MMAConvert.com

The Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services has released the fighter payouts for UFC on Versus 5. Keep in mind, these figures represent the base contracted pay the fighter receives from the promotion. These figures do not include any additional undisclosed bonuses or sponsorship money, which in many cases exceeds a fighter’s base pay. These numbers also do not account for taxes, insurance, and license fees.

The final fight of Chris Lytle’s career turned out to be his most lucrative. He led the pack with a whopping $200,000 payday with his various bonuses included. Former WEC lightweight Donald Cerrone was right behind him with a $109,000 paycheck with his submission bonus factored in. I bet he’s really glad to be in the UFC now. Dan Hardy was next in line with $90,000 after his FOTN bonus.  Ed Herman and Joseph Benavidez rounded out the top five with respective $52,000 and $43,000 purses.

Payouts

Via MMA Junkie:

• Chris Lytle: $70,000 ($35k + $35k win bonus)
  Dan Hardy: $25,000
• Ben Henderson: $34,000 ($17k + $17k)
  Jim Miller: $35,000
• Donald Cerrone: $44,000 ($22k + $22k)
  Charles Oliveira: $12,000
• Duane “Bang” Ludwig: $32,000 ($16k + $16k)
  Amir Sadollah: $20,000
• Jared Hamman: $24,000 ($12k + $12k)
  C.B. Dollaway: $20,000
• Joseph Benavidez: $43,000 ($21.5k + $21.5k)
  Eddie Wineland: $10,000
• Ed Herman: $52,000 ($26k + $26k)
  Kyle Noke: $8,000
• Ronny Markes: $16,000 ($8k + $8k)
  Karlos Vemola: $10,000
• Jim Hettes: $12,000 ($6k + $6k)
  Alex Caceres: $8,000
• Cole Miller: $34,000 ($17k + $17k)
  T.J. O’Brien: $6,000
• Jacob Volkmann: $28,000 ($14k + $14k)
  Danny Castillo: $17,000
• Edwin Figueroa: $12,000 ($6k + $6k)
  Jason Reinhardt: $6,000

Bonuses

$65,000 bonus to each fighter.

• Knockout of the Night – Donald Cerrone
• Submission of the Night – Chris Lytle
• Fight of the Night – Chris Lytle & Dan Hardy

Total Payout

A disclosed total of $838,000, including all bonuses, was paid out to the fighters.

Yeesh, what a weekend.  Every night there was live MMA for our consumption – some of it good, some of it bad – and every day there was breaking news (again, good and bad).  This sort of information overload is rough on the brain, so to facilitate processing it all, MMA Convert has put together a post-weekend scorecard.  There are winners here and there are losers, but at the end of the day what matters most is that they played the game.  Or something like that.  Anyway, here goes!

-Chris Lytle – At Saturday’s weigh-ins he announced he was retiring, and suddenly Sunday night’s UFC on Versus 5 main event between Lytle and Dan Hardy meant something.  So what would be a fitting send off for a man well-known for swinging for the fences and stacking “Fight of the Night” bonuses like firewood?  If you guessed “a bout of nonstop swinging for the fences and another Fight of the Night bonus”, you are correct!  For nearly three full rounds Lytle traded with Hardy with the kind of reckless abandon that gets most people killed, and finally, when Hardy grew desperate late in the third round and shot for an ill-advised takedown, the TUF 4 runner-up judiciously applied a fight-ending guillotine (which earned Lytle the “Submission of the Night” prize as well).  All told, Lytle has grossed over 500,000 bucks in public discretionary bonuses, and with an Octagon record of 10-9, he’s laid down the roadmap to success for UFC gatekeepers for years to come.  It’s been a heck of a career, and on Sunday night it was one heck of a fight, and now Lytle leaves on his own terms – with a hard-fought win and a bigger bank account than before.

-Shawn Tompkins – Just prior to last night’s UFC event the news broke that ace kickboxing trainer and coach Tompkins had passed, and it rendered whatever followed somewhat bittersweet.  The Canadian touched many in the sport, and it’s a testament to his character that his loss has affected many so profoundly.  He was one of the big cheeses at Xtreme Couture and later at the TapouT gym in Las Vegas, and he honed the likes of Mark Hominick and Sam Stout until they were keen, razor-sharp edges.  But his impact extended beyond those he taught, and the common denominator in the mournful declarations of all is that Tompkins was a great guy.  We won’t know the cause of the 37-year old’s death until an autopsy is done and the results made public; however, what we do know is that one of MMA’s shining stars is gone.  Mark us down as the loser in this instance.

-Ben Henderson – Everyone knew Henderson was tough, but few expected the ex-WEC champ to lay a beating on lightweight contender Jim Miller as thoroughly as he did.  Every submission was countered, nearly every wrestling exchange was dominated, and aside from one third-round knockdown, Henderson was the one doing damage.  If it was unclear where he stood in the rankings, the muddied waters have settled just enough for us to see that Henderson is up there and may soon be ready to take a crack at the UFC title.

-Jim Miller – It was a nice, long streak, but now it’s back to the drawing board for the New Jersey-based jiu-jitsu black belt.  Of course, it shouldn’t be hard for Miller to get back on the horse, as he’s got the skills to beat nearly everyone – and for sure many would’ve succumbed to those relentless submission attempts he put forth.  He just ran into a brick wall named Ben Henderson.  Though Miller lost on Sunday night, he will definitely be back.

-Ronda Rousey – To paraphrase Jack Nicholson in the 1989 flick “Batman”, “This 145-pound female division needs an enema.”  Well, Olympic judo bronze medalist Rousey, with her hyper-aggressive game and smooth, technical grappling, seems to be just the female to do it.  Though marred by officiating controversy, her Friday night Strikeforce Challengers bout provided a glimpse of what’s to come, and if she stays the course it won’t be long before we’re treated to a 145-pound title fight that champ Cris “Cyborg” Santos might actually lose.

-Jens Pulver – It was painful to watch Pulver wash out of the WEC, and that has 100% to do with how beloved the former UFC lightweight champ is to us.  But his first venture into the realm of bantamweights, in a Saturday night pay-per-view for a promotion we may never see again, saw “Lil’ Evil” return to form with a dominant performance over WEC vet Coty Wheeler.  It sucks seeing Pulver lose, but when he wins via those same fists that once made him champ, how sweet it is.

-Dan Hardy – The Brit obliged Lytle and engaged in a striking war (and when he didn’t, he got tapped), but even when dealing in his bread and butter, Hardy came up short.  Still, despite recording his fourth Octagon loss in a row, it was made known immediately after the fight that Hardy still had a job with the UFC.  Congrats for him in that regard, and hopefully his stated time away from competition will involve redefining his skill set and filling in some glaring holes.

-Jorge Gurgel – Dude, please.  Your jiu-jitsu is what got you into the UFC.  Stop standing and banging and go back to grappling more.  You are not Chris Lytle.

UFC on Versus 5 post-fight press conference highlights and more post-fight interviews courtesy of NBCSports.com.

Continue reading this post

Rundown of post-fight news & notes from UFC on Versus 5…

— 6,751 fans attended UFC on Versus 5 in Milwaukee for a $539,000 live gate.

— Chris Lytle and Dan Hardy were each awarded $65,000 Fight of the Night bonuses. Lytle also earned the Submission of the Night bonus for choking out Hardy at the end of their three round war. Donald Cerrone nabbed the remaining Knockout of the Night bonus for annihilating Charles Oliveira with a barrage of strikes.

— Hollywood couldn’t have scripted a better end to Chris Lytle’s career last night. He wanted fans to want more as he exited the Octagon for the last time and he accomplished that in spades. Not only did he fight like a warrior and put on one final show for the fans, he also ended his career with an exclamation point — a fight-ending guillotine choke as Dan Hardy desperately tried to score some points in the final moments of the fight.

Fighters rarely go out on top, on their own terms, but that’s exactly what Chris Lytle did. He told reporters that’s all he wanted.

“I’ve been fighting since January of 1998,” said Lytle, who headlined UFC on Versus 5 at Milwaukee’s Bradley Center. “It’s all I know, I think. It’s over a third of my life. My kids, that’s all they’ve ever seen – me fighting. It’s going to be real weird. I know that, and I know it’s going to be very hard for me. What would have been more hard is if I didn’t do this.”

“I’ve never really seen anybody leave this sport on good terms, with wins,” Lytle told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “Everybody leaves when they get knocked out three times in a row. It’s like, ‘Well, that’s it.’ That wasn’t the case. I wanted to be the only guy to ever go out on a good streak. I feel hopefully I did that.”

“I had my knee hurt [this past February], and I had to take a lot of time off. I was at home a lot. When I had to get back in the gym and start training, it was difficult. Honestly, for the first time ever, I didn’t want to go to the gym. I wanted to stay home and spend time with my family. I had to force myself and think, ‘I can’t do it. (UFC president) Dana (White) will beat me to death if I do that. I can’t do it.’ And I made myself go, but it was tough.

“When that was going on, I knew that I had no choice. If I don’t want to be there? This is not the kind of sport (to compete in) if you don’t want to be there. I felt like I was starting to slip, so I knew I had one more in me, and that was it.”

Lytle finishes his career with a 31-18-5 record, winning five of his last six. Chris Lytle is one of the good guys. He will be missed.

Recommended reading: It’s Lights Out for Chris Lytle’s Career, and Right On Time

— Of course, with every fight, even ones that end in storybook fashion, there has to be a loser. And last night, that was Dan Hardy, who lost his fourth straight in the Octagon. Most fighters don’t get a fifth chance, let alone a fourth chance, but Dana White’s boss Lorenzo Fertitta quickly put the kibosh on any speculation that Dan Hardy would be let go.

Hardy was understandably grateful for yet another opportunity to turn his career around, but feels he needs to take some time off first to “reinvent” himself.

“It’s a nice vote of confidence from the big boss,” Hardy told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) after the event, which took place at Milwaukee’s Bradley Center. “Obviously, a lot of people are three losses and out. I’m obviously four down now, and I appreciate he’s going to give me another opportunity. I love the UFC and the fans and just being a part of the organization and being amongst great fighters.

“I think if they are going to give me one more fight, then I really need to take some time and come back reinvented, if you like. … There are a lot of things I can do. But right now, I need space from competing, and I need space in the gym getting beaten up by much better guys in every area. I’ll either improve or find another way. If I’ve got one more fight, then I’ll take one more fight. But maybe it won’t be for a little while.”

Hardy went on to explain that while his rise was fast, his fall has been equally as quick.

“When I got into this sport, my intention was just to do what I could do and get as far as I could,” Hardy said. “I’m proud to say I fought for the belt. It may have been a little early in my career to have done it, but it was an opportunity I took, and I gave it everything I’ve got. But after that, I don’t know. I just felt a little bit of a distance from myself and the sport for various reasons. I don’t know.

“I think I had the quickest rise and the quickest fall the UFC’s ever seen – four fights up, four fights down. But there were improvements to make. I know that. I just don’t think between fights I’ve really had the time to invest in working on those particular things. I know I’ve got it in me to learn them.”

Hardy isn’t sure when he’ll be ready to return but he does intend to stay in Las Vegas and continue training with Roy “Big Country” Nelson, who by the way wasn’t looking quite as big as normal.

— With seven straight wins, Jim Miller was Jon Fitch’ing his way to an elusive lightweight title shot. That all ended last night however when Ben Henderson snatched it away from him with a dominant performance in the co-main event. Henderson explained after the fight that he didn’t have a special gameplan to beat Jim Miller. It was as simple as fighting to get his hand raised.

“My gameplans aren’t really that intricate,” Henderson admitted. “It’s more just, ‘Do whatever it takes to get my hand raised.’ Part of that played a factor in this fight.

“I get pretty worked up during my fights, to be honest,” Henderson said. “I start going crazy.

“I’m a pretty calm, reserved guy. I’m pretty low key, but during my fights, I just get worked up. I feed off the crowd. The crowd starts cheering and going crazy, and it gets me worked up and gets me going. I start doing my thing with the crowd worked up. I feed off the crowd. It’s very positive energy.”

Henderson isn’t sure where the win leaves him in the division, but he definitely thinks it was the biggest win of his career.

“I’m not really sure – I just want to make sure I get my hand raised and I’ll do my talking inside the cage,” Henderson said. “But what do you guys think? The No. 1 contender, and that kind of a performance? You tell me. What does Dana (White) think? What does Joe Silva think? What does Sean Shelby think?”

“I think (this is the biggest win of my career),” Henderson said. “Every fight, my career has gone along a certain path, steadily going up. I had a minor hiccup (against Pettis) and I got over that. But this is the biggest fight of my career so far, and I think I did a good job and my work inside the cage will speak for itself. “

Dana White wasn’t at the press conference to comment, but Henderson thinks he’s right up there at the top of the division with Clay Guida and Melvin Guillard.

— Along with Ben Henderson, Donald Cerrone also set out to prove that WEC lightweights could find success in the UFC lightweight division, which he accomplished in decisive fashion against Charles Oliveira. For Cerrone, it was all about letting himself pull the trigger.

“I knew [Oliveira] was going to be right there, and this was the perfect matchup for me to finally unleash,” Cerrone told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I was able to go out there and pull the trigger.

“I had a long talk with myself in the mirror like, ‘Man, I don’t care if you get knocked out. Let ‘em go.’ This fight was about me, and I’m happy with it.”

Cerrone doesn’t care who he fights next, but he does want to fight in Denver at UFC 135.

Image via Tracy Lee for Yahoo! Sports

Highlights of Dan Hardy vs. Chris Lytle and Jim Miller vs. Ben Henderson from UFC on Versus 5 courtesy of ESPN.

(more…)

NBC Sports talks to Chris Lytle, Ben Henderson, Donald Cerrone and Duane Ludwig following their wins at UFC on Versus 5.

Continue reading this post

There it is, confirmation from the big boss himself, Lorenzo Fertitta, that Dan Hardy will not be cut following his fourth straight loss. The UFC won’t give you an infinite number of chances, but this further proves that if you consistently fight like a warrior and put on a show for the fans, you will get more chances than most.

In other news, Dana White has awarded Chris Lytle (and Dan Hardy for the former) the Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night bonuses in addition to a brand new Harley for his thrilling performance and finish in the final fight of his career. Each bonus was worth $65,000, and Lytle’s now won 10 for a grand total of $515,000. Lytle told MMA Nation’s Luke Thomas recently that all his bonus money was going towards his kids’ college funds. If that’s the case, all his kids can go to college and still have plenty of money left over for beer.

UFC on Versus 5 takes place later tonight at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The show will air live on Versus at 9pm ET/6pm PT. The broadcast will be preceded by a prelim special on Facebook at 5:45pm ET/2:45pm PT.

In the main event, Chris Lytle steps into the Octagon for the last time against Dan Hardy.

Jim Miller takes on Ben Henderson in a lightweight bout.

Donald Cerrone meets Charles Oliveira in a lightweight match-up.

Amir Sadollah takes on Duane Ludwig in a welterweight bout.

Results, recap and bonuses after the jump.

Continue reading this post

If Dan Hardy and Chris Lytle didn’t already have enough incentive to win tonight, the UFC just added one more carrot to the stick — a 2012 Harley Blackline.

(more…)

Chris Lytle’s fight against Dan Hardy tomorrow night at UFC on Versus 5 will be his last.

Lytle informed NBC Sports’ Ariel Helwani earlier this evening that he will retire, win or lose, following his fight with Hardy so he can spend more time with his family.

“I’ve been fighting since ’98, fighting forever, a lot of it is just that I’m not doing my responsibilities like I need to at home,” he said. “I feel like I’m not being the type of dad I want to. I got four kids and lots of times I feel just an immense sense of guilt for not being there in times when I should.”

“I just feel like I have a lot of things in my head that I feel guilty about,” he said. “I have a great time fighting, and I love fighting — I want to do it all the time — but I think that sometimes it’s time for me to not think about what I want and start thinking about what’s best for other people.”

Lytle was said to be considering retirement following his loss to Brian Ebersole earlier this year, but it wasn’t until “a few months ago” when he got to spend time with his family while rehabbing injuries that he decided to call it a career after the Hardy fight. Lytle kept the news under wraps until he could personally inform Dana White and the UFC of his decision this week in Milwaukee.

Lytle will continue his career as a full-time firefighter and may even make a run for a seat in the Indiana State Senate or House, but that will depend if it will still leave him enough time with his family.

As for his final fight, Lytle says he wants to win it more than any other fight before it. He wants people to wonder why he’s gone.

“This is going to be my last memory right here,” he said. “I feel like I want to win this fight more than probably I have wanted to win any. I want the people to want more, like, ‘Why is he gone? I want him to come back.’ That would be my dream for it to end like that.”

If it’s anything like his previous fights, I think that’s a question plenty of people will be asking. Chris Lytle will definitely be missed.