UFC 100: Lesnar Mir; St-Pierre Retains
UFC 100 took place on July 11, 2009, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Brock Lesnar unified the heavyweight championship against Frank Mir, Georges St-Pierre defended his welterweight title against Thiago Alves, and Dan Henderson knocked out Michael Bisping. The eleven-bout milestone card combined championship stakes, a heated rivalry and appearances by established legends and emerging contenders.
Video: The UFC’s official Classics replay presents Lesnar and Mir’s UFC 100 heavyweight championship rematch.
Lesnar reverses the result against Mir
Lesnar and Mir had first met at UFC 81, where Mir submitted the newcomer with a kneebar. Their second meeting brought substantially different stakes. Lesnar had beaten Randy Couture for the heavyweight championship at UFC 91, while Mir held the interim belt after stopping Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92.
Lesnar imposed his size and wrestling, pinning Mir down and delivering short punches from controlling positions. Mir could not recreate the submission opportunity that had ended their first fight. When the action returned to the ground in the second round, Lesnar again established a position from which he could attack without giving Mir room to escape.
The ground strikes brought a stoppage at 1:48 of round two. Lesnar left with the undisputed heavyweight championship and an emphatic answer to his earlier defeat. The rematch was also a demonstration of how a wrestler’s pressure and positional discipline could reduce the opportunities available to an accomplished submission fighter.
St-Pierre handles Alves through five rounds
The welterweight title fight gave St-Pierre a powerful striker in Alves. The champion answered with the combination of takedowns, transitions and sustained control that had become central to his reign. Alves continued trying to regain his feet and create striking opportunities, but St-Pierre repeatedly prevented him from building lasting momentum.
A groin injury in the third round complicated the champion’s task. He nevertheless completed the final championship rounds and won by unanimous decision. The scores were 50–45, 50–45 and 50–44. The result was a five-round defense, not a stoppage, and Alves’s durability was an important part of the contest.
Henderson’s knockout and the rest of the main card
Henderson and Bisping had coached opposing teams on The Ultimate Fighter before meeting at middleweight. Henderson’s right hand ended their matchup at 3:20 of round two, producing one of the card’s most enduring images. It was a non-title fight, but its conclusion became inseparable from the event’s identity.
Yoshihiro Akiyama made his UFC debut with a split-decision victory over Alan Belcher after three competitive rounds. Jon Fitch defeated Paulo Thiago by unanimous decision. These two bouts supplied sustained contests alongside the sudden finishes and title fights that received most of the attention.
Coleman returns to the win column
Mark Coleman defeated Stephan Bonnar by unanimous decision, earning his first UFC victory since 1997. The former heavyweight champion used takedowns and ground offense to win a light heavyweight bout at age 44. All three judges scored it 29–28, giving his return a memorable success after the loss to Shogun Rua earlier that year.
Jon Jones submitted Jake O’Brien in round two, while Jim Miller and Dong Hyun Kim each won unanimous decisions. Tom Lawlor and Shannon Gugerty secured first-round guillotine submissions. The preliminary card included a veteran comeback and wins by fighters who later became regular UFC contenders.
Complete UFC 100 results
Main card
- Brock Lesnar def. Frank Mir — TKO (punches), round 2, 1:48; unified the UFC heavyweight title.
- Georges St-Pierre def. Thiago Alves — unanimous decision, round 5, 5:00; retained the UFC welterweight title.
- Jon Fitch def. Paulo Thiago — unanimous decision, round 3, 5:00.
- Dan Henderson def. Michael Bisping — KO (punches), round 2, 3:20.
- Yoshihiro Akiyama def. Alan Belcher — split decision, round 3, 5:00.
Preliminary card
- Mark Coleman def. Stephan Bonnar — unanimous decision, round 3, 5:00.
- Jim Miller def. Mac Danzig — unanimous decision, round 3, 5:00.
- Jon Jones def. Jake O’Brien — submission (guillotine choke), round 2, 2:43.
- Dong Hyun Kim def. TJ Grant — unanimous decision, round 3, 5:00.
- Tom Lawlor def. CB Dollaway — submission (guillotine choke), round 1, 0:55.
- Shannon Gugerty def. Matt Grice — submission (guillotine choke), round 1, 2:36.
Why the milestone card endures
UFC 100’s appeal came from the range of stories on one program. Lesnar avenged a loss and unified his division, St-Pierre navigated an injury to retain his belt, and Henderson delivered an unforgettable knockout. Coleman’s win and the depth of the supporting card made the night a celebration of the sport’s past as well as its next generation.
Sources
Article Tags
UFC 100, Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Georges St-Pierre, Dan Henderson, UFC Results
