Forrest Griffin deftly defeated former champ Rich Franklin in a pivotal light heavyweight match-up, moving him closer to the title, however Jon Jones beat him to it when he submitted then-undefeated prospect Ryan Bader with a second-round submission.

However nothing surprised me more then some of these fighter pay-outs with some seeming valid, while others have me scratching my head in humble confusion.

It looks like the fruit of Jones’ labor is finally paying off, as the 205-spitfire has since earned his first six-figure payday inside the worlds largest mixed martial arts promotion, which is justified by his exciting fight-finishing performances in the octagon.

On the same token, Anderson Silva, who is currently on a record breaking 13-fight win streak in the cage, as well as an equally impressive eighth-straight title defense, was a top earner on the pay-per-view card, however earned a reported $175k less than fellow countryman Vitor Belfort, whom Anderson knocked out inside of the first-round.

MMAJunkie also claims that should “The Phenom” had taken home the “W” last Saturday, he would have came home with an additional $100k for his efforts (win bonus). Most likely, Silva earned a large portion of his purse due to the PPV revenue that the super bowl card has picked up.

MMAJunkie.com has reported the following figures, which they had originally requested from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Champ Anderson Silva: $200,000 (includes no win bonus)
def. Vitor Belfort: $275,000

Forrest Griffin: $275,000 ($150,000 win bonus)
def. Rich Franklin: $75,000

Jon Jones: $140,000 ($70,000 win bonus)
def. Ryan Bader: $20,000

Jake Ellenberger: $32,000 ($16,000 win bonus)
def. Carlos Eduardo Rocha: $8,000

Miguel Torres: $56,000 ($28,000 win bonus)
def. Antonio Banuelos: $9,000

Donald Cerrone: $36,000 ($18,000 win bonus)
def. Paul Kelly: $19,000

Chad Mendes: $19,000 ($9,000 win bonus)
def. Michihiro Omigawa: $8,000

Demetrious Johnson: $10,000 ($5,000 win bonus)
def. Norifumi Yamamoto: $15,000

Paul Taylor: $36,000 ($18,000 win bonus)
def. Gabe Ruediger: $8,000

Kyle Kingsbury: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus)
def. Ricardo Romero: $10,000

Mike Pierce: $28,000 ($14,000 win bonus)
def. Kenny Robertson: $6,000

So, MMA peeps, are you surprised by any of the payouts you see here? The figures above however do not include any “Fight Night” awards that several fighters earned over the course of the evening. Sound off in the comment section below.

Taylor initially made his lightweight debut in just his last bout where before he competed as a welterweight in all of his other ufc appearances despite being the noticeably smaller fighter.

In a barn burner, stand up affair turned in against Sam Stout, Taylor inevitably lost the bout via a close split-decision. Despite garnering a 3-5 record inside the worlds largest organization, Taylor has become a staple in the promotion due to his aggressive style, which has earned him three “Fight of the Night” awards, and in nearly every fight he’s been in would be considered a candidate for said award.

The same cannot be said for Gabe Ruediger.

“Godzilla” initially made his UFC debut in 2006, where after a dominant first round turned in against current budding contender Melvin Guillard, Ruediger would go on to lose via knockout in the second round.

After a memorable stint on the fifth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”, where Gabe was eliminated from the competition before stepping in the cage due to failure to make weight and inevitably becoming hospitalized, it looked as if his future in the UFC was done then and there.

However, Ruediger eventually made his way back inside the promotion when he stepped up for an injured Terry Etim at UFC 118. Ruediger faced Joe Lauzon, whom was also featured on the same season of TUF alongside Ruediger. Both men were on the same team, but did it matter? Nope.

Lauzon ran over Gabe en route to an armbar finish, submitting Ruediger a little over two-minutes inside of the opening round.

Both men are in desperate need of a win, especially in an ultra competitive lightweight division where fighters are being cut left and right due to the influx of new competitors from the WEC, who have since been merged with their sister promotion.

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the new addition to the UFC 126 pay-per-view event? Said card is expected to take place on Feb. 5 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Thanks to MMAJunkie.com for breaking the story. Sound off in the comment section below.

This card certainly brings the goods with Lesnar topping the slate but it is the Spike TV bouts and undercard which really makes this night shine.  Patrick Cote and Ryan Lawlor kick off the two fights on free TV while fans in the house will be treated to the always exicting Sam Stout battling Paul Taylor at lightweight and Gilbert Yvel brawling with Jon Madsen at heavyweight.

Are you ready for BROCKTOBER?  Read on for all the latest event details from the UFC.

These fights were confirmed as final for UFC 121 today by the UFC:

Back in the Octagon^® for the first time since a submission victory over Kris McCray to win Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter^®, Court McGee (fighting out of Orem, Utah / 11-1) will put his six-fight professional winning streak on the line against Ryan Jensen (fighting out of Omaha, Neb. / 16-5). The 33-year-old is coming off a submission win over Jesse Forbes barely a minute into the fight. The pair of middleweights are sure to put on a grappling clinic, with 15 of the 27 wins between them coming by submission and each fighter winning Submission of the Night honors in their last fight.

Patrick Cote (fighting out of Quebec City, Quebec Canada / 14-6) looks to re-establish himself as a middleweight contender after blowing out his knee in a title fight against Anderson Silva after four straight UFC wins that include first-round knockouts of Drew McFedries and Kendall Grove. But first, “The Predator” will first have to get through “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (fighting out of Orlando, Fla. / 6-3, 1 NC), the last fighter to beat C.B. Dollaway, doing so in under a minute with a guillotine choke that earned him Submission of the Night in his middleweight debut at UFC 100.

In a welterweight matchup, Mike Guymon (fighting out of Lake Forest, Calif. / 13-3-1) looks to build on his recent success, having won six out of his last seven bouts, including a unanimous decision victory over Yoshiyuki Yoshida in his last fight at UFC 113 to pick up his first UFC victory. “The Joker” will meet up with Daniel Roberts (fighting out of Tulsa, Okla. / 10-1). “Ninja” boasts excellent wrestling, as an NAIA All-American wrestler, and jiu-jitsu skills, with seven of his wins coming via submission, and he is coming off a decision victory over Forrest Petz that earned him his first win in the Octagon at UFC 116.

Sam Stout (fighting out of London, Ontario Canada / 16-6-1) has quickly become a fixture in the UFC, with good reason. The 26-year old veteran, “Hands of Stone,” has received five total and three straight Fight of the Night awards in his career, including wins over Joe Lauzon, Matt Wiman and Spencer Fisher. Stout has another Fight of the Night candidate on the horizon as he takes on Paul Taylor (fighting out of Walsall, England / 10-5-1, 1 NC). “Relentless” is dropping from welterweight to lightweight for this battle, and is a three-time Fight of the Night winner himself. Taylor will look to add another award to his resume in his first-ever pro fight in the United States.

Despite breaking his jaw during a preliminary victory at the start of The Ultimate Fighter Season 11 and being unable to continue onto the show, Chris Camozzi (fighting out of Lakewood, Colo. / 13-3) refused to give up on his dream and was rewarded with a fight against James Hammortree at The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale, which resulted in a unanimous decision win. The 23-year old will match up with the undefeated Dongi Yang (fighting out of South Korea / 9-0), who is making his UFC debut. Yang has never been to a decision, winning eight bouts by knockout and one by submission, and has allowed a fight to last into the third round only once in his professional career.

In a bout that pits experience against youth, heavyweight Gilbert Yvel (fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev. / 36-15-1, 1 NC) looks to use his extensive mixed martial arts experience to propel him to victory; “The Hurricane” has been in there with standouts like Junior Dos Santos, Vitor Belfort, Dan Henderson and many more. On the other side of the Octagon^®,Jon Madsen (fighting out of Granite City, Ill. / 6-0) has just six professional fights under his belt, but is yet to taste defeat. Madsen has been able to use his technical boxing and impressive wrestling skills to guide him to a perfect 3-0 record in the Octagon to date.

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BROCKTOBER is finally here!  Sound off about this card.  Which fight are you most interested in?

10-1 Court McGee will make his return to the Octagon in his second UFC fight, and his first since beating Kris McCray and becoming the Ultimate Fighter Season 11 champion. When you consider the fact that McGee has struggled with substance abuse to the point of it nearly costing him his friends, family, and even his life, McGee’s dramatic win via Rear Naked Choke was one of the best feel-good moments in MMA in 2010. Standing in Court’s way at UFC 121 will be 15-6 Ryan Jensen, a six-fight UFC veteran that is 2-2 since his return to the UFC in 2008. While it’s your basic run-of-the-mill “veteran vs. up-and-comer” match, both men have shown flashes of brilliance and should give fans a great preliminary fight.

Former UFC Middleweight Championship contender Patrick Cote will also be in undercard action at UFC 121, taking on the energetic and entertaining Tom Lawlor. Known for his hilarious spoofs of classic UFC fighters in the weigh-ins leading up to a fight, Lawlor has struggled to find success in the UFC, having lost two straight fights after a win over C.B. Dollaway at UFC 100. Patrick Cote is perhaps best known for his loss to current UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, and needs a win just as badly as Lawlor, having lost two straight as well. It’s a very real possibility that a loss could result in either man receiving his pink slip from the UFC, so the need to get back into the win column should make for an exciting match.

Veteran fighter and UFC newcomer Michael Guymon will take on submission specialist Daniel Roberts in what should be another exciting match. 2010 marked the first and only time that Roberts lost a pro MMA fight, and his 10-1 record comes with seven submissions. An eleven-year veteran of the sport, Michael Guymon would conceivably have the advantage over Roberts, when you consider that Guymon has only lost three times and that Roberts has only been competing in pro MMA for three years. However, two of Guymon’s losses were due to submission, even though he has six submission wins to his name. So there’s a very real possibility that this fight will turn into a back-and-forth ground war, with one man taking his opponent’s ligaments home as a trophy.

The final preliminary fight officially announced for UFC 121 features Sam Stout stepping inside the Octagon against Paul Taylor. A battle of the “young veterans”, both men have a combined fifteen years of experience under their belts, even though Stout is only 26 and Taylor 30. Both men are knockout specialists with eight “Fight of the Night” awards between them, so they should give fans a great brawl, and it’s very likely that somebody is getting KO’d before all is said and done.

With the addition of these preliminary match-ups, I’m looking forward to UFC 121 even more, and my anticipation of this event was already sky-high. All four preliminary fights offer something different, but they all have one thing in common: they’re all great fights on paper. Anything can happen when the cameras go live, but right now, UFC 121 is shaping up to be another impressive milestone for the world’s largest MMA promotion.

And what about you, fans and friends? How excited are you for UFC 121, and what do you think of these newly-announced fights?

As speculated Monday, the UFC welterweight contender matchup between American “Quick” Mike Swick (14-2) and Brit “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (22-6) was officially announced for Manchester.

The co-main event pits Brit “Count” Michael Bisping (17-2), returning from a highlight reel knockout loss to “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (25-7) at UFC 100 in Las Vegas in July, across the Octagon from Canadian Denis Kang (34-11-1).

The rest of the card includes:

Matt Brown (10-7) v “Lightning” James Wilks (4-2)
“Real Deal” Ross Pearson (14-5-1) v Aaron Riley (28-11-1)
Terry Etim (13-2) v Shannon Gugerty (12-3)
“Relentless” Paul Taylor (10-5-1) v. “Hitman” John Hathaway (10-0)
“Slick” Nick Osipczak (5-0) v Matthew Riddle (3-0)
Alexander Gustafsson (7-0) v Jared Hamman (2-1)
Andre Winner (10-3-1) v “Crazy Cuban” Rolando Delgado (6-4-1)

The British crowd booed the decision; and, Taylor was visibly stunned.

After the win, Lytle said, “He landed some good things on me; I landed some good things on him.  You just never know what the judges are looking for.  Thankfully they were looking for what I did.”

Lytle dug several rights into Taylor’s body in a first round fought mostly in the clinch.  Taylor countered with a knee to Lytle’s body and an inside right hand.

Taylor landed more frequently in the second round, staggering Lytle with a short right that convinced Lytle to shoot for the takedown.  Taylor wriggled free from a guillotine attempt and connected with a left hook.  Lytle went back to the body with his hands; and, Taylor followed to Lytle’s body with a kick.  Taylor ended the round landing two knees to Lytle’s body from the clinch.

Lytle went back to Taylor’s body against the cage in round three; but, Taylor turned Lytle to the fence and landed a knee to the body and an uppercut.  Lytle matched Taylor with his own uppercut.  Taylor ended the round slickly evading Lytle’s aggressive forward push and needling two jabs then a powerful left hook.

The effort earned both fighters the $40,000. “Fight of the Night” bonuses awarded by the UFC.

After the win, Lytle announced that he’d like to fight “Irish Hand Grenade” Marcus Davis (15-4) next, saying, “I like the way he fights.  We’ve talked before, and, like, man we like each other’s style.  We’re both boxers.  ‘Fight of the Night’ potential right there.  That’s what I’m looking for: great fights.”

“Count” Michael Bisping (16-1) 185 pounds v “Crippler” Chris Leben (18-4) 186 pounds

“I’m glad you guys let me into your country,” main event fighter Leben said at Thursday’s press conference.  “I was a little worried on the plane.”

Leben was originally scheduled to fight Bisping in London 7 June, but opted to put to rest legal issues in Oregon stemming from an earlier DUI arrest to ensure a legal UK visa.

But, the pressure is squarely on the shoulders of Brit Bisping, who told the press, “I am on a quest.  Losing this fight for me is not an option.”

Leben, wearing tight cornrows, chided his opponent, saying, “It seems to me that, when Michael Bisping fights, self-preservation is top on his list.”

A brawl would certainly benefit Leben.  Bisping’s stand-up style is a bit more circle-and-poke, while Leben is happy to plant and throw bombs.

“We’re going to be lettin’em fly!  We’re going to be having fun doin’ it,” Leben promised, which usually means they’ll knock their heads together shooting for takedowns at the opening bell.

But, let’s hope not.

Eighth-ranked “Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine (13-4-1) 205 pounds v “The Truth” Brandon Vera (9-2) 203 pounds

At the pre-fight press conference Thursday, a very serious Vera turned to Jardine and challenged, “We’re going to be together for 15 minutes in the Octagon and I hope, I hope we get to find out a lot about each other before one of us goes to sleep.”

Jardine agreed, and quipped, “He’s got a real pretty style; and, me, I got a real awkward, real mean style.  So, it’s kind of going to be kind of like a beauty and the beast type thing.”

Jardine is coming off a 36-second knockout loss to seventh-ranked “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (32-81) in May; and, Vera made a disappointing debut at 205-pounds in a unanimous decision “W” over Reese Andy (7-2) in July.

Vera, a former heavyweight, summed up the meaning of the fight: “Me and Keith are both at a point in our career right now where we get either to take one huge step forward or end up taking two or three steps back.”

“Irish Hand Grenade” Marcus Davis (14-4) 169 pounds vs. “Tellys” Paul Kelly (7-0) 169 pounds

Davis will try to come back strong from a loss to “Quick” Mike Swick (12-2) in June versus Kelly, who Davis called “a brawler.”

Davis put down the weights for this fight in favor of getting back to his boxing background.

“I’m going to make-up for it in technique and speed.  Being able to fight off angles and stuff like that.  It might look like I’m right in front of him, but I’m actually not going to be right in front of him,” Davis said.

Kelly, of Wolfslair Academy, revealed, “You never know where it’s going to be.  It’s MMA.  You know?  I can’t guarantee I’m going to put Marcus on the mat.  We’ve worked on what we think he’s going to do.”

Ninth-ranked “African Assassin” Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (5-2) 205 pounds v “Banha” Luis Arthur Cane (8-1) 206 pounds

“Lights Out” Chris Lytle (25-16-5) 170 pounds v “Relentless” Paul Taylor (9-3-1) 170 pounds

Akihiro Gono (28-12-7) 171 pounds v “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (19-6) 169 pounds

Shane Carwin (9-0) 264 pounds v “Old Skool” Neil Wain (4-0) 254 pounds

David Bielkheden (12-6) 156 pounds v “Joker” Jess Liaudin (12-10) 155 pounds

Terry Etim (10-2) 155 pounds v “Hands of Stone” Sam Stout (13-4-1) 155 pounds
 
David Baron (16-2) 155 pounds v Jim Miller (11-1) 155 pounds

“Dog” Samy Schiavo (10-5) 156 pounds v Per Eklund (13-3-1) 156 pounds

The UFC also confirmed two more bouts on the card, between light heavyweights “Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine (13-4-1) and “The Truth” Brandon Vera (9-2), and between welterweights “Lights Out” Chris Lytle (25-16-5) and Paul Taylor (9-3-1).

Fighters.com’s sixth-ranked Jardine looks to rebound from a 36-second knockout loss to fifth-ranked “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1) in May.

Vera won a unanimous decision over Reese Andy (7-3) at Ultimate Fight Night 14 last week.  He is 1-0 since moving down a weight class.

Lytle lost a unanimous decision in May to fourth-ranked Josh Koscheck (13-2).

Taylor won a split decision over “Joker” Jess Liaudin (13-11) in June.

Hughes stalked Alves for a takedown at the first bell, settling for bottom position by pulling guard, but never finding the submission opportunity he thought he could force.

Again, Hughes took the Brazilian to the mat mid-way through the first and smothered the kickboxer; but, Alves utilized butterfly guard to neutralize Hughes’s offense.

The only damage done on the mat in round one was after the confident “Pitbull” bulldogged the veteran to the mat and hammered a crevice in Hughes’s nose with an elbow strike.

Hughes, like Gracie at UFC 60, was impotent. Alves wasn’t falling for the tried and true tricks, wasn’t physically overwhelmed by the stocky farm boy from rural Illinois, and wasn’t intimidated by the future Hall of Famer’s legacy.

The second round was short; the end poignant.

Hughes ducked for the takedown that’s served as a sure-shot for ten years; and, Alves flew the distance between him and Hughes, colliding into Hughes’s right jaw with his left knee.

One punch later and referee Herb Dean waved off the fight, and, officially, the Matt Hughes era.

Alves never doubted the outcome, but remained humble while pleading from the Octagon, “Mr. Dana White, I’ve been a good boy, please give me a title shot!”

“He got me, no doubt,” Hughes admitted.

For Hughes, there remains a grudge match with fourth-ranked “Terror” Matt Serra (9-5), then a lot of prayer and consultation with his family for the proudly Christian husband and father of two.

UFC 85′s co-main event featured a pair of UFC heavyweight title contenders, seventh-ranked“Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum(11-3-1) and perennial Pinoy prospect “The Truth” Brandon Vera (8-2), ending in a controversy that’s much ado about nothing.

Werdum quite simply spanked “The Truth” from full mount to a first round TKO at 4:40.

“There was 15 seconds left [in round one]. Let me take my ass whupping and let’s go to a second round,” complained Vera.

But, that’s not the rule Octagon referees are instructed to enforce. Vera had made no attempt to improve his position or fight back while mounted by “Vai Cavalo” and he knows clamming-up and waiting for the round to end is not an “intelligent defense.”

After two exciting finishes, Werdum moved passed his boring Octagon debut versus fourth-ranked “Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski(12-5) into the UFC top contender’s spot.

After being outsized for the second straight fight, Vera should seriously comtemplate a move to 205-pounds.

Take a cue from “The Count” Michael Bisping (16-1), who again ran roughshod over an opponent in his new weight class of 185-pounds.

Canadian “Dooms Day” Jason Day (17-6) withered under the pressure of the big lights in London and big fists of Britain’s Count of The Cage, Bisping, in a first-round TKO at 3:42.

“People think I have no wrestling, no ground game. Have a bit of faith!” Bisping said after taking Day to the mat twice before pounding him out.

Day was intended to serve a challenge on the ground to Bisping, who’ll now look for bigger match-ups in the middleweight division.

And, “Quick” Mike Swick (12-2) propelled himself into contender talk in his new weight class of 170-pounds after ending “Irish Hand Grenade” Marcus Davis‘s (14-4) eleven-fight win streak in a dominating UD.

Davis never overcame 6’1″ Swick’s height and reach advantage, neutralizing Davis’s powerful boxing combos.

When Swick took Davis to the mat, “Quick’s” dynamic assault sealed the 29-27 times three unanimous decision which left Davis with a deep crevice on his left cheek.

Middleweight Thales Leites (13-1) won a split decision on point deductions over Nathan Marquardt (26-8-2).

Leites floored Marquardt with a straight right in the first round, which was later avenged with a right uppercut from Marquardt that sent Leites to the fence.

Marquardt dominated the final two rounds with G’n'P that broke Leites’s nose in the second round.

However, Marquardt was deducted a point in the second round for an illegal knee to Leites’s head while Leites’s knees were still touching the mat.

In the third, referee Herb Dean deducted another point from Marquardt for an elbow to the back of the head after Dean repeatedly warned the former title challenger. Upon replay, the strike seemed to land on the side of Leites’s head, not the back.

One judged scored the fight 28-27 for Marquardt; but, the other two agreed with Fighters.com with the score of 28-27 for Leites.

In the events most exciting fight, “Handsome” Matt Wiman (10-3) upset lightweight prospect Thiago Tavares (13-2), leaving Tavares slumped at the cage after a barrage of Wiman punches knocked Tavares out at 1:57 of round two.

Xtreme Couture kickboxer “Hitman” Martin Kampmann (16-2) tapped middleweight veteran “El Conquistador” Jorge Rivera (15-7) in a guillotine choke at 2:44 of round one.

UFC debuting Kevin Burns (6-1) earned “Submission of the Night” with a triangle choke of American Top Team “Jucao” Roan Carneiro (12-7) at 2:53 of round two.

“Banha” Luis Arthur Cane (8-1) TKO’d “Punisher” Jason Lambert (23-8) at 2:07 of round one in a light heavyweight fight.

Brit welterweight Paul Taylor (9-3-1) won a split decision over Frenchman “Joker” Jess Liaudin (12-10).

Dutch heavyweight Antoni Hardonk (7-4) TKO’d Eddie Sanchez (8-2) at 4:15 of round two.