UFC 79

UFC mixed martial arts event in 2007

UFC 79: Nemesis

The poster for UFC 79: Nemesis

Information

Promotion

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Date

December 29, 2007

Venue

Mandalay Bay Events Center

City

Las Vegas, Nevada

Attendance

11,075 (10,968 paid)

Total gate

$4,994,000

Buyrate

650,000^[1]

Event chronology

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra Finale

UFC 79: Nemesis

UFC 80: Rapid Fire

UFC 79: Nemesis was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), that took place on December 29, 2007, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.^[2]

Background

The main events featured the fight between Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva,^[3] as well as the rubber match between former UFC Welterweight Champions Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes for the interim Welterweight championship.^[4]

Additionally, Pride Light Heavyweight Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou made his UFC debut against undefeated Lyoto Machida.^[5]

The main event was originally scheduled to have The Ultimate Fighter 6 coaches Matt Serra and Matt Hughes for Serra's UFC Welterweight Championship, which Serra won at UFC 69: Shootout on April 7, 2007, in an upset victory over Georges St-Pierre.^[2] Serra, however, withdrew from the fight due to a back injury,^[6] Serra was replaced by St-Pierre, though the fight would now be contested for the interim Welterweight Championship, with the winner facing Serra afterwards.

Results

Main card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Welterweight	Georges St-Pierre	def.	Matt Hughes	Verbal Submission (armbar)	2	4:54	^[a]
Light Heavyweight	Chuck Liddell	def.	Wanderlei Silva	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Heavyweight	Eddie Sanchez	def.	Soa Palelei	TKO (punches)	3	3:24
Light Heavyweight	Lyoto Machida	def.	Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou	Submission (arm-triangle choke)	2	4:20
Lightweight	Rich Clementi	def.	Melvin Guillard	Submission (rear-naked choke)	1	4:40
Preliminary card
Light Heavyweight	James Irvin	def.	Luiz Cane	Disqualification (illegal knee)	1	1:51
Lightweight	Manvel Gamburyan	def.	Nate Mohr	Submission (ankle lock)	1	1:31	^[b]
Middleweight	Dean Lister	def.	Jordan Radev	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Roan Carneiro	def.	Tony DeSouza	TKO (punches)	2	3:33
Lightweight	Mark Bocek	def.	Doug Evans	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00

^ For the interim UFC Welterweight Championship.
^ This bout was aired on the broadcast following the St-Pierre vs Hughes bout.

Bonus awards

At the end of this event, $50,000 was awarded to each of the fighters who received one of these three awards.^[7]

Fight of the Night: Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva
Knockout of the Night: Eddie Sanchez
Submission of the Night: Georges St-Pierre

References

^ "Pay-per-view : MMAPayout.com: The Business of MMA". Archived from the original on 2011-06-27. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
^ ^a ^b "UFC 79: Nemesis features Serra vs Hughes on December 29th". UFC.com. October 17, 2007. Archived from the original on October 19, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
^ "Finally, Two Legends Meet". ufc.com. October 24, 2007. Archived from the original on October 24, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
^ "BREAKING NEWS: Matt Fighting Georges St-Pierre at UFC 79!". ufc.com. November 24, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-11-26. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
^ Gerbasi, Thomas (November 15, 2007). "UFC Inks Sokoudjou; "The African Assassin" to Debut vs Machida at UFC 79". ufc.com. Archived from the original on November 16, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
^ "Serra Injured, Withdraws From UFC 79 Card". ufc.com. November 22, 2007. Archived from the original on November 24, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-22.
^ Stupp, Dan (December 30, 2007). "UFC Issues $200,000 in UFC 79 Bonuses". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2007-12-30.