The Blog

UFC Fight Night 62: Maia vs. LaFlare — March 21, 2015, Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro. First UFC Fight Night in Rio. Demian Maia dominated LaFlare on grappling for 4 rounds then gassed in R5. Amanda Nunes TKO’d Shayna Baszler — early career of the future double champion. Gilbert Burns’ dramatic comeback submission. Controversial Drew Dober stoppage. Attendance: 7,707.

UFC Fight Night 61: Bigfoot vs. Mir — February 22, 2015, Porto Alegre, Brazil. First UFC event in Rio Grande do Sul. Record 10 of 11 underdogs won — cost Bovada nearly $1 million. Frank Mir KO’d Bigfoot in R1 with elbows. Michael Johnson dominated Edson Barboza. Sean Strickland’s UFC debut. No FotN — four PoN bonuses. Attendance: 5,080 (sellout).

UFC Fight Night 60: Henderson vs. Thatch — February 14, 2015, 1stBank Center, Broomfield, Colorado. Valentine’s Day. Benson Henderson submitted Brandon Thatch in round four on his welterweight debut, accepted on under two weeks’ notice after the main event changed three times due to injuries. Max Holloway’s sixth straight win. Ray Borg and Neil Magny PoN. Kevin Lee’s early career. Attendance: 5,807.

UFC Fight Night 59: McGregor vs. Siver — January 18, 2015, TD Garden, Boston. 2.75 million viewers — the largest MMA audience in Fox Sports 1 history. Conor McGregor TKO’d Dennis Siver in 1:54 of round two then confronted Jose Aldo on stage. Donald Cerrone defeated Benson Henderson III. Lorenz Larkin’s welterweight debut PoN. Attendance: 13,828. Gate: $1.34M.

UFC Fight Night 58: Machida vs. Dollaway — December 20, 2014, Ginásio José Corrêa, Barueri, Brazil. The final UFC event of 2014. Lyoto Machida KO’d C.B. Dollaway with a body kick in 62 seconds — the fastest finish of his career. Dollaway landed ZERO strikes (100th such performance in UFC history). Rampage Jackson’s UFC return announced live. Renan Barão, Erick Silva, Vitor Miranda also earned PoN. TV: 966,000 viewers.

UFC Fight Night 57: Edgar vs. Swanson — November 22, 2014, Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas. Frankie Edgar submitted Cub Swanson with 4 seconds left in round five — the latest finish in UFC history. Paige VanZant’s Fight of the Night debut. Edson Barboza dismantled Bobby Green. Attendance: 10,131. Gate: $670,022.

UFC Fight Night 56: Shogun vs. Saint Preux — November 8, 2014, Uberlândia, Brazil. OSP KO’d Shogun in 34 seconds as a late replacement. Leon Edwards’ controversial UFC debut loss — he went on to win the UFC welterweight title. Thomas Almeida’s debut FotN. Colby Covington’s second UFC win. Jouban robbery decision. First UFC event in Uberlândia. Attendance: 5,671. TV: 699k.

UFC Fight Night 55: Rockhold vs. Bisping — November 7–8, 2014, Allphones Arena, Sydney. All 11 fights ended by finish — a UFC record. Luke Rockhold submitted Bisping by guillotine in round two after a head kick knockdown. Robert Whittaker’s breakthrough FotN at 23 on home soil. Louis Smolka PoN. Gate: $1.5M. Attendance: 9,904. The 6th UFC double-header of 2014.

UFC Fight Night 54: MacDonald vs. Saffiedine — October 4, 2014, Scotiabank Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia. The first UFC event in Halifax. Rory MacDonald TKO’d Tarec Saffiedine in round three — his first finish in 2.5 years. Pedro Munhoz’s 39-second debut guillotine. Olivier Aubin-Mercier’s inverted triangle earned PoN on Canadian soil. Li Jingliang and Paul Felder early careers. Attendance: 10,782. Gate: $926,000.

UFC Fight Night 53: Nelson vs. Story — October 4, 2014, Ericsson Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden. Rick Story ended Gunnar Nelson’s 13-0 unbeaten record with a split decision (controversial 50-44 scorecard). Jan Błachowicz’s body kick breakthrough TKO of Ilir Latifi. Max Holloway’s fifth straight win earned Performance of the Night. One of two UFC events on the same day (doubleheader with Halifax FN54). Attendance: 10,026. Gate: $1.1M.

UFC Fight Night 52: Hunt vs. Nelson — September 20, 2014, Saitama Super Arena, Japan. Mark Hunt KO’d Roy Nelson with a walk-away uppercut in round two. Myles Jury stopped Takanori Gomi by TKO — the first-ever TKO or KO loss in Gomi’s career. Kyoji Horiguchi on an eight-fight win streak at 23. Michinori Tanaka’s FotN bonus rescinded after a positive drug test. Attendance: 12,395.

UFC Fight Night 51: Bigfoot vs. Arlovski 2 — September 13, 2014, Maracanãzinho Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Andrei Arlovski defeated Antônio Bigfoot Silva in their heavyweight rematch. Jéssica Andrade's early UFC career. Santiago Ponzinibbio's UFC debut. Godofredo Pepey earned Performance of the Night. Broadcast exclusively on UFC Fight Pass.