAC
Overall an eh card for me. Of course, I went home happy as a battle of two legends more then exceeded expectations.
Stock Up:
Evan Dunham – Sure, Maximus took this fight on short notice but Dunham looked good. He trains with a legit camp, X-Treme Couture, and has a good deal of potential.
Todd Duffee – Undefeated heavyweights, who are a legit 260 LBS, and train at ATT are a welcome site in the UFC. Duffee seems raw but surely an impressive performance tonight. Keep an eye on this guy.
Gabriel Gonzaga – Move over Cro Cop there’s a new head kick master in town. Look I love Gonzaga, a legit brickhouse at 6′2 250 he’s much more then just a ju-jitsu master. Think he’s a real bad match-up for Lesnar.
Aaron Simpson – It’s a shame he’s 35 because damn he looked good. The fight will go down as TKO/Injury but he whooped Herman from start to finish.
Brandon Vera – A little bit of a slow fight but Vera outclassed the bigger Soszynski. I think a match-up with Luis Cane makes sense.
Nate Marquardt – Whats not to love? He stopped Maia, who many including myself, fell in love with. I don’t want to see him fight Anderson Silva again but a match up against Dan Henderson is tantalizing.
Thiago Silva – How quickly we all forget this man is 14-1. He lost to Lyoto Machida, that’s it. He outclassed Jardine and it shouldn’t shock anyone. Not really sure what the UFC does with him however. He’s at or near the top of his weight class but can’t get a title rematch any time soon.
Antonio Nogueria – Wow. In a word wow. I’ll be honest I really thought he was done. He got KO’d for the first time against Mir who’s not a stellar striker. He looked old and slow…but that was then and this is now. Nog looked quick, showed great boxing and stellar ju-jitsu. He almost submitted Couture twice and knocked him down a ton. Nog also showed off his trademark chin. It was also revealed that Nog has a meniscus injury as well as a staph infection that put him in the hospital for a week. That would explain a lot…it’s nice to have Big Nog back in my life.
Randy Couture – What a warrior. At 46 the fact that he can hang with bigger heavyweights is remarkable. I’m not sure what’s next for the natural but I would assume a move back down to 205 is necessary. I just don’t think he can keep fighting guys 20-30 LBS heavier and expect to have a long career. Dana Whites comments at the post fight presser seem to think he’ll be moving down in weight.
Stock Down
Chris Leben – Why the UFC doesn’t just cut ties with this guy is beyond me. He’s slow, has no ground game….he’s a one trick pony.
Jake Rosholt – I’m sorry but he looked absolutely terrible. His game-plan was beyond awful and his ground game was atrocious. Against Chris Leben none the less. Ew.
By Jason Comack August 29, 2009, at 1:49 pm 
Impressive win but before we all fall in love with King ‘Mo let’s think of a few things.
One he was wearing wrestling shoes, that helps you…a lot. That won’t fly in the UFC. With that being said he’s 5-0 with 4 impressive TKO wins, most impressive was his win over Travius Wiuff. The Kerr fight, shown above, was obviously an impressive performance. He slammed the bigger Kerr, 263 LBS, with relative ease. However, Kerr is a shadow of his former self. He’s 40 and has lost his last 5 fights in a row.
Now with all that being said King ‘Mo is one hell of a prospect at 185 LBS. He has the skill set to be an elite fighter and even better he has a personality and image the fans would eat up.
‘Mo is a free agent and I see no reason Dana White shouldn’t snatch him up.
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