UFC 91 Bonuses and Awards
by Luke Thomas on Nov 16, 2008 10:44 AM EST
in MMA News
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Here are the special fight bonuses for UFC 91 for those who can only read bold type:
Knockout of the Night — Jeremy Stephens
Submission of the Night – Dustin Hazelett
Fight of the Night — Aaron Riley vs. Jorge Gurgel
Each fighter received $60,000 for their efforts in addition to their respective base salaries, which is not too shabby considering the shaky economy … the promotion is apparently not holding back on the generosity.
I would rather Maia or Florian received submission of the night. Certainly Hazelett had the more technically inventive submission, but the meaningfulness of Maia's and Florian's wins were far more important in my eyes.
I also don't think Aaron Riley vs. Jorge Gurgel was the fight of the night, but something tells me this award buys Gurgel another UFC appearance.
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Awesome. Not sure the Gurgel fight should have been fight of the night, but I can’t decide which should be so no complaints from me.
Gurgel: Only 3 of the 7 people he’s fought are still in the UFC, and those three are losses for him (against Aaron Riley, Cole Miller and Alvin Robinson). I can’t figure out how this guy is still in the UFC, especially on the heels of Werdum getting the boot after one loss.
Submission of the night
McCrory has previously been submitted (by Gono, I’m pretty sure), while Quarry had never been until last night. The ease with which Maia worked his back and put in his hooks, then methodically worked in his grasp; was impressive to say the least. He should have won it for sure. (And hopefully more people are starting to see what I’ve already known, and have been saying for a long time; Maia is a stone cold killer and a serious contender in the making.)
I agree with everything you’re saying. The only caveat I’d add is that Quarry has never really faced anyone who is submission-centric. To go from that to fighting a guy like Demian Maia must be impossible to prepare for. And it showed.
Maia could very well be the next big thing. And unlike Machida, he regularly delivers action by stopping all of his opponents.
by Luke Thomas on Nov 16, 2008 12:11 PM EST up reply actions
Pretty sure it is for the most exciting submission. Example, the knockout of the night not going to Lesnar, rather to the brutal uppercut from hell.
Also, damn there was a hell of a lot of jiujitsu last night, it was awesome.
True, I was thinking about a comment I read saying someone else should have gotten it due to their win being more relevant. Personally I would have been fine with Maia, Florian, or Hazelett getting the award.
For me Hazelett’s sub was the most exciting because I am a big fan of his, and I have not yet seen an armbar like that before. May be my relative newness and lack of bjj knowledge.
Maia’s win was a thing of relentless beauty, going to the ground with him really seems like getting in the water with a shark…eventually he will eat you.
Florian’s sub was great because of the situation with his fight, not wanting to rest and wait for his title shot, he decided to keep busy and hungry with a fight against another very tough guy. He showed damn good form against another very good grappler.
I’d make the same correlation between middleweight and light heavyweight of Maia and Machida. But I’m also of the opinion that Machida isn’t a boring fighter. I think he’s similarly cerebral on his feet. Not finishing guys in the UFC has attached a stigma to him that he isn’t exciting (though he triangled Sokou), but if you watch him on a fight by fight basis, I find his style and fluidity extremely entertaining. I will say, however, that he won’t win the Thiago Silva fight if he’s expecting a decision. And I do expect him to win.
Back to the topic; you’re right about Quarry, though I hadn’t seriously considered his previous competition when making my comment. Nevertheless, Maia did it with such ease that it was truly impressive.
All told, I thought that was an amazing PPV last night. Just a rung below 84 and probably a little above or on par with 87.
Gurgel is entertaining, but why he goes out every time and seems determined to getting his face smashed in is beyond me. That’s not fight of the night material…Going out and trying to win the fight should get you fight of the night. Not standing in the middle of the octagon and taking punishment like an idiot. It was clear on the ultimate fighter that he had Jason Von Flue’s number on the ground. However he kept it standing, like a moron, and lost. Most of his UFC fights have been a variation of that. Why do they keep bringing this guy back? We saw Alvin Robinson get destroyed last night. Yet he cruised to an easy win over Gurgel. The fact that he won fight of the night means we’re going to have to see him yet again. Great PPV though.
I can’t decide who should’ve won the submission and KO bonuses. Too many great moments to choose from, when there are usually only a couple in contention during regular shows. Maybe they should’ve split the bonuses over multiple fights (not like anyone would have a right to complain).
To me, a great fight is two fighters going at it with strategy. Not avoiding your strength for no apparent reason (for this reason Sherk/Penn made me especially upset). Once again the FOTN bonus indirectly messes with fight strategy (although the problem may be more with Gurgel himself). Gurgel needs to be booted from the UFC to learn a thing or two, even if it’s to the WEC where the bonuses are under 10k and nothing one can count on.
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