COLUMBUS, Ohio - Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Keith Jardine and Matt Hamill each earned $60,000 "fight night" bonuses for their performances at "UFC 96: Jackson vs. Jardine."
UFC 96 took place Saturday at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, and aired live on pay-per-view. The bonus amounts were up significantly from the $40,000 awards issued at UFC 95 in February but down slightly from the $65,000 UFC 94 bonuses in January.
The UFC announced the bonuses at the UFC 96 post-fight press conference and were confirmed by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
With seven of the evening's 10 bouts ending by knockout or TKO, the UFC had a difficult decision when it came to "Knockout of the Night." With no submission wins on the evening laying claim to a "Submission of the Night" bonus, the UFC elected not to award any additional awards.
Jackson and Jardine's main event was predicted by many to be a one-sided affair. The awkward, hulking "Dean of Mean" proved the naysayers wrong and pushed the former light-heavyweight champion to perform at his peak for 15 full minutes. The back-and-forth battle remained up in the air until the final bell, and while Jackson earned the win, the matchup earned both competitors a "Fight of the Night" bonus.
A battle between two elite-level wrestlers probably wasn't many people's pre-event choice as a potential "Knockout of the Night." But after whipping the Columbus crowd into a frenzy with his entrance, Hamill landed a devastating right high kick that left Mark Munoz unconscious and earned "The Hammer" the evening's bonus.
UFC 96 joins recent pay-per-view events UFC 92 and UFC 94 as show to end without a single submission victory. Prior to the three-month stretch, the most recent event to end without a submission was UFC Fight Night 7 on Dec. 13, 2006.
UFC 96
The full list of base paydays included:
Quinton Jackson: $325,000 (includes $100,000 win bonus)
def. Keith Jardine: $55,000
Shane Carwin: $32,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus)
def. Gabriel Gonzaga: $60,000
Matt Brown: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Pete Sell: $12,000
Matt Hamill: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
def. Mark Munoz: $12,000
Gray Maynard: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Jim Miller: $9,000
Tamdan McCrory: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Ryan Madigan: $3,000
Kendall Grove: $44,000 (includes $22,000 win bonus)
def. Jason Day: $5,000
Jason Brilz: $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus)
def. Tim Boetsch: $12,000
Brandon Vera: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
def. Michael Patt: $5,000
Shane Nelson: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Aaron Riley: $6,000
