Four Medical Suspensions Issued For UFC 87

Despite the bloody outcome of several of Saturday's fights, only four fighters have been issued with medical suspensions, and none of them are long ones.

Georges St. Pierre and Jon Fitch, who faced off against each other in a title fight, were both issued with 30 day suspensions due to lacerations. This came as a suprise to many fans as Fitch particularly looked like he had suffered potential orbital bone damage.

Dan Evensen, who faced Cheick Kongo in a heavyweight fight was suspended for 30 days, and must be cleared by a doctor following a CT scan to rule out serious damage.

Ryan Thomas, who suffered a submission loss to Ben Saunders was also issued with a 30 day suspension for facial lacerations.

Suprisingly, Heath Herring was not issued a suspension despite serious facial lacerations.

UFC 87 Locker Room Bonuses

In the aftermath of Saturday's UFC 87 event, the UFC have issued the names of the fighters who received the locker room bonuses.

Fight of the night deservedly went to Jon Fitch and Georges St. Pierre for their five round war. Whilst GSP dominated every round of the fight, credit must go to Fitch for his amazing ability to compose himself and continue to pose a challenge until the very end.

KO of the night went to Rob Emerson for his stunning 12 second knock out over Manvel Gambuyan, who was tipped as heavy favourite for this fight.

Demian Maia received submission of the night for his rear naked choke victory over Jason MacDonald.

All bonuses are reported to have been $60,000 and come on top of their standard fight wages. The figures for their contracted payroll will be reported in the next few days.

BJ Moving To Welterweight

Both BJ Penn and Dana White have confirmed in the next few days that BJ Penn will move to Welterweight to fight for the title.

The move is likely to come in December, with Penn facing the winner of tomorrow's Georges St. Pierre - Jon Fitch fight. Dana White had previously said that if Fitch won, Penn would not want to move divisions, as he is only interested in a rematch with St. Pierre. Penn has other ideas:

"Jon Fitch is a great opponent, a tough opponent, but St. Pierre brings the whole backing of Canada with him to a fight," stated Penn. "Fan base, this sport, it's entertainment. It would be great to put on a big fight with me and St-Pierre, but then again, it’s about me fighting the best fighter and if Fitch goes down and proves he’s the best fighter, then he’s the man.”

Penn also stated that he would like to hold both the Lightweight and the Welterweight titles at the same time, if he can. Dana has neither confirmed nor denied that this would be possible.

Welterwight Title On The Line At UFC 87

Newly crowned UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre will put his title on the line at UFC 87 in August.

St-Pierre's opponent for this fight will be Jon Fitch. Fitch has a professional record of 17-2 with 1 NC, and is currently riding a staggering 15 fight winning streak. He is 8-0 in the UFC and is long overdue for a title shot. In a statement from the UFC website, Fitch had this to say:

“The whole goal is to get the belt and be in the position where guys can’t duck me, run away, or say they don’t want to fight me. If I have the belt, there’s no excuse, and if you say you’re the best, then we’re gonna fight. This is gonna be a tough fight, but I’m gonna make sure I’m sharp that night, and wherever the fight needs to go, that’s fine with me.”

This fight takes place at UFC 87 in Minneapolis, Minnesota on August 9th. Also featured on the card is a contendership bout between Roger Huerta and Kenny Florian. A fight between Mark Coleman and Brock Lesnar was scheduled to take place, but Coleman was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury. The UFC have announced that they are currently searching for a replacement for Coleman. We will bring you updates as they happen.