UFC 144

UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson
The poster for UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateFebruary 26, 2012
VenueSaitama Super Arena
CitySaitama, Japan
Attendance21,000 (paid: 18,000)
Buyrate375,000[1]
Event chronology
UFC on Fuel TV: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann

UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 26, 2012, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.[2]

Venue

UFC 144 was held at the Saitama Super Arena in the Chūō-ku central ward of Saitama City in Saitama Prefecture. The sellout[3] event was held in the Super Arena's[4] Main Stage Center Arena configuration,[5][6] with a ticket cost of between ¥5,800 and ¥100,000 (ca. US$70 – US$1250).[4]

Background

UFC 144 marked the UFC's fifth appearance in Japan, their first event in Japan since UFC 29 in 2000, and its first event in Japan since the 2007 purchase of Pride Fighting Championships, which held many of its cards at Saitama Super Arena. The UFC event featured seven fights on the main card.[7]

George Sotiropoulos was expected to face Takanori Gomi at this event, but was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Eiji Mitsuoka.[8]

Leonard Garcia was expected to face Zhang Tiequan at this event, but was forced out of the bout with an injury.[9] Issei Tamura stepped in for Garcia and fought Zhang.[10]

At the UFC 144 weigh ins, Quinton Jackson failed to make the 206 lb weight limit and came in 5 lbs overweight at 211 lbs. Jackson was fined 20 percent of his earnings and the bout was contested at a catchweight of 211 lb.[11]

Results

Main card
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Lightweight Benson Henderson def Frankie Edgar (c) Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 48–47, 49–46) 5 5:00 [a]
Catchweight (211 lb) Ryan Bader def Quinton Jackson Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Heavyweight Mark Hunt def Cheick Kongo TKO (punches) 1 2:11
Welterweight Jake Shields def Yoshihiro Akiyama Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Middleweight Tim Boetsch def Yushin Okami TKO (punches) 3 0:54
Featherweight Hatsu Hioki def Bart Palaszewski Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Lightweight Anthony Pettis def Joe Lauzon KO (head kick and punches) 1 1:21
Preliminary card (FX)
Lightweight Takanori Gomi def Eiji Mitsuoka TKO (punches) 2 2:21
Bantamweight Vaughan Lee def Norifumi Yamamoto Submission (armbar) 1 4:29
Middleweight Riki Fukuda def Steve Cantwell Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Bantamweight Chris Cariaso def Takeya Mizugaki Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Preliminary card (Facebook)
Featherweight Issei Tamura def Zhang Tiequan KO (punch) 2 0:32
  1. ^ For the UFC Lightweight Championship.

Bonus awards

Fighters were awarded $65,000 bonuses.[12]

  • Fight of the Night: Frankie Edgar vs. Benson Henderson
  • Knockout of the Night: Anthony Pettis
  • Submission of the Night: Vaughan Lee

See also

References

  1. ^ "UFC 144 early pay-per-view estimates reportedly at an impressive 375,000 buys". mmatorch.com. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  2. ^ "UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
  3. ^ Non, Sergio (26 February 2012). "Henderson outpoints Edgar, wins UFC title". USA Today. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  4. ^ a b 2012年2月のイベント/UFC JAPAN(in Japanese)
  5. ^ メインアリーナ – センターステージ(in Japanese)
  6. ^ Facility information Archived 2012-04-17 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Nagatsuka, Kaz, "UFC hopes to shake up Japan fight scene", Japan Times, 28 February 2012, p. 15.
  8. ^ "Sotiropoulos Out; Eiji Mitsuoka Faces Takanori Gomi at UFC 144". mmaweekly.com. 27 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
  9. ^ "Leonard Garcia Injured and Out of UFC 144". mmaweekly.com. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-30.
  10. ^ MMAjunkie.com Staff (February 11, 2012). "With Leonard Garcia hurt, Tiequan Zhang meets newcomer Issei Tamura at UFC 144". mmajunkie.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012.
  11. ^ Shaun Al-Shatti (February 24, 2012). "UFC 144 Weigh-In Results: Rampage Jackson Misses Weight". mmafighting.com.
  12. ^ "UFC 144 bonuses: Pettis, Lee, Henderson and Edgar earn $65K awards". MMAjunkie.com. February 26, 2012. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012.