The bonuses for last night's UFC 97 pay-per-view didn't go to any surprise recipients after the event. With a more than lackluster main event and a not-all-that-exciting card preceding it, the fights and fighters that stood out were given their extra payday to the tune of a $70,000 "Fight Night" bonus.
Taking home the "Submission of the Night" was Krzysztof Soszynski, who scored the first round victory over Brian Stann. Ending the fight with a kimura, which he seems to have patented these days, Soszynski picked up a huge win over a tough guy and that big paycheck to go along with it.
The "Fight of the Night" found itself on the main card after the undercard fights ran long, bringing Matt Wiman and Sam Stout to the big stage on pay-per-view. And they delivered in a back and forth battle with each fighter gaining advantages throughout the bout. In the end it was Wiman picking up the unanimous decision victory in the hard fought contest.
For the "Knockout of the Night," it was the end of an era for the sport. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua clipped Chuck Liddell with a looping left that dropped him to the ground, and he followed up with multiple hammer fists on the ground to finish him off. For Rua, it was a performance that he desperately needed, as at 27 he was on the verge of being an also-ran in the UFC. He changed that perception with a great performance where he looked as in shape as he's been in the Octagon. He also spelled the end of the Chuck Liddell era in the UFC, as Liddell has now lost four of his last five fights, being knocked out in three of them.
Penick's Analysis: It's sad to see that Liddell's career is over. Whether he wants to admit that to himself or not, it's over. After three knockouts and four losses overall in his last five fights he's going to get dropped by any looping shot that clips him. That punch from Shogun wasn't a full power punch, it was a looping shot that caught Liddell's chin and it sent him down. It was very similar to the shot that Rampage dropped him with. We hear all the talk of fighters being more susceptible to knockouts once they've had it happen a few times, and much like the last man he beat, Wanderlei Silva, Chuck's just been dropped too much too often as of late. There's just no one left for him to fight that would make sense, and the time has come for Liddell to realize that unfortunately he's just not the fighter he was just two years ago. It sucks, but it happens in this game and that's all there is to it.
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