MMAJunkie has obtained salary figures for UFC 79′s fighters. The numbers are below; keep in mind that every winning fighter’s figure represents a doubling of their base salary, except for Chuck Liddell, who apparently earns half a million dollars per fight no matter what the outcome is.

MAIN CARD
Georges St. Pierre ($160,000 + $50,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus) def. Matt Hughes ($100,000)

Chuck Liddell ($500,000) def. Wanderlei Silva ($150,000) — both fighters received an additional $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus

Eddie Sanchez ($46,000 + $50,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus) def. Soa Palelei ($5,000)

Lyoto Machida ($60,000) def. Rameau Sokoudjou ($40,000)

Rich Clementi ($28,000) def. Melvin Guillard ($10,000)

We didn’t write much about it in the liveblog because it was pretty much over before it began and it didn’t end any differently than anyone expected. But here’s the video evidence of the last great (?) fight of 2007. Pause the vid at the 1:29 mark for the best representation of the size difference. Fedor is just a toy that Hong is playing with. And vice-versa, of course…

Here it is, folks, courtesy of the IFL. Watch as Schultz traps Horodecki’s arm at the 2:41 mark; the hailstorm begins shortly afterward. God damn, those punches have murderous intentions…

It’s early as hell, so you bloodsuckers better appreciate this. If you’re awake too, reload the page every couple minutes and check out our commentary on this sad freak show historic event after the jump. If not, do me a favor and read this when you do wake up. I need to feel like my life has a purpose.

The morning after he wagered his hopes on the Indian Casino Roulette Wheel of Fate — and lost — Chris Horodecki sat silently in the center of the Octogon, drinking from a gallon of water and trying to avoid the glances of the patrons around him, some who recognized him as the formerly undefeated IFL lightweight star, some who were just wondering what in hell happened to that boy’s eye? The Octogon, in this case, was the name of the restaurant connected to the Mystic Marriott Hotel & Spa in Groton, CT, where most of the fighters slept after competing in the World Grand Prix at the Mohegan Sun Arena, a much flashier joint 20 minutes away. The restaurant’s name was more than a little ironic. On a night when most fight fans were focused on UFC 79’s marquee matchups, and most other sports fans were glued to the Pats/Giants NFL simulcast, the IFL’s hungry, scrappy fighters were doing their best to carve out their own place in the MMA universe. And even in their own budget-friendly, off-the-strip hotel, they couldn’t escape the ubiquity of the Eight-Sided-Shape.

Not to say that the Mystic Marriott wasn’t welcoming. There were a couple of signs in the lobby plugging the event. Unfortunately, they were a bit outdated:

Shad Lierley, of course, was Horodecki’s second scheduled opponent for the championship match-up, after Waggney Fabiano dropped to featherweight, before Lierley was injured and replaced by John Gunderson, and before Gunderson himself was injured and replaced by Ryan Schultz, who nobody was giving a chance to win the fight. I imagine Horodecki walking past the sign on the way to breakfast the morning after and cursing those motherfuckers who couldn’t stay healthy. Because only a true underdog like Schultz could have come away with the kind of fluke victory he had last night. That’s the way life works. You cover all your bets, and the ball lands on green double-zero. Chaos rules.

It’s 3 a.m. in Connecticut, and by now many of you know that Chris Horodecki, the IFL’s undefeated wunderkind, had his ass handed to him tonight by Ryan “The Lion” Schultz. It wasn’t even close — Schultz immediately took Horodecki to the ground at the start of round one, and overwhelmed the Polish Hammer with some supremely savage GnP. And just like that, Schultz is the IFL’s new lightweight champ, and Horodecki’s flawless domination of the division is all for naught. Quick results from the night:

PRELIMINARY CARD
(Middleweights) Marcello Salazar def. Alex Cook via unanimous decision
(Welterweights) Brett Cooper def. Rory Markham via TKO, 1:15 into 2nd round
(Middleweights) Tim Kennedy def. Elias Rivera via KO, 2:00 into 1st round

CHAMPIONSHIP BOUTS
(Heavyweights, untelevised) Roy Nelson def. Antoine Jaoude via TKO, 0:20 into 2nd round
(Featherweights) Wagnney Fabiano def. L.C. Davis via armbar submission, 3:38 into 1st round
(Welterweights) Jay Hieron def. Delson Heleno via TKO, 3:59 into 1st round
(Middleweights) Matt Horwich def. Benji Radach via TKO, 1:58 into 2nd round
(Lightweights) Ryan Schultz def. Chris Horodecki via TKO, 2:51 into 1st round

Stay tuned for my full first-person recap of the night’s events. WAR LION!

Chuck Liddell will definitely be having “caviar dreams” when Wandy puts him down for a nap tomorrow night.

Wanderlei Silva, in a rare moment of tenderness.

“Wha, you don’ like to relax een a nice bubble-bat’ wit’ a glass of Cabernet and a sexy romance book?”

…but everyone else thinks you’re an asshole!

Man, just when you think life can’t get any sweeter…

It looks like I’ve been hooked up with a ticket and a Mohegan Sun hotel room for the IFL’s World Grand Prix, which means I’ll be heading out to Connecticut tomorrow to see what kinda trouble I can get into, journalistically speaking. I’ll be playing it fast and loose, but you never know what my hungry camera-lens and thirsty dictaphone might uncover. Full reports to come this weekend, whenever I can make it to my laptop. For you poor, sad, home viewers, the action starts at 9:30 p.m. ET on HDNet. Watch it! (Or at the very least, DVR it.)

As for UFC 79, my associate Kipp will be liveblogging it tomorrow night, so be sure to have your computer tuned to CagePotato.com during the fights so you can see his witty comments about the things you’ve just watched. And then of course there’s “Fedor Returns” on Monday morning, which I’ll be liveblogging myself. (Jesus, we have our work cut out for us.)

But the most important business at hand is tomorrow night’s IFL blowout, which closes the year out in style as the league looks ahead to switch their shit up in ’08. Five titles are on the line, including the IFL’s newly minted Featherweight belt. Let’s take a look at the matchups, shall we?

5. Terry Martin puts up his dukes…sort of
The second round had just started at UFC 54: Boiling Point, when James Irvin went airborne for a flying knee. Terry Martin had battled Irvin for a round already and decided to go all soft and not protect his face. He goes down limp except for his arms, which stay raised in an “I’m not worthy” position. Moments like this should serve more as a warning to never lower your guard for even a second — it’s very likely that you’ll end up on your back looking like a chump.

4. Johnnie Morton thinks he’s playing football
Johnnie Morton was a good receiver in the pros and at USC. But does that translate to the ring? Apparently not. Especially when it appears he’s just trying to go for a weak tackle the entire time. Morton debuted his new career at K-1 Hero’s in June, displaying some of the worst technique and defense seen all year. Bernard Ackah’s nothing special, but he was good enough to see when Morton left himself exposed, and knocked homeboy out in 35 seconds. Don’t quit your day job, Johnnie — oh wait, no one wants you in the NFL these days, either.

3. Matt Lindland KO’s himself slamming Falaniko Vitale
This one went down back at UFC 43: Meltdown, where everyone thought it was just a matter of time before The Law brought Niko down. But nobody expected Lindland to misjudge the turn on the chest-to-chest slam. Lindland gets his head wedged between Niko’s falling melon and the mat, taking himself down for the count. What, A, Loser. We should mention that five months later, Lindland got his revenge and took Vitale out, not that it redeemed the shamefulness of this particular night.

We’ve only mentioned it briefly before, but you’re probably aware that the UFC is holding a “Nemesis” viewing party tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden, hosted by Matt Serra and featuring appearances by Forrest Griffin and Kenny Florian. Well, things aren’t looking too promising, attendance-wise. It was reported that as of the beginning of this week, only 1,000 of the arena’s 20,000 seats had been sold for the event. Apparently, New York’s fans would rather watch UFC 79 in the comfort of their own homes than have $7 beers spilled on them by loudmouthed idiots. (I know, I don’t understand it either…)

So what does the UFC do to generate some last-minute interest in their party? That’s right — they bring out the big guns. Yesterday, Thomas Gerbasi reported that lightweight sorta-contender Frankie Edgar has been tapped to show up at the Garden, where he will likely take part in the Q&A session before the live broadcast lights up the jumbotrons. In other words, just like at any other NYC hotspot on a Saturday night, both Long Island and New Jersey WILL BE IN FULL FORCE BITCHES!

So, here’s something I’ve noticed while going through the massive pile-up of previews and miscellaneous hype for tomorrow’s UFC 79: Both Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva are convinced that they’re going to win. Which is totally strange, right? Because technically one of them has to lose. But it’s like…ah fuck, I just lost my train of thought.

Anyway, here are two more “Nemesis”-related videos, because you should be thinking about nothing else until tomorrow night. First off, Chuck Liddell’s appearance on ESPN’s Hot List yesterday: There’s nothing you haven’t heard him say before, but it’s worth it just for the moment at the 4:58-remaining mark where Chuck is clearly struggling to remember where he is and why the man in the suit is asking him questions. Still, it’s nowhere near the worst interview that the Iceman has done; whatever the cough syrup equivalent to methadone is, it seems to be working.

And then we have a segment from RawVegasTV, where Stephan Bonnar, Arianny Celeste, and professional BMX rider T.J. Lavin discuss their predictions for UFC 79 — or as the screen graphic calls them, “FIGTH PICKS.” (Speaking of typos, MMAFightline has an awesome one today.) Not sure what makes Lavin qualified to be on the panel — it surely isn’t the energy he brings to the discussion — but the gang gives a unanimous nod to Liddell and St. Pierre, and splits on Sokoudjou/Machida.

Just because every MMA blog has to make an official prediction, we’ll stand by our earlier claim and say that Sokoudjou, Silva and (the long-shot pick) Hughes are going home with victories tomorrow night. That’s right — the option we picked in the current CagePotato poll is sitting comfortably in last place. But we’re prepared to go 0-3, because honestly, who knows?

Many thanks to everyone who entered our first caption contest. Unfortunately, there can be only one winner:

“Mmm..screw the belt I want this nice piece of sushi right here.”

See, we knew most of you would pick up on the prison-rape vibe of this one, but referring to Sato as a “piece of sushi”? Well played, sir. So, CagePotato reader who goes by the name of “D Biggles,” shoot us an e-mail with your address and we’ll drop that Ultimate Knockouts DVD in the mail as soon as we get around to it.

As for the runner-up, we should also give recognition to “Jeremy,” for this insightful caption:

“I shaved my balls for this?”

Unfortunately, Jeremy loses points for plagiarizing a t-shirt, but just as “Christ, what an asshole” is a viable caption for every New Yorker cartoon ever drawn, “ISMBFT?” is always a solid option for photo caption contests.

Good work, Potato Nation. We’ll do this again the next time a publicist makes the mistake of sending me a free DVD.

“Tim Sylvia walked over to me during practice. His back was hunched a bit, like Pat’s is, but Pat I could look in the face. ‘Can I talk to you a second?’ he asked.

“Sure thing.” He led me into an office and we sat down on two chairs.

“No one here’s got a problem with me except you,” he began.“When I first started, Jens would say I’m a fat piece of s*** who’s never going to amount to anything, and he’d get me crying, but now even Jens likes me. Is there a problem?”

“I am extremely excited for next season; we have some amazing fighters from different parts of the world that people aren’t familiar with in the states yet – our own version of Kimbo Slice, some production things both for the live audience and then some neat things for the television fans as well. What we will be doing will completely blow away any other experience MMA fans have had, guaranteed!”

The Los Angeles Times has a good piece today on Dana White’s continuing love with money. Not to beat a dead horse – as we’ve been quite vocal about the uneven pay structure within most fight organizations – but it’s pretty damn cool to see The Times giving some attention to the tension Baldy has created by defending his undefendable position. Saying shit like:

“We’re running a business here. This is not ‘Fantasy Island’….”MMA is like a beauty salon, with all these [fighters] sitting around talking about what they’re not getting.”

Lex Luthor’s twin goes on to say a bunch of other dumbass things, like how he’s the reason any of the fighters are successful, most of them are happy, Randy and Tito are dicks, blah, bah, blah. We’ve heard all this, but it gets more sickening when the actual figures are broken down.Of course, Randy Couture is featured prominently throughout the article and there are some good Tito Ortiz quotes.

“We’ve had to put our lives on the line, and now that we’ve seen the UFC making its money back — and more — we’re asking, ‘Where’s the money?’” Ortiz said. “Dana’s famous words are, ‘I’m going to make you the biggest superstar in the world,’ but they make great [dollar] numbers on their video games, merchandising, and DVDs of us fighting, and the fighters get none of it.”

The boxing world weighs in, too.

Boxing promoter Dan Goossen said the MMA fighters’ gripes are no different from the sometimes contentious labor negotiations in other sports.”Success brings headaches,” Goossen said.”MMA/UFC is just starting to feel the repercussions of its success. . . . You wouldn’t be having these arguments if the UFC was not so successful in its promotion.”

Sure, Dana is a promoter and marketer, and yes, he got the UFC off to the races. But palm the guys a little extra fucking scratch who are the reason the sport has made you a gazillionaire. But, I digress…Keep it coming LA Times.

“Matt Serra’s condition improved greatly over the past week. The week before he was in intense pain. This week he was still having trouble walking. While watching a training session, he almost considered going to the mat to demonstrate a technique, but then decided it probably wouldn’t be the smartest thing. He hasn’t been able to do any training and is probably more than 200 pounds.”

As you recall, Serra had some pretty extensive damage done to his back while training to step into the cage with Matt Hughes at UFC 79: Nemesis on December 29th. He’s now slated to meet the fighter who walks away with the win when Hughes meets Georges St. Pierre in the replacement match. This was supposed to go down in 2008, but with Serra ballooned up to 200+, we’re not looking for it to happen too early in the new year. Coming back from an injury like that is tough enough, but Dude, push yourself away from the dinner table after your 5th helping of yams. Yeah, we understand the way you guys fluctuate in weight and we’re not claiming to be training experts. What we do know is we want to see your next fight as soon as possible, so lay off the cheesecake and grab a diet soda. You’ve got LBs to shed.

Fine, we’ll be the first ones to say it — the scheduled card for January 23rd’s Ultimate Fight Night isn’t exactly turning our cranks. No disrespect to Swick, Cote, et al., but we have seriously low hopes for that mess. Luckily, the next UFN could be a killer, with two sure-to-excite bouts rumored to go down.

As MMA Junkie reports, Ultimate Fight Night 13 will air live on Spike TV on April 2nd, directly before the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 7. Lightweights Kenny “Ken Flo!” Florian and Joe “J-Lau!” Lauzon have agreed to a bout that will serve as the night’s main event, while Stephan Bonnar and Matt Hamill have also been discussed as a possible co-headlining bout.

The Florian/Lauzon fight could have major significance to the UFC’s lightweight picture, as the winner could possibly face Roger Huerta for the slot of #1 contender, and eventually face the winner of Penn/Stevenson vs. Sherk. As for Bonnar/Hamill, I have shameless schoolboy crushes on both the soft-spoken “American Psycho” and that big lovable deaf lug, so I know I’d be watching with a bag of Fritos, a bottle of hand-lotion*, and a mile-wide smile.

* Are anybody else’s knuckles drying out in this damned weather? What, you didn’t think I meant…oh come on, grow up!I totally LOVE WOMEN!

(Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, who has knocked out fourteen men with his razor-sharp dreads in unsanctioned no-holds-barred matches in Cameroon, trains to kick L(R?)yoto Machida’s ass at UFC 79.)

Chuck Liddell officially became a star at UFC 52 (4/16/05), avenging his previous loss to Randy Couture and taking the UFC’s light heavyweight belt, which he would go on to defend four times. Then somewhere along the line he discovered clubs and cough syrup, and the next thing you know he’s losing a decision to Keith Jardine. Let’s see if the Iceman can reclaim his past glory this Saturday at UFC 79 against Wanderlei Silva. Though Wandy’s knees might have other plans…

UFC 79: Nemesis fighters will suck in their guts for their official weigh-in this Friday, December 28 at 7 pm (EST). It’ll go down at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and is free to attend if you happen to be in Sin City. If you want to check it out on-line, you can watch it live at UFC.com, Yahoo!Sports.com, FOXSports.com and NBCSports.com.

Bodoglife

• Chuck Liddell (-105) vs. Wanderlei Silva (-125)
• Georges St. Pierre (-240) vs. Matt Hughes (+190)
• Ryoto Machida (-125) vs. Sokoudjou (-105)
• Melvin Guillard (-260) vs. Rich Clementi (+200)

BetUS

To get yourself good and educated about the whole process, MMA Betting Blog and MMA Junkie has some good info.

Props to Nightmare of Battle for the Yarennoka! rule change rundown. The first round will be 10 minutes, compared to 5 minutes for the second round. No draws, three judges choose a winner if the fight goes the distance.

But the ones that really take some pepper off the event are the no soccer kicks and stomps to the head of a downed opponent rules. Knee strikes are allowed except for the Fedor Emelianenko/Hong-man Choi fight. Seems Japan is Americanizing the event and it blows. Sure, we can see MMA rules becoming more and more unified and they’re certainly more rigid than they were in the early 90′s, but the Japanese removing these two doesn’t make a ton of sense. Are kicks to the head and face stomping life threatening? Yes, and that’s what is so fantastic about them.

In other Yarennoka! news, ProElite.com reports:

ProElite.com (SamCaplan.ProElite.com) has learned from a well-placed source that the eighth and final bout for Yarennoka! in Japan on Dec. 31 is expected to feature Roman Zentsov vs. Mike Russow.  

ProElite.com has also learned from a separate source that Russow is also under consideration to fight on M-1 Global’s first card in the U.S.

The bout between Zentsov and Russow is expected to kick off HDNet’s coverage of the event, which will commence on Jan. 1 at 6 a.m. ET.

ProElite.com was also able to obtain a preliminary order of bouts on the card. It is as follows:

Fight 1: Roman Zentsov vs. Mike Russow

Fight 2: Makoto Takimoto vs. Murilo Bustamante

Fight 3: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Luis Azeredo

Fight 4: Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Gilbert Melendez

Fight 5: Hayato Sakurai vs. Hidehiko Hasegawa

Fight 6: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Kazuo Misaki

Fight 7: Shinya Aoki vs. TBD

Fight 8: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Hong-man Choi 

The fight addition could be a good boost for Russow’s career who will be fighting his sixth match this year, with only one loss. This will be a good platform for him to show what he has to offer, but Zentsov is a beast and had his seven fight win streak snapped back in July. He’ll be hungry.

Stick around for more Yarennoka! scoops this week.

 

More importantly, we’ve watched as the octagon has inched closer to the mainstream and it’s cool to see peeps like ESPN giving MMA more and more web space every month – even if they are looking at it through Dana White-colored glasses. Stay tuned for our full preview of the night later this week where we’ll break it down all proper for you.