Apparently a thirty second fight can net you 500,000, even if you lose terribly.

James Toney made half a million at UFC 118 and was by far the top earner. Compare that to the 96,000 that was hauled in by lightweight champ Frankie Edgar, and you can’t help but be a little sad for the fact that the freakshow made more than the champ.

Here is the full list from Sherdog.com:

Main Card:
- Frankie Edgar $96,000 (includes $48,000 win bonus) def. B.J. Penn $150,000
- Randy Couture $250,000 def. James Toney $500,000
- Demian Maia $68,000 def. Mario Miranda $8,000
- Gray Maynard $46,000 (includes $23,000 win bonus) def. Kenny Florian $65,000
- Nate Diaz $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus) def. Marcus Davis $31,000

Preliminary Card:
- Joe Lauzon $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Gabe Ruediger $8,000
- Nik Lentz $22,000 (includes $11,000 win bonus) def. Andre Winner $10,000
- Dan Miller $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus) def. John Salter $8,000
- Greg Soto $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus) def. Nick Osipczak $10,000
- Mike Pierce $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Amilcar Alves $6,000

That’s twice.

That’s twice that everyone counted out Frankie Edgar against B.J. Penn, the consensus best lightweight in the history of the sport. That’s twice that everyone wrote off the Jersey native because he was too small, and didn’t have the tools to beat the most naturally talented fighter in the UFC.

That’s twice that Frank Edgar has tooled the great B.J. Penn on the feet and this time, he cemented his reign as lightweight champion.

We’ve always been big Frankie Edgar fans around here, and recently, I’ve become a big fan of his shirts. Affliction seems to save the best for Frankie, as both this and his 112 shirt are really awesome. I always say you can never go wrong by mixing red and black, the fleur de lis, and wing designs are very typical of Affliction.

Buy the Frankie Edgar UFC 118 Walkout Shirt at MMA Warehouse for 57.99, which is the typical price for an Affliction shirt these days.

For more Affliction gear, check out The 3rd String Store.

Phil “The New York Badass” Baroni has undergone a lot of change since his fight with Amir Sadollah. I remember an article or tweet by Ariel Helwani which stated that he saw Baroni sitting in the crowd after a UFC event staring into space, wondering what was left for him in this business. Since then, he went to Thailand in an attempt to improve his striking and reinvent himself.

He’ll have a chance to show us his new tricks at UFC 118 when he takes on John Salter, according to MMA Fighting.

Meanwhile, UFC 118 happens Aug. 28 at the TD Garden in Boston, Mass. and will be headlined by Frankie Edgar vs. BJ Penn and Randy Couture vs. James Toney.

Baroni returned to the UFC last November and lost a decision to Amir Sadollah. Baroni, 34, actually contemplated retirement Friday, but has since reconsidered. Salter, who will be fighting in the UFC for the third time this year, lost his UFC debut in January to Gerald Harris, but won in May against Jason MacDonald when MacDonald suffered a gruesome leg injury.

Loser, prepare to leave town. Salter may have won his last fight, but it was because of an injury that was just gross to watch, not his personal skill.

In this fight, there are two very big keys. First, John Salter will be looking to take the fight to the ground early and often against the jiu-jitsu challenged Baroni. Second, a big reason for Baroni’s last loss was the fact that he gassed after the first round. While Sadollah worked Baroni the whole fight, you like to believe that he would have at least have had a chance to come back and maybe score a finish against Sadollah.

All in all, I expect Salter to end the UFC career of the New York Badass.

Awhile ago we put up an unconfirmed UFC 2010 roster, and people flocked to it. In an effort to clear up any confusion, We’re gonna update that post with this one.

This is the confirmed roster from THQ, as presented on Gamespot earlier today.

Heavyweight:

• Mustapha Al-Turk
• Andrei Arlovski
• Pat Barry
• Shane Carwin
• Mirko Cro Cop
• Junior Dos Santos
• Todd Duffee
• Gabriel Gonzaga
• Antoni Hardonk
• Heath Herring
• Marcus Jones (Pre-order Only)
• Cheick Kongo
• Brock Lesnar
• Justin McCully
• James McSweeney (Pre-order Only)
• Frank Mir
• Roy Nelson (Pre-order Only)
• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
• Eddie Sanchez
• Brendan Schaub (Pre-order Only)
• Dan Severn (PS3 Exclusive)
• Kimbo Slice
• Stefan Struve
• Cain Velasquez
• Fabricio Werdum

Heavyweight & Light Heavyweight

• Mark Coleman
• Brandon Vera

Who’s There: Just about everyone that you could imagine, or care about in the heavyweight division. The one guy who commented on how he wanted to play with Pat Barry should be pumped right now.

Who’s Missing?: No one. They even have Andrei Arlovski and Fabricio Werdum are in the game despite being under Strikeforce contracts. Just goes to prove, once Dana owns your soul, it’s over.

I’m Excited For: The difference in play styles between some of these guys. People who have played the game all say that Carwin plays like a Mack Truck, but I’m curious how someone like Cain, who is a bit lighter on his feet plays. Plus, anyday you get to whoop on Brock is a good day. Also, How much longer are we going to pretend that Brandon Vera is a good Heavyweight? Let’s just put him at light heavy at this point.

Light Heavyweight:

• Ryan Bader
• Stephan Bonnar
• Jason Brilz
• Luiz Cane
• Steve Cantwell
• Rashad Evans
• Forrest Griffin
• Matt Hamill
• Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
• Keith Jardine
• Jon Jones
• Chuck Liddell
• Lyoto Machida
• Tito Ortiz
• Mauricio Rua
• Thiago Silva
• Krzysztof Soszynski

Light Heavyweight & Middleweight

• Vitor Belfort
• Michael Bisping
• Rich Franklin
• Wilson Gouveia
• Dan Henderson
• Anderson Silva

Who’s There: It’s hard to remember, because it’s been so long since any of them have fought, but this really is the deepest weight class in the UFC. So many of these guys are present, past or future title contenders that it’s just sickening.

Who’s Missing?: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. It was a little late that he came into the UFC, so most of the graphical modeling was probably already done.

I’m Excited For: Jon Jones. That’s what is really important. His physical attributes should be off the charts, and he should have some real funky strikes.

Middleweight:

• Yoshihiro Akiyama
• Ricardo Almeida
• Alan Belcher
• Patrick Cote
• Kendall Grove
• Dennis Kang
• Chris Leben
• Demian Maia
• Nate Marquardt
• Drew McFedries
• Dan Miller
• Yushin Okami
• Nate Quarry
• Chael Sonnen
• Wanderlei Silva

Middleweight & Welterweight

• Martin Kampmann
• Mike Swick

Who’s There: Everyone of note. I’m curious to see what Chael Sonnen is rated. He has great wrestling, we know that, but what about the rest of his game? Do we really know if it’s any good? Also, Dana apparently still owns Dan Henderson as well.

Who’s Missing?: Jorge Rivera. While not an integral member of the division, he did just beat Nate Quarry who is in the game. Also, Goran Reiljic is not there.

I’m Excited For: Wanderlei at Middleweight. I hope they leave him with some serious power, and somehow have the Wanderlei rush as a move.

Welterweight:

• Thiago Alves
• Carlos Condit
• Marcus Davis
• Jon Fitch
• Royce Gracie (PS3 Exclusive)
• Dan Hardy
• Dustin Hazelett
• Matt Hughes
• Anthony Johnson
• Dong Hyun Kim
• Josh Koscheck
• Chris Lytle
• Karo Parisyan
• Amir Sadollah
• Georges St-Pierre
• Paulo Thiago
• Frank Trigg
• James Wilks

Welterweight & Lightweight

• BJ Penn
• Diego Sanchez
• Matt Serra
• Sean Sherk

Who’s There: Karo? I completely forgot that he even existed. He was unceremoniously thrown out of the UFC after bailing from a fight 24 hours beforehand. I personally think they needed him to show off the judo in the game. Also, Frank Trigg still in there.

Who’s Missing?: James Wilks is there, but DeMarques Johnson is missing? That’s bizarre considering that I am amongst many people who think that long term, Johnson will be a much better fighter. Also, no Paul Daley.

I’m Excited For: The wacky submissions of Dustin Hazelett. Also, at the very least, I’ll get to see Koscheck-GSP II in the game.

Lightweight:

• Nate Diaz
• Frankie Edgar
• Efrain Escudero
• Terry Etim
• Spencer Fisher
• Kenny Florian
• Hermes Franca
• Tyson Griffin
• Clay Guida
• Joe Lauzon
• Gray Maynard
• Cole Miller
• Ross Pearson
• Kurt Pellegrino
• Jens Pulver (PS3 Exclusive)
• Dennis Siver
• Joe Stevenson
• Caol Uno

Who’s There: Caol Uno, who was just released, makes the cut. As does Dennis Siver, who should exclusively used the spinning back kick. Also excited for Cole Miller.

Who’s Missing?: This is where the shit hits the fan. Melvin Guillard and George Sotiropoulos are both not int he game. We are going to have some angry comments directed towards THQ.

I’m Excited For: Ross Pearson. I don’t know why, but he intrigues the hell out of me. Maybe it’s because he is the rare Englishman who can wrestle, or at least defend a takedown.

Remember, this roster is official. Nothing is changing between now and the time that the game is released on May 25th.

We’ve all spent weeks trying to figure out exactly why B.J. Penn looked like he was fighting at half speed during his fight with Frankie Edgar at UFC 112. We’ve heard he was sick, he heard he was hurt, but the important thing is that Edgar won and he is the champ.

However, B.J. will get his rematch. According to Fighters Only, the lightweight title fight will headline the UFC’s first card in Boston, UFC 118.

Former UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn will get his rematch with Frankie Edgar on August 28th, Fighters Only can reveal after speaking with several key sources. The fight will headline UFC 118, the UFC’s first card in Boston, Massachusetts.

Penn lost the title to Edgar at UFC 112 on April 10th by way of a controversial unanimous decision. Edgar outworked and outmaneuvered Penn for much of the fight, but it was an extremely close affair that produced three very different judges’ scorecards. One judge gave all five rounds to Edgar, but that score has been widely ridiculed.

We’ve already broke down this fight, so we won’t bore you again. However, there is one little thing that is interesting about this announcement. The fight is in Boston, which means that Edgar will certainly have the home field advantage. There will be plenty of people who drive up from Jersey to see their hometown champ defend his belt.

I’m still taking Penn.

When George Sotiropoulos won at UFC 110 by dominanting Joe Stevenson, we all began to wonder what was next for the lightweight. With his combination of striking, jiu-jitsu and size, people thought they might be seeing the only lightweight capable of hanging with B.J. Penn.

My, how things have changed. Nonetheless, the Austrailian could present a clear and present danger to whoever is the champion, be it Penn or the smaller Frankie Edgar. His next fight will be challenge, as he takes on New Jersey-born scrapper Kurt Pellegrino, according to MMA Mania

Submission possible.

Contending UFC lightweights Kurt Pellegrino and George Sotiropolos have been paired up for a 155-pound showdown at this summer’s UFC 116 event, currently scheduled for July 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

MMAmania.com learned of the pending match-up earlier today.

The fight is an intriguing one, and the victory is the key to the proverbial doorway of the top tier of the lightweight division. If Sotiropoulos wins, than he has a strong case to fight someone like Grey Maynard for the number one contendership. If Pellegrino wins, I could see him getting his rematch against Nate Diaz, or he might very well go up against Maynard as well.

Inside the cage, both guys are fluent in the ground game. The difference in the fight should be the boxing of Sotiropoulous. If he starts winning on the feet, Can Kurt drag the much bigger fighter to the ground? I’m not so sure.

I like Sotiropoulos in this one.