In the Cage – Jacare-Mousasi II, CWFC News, UFC 175 Aftermath, TUF 19 Finale Fallout

Each day, The MMA Corner will provide a recap of results, event announcements, fight match-ups, and injuries/cancellations from throughout the world of MMA.

With the postponement of the UFC 176 card, a middleweight bout between former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi will now headline one of the most anticipated UFC Fight Night cards in recent memory. The bout serves as a rematch of their 2008 encounter, which Mousasi won by knocking out Souza. Since then, both men have turned in recent successes, with Souza having won by decision over Francis Carmont in Brazil, and Mousasi having submitted Mark Munoz in Berlin.

Additionally, as a result of an unfortunate cancellation of Matt Mitrione’s planned UFC 175 bout with Stefan Struve, the man they call “Meathead” will face Derrick Lewis, who knocked out Guto Inocente at The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale. The bout joins a previously confirmed heavyweight tilt featuring Alistair Overeem against Ben Rothwell.

Cage Warriors CEO Graham Boylan took time out to reveal some huge news concerning the CWFC light heavyweight ranks. The promotion has already signed a bevy of prospects to contracts, and will plan on making the division a key focus as it continues to load up.

Additionally, the promotion will welcome twelve new additions to their roster. The new blood includes undefeated Irish featherweight Tommy McCafferty, touted women’s bantamweight Lina Akhtar Lansberg, flyweights Amir Albazi and Andy Young, bantamweights Jamie Pritchard, Moktar Benkaci and Suleiman Bouhata, featherweight Dean Trueman, lightweight Brad Wheeler, welterweight Tahar Hadbi, and middleweight Alan Carlos.

Finally, Cage Warriors lightweight champion Stevie Ray will get to enjoy his time in Cage Warriors for a little while longer. Ray’s deal will include five more fights under the CWFC banner for a minimum of 18 months. With Ray recently reclaiming that belt, only time will tell when the promotion will look to let the champ back into the cage.

Henry Cejudo will get one last shot at making the flyweight limit of 125 pounds when the undefeated wrestler faces Strikeforce and Bellator veteran Brian Hall. Should Cejudo fail to make weight again, he will likely need to go to bantamweight. If both he and Hall make weight, however, a shot at Damacio Page and the Legacy flyweight crown will hang in the balance.

Tim Kennedy will come off of a big win over Michael Bisping to take on a tough task in one Yoel Romero at UFC 178 in Las Vegas later this year. Romero has been on a tear as of late, going 4-0 in his last four since dropping to middleweight, with finishes over three of his last four foes. His most recent win, a unanimous-decision win over Brad Tavares, marked the first time Romero had ever gone the distance in a fight.

UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, Lyoto Machida, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, and Urijah Faber received some pretty sweet pay for their performances at UFC 175 last Saturday. Weidman, Rousey, and Faber both earned win bonuses to go along with the flat fees granted to them, while Machida’s stinging unanimous-decision loss to Weidman was soothed by the fact that the bout with Weidman did take home “Fight of The Night”.  The salaries were as follows:

Chris Weidman: $450,000 (includes $225,000 win bonus) def. Lyoto Machida: $200,000
Ronda Rousey: $120,000 (includes $60,000 win bonus) def. Alexis Davis: $24,000
Uriah Hall: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Thiago “Marreta” Santos: $10,000
Russell Doane: $18,000 (includes $9,000 win bonus) def. Marcus Brimage: $10,000
Urijah Faber: $120,000 (includes $60,000 win bonus) def. Alex Caceres: $19,000
Kenny Robertson: $28,000 (includes $14,000 win bonus) def. Ildemar Alcantara: $16,000
Bruno Santos: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Chris Camozzi: $23,000
Rob Font: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. George Roop: $20,000
Luke Zachrich: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Guilherme Vasconcelos: $8,000
Kevin Casey: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. William “Bubba” Bush: $8,000

Note: All salaries do not reflect full compensation packages received by fighters.

Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn accounted for 60 percent of the disclosed payroll for The Ultimate Fighter 19, which took place last Sunday. Along with Penn and Edgar, other winners included TUF 19 winners Eddie Gordon  and Corey Anderson, as well as main-card victors Dustin Ortiz and Derrick Lewis. The salaries* were as follows:

Frankie Edgar: $260,000 (includes $130,000 bonus) def. B.J. Penn: $150,000
Corey Anderson: $16,000 (includes $8,000 bonus) def. Matt Van Buren: $8,000
Eddie Gordon: $16,000 (includes $8,000 bonus) def. Dhiego Lima: $8,000
Derrick Lewis: $20,000 (includes $10,000 bonus) def. Guto Inocente: $8,000
Dustin Ortiz: $28,000 (includes $14,000 bonus) def. Justin Scoggins: $12,000
Kevin Lee: $16,000 (includes $8,000 bonus) def. Jesse Ronson: $8,000
Leandro Issa: $15,000 (includes $7,500 bonus) def. Jumabieke Tuerxun: $8,000
Adriano Martins: $30,000 (includes $15,000 bonus) def. Juan Manuel Puig: $8,000
Patrick Walsh: $16,000 (includes $8,000 bonus) def. Daniel Spohn: $8,000
Sarah Moras: $18,000 (includes $8,000 bonus)* def. Alexis Dufresne: $6,000 (Moras received $2,000 of Dufresne’s pay after Dufresne missed weight)
Robert Drysdale: $16,000 (includes $8,000 bonus) def. Keith Berish: $8,000

Note: All salaries do not reflect full compensation packages received by fighters.

The UFC’s debut in Bangor, ME will also mark the UFC debut of Alan Jouban. The RFA veteran will see action inside on the Octagon on the heels of a recent win over Ricky Legere Jr. to face Seth Baczynski. “The Polish Pistola”, a member of season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter, will come off of a Fight of The Night performance, which came this past April against Thiago Alves.

Undefeated UFC middleweight champions Chris Weidman and Ronda Rousey will require extensive examinations after UFC 175 last Saturday. Weidman requires x-rays of his left jaw, right elbow, right ribs and right ankle, and may be out of action until Jan. 2 unless he receives medical clearance. Rousey’s right hand also requires x-rays and medical clearance.

The full list of suspensions reads as follows:

Chris Weidman: Must have left jaw, right elbow, right ribs and right ankle x-rayed, and if positive, then that injury must cleared by orthopedic doctor or no contest until Jan. 2; minimum suspension until Aug. 20 with no contact until Aug. 5
Lyoto Machida: Suspended until Sept. 4 with no contact until Aug. 20
Ronda Rousey: Must have right hand x-rayed, and if positive cleared by orthopedic doctor or no contest until Jan. 2
Alexis Davis: Suspended until July 27 with no contact until July 20
Uriah Hall: Must have right second toe cleared by orthopedic doctor or no contest until Jan. 2; minimum suspension until Sept. 4 with no contact until Aug. 20
Russell Doane: Must have right thumb x-rayed and cleared by orthopedic doctor or no contest until Jan. 2; minimum suspension until July 27 with no contact until July 20
Urijah Faber: Must have left rib x-ray series, and if positive then needs doctor clearance or no contest until Jan. 2
Kenny Robertson: Must have right elbow cleared by orthopedic doctor or no contest until Jan. 2
Bruno Santos: Must have possible nasal fracture cleared by doctor or no contest until Jan. 2; minimum suspension until July 27 with no contact until July 20 due to laceration George Roop: Suspended until Aug. 20 with no contact until Aug. 5
Luke Zachrich: Must have left hand x-rayed, and if positive then needs orthopedic doctor clearance or no contest until Jan. 2; minimum suspension until Aug. 20 with no contact until Aug. 5 for right eye laceration
Kevin Casey: Must have left elbow cleared by orthopedic doctor or no contest until Jan. 2
William “Bubba” Bush: Suspended until Sept. 4 with no contact until Aug. 20

The Ultimate Fighter 19 middleweight winner Eddie Gordon succeeded in securing a first-round finish of Dhiego Lima, but unfortunately, will need clearance from a medical professional. If not, he may find himself out of action for up to six months. Also, Keith Berish will require an orthopedist’s clearance for his left knee in order to avoid a six-month term.

The full list of suspensions from The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale reads as follows:

B.J. Penn: Suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days for left eye laceration
Matt Van Buren: Suspended for 45 days with no contact for 30 days; additionally, suspended 180 days unless ophthalmologist clears right orbital fracture
Eddie Gordon: Suspended for 180 days unless left shoulder cleared by a doctor
Dhiego Lima: Suspended for 45 days with no contact for 30 days
Justin Scoggins: Suspended for 30 days with no contact for 21 days
Guto Inocente: Suspended for 45 days with no contact for 30 days for facial lacerations
Jesse Ronson: Suspended for 30 days with no contact for 21 days
Jumabieke Tuerxun: Suspended for 30 days with no contact for 21 days
Juan Manuel Puig: Suspended for 45 days with no contact for 30 days
Patrick Walsh: Suspended for 30 days with no contact for 21 days for scalp laceration
Keith Berish: Suspended for 180 days unless orthopedist clears left knee injury

For the first time in a long time, Dominick Cruz will return to the Octagon. The former UFC bantamweight champion will fight for the first time since his 2011 win over Demetrious Johnson to face former WEC bantamweight contender Takeya Mizugaki. Mizugaki scored his fifth straight decision win at UFC 173, when he took a unanimous decision against Francisco Rivera.

Four bouts from the planned UFC 176 card have found new homes. The Ultimate Fighter 13 winner Tony Ferguson now sees Danny Castillo at UFC 177, which takes place in Team Alpha Male’s stomping grounds of Sacramento. The new UFC 177 billing will also feature a middleweight clash as Derek Brunson faces Lorenz Larkin.

Additionally, two UFC lightweight clashes will go down in Tulsa this August. In the first, Beneil Dairush and Tony Martin will throw down, and in the second, TUF 15 cast member James Vick and Walmir Lazaro will battle.

Gray Maynard will see action in Bangor later this year. On the heels of his loss to Nate Diaz at The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale, Maynard now faces Brazilian standout Fabricio Camoes. Also, Matt Dwyer has pulled out of a bout with Alex Garcia at the UFC’s upcoming “Fight Night” card in Tulsa. As a result, Neil Magny will replace Dwyer to combat the highly-touted “Dominican Nightmare”.

The “Alpha Cat” is back. Over a year ago, Cat Zingano planned on coaching The Ultimate Fighter 18 and seeing UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, but an injury befell Zingano. Now, she returns to pick up a second UFC win against Amanda Nunes, whose UFC run includes wins over Sheila Gaff and Germaine de Randamie.