UFC 161′s Three Stars: James Krause, Shawn Jordan and Stipe Miocic’s night
UFC 161 wasn't the greatest of cards, but some fighters did stand out. Who stood out for you? Speak up on Facebook or Twitter.
No. 1 star -- James Krause: In 2009, Krause had two fights in the WEC. He lost to Donald Cerrone and Ricardo Lamas and missed his chance to get into the UFC when it merged with the WEC. Krause kept training and kept fighting, putting together a seven-fight win streak in promotions like Resurrection Fighting Alliance and Shark Fights.
He was ready when the UFC called and asked him to fill in at the last minute for a tough match-up with Sam Stout. He not only had an entertaining fight with Stout, he finished him with a guillotine with 13 seconds left in the fight. He won both a Fight of the Night bonus and a Submission of the Night bonus, totaling $100,000.* After years of training and fighting in smaller promotions, that money is an excellent reward for keeping the faith.
No. 2 star -- Shawn Jordan: Perhaps it's just that Shawn Jordan is a really busy guy. He has many items on his to-do list, and he doesn't have time to waste on knocking out a fighter. He quickly finished Pat Barry, earning the TKO in 59 seconds. Next item on the to-do list? Heading to the bank to cash his $50,000 Knockout of the Night bonus.*
No. 3 star -- Stipe Miocic: Does it actually take throwing a kitchen sink at Roy Nelson's head to knock him out? Because Miocic's strikes were just short of kitchen-sink-level, and Nelson remained standing. That Miocic was able to put such a beating on Nelson showed that he is back to being the striking stud he was before being knocked out by Stefan Struve.
*UFC bonuses are paid out after fighters have passed their post-fight drug tests.
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