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StumbleuponMIXED MARTIAL ARTS INSIDER
Hazelett earns second UFC submission bonus
Monday, November 17, 2008
LAS VEGAS — Two months before his UFC 91 bout with Tamdan McCrory, Dustin Hazelett earned his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt from longtime instructor and fellow UFC fighter Jorge Gurgel.
A ceremony was held at Gurgel's MMA academy in West Chester Twp. in September, but the celebration continued this past weekend at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, where Hazelett used a first-round armbar submission to pick up his fifth victory in six fights — and a $60,000 Submission of the Night bonus, to boot.
At just 22, Hazelett has become a true expert of BJJ, a combat sport that focuses on grappling and ground fighting. But few have been able to apply the discipline to mixed martial arts better than Hazelett.
Although MMA combines all aspects of hand-to-hand combat, most of its followers still prefer the stand-up game. Hazelett and his slick ground skills have become an exception, and he had quickly become an underground sensation.
But for the first time in his career, Hazelett was able to showcase those skills in front of an international pay-per-view audience.
"I wouldn't say it's different, but I would say it's better obviously," Hazelett said of his main-card treatment and fighting in front of a near-sellout crowd of 14,272. "I'm not going to lie. The more people I fight in front of, the more excited I get.
"I just really enjoy fighting, and I love fighting. I think that shows when I'm competing."
Couture not set to retire
Despite losing his UFC heavyweight title to Brock Lesnar at UFC 91, and though the UFC hall-of-famer feels as though there are few, if any, challenges left for him in the heavyweight division, don't expect Randy Couture to call it a career just yet.
"The Natural," who didn't launch his MMA career until the ripe age of 33, gave up nearly 50 pounds to Lesnar and weighed in for the fight at 220 pounds — the lower end of the division's 205- to 265-pound range.
Given the UFC's stacked light heavyweight division — one that began forming when Couture held the 205-pound title from 2003-2004 — he could make a return.
"I'll take a little time before I decide what I'm going to do," Couture said. "I'm going to let the dust kind of settle, and we'll figure it out."
Dann Stupp is editor-in-chief of MMAjunkie.com,
a content partner site of Yahoo! Sports. For the latest MMA news and rumors, go to www.mmajunkie.com.
