UFC Events

Introduction UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier. January 3, 2015. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. Jon Jones defended the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against Daniel Cormier by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) — his eighth consecutive LHW title defence, a new UFC record. Jones did not just outclass Cormier — he outwrestled him, taking him down three times across five rounds. Cormier had never been taken down in his UFC career before this fight. The build-up includ

Introduction UFC 181: Hendricks vs. Lawler 2. December 6, 2014. Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas. Robbie Lawler became the UFC Welterweight Champion with a split decision win (48-47, 47-48, 49-46) over defending champion Johny Hendricks. It was the culmination of a 13-year, 36-fight journey to UFC gold for Lawler. Their first fight at UFC 171 had ended with Hendricks winning the vacant WW belt by unanimous decision. Hendricks had also fought that first bout with a torn

Introduction UFC 180: Werdum vs. Hunt. November 15, 2014. Arena Ciudad de México, Mexico City, Mexico. The first UFC event in Mexico. Fabricio Werdum won the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship with a second-round TKO of Mark Hunt at 2:27, via a flying knee and ground-and-pound strikes. The event was supposed to be headlined by Cain Velasquez defending the HW title against Werdum. Velasquez withdrew on October 21 with a torn MCL and meniscus in his right knee. Hunt stepp

Introduction UFC 179: Aldo vs. Mendes 2. October 25, 2014. Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The fifth UFC event in Rio de Janeiro. Jose Aldo defended the UFC Featherweight Championship against Chad Mendes by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) in five rounds, his seventh title defence. The fight was named Fight of the Year by multiple MMA outlets. The main event was rescheduled from the cancelled UFC 176, where Aldo’s neck injury in early July had fo

Introduction UFC 178: Johnson vs. Cariaso. September 27, 2014. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. The event was originally planned to be headlined by Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson in a rematch of UFC 165. Gustafsson withdrew with a torn meniscus. Daniel Cormier replaced him. Jones and Cormier brawled at a media day on August 4 in a confrontation that generated the sport’s most widely discussed pre-fight incident of 2014. Jones then pulled out with a leg injury on Augus

Introduction UFC 177: Dillashaw vs. Soto. August 30, 2014. Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento, California. T.J. Dillashaw retained the UFC Bantamweight Championship with a fifth-round knockout of Joe Soto at 2:20 of round five. Dillashaw was scheduled to fight Renan Barão in a rematch. Barão collapsed during his weight cut the day before the event, fainted in a bathtub and hit his head; he was hospitalised and pulled from the fight. Joe Soto, who was scheduled to fight Anthony

Introduction UFC 175: Weidman vs. Machida. July 5, 2014. Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas. Fourth of July weekend. Chris Weidman defended the UFC Middleweight Championship against Lyoto Machida by unanimous decision (49-45, 48-47, 49-46) in five rounds, his second title defence. Ronda Rousey knocked out Alexis Davis in 16 seconds in the co-main event — the fastest UFC title fight finish in promotion history at the time. Stefan Struve fainted during his fight with Mat

Introduction UFC 174: Johnson vs. Bagautinov. June 14, 2014. Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The first-ever UFC Flyweight Championship PPV main event. Demetrious Johnson defended the UFC Flyweight Championship against Ali Bagautinov by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) in five rounds — his fourth consecutive FW title defence. Johnson dominated with clinch knees and precise striking throughout. Bagautinov took him down twice across five rounds but

Introduction UFC 173: Barão vs. Dillashaw. May 24, 2014. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. T.J. Dillashaw defeated Renan Barão by TKO (head kick and punches) at 2:25 of round five to win the UFC Bantamweight Championship. Dillashaw entered as a +765 betting underdog; Barão was a -1000 favourite widely considered the world’s No. 2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter. The result was one of the biggest upsets in UFC title fight history. Dillashaw dominated all five rounds, knock

Introduction UFC 172: Jones vs. Teixeira. April 26, 2014. Baltimore Arena, Baltimore, Maryland. The first UFC event in Baltimore. Jon Jones defended the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against Glover Teixeira by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) in five rounds, his seventh consecutive LHW title defence — a new record. The previous record of six was his own, set at UFC 165. Jones was dominant throughout, opening a horrific diagonal gash above Teixeira’s right eye

Introduction UFC 171: Hendricks vs. Lawler. March 15, 2014. American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas. Johny Hendricks won the vacant UFC Welterweight Championship with a unanimous decision over Robbie Lawler (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) in five rounds. It was the first undisputed WW title fight without Georges St-Pierre since 2008. Hendricks had been denied the belt at UFC 167 by a controversial split decision and now received it via the vacant title route. The fight drew 19,324

Introduction UFC 170: Rousey vs. McMann. February 22, 2014. Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas. Ronda Rousey retained the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship against Sara McMann via TKO (knee to liver) at 1:06 of round one. It was the first time in Rousey’s professional career that she had finished a fight with something other than an armbar. Rousey had promised her coach before the fight that she would drop McMann with a body shot. After stating this publicly post-f

Introduction UFC 169: Barão vs. Faber 2. February 1, 2014. Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey. The UFC Bantamweight Championship was on the line for the first time as an undisputed title since Dominick Cruz vacated it on January 6, 2014, due to a torn groin. Renan Barão became the undisputed champion by default and made his first defence against Urijah Faber, whom he had defeated for the interim title at UFC 149 in July 2012. Barão stopped Faber by TKO at 3:42 of round

Introduction UFC 168: Weidman vs. Silva 2. December 28, 2013. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. The UFC’s final event of 2013 and one of its most anticipated rematches. Chris Weidman defended the UFC Middleweight Championship against Anderson Silva in a rematch of UFC 162, where Weidman had ended Silva’s 2,457-day title reign. The result of the rematch was one of the most disturbing moments in UFC history. In round two, Anderson Silva threw a leg kick. Weidman checked it

Introduction UFC 167: St-Pierre vs. Hendricks. November 16, 2013. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. The UFC’s 20th anniversary event. Georges St-Pierre retained the UFC Welterweight Championship against Johny Hendricks by split decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-48) in five rounds — 16 of 16 media members and UFC President Dana White scored the fight for Hendricks. The crowd booed when GSP was announced the winner. Hendricks dropped to the canvas in disbelief. Post-fight, Cont

Introduction UFC 166: Velasquez vs. dos Santos III. October 19, 2013. Toyota Center, Houston, Texas. The first UFC event in Houston. Cain Velasquez retained the UFC Heavyweight Championship with a fifth-round TKO over Junior dos Santos at 3:09, winning the trilogy 2-1. Their 23-month series saw dos Santos win the first by KO in 64 seconds; Velasquez win the second by unanimous decision; and Velasquez win the third by a late stoppage. Daniel Cormier made his UFC debut with

Introduction UFC 165: Jones vs. Gustafsson. September 21, 2013. Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Jon Jones defended the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against Alexander Gustafsson by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) in five rounds — the closest fight of Jones’ title reign and one of the most competitive bouts in LHW history. Jones’ sixth consecutive LHW title defence broke Tito Ortiz’s record for most consecutive title defences at 205 lbs. Gustafss

Introduction UFC 164: Henderson vs. Pettis 2. August 31, 2013. BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Anthony Pettis won the UFC Lightweight Championship in his hometown by submitting Benson Henderson via armbar at 4:31 of round one. Henderson had never been submitted in his professional career before this fight. The fight was a rematch of WEC 53 in December 2010, where Pettis had won the WEC LW title with a famous Showtime Kick. Their UFC 164 sequel saw Pettis

Introduction UFC 163: Aldo vs. Korean Zombie. August 3, 2013. HSBC Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The fourth UFC event in Rio de Janeiro. Jose Aldo defended the UFC Featherweight Championship against Chan Sung Jung (the Korean Zombie) by TKO at 2:00 of round four, his fifth FW title defence. The original main event had been Aldo vs. Anthony Pettis; Pettis withdrew with a knee injury in mid-June and was replaced by Jung. Aldo injured his foot early in the fight. Jung suffe

Introduction UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman. July 6, 2013. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. International Fight Week. Anderson Silva defended the UFC Middleweight Championship for the tenth time against undefeated challenger Chris Weidman. Weidman knocked out Silva at 1:18 of round two. The title had been Anderson Silva's since October 14, 2006. His championship run lasted 2,457 days — the longest title reign in UFC history. Silva was showboating throughout both rounds, tau