UFC 138

Background

After several tentatively scheduled 2011 events at various locations around the United Kingdom did not materialize, including Glasgow, Liverpool, London as well as a planned return to Ireland, it was expected that the organization would not hold an event in the area during 2011.

The main event was the first non-title five round fight in the history of the UFC.

Mark Scanlon was expected to face James Head at this event. However, Scanlon was pulled from the bout and replaced by promotional newcomer John Maguire Then, on September 28, Head himself pulled out of the fight due to an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Justin Edwards.

Pascal Krauss was expected to face John Hathaway at this event. However, on August 30 Krauss pulled out of the bout citing a shoulder injury, and was replaced by Matt Brown. Then on October 17 it was announced that Hathaway was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury as well. As a result, Brown was pulled from the event and will face Seth Baczynski at UFC 139.

Phil De Fries was expected to face Oli Thompson at this event. However, on October 17 it was announced that Thompson was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury. De Fries fought Rob Broughton at this event instead.

Anthony Njokuani was scheduled to fight Paul Taylor on the main card. However, Taylor sustained a whiplash injury during a minor traffic collision on November 1 forcing him from the bout. Due to insufficient time to find a replacement, Njokuani was moved to a future card, while a prelim fight between Cyrille Diabate and Anthony Perosh was promoted to the main card.

This event averaged 1.8 million viewers on Spike TV.

After the event Chris Leben tested positive for illegal substances and was subsequently suspended for a year.

Results

|Middleweight |Mark Muñoz |def. |Chris Leben |TKO (corner stoppage) |2 |5:00 |First non-title bout scheduled for 5 rounds in UFC history. Leben tested positive for oxycodone and oxymorphone. |Bantamweight |Renan Barão |def. |Brad Pickett |Submission (rear-naked choke) |1 |4:09 | |Welterweight |Thiago Alves |def. |Papy Abedi |Submission (rear-naked choke) |1 |3:32 | |Light Heavyweight |Anthony Perosh |def. |Cyrille Diabaté |Submission (rear-naked choke) |2 |3:09 | |Lightweight |Terry Etim |def. |Edward Faaloloto |Submission (guillotine choke) |1 |0:17 | |Welterweight |John Maguire |def. |Justin Edwards |Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) |3 |5:00 |This bout aired on the broadcast following the Muñoz vs Leben bout. |Heavyweight |Phil De Fries |def. |Rob Broughton |Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) |3 |5:00 | |Featherweight |Michihiro Omigawa |def. |Jason Young |Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) |3 |5:00 | |Welterweight |Che Mills |def. |Chris Cope |TKO (knees and punches) |1 |0:40 |This bout aired on the broadcast following the Perosh vs Diabaté bout. |Bantamweight |Chris Cariaso |def. |Vaughan Lee |Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) |3 |5:00 |

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $70,000 bonuses.

• Fight of the Night: Brad Pickett vs. Renan Barão
• Knockout of the Night: Che Mills
• Submission of the Night: Terry Etim

References

References

1. (November 5, 2011). "UFC 138 draws a reported 10,823 attendees for record-setting $1.5 million live gate". [[MMAjunkie.com]].
2. (September 6, 2011). "UFC 138: Leben vs. Muñoz". ufc.com.
3. (July 19, 2011). "UFC 138 Fight Card Updates". ufc.com.
4. Samuels, Albert. (August 13, 2011). "UFC 138: Fight Card Lineup". MMAentry.com.
5. Holland, Jesse. (June 8, 2011). "Marshall Zelaznik: UFC has a 'less than 20-percent chance' of bringing an event to the UK in 2011". mmamania.com.
6. Helwani, Ariel. (July 19, 2011). "Leben vs. Muñoz Will Be Five-Round Fight". mmafighting.com.
7. (July 21, 2011). "Scanlon vs. Head To Feature At UFC 138". YourMMA.tv.
8. "Mark Scanlon out of UFC 138, John Maguire debuts against James Head". mmajunkie.com.
9. (September 28, 2011). "James Head out, Justin Edwards in". The Fight Lounge.
10. "John Hathaway vs. Pascal Krauss set for UFC 138 in England". MMAJunkie.com.
11. "Matt Brown replaces Pascal Krauss, meets John Hathaway at UFC 138". mmajunkie.com.
12. "Hathaway, Thompson out of UFC 138". UFC.com.
13. "After injuries, Brown-Baczynski at UFC 139". mmajunkie.com.
14. (November 1, 2011). "UFC 138 loses Taylor-Njokuani, Diabate-Perosh promoted to main card". MMA Junkie.
15. "Welcome to nginx".
16. (2011-11-28). "Leben Suspended After UFC 138". ufc.com.
17. (November 5, 2011). "UFC 138 bonuses: Mills, Etim, Barao and Pickett net $70,000 awards". [[MMAjunkie.com]].