$70,000 bonus checks handed out to Shogun, Soszynski, Wiman and Stout at UFC 97

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Krzysztof Soszynski, Sam Stout and Matt Wiman all earned substantial cash bonuses of $70,000 for their knockout, submission, and fight of the night honors from their performances at Saturday night’s UFC 97: Redemption.

Shogun was given the nod for his hefty bonus payday because of his impressive knockout of former UFC light heavyweight Chuck Liddell in the first round. A solid left hand dropped Liddell, and a series of hammerfists brought an end to the bout.

Soszynski also received a bonus check when he showed that he was the far more dangerous ground fighter in his bout with Brian Stann when he tapped out the former WEC champion with a slick first round Kimura .

Wiman and Stout found themselves as unexpected main card fighters at UFC 97 and they took the opportunity to put on a fast paced back and forth lightweight brawl that grabbed “Fight of the Night” honors and ended with Stout’s hand being raised for the unanimous decision victory. This bonus marks Wiman’s third consecutive bout that he has received Fight of the Night honors for.