Muay Thai

UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami brought the UFC to Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena on August 27, 2011. Anderson Silva retained the middleweight championship with a second-round stoppage of Yushin Okami, while Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira scored first-round knockouts. The twelve-fight event marked the promotion’s first...

Video: UFC 132 event buildup for Cruz and Faber’s second meeting. Cruz retains the title and evens the rivalry Faber had submitted Cruz in their first encounter, a WEC featherweight championship fight in 2007. Their UFC rematch took place at bantamweight, with Cruz now holding the title. Faber had...

Video: the UFC 128 weigh-in, featuring Rua and Jones before their championship fight. Jones takes the championship with a complete performance Jones had earned this opportunity only weeks earlier, after submitting Ryan Bader at UFC 126. An injury to Rashad Evans opened the title assignment. Rua entered as the...

UFC 97: Redemption returned to the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, on April 18, 2009. Anderson Silva retained the middleweight championship against Thales Leites, while Mauricio “Shogun” Rua stopped Chuck Liddell in the first round. The twelve-fight event paired an important title defense with a dramatic change in momentum...

UFC 83: Serra vs. St-Pierre 2 took place on April 19, 2008, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. It was the UFC’s first event in Canada and featured Georges St-Pierre challenging Matt Serra for the undisputed welterweight championship in front of a heavily pro-St-Pierre crowd. St-Pierre avenges the...

UFC 80: Rapid Fire took place on January 19, 2008, at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England. The event was built around a vacant lightweight championship fight between B.J. Penn and Joe Stevenson, with a heavyweight rematch between Fabricio Werdum and Gabriel Gonzaga serving as the co-main event....

Jardine defeats Liddell by split decision The headliner was a three-round, non-title light heavyweight fight. Both men were returning from knockout defeats at UFC 71: Liddell had lost his championship to Quinton Jackson, and Jardine had been stopped by Houston Alexander. Anaheim offered each a chance to recover against...

Jackson defeats Henderson over five rounds Jackson had won the UFC light heavyweight championship from Chuck Liddell at UFC 71. Henderson arrived as PRIDE’s 205-pound champion, giving the London fight significance beyond an ordinary defense. The promotion’s “Champion vs. Champion” billing reflected the meeting of titleholders from the two...

Silva finishes Marquardt in the opening round Marquardt offered a credible test for Silva: an experienced contender with a strong grappling background rather than a challenger expected simply to trade strikes. He took the champion down during the first round, giving the fight an early tactical dimension. Silva remained...

Serra turns his opportunity into a championship Serra had earned the title shot by winning the welterweight competition on The Ultimate Fighter 4. St-Pierre entered his first defense after taking the belt from Matt Hughes at UFC 65. The champion’s recent success made him the clear favorite, but Serra’s...

A weight miss removes the title stakes Lutter had earned a championship opportunity through The Ultimate Fighter 4, but his failure to make the middleweight title limit changed the main event into a non-title contest. Silva’s belt therefore was not at stake. The distinction matters: beating Lutter added a...

On October 14, 2006, UFC 64: Unstoppable crowned two champions at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Anderson Silva stopped Rich Franklin at 2:59 of the first round to take the middleweight title. Sean Sherk defeated Kenny Florian by unanimous decision to win the vacant lightweight championship....

Hughes controls Gracie on the ground Gracie’s return carried an unusual kind of anticipation. His early tournament victories had helped make Brazilian jiu-jitsu central to the UFC’s identity. Hughes represented a later era, combining wrestling, submission skills and strikes in a sport that had developed formal weight divisions and...

Sylvia recovers and recaptures the belt Arlovski had beaten Sylvia quickly at UFC 51 to win the interim heavyweight championship. By their rematch he was the undisputed champion, with successful defenses against Justin Eilers and Paul Buentello behind him. The opening exchanges at UFC 59 initially suggested he might...

Franklin survives a scare and takes the title Franklin and Tanner had fought before, but this rematch carried the middleweight belt. Tanner had won the vacant championship against David Terrell at UFC 51; Franklin arrived after stopping Ken Shamrock in a light heavyweight fight on the first Ultimate Fighter...

Hughes holds off Sherk over five rounds The main event matched two accomplished wrestlers in a contest that demanded sustained control rather than a single spectacular finish. Sherk had reached his title opportunity without a professional defeat, but Hughes established an advantage on the mat and made the challenger...

Bustamante defends through a disputed restart The controversy unfolded within this one championship fight. Bustamante caught Lindland in an armbar in the first round and released the hold after an apparent tap and the referee’s intervention. Lindland disputed that he had submitted, and John McCarthy allowed the bout to...

A new heavyweight champion Couture entered as heavyweight champion, but Barnett made the most of his opportunity. After a competitive opening round, Barnett finished the fight with punches at 4:35 of round two. The result gave Barnett the championship and ended Couture’s reign. Barnett’s title run was brief: he...

Pulver and Penn go five rounds Penn challenged for Pulver’s lightweight title in the event’s headlining bout. Their five-round contest went to the judges, who awarded Pulver a majority decision. The result preserved Pulver’s championship and gave Penn his first professional loss. It was the first time a UFC...

Three title fights, three decisions Ortiz and Matyushenko went the full five rounds in the main event. The judges awarded Ortiz a unanimous decision, preserving his place as light heavyweight champion. Matyushenko pushed the champion through the distance, but did not take the belt. Pulver also retained his championship...