UFC 144

Venue

UFC 144 was held at the Saitama Super Arena in the Chūō-ku central ward of Saitama City in Saitama Prefecture. The sellout event was held in the Super Arena's Main Stage Center Arena configuration, with a ticket cost of between ¥5,800 and ¥100,000 (ca. US$70 – US$1250).

Background

UFC 144 marked the UFC's fifth appearance in Japan, their first event in Japan since UFC 29 in 2000, and its first event in Japan since the 2007 purchase of Pride Fighting Championships, which held many of its cards at Saitama Super Arena. The UFC event featured seven fights on the main card.

George Sotiropoulos was expected to face Takanori Gomi at this event, but was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Eiji Mitsuoka.

Leonard Garcia was expected to face Zhang Tiequan at this event, but was forced out of the bout with an injury. Issei Tamura stepped in for Garcia and fought Zhang.

At the UFC 144 weigh ins, Quinton Jackson failed to make the 206 lb weight limit and came in 5 lbs overweight at 211 lbs. Jackson was fined 20 percent of his earnings and the bout was contested at a catchweight of 211 lb.

Results

|Lightweight |Benson Henderson |def |Frankie Edgar (c) |Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 48–47, 49–46) |5 |5:00 |For the UFC Lightweight Championship. |Catchweight (211 lb) |Ryan Bader |def |Quinton Jackson |Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) |3 |5:00 | |Heavyweight |Mark Hunt |def |Cheick Kongo |TKO (punches) |1 |2:11 | |Welterweight |Jake Shields |def |Yoshihiro Akiyama |Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) |3 |5:00 | |Middleweight |Tim Boetsch |def |Yushin Okami |TKO (punches) |3 |0:54 | |Featherweight |Hatsu Hioki |def |Bart Palaszewski |Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) |3 |5:00 | |Lightweight |Anthony Pettis |def |Joe Lauzon |KO (head kick and punches) |1 |1:21 | |Lightweight |Takanori Gomi |def |Eiji Mitsuoka |TKO (punches) |2 |2:21 | |Bantamweight |Vaughan Lee |def |Norifumi Yamamoto |Submission (armbar) |1 |4:29 | |Middleweight |Riki Fukuda |def |Steve Cantwell |Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27) |3 |5:00 | |Bantamweight |Chris Cariaso |def |Takeya Mizugaki |Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) |3 |5:00 | |Featherweight |Issei Tamura |def |Zhang Tiequan |KO (punch) |2 |0:32 |

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $65,000 bonuses.

• Fight of the Night: Frankie Edgar vs. Benson Henderson
• Knockout of the Night: Anthony Pettis
• Submission of the Night: Vaughan Lee

References

References

1. "UFC 144 early pay-per-view estimates reportedly at an impressive 375,000 buys". mmatorch.com.
2. "UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson". Ultimate Fighting Championship.
3. Non, Sergio. (26 February 2012). "Henderson outpoints Edgar, wins UFC title". USA Today.
4. link. (2012-04-16 {{in lang). ja
5. [http://www.saitama-arena.co.jp/seats_info/arena_center/ メインアリーナ – センターステージ] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-04-19 {{in lang). ja
6. [http://www.saitama-arena.co.jp/e/facility.html Facility information] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-04-17)
7. Nagatsuka, Kaz, "[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/sp20120228a1.html UFC hopes to shake up Japan fight scene]", ''[[Japan Times]]'', 28 February 2012, p. 15.
8. (27 January 2012). "Sotiropoulos Out; Eiji Mitsuoka Faces Takanori Gomi at UFC 144". mmaweekly.com.
9. (30 January 2012). "Leonard Garcia Injured and Out of UFC 144". mmaweekly.com.
10. MMAjunkie.com Staff. (February 11, 2012). "With Leonard Garcia hurt, Tiequan Zhang meets newcomer Issei Tamura at UFC 144". mmajunkie.com.
11. Shaun Al-Shatti. (February 24, 2012). "UFC 144 Weigh-In Results: Rampage Jackson Misses Weight". mmafighting.com.
12. (February 26, 2012). "UFC 144 bonuses: Pettis, Lee, Henderson and Edgar earn $65K awards". MMAjunkie.com.