Introduction
UFC Fight Night 11: Thomas vs. Florian took place on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada — broadcast live on Spike TV as the lead-in to The Ultimate Fighter Season 6 premiere. The gate was $270,000. Eight of the nine fights on the card ended by finish. Kenny Florian submitted Din Thomas via rear-naked choke at 4:31 of round one in the rescheduled lightweight main event.
The card was heavily reshuffled before fight night. The original main event had been Chris Leben vs. Mike Swick; Leben declined. Swick replaced Goulet but then pulled out with a rib injury. Spencer Fisher was booked to face Din Thomas in the new main event, but withdrew with a staph infection. Kenny Florian stepped in as the final replacement. Nate Diaz's first-round guillotine of Junior Assuncao, Gray Maynard's nine-second KO, and Dustin Hazelett's armbar of Jonathan Goulet made Fight Night 11 one of the most finish-heavy non-PPV cards in early UFC Fight Night history.
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Wednesday, September 19, 2007
📍 Venue: Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
💰 Gate: $270,000
📺 Broadcast: Spike TV (lead-in to The Ultimate Fighter 6 premiere)
🏆 Main Event: Kenny Florian vs. Din Thomas — Lightweight
✅ Result: Florian def. Thomas via Submission (rear-naked choke) — R1, 4:31
Main Event: Florian vs. Thomas
Kenny Florian had been building steadily since his TUF 1 appearance toward a second title shot at 155 lbs. He controlled Din Thomas on the feet and the ground throughout round one, landing 50 of 82 total strikes before securing a rear-naked choke at 4:31. The dominant finish extended his winning streak and kept him squarely in the lightweight title picture.
Full Results
Main Card (Spike TV)
Kenny Florian def. Din Thomas — Submission (rear-naked choke) — R1, 4:31 — Lightweight
Chris Leben def. Terry Martin — KO (punches) — R3, 3:56 — Middleweight (Performance of the Night)
Nate Diaz def. Junior Assuncao — Submission (guillotine choke) — R1, 4:10 — Lightweight
Nate Quarry def. Pete Sell — KO (punches) — R3, 0:44 — Middleweight
Preliminary Card
Cole Miller def. Leonard Garcia — Unanimous Decision — R3, 5:00 — Lightweight (Fight of the Night)
Luke Cummo def. Edilberto de Oliveira — KO (punches) — R1, 1:45 — Welterweight
Gray Maynard def. Joe Veres — KO (punches) — R1, 0:09 — Lightweight
Thiago Alves def. Kuniyoshi Hironaka — KO (knee) — R2, 4:04 — Welterweight
Dustin Hazelett def. Jonathan Goulet — Submission (armbar) — R1, 1:14 — Welterweight (Performance of the Night)
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Fight of the Night: Cole Miller vs. Leonard Garcia — $50,000 each
🥇 Performance of the Night: Chris Leben — $50,000 for the R3 KO of Terry Martin
🥇 Performance of the Night: Dustin Hazelett — $50,000 for the first-round armbar of Jonathan Goulet
Legacy & Impact
UFC Fight Night 11 is one of the most finish-packed Fight Night cards of the early era — eight of nine fights ended by stoppage. Nate Diaz's first-round guillotine was the introduction of the Stockton fighter to a broader UFC audience. Gray Maynard's nine-second KO foreshadowed his emergence as a top lightweight contender. The TUF 6 lead-in context placed the card as the UFC's summer-to-fall transition show — arriving after a strong 2007 numbered event run and setting up the autumn's major PPV cards.
FAQ
Why was the main event changed so many times before Fight Night 11?
Three different main event configurations collapsed in succession. First, Chris Leben declined the Swick rematch. Then Swick himself pulled out with a rib injury. Then Spencer Fisher — who had replaced the original main event participants — withdrew with a knee staph infection. Kenny Florian stepped in as the third replacement for the main event slot. The cascade of withdrawals was unusual even by Fight Night standards and created unusual pre-fight visibility for the card as each change generated news.