UFC 135

Background

The Ultimate Fighting Championship had its first ever event in Denver nearly 20 years prior to UFC 135, but the promotion has not operated a pay-per-view event in the Mile High City since The Ultimate Ultimate in 1995. Zuffa, the UFC's parent company, was not the owner back then. UFC president Dana White, in an interview with MMAWeekly.com, says that the company has long been on a course to return to Denver, but they wanted to do it the right way. “We knew that we wanted to bring a big exciting card back to Denver, and we finally got it done.”

Jon Jones was expected to make his first title defense on August 6, 2011, at UFC 133 against Rashad Evans, but Jones was sidelined with a hand injury. It was initially announced that the hand injury would require surgery, but Jones opted for rest and rehabilitation without surgery after further consultations with doctors. Jones' injury was originally thought to keep him out of action until late 2011, but instead, he made his first title defense against Quinton Jackson at this event.

UFC 135 featured two preliminary fights live on Spike TV.

Manny Gamburyan was scheduled to face Diego Nunes. However, on August 15, it was announced Gamburyan had to pull out of the bout due to a shoulder injury. Then, on August 29, Nunes confirmed his own exit from the card, citing injury and a murder attempt on his father. The fight was later rescheduled for UFC 141, where Nunes won via unanimous decision.

A bout between Norifumi Yamamoto and Damacio Page was expected for this event. However, the bout was scrapped on September 1 after both fighters sustained injuries while training for the bout.

Diego Sanchez was expected to face Matt Hughes, but was forced out of the bout with a broken hand and replaced by Josh Koscheck. After this fight Matt Hughes was offered a non competitive role in the UFC which resulted in his retirement from MMA.

Results

|Light Heavyweight |Jon Jones (c) |def. |Quinton Jackson |Submission (rear-naked choke) |4 |1:14 |For the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. |Welterweight |Josh Koscheck |def. |Matt Hughes |KO (punches) |1 |4:59 | |Heavyweight |Mark Hunt |def. |Ben Rothwell |Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–27, 30–27) |3 |5:00 | |Heavyweight |Travis Browne |def. |Rob Broughton |Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) |3 |5:00 | |Lightweight |Nate Diaz |def. |Takanori Gomi |Submission (armbar) |1 |4:27 | |Lightweight |Tony Ferguson |def. |Aaron Riley |TKO (corner stoppage) |1 |5:00 | |Middleweight |Tim Boetsch |def. |Nick Ring |Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) |3 |5:00 | |Featherweight |Junior Assunção |def. |Eddie Yagin |Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–26, 30–27) |3 |5:00 | |Bantamweight |Takeya Mizugaki |def. |Cole Escovedo |TKO (punches) |2 |4:30 |This bout aired last on PPV broadcast following the Jones vs. Jackson fight. |Light Heavyweight |James Te Huna |def. |Ricardo Romero |KO (punches) |1 |0:47 |This bout aired on the Spike broadcast following the Ferguson vs. Riley fight.

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $75,000 bonuses.

• Fight of the Night: Jon Jones vs. Quinton Jackson
• Knockout of the Night: Josh Koscheck
• Submission of the Night: Nate Diaz

References

References

1. (September 27, 2011). "UFC 135 draws 16,344 for $2.1 million live gate; third-best attendance of 2011". [[MMAjunkie.com]].
2. "Boxing's Pacquiao remains the PPV king, so what can UFC do to compete?".
3. (14 September 2018). "UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage". ufc.com.
4. Samuels, Albert. (August 13, 2011). "UFC 135: Fight Card Lineup". MMAentry.com.
5. (July 24, 2011). "UFC President Dana White: We Always Planned to Come Back to Denver". MMAWeekly.com.
6. (April 25, 2011). "Jon "Bones" Jones Injured". MMAWeekly.com.
7. Helwani, Ariel. (2011-05-13). "Jon Jones Elects to Not Have Surgery on Injured Hand". MMAFighting.com.
8. (June 15, 2011). "As expected, champ Jon Jones and challenger "Rampage" Jackson headline UFC 135". mmajunkie.
9. Morgan, John. (July 18, 2011). "Spike TV adds "UFC Prelims" special for "UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage"". [[MMAjunkie.com]].
10. (August 15, 2011). "Injured Manny Gamburyan out of UFC 135 fight with Diego Nunes". mmajunkie.
11. (August 29, 2011). "Nunes confirms UFC 135 exit, awaits Gamburyan in December.". Sherdog.com.
12. (June 13, 2011). "Bantamweights "Kid" Yamamoto vs. Damacio Page targeted for UFC 135". mmajunkie.com.
13. (September 1, 2011). "Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto vs. Damacio Page scratched from UFC 135 prelims". mmajunkie.com.
14. (September 6, 2011). "Matt Hughes vs. Josh Koscheck official for UFC 135 in Denver". mmajunkie.com.
15. (September 24, 2011). "UFC 135 bonuses: Koscheck, Diaz, Jones and Jackson earn $75K fighter awards". [[MMAjunkie.com]].