UFC 121

UFC mixed martial arts event in 2010

UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez

The poster for UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez

Information

Promotion

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Date

October 23, 2010

Venue

Honda Center

City

Anaheim, California

Attendance

14,856^[1]

Total gate

$2,237,000^[1]

Buyrate

1,050,000^[2]

Event chronology

UFC 120: Bisping vs. Akiyama

UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez

UFC 122: Marquardt vs. Okami

UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 23, 2010 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, United States.^[3] The event was the fourth time the UFC has hosted at the Honda Center (formerly Arrowhead Pond) in Anaheim, California following UFC 59, UFC 63 and UFC 76 and the sixth event held in the Greater Los Angeles Area along with UFC 60 and UFC 104.

Background

Just like UFC 111, UFC 115, and UFC 118, UFC 121 was shown in movie theaters around the United States by NCM Fathom.^[4] UFC 121 featured the return of preliminary fights live on Spike TV.^[5] UFC Primetime also returned to promote the Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez title fight.^[6]

Jon Madsen was expected to face Todd Duffee, but Duffee was forced off the card with a lingering knee injury and replaced by Gilbert Yvel.^[7] The event was notable for the post-fight confrontation between professional wrestler The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar following Lesnar's loss to Cain Velasquez.^[8]

Results

Main Card (PPV)
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Heavyweight	Cain Velasquez	def.	Brock Lesnar (c)	TKO (punches)	1	4:12	^[a]
Welterweight	Jake Shields	def.	Martin Kampmann	Decision (split) (28–29, 30–27, 29–28)	3	5:00	^[b]
Welterweight	Diego Sanchez	def.	Paulo Thiago	Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Light Heavyweight	Matt Hamill	def.	Tito Ortiz	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27)	3	5:00
Heavyweight	Brendan Schaub	def.	Gabriel Gonzaga	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Preliminary card (Televised)
Middleweight	Court McGee	def.	Ryan Jensen	Submission (arm-triangle choke)	3	1:21
Middleweight	Tom Lawlor	def.	Patrick Côté	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Daniel Roberts	def.	Mike Guymon	Submission (anaconda choke)	1	1:13
Lightweight	Sam Stout	def.	Paul Taylor	Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 30–27)	3	5:00
Middleweight	Chris Camozzi	def.	Dongi Yang	Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Heavyweight	Jon Madsen	def.	Gilbert Yvel	TKO (punches)	1	1:48

^ For the UFC Heavyweight Championship
^ UFC Welterweight title eliminator only for Shields.

Bonus awards

Fighters were awarded $70,000 bonuses.^[9]

Fight of the Night: Diego Sanchez vs. Paulo Thiago
Knockout of the Night: Cain Velasquez
Submission of the Night: Daniel Roberts

Reported payout

The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the California State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money or "locker room" bonuses often given by the UFC and also do not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses.^[10]

Cain Velasquez: $200,000 ($100,000 win bonus) def. Brock Lesnar: $400,000
Jake Shields: $150,000 ($75,000 win bonus) def. Martin Kampmann: $27,000
Diego Sanchez: $100,000 ($50,000 win bonus) def. Paulo Thiago: $18,000
Matt Hamill: $58,000 ($29,000 win bonus) def. Tito Ortiz: $250,000
Brendan Schaub: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus) def. Gabriel Gonzaga: $67,000
Court McGee: $30,000 ($15,000 win bonus) def. Ryan Jensen: $10,000
Tom Lawlor: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus) def. Patrick Cote: $21,000
Daniel Roberts: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) def. Mike Guymon: $8,000
Sam Stout: $32,000 ($16,000 win bonus) def. Paul Taylor: $16,000
Chris Camozzi: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) def. Dong Yi Yang: $8,000
Jon Madsen: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) def. Gilbert Yvel: $30,000

Aftermath

On October 4, 2019, Velasquez made his WWE debut confronting Lesnar on the first episode of Friday Night SmackDown on Fox, thus setting up the match at Crown Jewel for the WWE Championship where Lesnar defeated Velasquez in 88 seconds.^[11]

References

^ ^a ^b "UFC 121 attendance and gate: 14,856 attendees, $2.2 million in ticket sales". mmajunkie.com. 2010-10-27.
^ Bishop, Matt (28 October 2010). "Report: UFC 121 trending to 'slightly more than 1M' PPV buys". MMA For Real.
^ "UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez". ufc.com. August 16, 2010.
^ "UFC 121 Hits Big Screens Nationwide | UFC". 14 September 2018.
^ "Spike TV to Telecast "UFC 121 Prelims" Featuring Court McGee vs. Ryan Jensen & Patrick Cote vs. Tom Lawlor on Saturday, October 23". ufc.com. August 19, 2010.
^ "UFC Primetime: Lesnar vs. Velasquez in the works. This Fan Shot was promoted to the front page". 25 August 2010.
^ "Gilbert Yvel, Jon Madsen to meet at UFC 121". lasvegassun.com. 24 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
^ "WWE's Undertaker Confronts Brock Lesnar Following UFC 121". 24 October 2010.
^ "UFC 121 bonuses: Velasquez, Roberts, Sanchez and Thiago claim $70K bonuses". mmajunkie.com. October 21, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012.
^ "UFC 121 salaries: Brock Lesnar's $400,000 tops event's $1.5 million payroll". mmajunkie.com. October 26, 2010.
^ Keller, Wade (October 11, 2019). "WWE adds two big matches to Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on Oct. 31 – Lesnar vs. Velasquez and Strowman vs. Tyson Fury". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved October 11, 2019.