Demian Maia

(Demian Maia won't be going for his second-straight 87kg tournament sweep at this year's ADCCs. Photo courtesy of GracieMag.)

On Monday, we oohed and aahed over the lineup for the 2009 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championships, which, according to its official website, was slated to feature a horde of MMA stars. (Urijah Faber is now listed in the under 65.9kg category, by the way.) Well, it's time to debunk some rumors. First off, Demian Maia:

Then, more bubble-bursting from a couple of our twitter-buddies...

(Even when you've knocked your opponent into a 180-degree tailspin, the Bad Boy eyes are always watching. Photo courtesy of Tracy Lee via Cagewriter.)

The UFC paid out $1,525,000 in reported salaries and bonuses for UFC 102, with the night's headliners taking home just over half of the total. The numbers are below. Keep in mind that they don't include income from sponsorships, cuts of the pay-per-view revenue (which Randy Couture reportedly receives), or the UFC's shadowy "locker room bonuses" (which Silva and Duffee likely got a taste of).

- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: $460,000 (includes $150,000 win bonus and $60,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
- Randy Couture: $310,000 (includes $60,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
- Nate Marquardt: $140,000 (includes $40,000 win bonus and $60,000 Knockout of the Night bonus)
- Gabriel Gonzaga: $120,000 (includes $60,000 win bonus)
- Jake Rosholt: $86,000 (includes $13,000 win bonus and $60,000 Submission of the Night bonus)
- Brandon Vera: $70,000 (includes $35,000 win bonus)
- Thiago Silva: $58,000 (includes $29,000 win bonus)
- Keith Jardine: $55,000

("So, I feel that I'll be comfortable wherever the fight goes, and as long as I can stick to my gameplan and — Shawn, if you don't get that Flip Cam out of my face, I'm going to stomp you a new asshole. Seriously. Last warning." Photo courtesy of this set on Combat Lifestyle.)

The word "legend" gets thrown around a lot in this sport, to the point where it loses much of its meaning. Well, we won't bother with the cliches. Suffice it to say that two old dudes are going to fight in Portland tonight, and one of them is so old that it's hard to believe he's still fighting, and the other is actually more old-looking than old, and maybe it would have been better if they fought like five years ago, in a city where people could actually afford to go see it, but here we are, and what are you gonna do.

Elsewhere on the card, Keith Jardine and Thiago Silva clash in a high-profile light-heavyweight scrap, while Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia fight for what may or may not turn out to be a #1 middleweight contender spot. Live UFC 102 results await you after the jump; refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest. Let's have a good, clean liveblog. Obey all my instructions, and protect yourself at all times. If you want to order pizza, do it now, and go back to your couches.

(Props: Planetamma.com.br via MMA Mania)

Though it was snubbed from the UFC 102 extended trailer, the middleweight bout between Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia is as significant as any other fight on the card. At most, the winner will find himself one win away from a shot at Anderson Silva's 185-pound title. In the above video profile, Marquardt says his goal is to be the best in every area of MMA. He'll try to keep the fight standing, but he isn't afraid to go to the ground with Maia. After the jump, Maia describes jiu-jitsu as the "boat" that led him to MMA, and says he'll be sticking to his strengths next Saturday. "It's no secret, if I can grapple with him I prefer [it]." So whose gameplan will come out on top? Your predictions, please...

After making my MMA highlight reel debut with "Sakuraba: Survivor," I decided to follow it up with a new compilation that's both shorter and less depressing. The concept of "Stranglehold" is quite simple: Here are some of the most creative and infamous choke-submissions in recent MMA history, soundtracked by Ted Nugent. The cast of characters include Nate Diaz, Dan Miller, Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Shinya Aoki, BJ Penn, Nick Diaz, Demian Maia, CB Dollaway, and Toby Imada. Let me know what you think, and if you dig it, please share with a friend.

(BG)