UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar
The poster for UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar
Information
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateNovember 15, 2008
VenueMGM Grand Garden Arena
CityLas Vegas, Nevada
Attendance14,272 (10,845 paid)[1]
Total gate$4,815,675[2]
Buyrate1,010,000[3]
Total purse$1,118,000
Event chronology
UFC 90: Silva vs. Côté UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar UFC: Fight for the Troops

UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on November 15, 2008, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.[4]

Background

The main event featured the return of UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture versus WWE's Brock Lesnar in a title bout. The decision to grant Lesnar—who was 1–1 in UFC fights at the time—the title shot was controversial at the time. Some felt it was premature and marketing driven, while others argued the relative lack of depth in the heavyweight division at the time left no clear-cut contenders to the belt.[5]

Matthew Riddle was forced to withdraw from his bout with Ryan Thomas due to an injury.[6] He was replaced by Matt Brown.[7]

Amir Sadollah withdrew from his fight against Nick Catone due to a leg infection. A replacement for Sadollah could not be found, therefore the middleweight bout was pulled from the card. A welterweight match between Dustin Hazelett and Tamdan McCrory, previously scheduled for the preliminary card, was moved to the main card.[8]

Unlike most UFC fight cards, every bout was aired on the PPV broadcast due to the quick endings of the main card bouts.

Also future Lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos made his UFC debut at this event.

Results

Main card (PPV)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Heavyweight Brock Lesnar def. Randy Couture (c) TKO (punches) 2 3:07 [a]
Lightweight Kenny Florian def. Joe Stevenson Submission (rear-naked choke) 1 4:03
Welterweight Dustin Hazelett def. Tamdan McCrory Submission (armbar) 1 3:59
Heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga def. Josh Hendricks TKO (punches) 1 1:01
Middleweight Demian Maia def. Nate Quarry Submission (rear-naked choke) 1 2:13
Preliminary card
Lightweight Aaron Riley def. Jorge Gurgel Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Lightweight Jeremy Stephens def. Rafael dos Anjos KO (punches) 3 0:39
Lightweight Mark Bocek def. Alvin Robinson Submission (rear-naked choke) 3 3:16
Welterweight Matt Brown def. Ryan Thomas Submission (armbar) 2 0:57
  1. ^ For the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

Bonus awards

Fighters were awarded $60,000 bonuses.[9]

Purses

The total payroll for the event was $1,118,000.[10]

Brock Lesnar: $450,000 (includes $200,000 win bonus) def. Randy Couture: $250,000

Kenny Florian: $80,000 ($40,000 win bonus) def. Joe Stevenson: $35,000

Dustin Hazelett: $28,000 ($14,000 win bonus) def. Tamdan McCrory: $10,000

Gabriel Gonzaga: $110,000 ($55,000 win bonus) def. Josh Hendricks: $8,000

Demian Maia: $40,000 ($20,000 win bonus) def. Nate Quarry: $25,000

Aaron Riley: $8,000 ($4,000 win bonus) def. Jorge Gurgel: $10,000

Jeremy Stephens: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) def. Rafael dos Anjos: $4,000

Mark Bocek: $18,000 ($9,000 win bonus) def. Alvin Robinson: $7,000

Matt Brown $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) def. Ryan Thomas: $3,000

See also

References

  1. ^ Thomas, Luke (2008-12-11). "Report: UFC 91 Does More Than 1 Million Pay-Per-View Buys". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  2. ^ "UFC 91 draws 10,845 paid for $4.8 million gate". MMAjunkie.com. 2008-11-21. Archived from the original on 2012-06-30. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  3. ^ "Pay-per-view : MMAPayout.com: The Business of MMA". Archived from the original on 2011-06-27. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  4. ^ "Couture Returns to Defend Heavyweight Crown against Lesnar on Nov. 15". UFC.com. Archived from the original on 2008-12-17.
  5. ^ "UFC 91: Couture vs Lesnar". tapology.com.
  6. ^ "MATT RIDDLE OUT OF UFC 91 BOUT DUE TO INJURY – MMA WEEKLY – Mixed Martial Arts & UFC News, Photos, Rankings & more". Mma Weekly. Archived from the original on 2008-11-03. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  7. ^ "Matt Brown tapped to replace Matt Riddle at UFC 91". Five Ounces of Pain. 2008-11-01. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  8. ^ Gerbasi, Thomas (2008-11-11). "Leg Infection Forces Sadollah from UFC 91 Card". UFC.com. Retrieved 2008-11-11.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "UFC 91 BONUSES YIELD $60,000 EACH – MMA WEEKLY – Mixed Martial Arts & UFC News, Photos, Rankings & more". Mma Weekly. 2008-11-16. Archived from the original on 2008-12-07. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  10. ^ "UFC 91 salaries: Brock Lesnar ($450k), Randy Couture ($250k) top earners". MMAjunkie.com. 2008-11-17. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2009-03-02.

External links

Ultimate Fighting Championship events
Categories