WEC 51 fight bonuses: hatred sells, zombies sleep, redemption pays big bucks

As the mixed martial arts promotion World Extreme Cagefighting announced the four fight bonuses in the amount of $10,000 each at the WEC 51 post-fight press conference at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Col. Sept. 30 it became clear that hatred sells, zombies do sleep and redemption pays big bucks.

Fight of the Night

Apparently hatred sells just well as sex as evident in the extensive pre-fight publicity for the grudge-rematch between Donald Cerrone and former WEC Leightweight Champion Jamie Varner who both showed intense passion in their performances last night. After delivering one of the most explosive brawls in MMA history Cerrone took the win via unanimous decision (30-27 on all cards) and a post-fight shove in the back by Varner who was offended when Cerrone refused the customary post-fight hug. At least Varner did not emerge empty-handed from this bout since both fighters not only earned the Fight of the Night honors but an additional $10,000 each. When asked why his fight strategy did not work Varner said in a post-fight interview: "I just don't know what to do with this guy." Although there clearly still is no love lost between the two, Cerrone felt vindicated for his controversial split-decision loss against Varner at WEC 38 in Jan. 2009.

KO of the Night

George Roop made Chan Sung Jung, who is better known as "Korean Zombie," eat his words when he knocked him out with a high kick to the head a la "Cro Cop" at 1:30 in round two after Jung had announced in a pre-fight interview that he cannot be finished. In fact, Jung was out cold before his body even hit the canvass which earned Roop the KO of the Night honors and some extra cash. For all Korean Zombie t-shirt sales and fans this fight result was probably as devastating as the crash of the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street.

Submission of the Night

Former WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres made his successful comeback after back-to-back losses at WEC 42 and WEC 47. He manhandled Charlie Valencia for 1.5 rounds and finally finished him with a rear-naked choke submission at 2:25 in round two which earned him the Submission of the Night bonus. The significantly shorter Valencia could not even get close enough to land any meaningful shots since Torres literally kept him at an arm's length while dishing out powerful punches with his left, often followed by a devasting right. Torres attributed his new stance and fighting style to his training with full-time pro-MMA coach, Firas Zahabi, at Tristar in Montreal, Canada. He was certainly in good company since Zahabi also coaches reigning UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St.-Pierre and UFC fighter Kenny Florian. Although Torres admitted that he is determined to regain his old belt he made it clear that he is in no rush to do so and currently focused on improving his fighting skills, in particular his wrestling which has become a major component in the UFC as well as in the WEC.

Watch the WEC 51 post-fight press conference here!