UFC 76: Knockout - Payday - MMAUniverse.com

Would you get in a cage with Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell for US$7,000?

That's what Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine did last Saturday at UFC 76: Knockout in Anaheim, Calif., according to purse information released by the California State Athletic Commission.

Thanks to a win bonus, Jardine doubled his purse $14,000 when he upset the former UFC light-heavyweight champion. The Iceman walked away from the Honda Center with a cool $500,000 - more than 35 times Jardine's purse for the mixed martial arts main event.

The purse information does not include other bonuses or clauses in the fighters' UFC contract. Marquee names like Liddell may also get a cut of the lucrative pay-per-view revenue.

Former Pride fighter Kazuhiro Nakamura was a loser in and out of the cage at UFC 76: Knockout. The Japanese light-heavyweight was beaten by Brazil's Ryoto Machida and then suspended for three months and fined $500 for a positive test for marijuana, the California commission said Wednesday.

The other 17 tests for so-called "drugs of abuse" were negative, although the results for steroids and masking agents were not yet complete.

Nakamura's purse was $20,000, compared to $50,000 for Machida.

As the news conference before the fight, UFC president Dana White repeated his assertion that any fighter taking steroids or illegal drugs was a "complete moron."

As far as the basic purse is concerned, winning fighters usually get a bonus equal to their basic paycheque. That often does not apply to big-name fighters like Liddell.

Former Pride light-heavyweight Mauricio "Shogun" Rua had the card's second biggest purse at $150,000. He was submitted by Forrest Griffin, who made $24,000 - $12,000 plus a win bonus of $12,000. Griffin collected another $40,000 for getting the UFC's submission of the night award.

Welterweight Jon Fitch collected $44,000 for his decision over Diego Sanchez, who walked away with $22,000.

Lightweights Tyson Griffin and Thiago Tavares had a profitable night, thanks to being judged the best bout on the card. Each got $40,000 on top of their purse: $24,000 for Griffin and $9,000 for Tavares.

In other purses:

Rich Clementi earned $24,000 for submitting Anthony Johnson ($5,000) in a bout fought at a catch weight of 177 pounds.

Lightweight "Handsome" Matt Wiman made $16,000 for beating Michihiro Omigawa ($5,000)

Christian "The Hungarian Nightmare" Wellisch made $16,000 for submitting Scott Junk ($4,000).

Lightweight Jeremy Stevens collected $6,000 for dispatching Diego Saraiva ($3,000).

While the UFC reported attendance at 16,000, the California commission cited tickets sold at 12,134 and total attendance at 13,770. The gate was $1,984,880.

The total purse reported was $954,000.

Source: canadianpress.google.com