UFC Events

Introduction UFC 161: Evans vs. Henderson. June 15, 2013. MTS Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The first UFC event in Winnipeg and the first in Manitoba. Rashad Evans defeated Dan Henderson by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) in a three-round light heavyweight non-title main event, snapping a two-fight losing streak. The original main event was an Interim Bantamweight Championship fight between champion Renan Barao and Eddie Wineland. Barao withdrew on May 21 with

Introduction UFC 160: Velasquez vs. Bigfoot 2. May 25, 2013. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. Memorial Day weekend. Cain Velasquez made his first UFC Heavyweight Championship defence by TKO over Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva at 1:21 of round one — a rematch of their UFC 146 fight in May 2012, where Velasquez had also won by TKO. Junior dos Santos knocked out Mark Hunt in the co-main event with a spinning heel kick — one of the most technically impressive finishes in HW histor

Introduction UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen. April 27, 2013. Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey. Jon Jones defended the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against Chael Sonnen by TKO at 4:33 of round one, his fifth consecutive LHW title defence. Jones fought with a broken toe sustained during the fight and still dominated from the opening seconds. Jones took Sonnen down three times in the opening round. Prior to UFC 159, Sonnen had been taken down just three times combined

Introduction UFC 158: St-Pierre vs. Diaz. March 16, 2013. Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Georges St-Pierre defended the UFC Welterweight Championship against GSP and Contents 1. Introduction 2. Quick Stats 3. The Build-Up 4. Main Event 5. Co-Main Event 6. Full Results 7. Bonuses & Awards 8. Records & Milestones 9. Legacy & Impact 10. FAQ 11. References Quick Stats Date: March 16, 2013 Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (second UFC at Bell Centr

Introduction UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche. February 23, 2013. Honda Center, Anaheim, California. The first women’s fight in UFC history. Ronda Rousey defended the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship against Liz Carmouche by submission (armbar) at 4:49 of round one. In the opening minute, Carmouche took Rousey’s back and locked in a neck crank that came close to finishing the champion. Carmouche could not convert and reported having Rousey’s teeth marks on her arm after

Introduction UFC 156: Aldo vs. Edgar. February 2, 2013. Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas. Jose Aldo defended the UFC Featherweight Championship against Frankie Edgar by unanimous decision in five rounds — Aldo’s fourth FW title defence and Edgar’s first fight at featherweight after moving down from lightweight. The card also featured Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva knocking out Alistair Overeem in Overeem’s return after a nine-month drug suspension. Rashad Evans lost to Anto

Introduction UFC 155: dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2. December 29, 2012. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. The year-end PPV. Cain Velasquez reclaimed the UFC Heavyweight Championship with a unanimous decision over Junior dos Santos (50-45, 50-43, 50-44) in five complete rounds. The result reversed their first meeting at UFC on Fox 1 in November 2011, where dos Santos had knocked Velasquez out in 64 seconds. Velasquez dominated every round with wrestling and ground-and-pound,

Introduction UFC 154: St-Pierre vs. Condit. November 17, 2012. Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Georges St-Pierre returned from a 19-month layoff caused by a torn ACL to unify the UFC Welterweight Championship against interim champion Carlos Condit. The fight was Condit dropped GSP with a head kick in round three — one of the cleanest shots the champion had absorbed in years. Contents 1. Introduction 2. Quick Stats 3. The Build-Up 4. Main Event 5. Co-Main Event

Introduction UFC 153: Silva vs. Bonnar. October 13, 2012. HSBC Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The third UFC event in Rio de Janeiro. The original main event — Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar for the Featherweight Championship — was cancelled after Aldo suffered a foot injury in a motorcycle accident on September 1. Anderson Silva volunteered to move up to light heavyweight on 32 days notice to save the event, facing Anderson Silva defeated Contents 1. Introduction 2. Quic

Introduction UFC 152: Jones vs. Belfort. September 22, 2012. Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Jon Jones defended the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against Vitor Belfort by submission (americana) at 0:54 of round four. The event was the first numbered PPV since the cancellation of UFC 151 — the only cancelled event in UFC history. Jones entered having also faced public criticism over a DWI arrest in May 2012. Vitor Belfort nearly submitted Jones with an ar

Introduction UFC 150: Henderson vs. Edgar II. August 11, 2012. Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado. Benson Henderson defended the UFC Lightweight Championship against Frankie Edgar by split decision (48-47, 48-47, 46-49) in their second meeting of the year. Henderson had defeated Edgar at UFC 144 in Japan in February; the rematch was as controversial as the first. Edgar knocked Henderson down in round two and nearly submitted him with a D’Arce choke. He had more total strikes,

Introduction UFC 149: Faber vs. Barão. July 21, 2012. Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The first UFC event in Calgary. The Interim Bantamweight Championship was contested while Dominick Cruz recovered from injury. Renan Barão defeated Urijah Faber by unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 49-46) in five rounds, capturing the first title of his career and extending his professional unbeaten streak to 32 consecutive bouts. Hector Lombard made a disappointing UFC

Introduction UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II. July 7, 2012. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. International Fight Week. Anderson Silva retained the UFC Middleweight Championship against Chael Sonnen dominated round one with wrestling and ground and pound, as he had in their first fight at UFC 117. In round two, Sonnen threw a reckless spinning back fist that left him out of position. Silva landed a knee to the chest, followed with punches, and Yves Lavigne stopped the fight

Introduction UFC 147: Silva vs. Franklin II. June 23, 2012. Mineirinho Arena, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The first UFC event in Belo Horizonte and the live finale of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil Season 1. Rich Franklin defeated Wanderlei Silva by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) in a five-round catchweight main event at 190 lbs. The event was the most heavily altered UFC card in the promotion’s history, with the UFC offering full ticket refunds to buyers before the even

Introduction UFC 146: dos Santos vs. Mir. May 26, 2012. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. The first UFC event in history with an all-heavyweight main card. Billed as ‘The Heavyweights.’ Original main event: Alistair Overeem vs. Junior dos Santos for the HW Championship. On April 4, Overeem failed a pre-fight drug test (testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio 14-to-1, against the permitted 6-to-1). He was suspended nine months. Frank Mir was elevated to the main event. Juni

Introduction UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans. April 21, 2012. Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia. Jon Jones defended the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against Rashad Evans by unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46) in five rounds — the first time Jones had been taken the distance in the UFC. The event was originally planned for Montreal and was moved to Atlanta. Jones and Rashad Evans were former teammates at Jackson’s MMA under Greg Jackson. Their professional relationship b

Introduction UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson. February 26, 2012. Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan. The UFC’s return to Japan after more than 11 years — the first UFC event in Japan since UFC 29 in December 2000, and the first since the 2007 acquisition of Pride Fighting Championships. The event sold out. Benson Henderson defeated Frankie Edgar by unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 49-46) in five rounds to win the UFC Lightweight Championship. It was the first time in profe

Introduction UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit. February 4, 2012. Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas. Georges St-Pierre was originally scheduled to defend the Welterweight Championship against Nick Diaz. St-Pierre withdrew on December 7, 2011 with a torn ACL. Carlos Condit was elevated from the undercard and faced Diaz for the interim WW title. Condit defeated Nick Diaz by unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46) in a fight that divided the MMA world. Condit used a kick-and-mov

Introduction UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes. January 14, 2012. HSBC Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The second UFC event in Rio de Janeiro, following UFC 134 in August 2011. José Aldo defended the UFC Featherweight Championship against Chad Mendes by TKO at 4:59 of round one — with one second remaining in the round. Aldo celebrated by running into the crowd. Edson Barboza knocked out Terry Etim with a spinning heel kick in a finish widely considered one of the most spectacular i

Introduction UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem. December 30, 2011. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. New Year’s Eve pay-per-view. Alistair Overeem made his UFC debut by knocking out Brock Lesnar with a body kick and punches at 2:26 of round one. In the cage post-fight, Lesnar announced his retirement from MMA. Overeem’s body kick connected with Lesnar’s liver. Lesnar dropped to a knee against the cage. Overeem swarmed and referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the fight. Lesnar: ‘Broc