Sobral, Smith, Riggs Lead Strikeforce Takes

Scott Smith was one of night’s bigger breadwinners in his promotional debut for Strikeforce on Nov. 21 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., according to figures released on Monday by the California State Athletic Commission.

Smith, who became the first Pro Elite-contracted fighter to compete outside of the presumably defunct promotion’s banner, earned $40,000 for his 24-second fleecing of Terry Martin. Martin earned $20,000.

Smith’s take was only topped by fellow debutante Renato “Babalu” Sobral, who dispatched of light heavyweight champion Bobby Southworth with a sharp standing elbow that split his brow open just minutes into the first round. A doctor recommended the bout be halted between rounds and Southworth was sent home with $20,000.

Kim Couture nabbed $10,000 (including a $5,000 bonus) for her 104-second pummeling of outmatched Lina Kvokov. Kvokov earned $1,500 for taking on the crowd favorite and wife of UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.

Despite breaking his hand with the first punch he laid on Luke Stewart, the ever-resilient Joe Riggs trudged on to a second-round TKO stoppage and a $40,000 payday. Local up-and-comer Stewart was dealt $10,000 for the loss.

Buried on the undercard, Brian Schwartz earned every penny of his seemingly gorged $28,000 price tag. A former ISKA kickboxing champion and hero on San Jose’s circuit, Schwartz weathered an early knockdown at the hands of Lemont Davis, coaxed out a stoppage by round three, and got the arena on its feet. Davis took in $5,000 for the rematch to a November 2007 bout.

Strikeforce “Destruction” Pay Scale

Scott Smith: $40,000 ($20,000 win bonus)
Terry Martin: $20,000
Bobby Southworth: $20,000
Renato Sobral: $50,000 ($25,000 win bonus)
Yves Edwards: $12,000
Duane Ludwig: $32,500 ($15,000 win bonus)
Kim Couture: $10,000 ($5,000 win bonus)
Lina Kvokov: $1,500
Joe Riggs: $40,000 ($20,000 win bonus)
Luke Stewart: $10,000
Bobby Stack: $5,000 ($1,500 win bonus)
Cyrillo Padilha: $2,000
Eric Lawson: $9,000 ($1,000 win bonus)
Tony Johnson: $2,000
Josh Neal: $1,500
Kurt Osiander: $9,000 ($4,000 win bonus)
Lemont Davis: $5,000
Brian Schwartz: $28,000 (no win bonus)
Luke Rockhold: $4,000 ($2,000 win bonus)
Nik Theotikos: $2,000
Darren Uyenoyama: $5,000 ($2,500 win bonus)
Brad Royster: $1,500
Alvin Cacdac: $3,000 ($1,000 win bonus)
Jose Palacios: $3,000
Zak Bucia: $2,000 ($1,000 win bonus)
Adam Steel: $1,000