Sam Stout loves post-fight bonuses. Outside of Chris Lytle, "Hands of Stone" has cashed the most UFC bonuses in history. They usually come via the 15-minute route. Tonight, Stout took a different path by making quick work of Yves Edwards with a vicious knockout in less than four minutes. Stout landed a left hook that knocked Edwards stiff at 3:52 in the first round at UFC 131 in Vancouver.
"I thought it would take a little bit longer to be able to connect against a fighter of Yves Edwards' caliber. I was putting my combinations together and trying to slow him down. We've been working for several months on landing a left hook against a left-handed fighter," Stout said. "Tonight, it landed and it worked. It's an amazing feeling to score a knockout like that in front of the Canadian fans."
It could've very easily been Stout lying on his back. He ate a big right hand over his ear just a split second before his sledgehammer left hand caught Edwards on the chin.
Edwards, a UFC veteran who first fought for the promotion back at UFC 33 in 2001, was out on the way down and then slammed his head on the mat. Edwards' (40-17-1, 8-5 UFC) arms went out to his side and his eyes were wide open. The physicians attended to Edwards for nearly two and a half minutes before he rose to his feet. Once he got back to the locker room, Edwards was able to speak, but was still in shock.
"I've never been knocked out, so this is a tough loss for me. I've got to go back and see the tape to figure out where my defense broke down," Edwards said.
Stout has cashed bonuses on five previous occasions, good for over $200,000. While training for this fight in Las Vegas, the lightweight spoke with RawVegas and defended his go-for-broke style.
It certainly worked tonight. Stout (17-6-1, 6-5 UFC) has won 4-of-5 now in the UFC. At 27 years old, he may be turning the corner.
No comments:
Post a Comment