UFC 91

UFC mixed martial arts event in 2008

UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar

The poster for UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar

Information

Promotion

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Date

November 15, 2008

Venue

MGM Grand Garden Arena

City

Las Vegas, Nevada

Attendance

14,272 (10,845 paid)^[1]

Total gate

$4,815,675^[2]

Buyrate

1,010,000^[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

^ For the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

Bonus awards

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

Fight of the Night: Aaron Riley vs. Jorge Gurgel
Knockout of the Night: Jeremy Stephens
Submission of the Night: Dustin Hazelett

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

References

^ Thomas, Luke (2008-12-11). "Report: UFC 91 Does More Than 1 Million Pay-Per-View Buys". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
^ "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.
^ "Pay-per-view : MMAPayout.com: The Business of MMA". Archived from the original on 2011-06-27. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
^ "Couture Returns to Defend Heavyweight Crown against Lesnar on Nov. 15". UFC.com. Archived from the original on 2008-12-17.
^ "UFC 91: Couture vs Lesnar". tapology.com.
^ "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.
^ "Matt Brown tapped to replace Matt Riddle at UFC 91". Five Ounces of Pain. 2008-11-01. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
^ Gerbasi, Thomas (2008-11-11). "Leg Infection Forces Sadollah from UFC 91 Card". UFC.com. Retrieved 2008-11-11.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "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.
^ "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.