| UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | September 24, 2011 | |||
| Venue | Pepsi Center | |||
| City | Denver, Colorado | |||
| Attendance | 16,344 [1] | |||
| Total gate | $2,089,575 [1] | |||
| Buyrate | 520,000 [2] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 24, 2011, at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. [3]
The Ultimate Fighting Championship had its first ever event [4] 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.” [5]
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. [6] 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. [7] 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. [8]
UFC 135 featured two preliminary fights live on Spike TV. [9]
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. [10] Then, on August 29, Nunes confirmed his own exit from the card, citing injury and a murder attempt on his father. [11] 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. [12] However, the bout was scrapped on September 1 after both fighters sustained injuries while training for the bout. [13]
Diego Sanchez was expected to face Matt Hughes, but was forced out of the bout with a broken hand and replaced by Josh Koscheck. [14] After this fight Matt Hughes was offered a non competitive role in the UFC which resulted in his retirement from MMA.
| Main Card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Light Heavyweight | Jon Jones (c) | def. | Quinton Jackson | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 4 | 1:14 | [lower-alpha 1] |
| 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 | |
| Preliminary card (Spike TV) | |||||||
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| 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 | |
| Preliminary card (Facebook) | |||||||
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| 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 | [lower-alpha 2] |
| Light Heavyweight | James Te Huna | def. | Ricardo Romero | KO (punches) | 1 | 0:47 | [lower-alpha 3] |
Fighters were awarded $75,000 bonuses. [15]
The Ultimate Fighter is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen seasons on Spike TV. The show features professional MMA fighters living together in Las Vegas, Nevada, and follows them as they train and compete against each other for a prized six-figure contract with the UFC. The series debuted on January 17, 2005, with its first episode, "The Quest Begins". To date, there have been thirty one seasons of the show, two per calendar year, some years having only one season. Each season features either one or two weight classes in the tournament.
Rashad Anton Evans is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of Eagle Fighting Championship. Evans started his professional career in 2003, he was the Heavyweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 2 and is also a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, and a 2019 inductee of the UFC Hall of Fame.
Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto was a Japanese mixed martial artist and kickboxer who competed in the bantamweight division of the UFC. He quickly gained popularity in the Shooto organization due to his aggressive, well-rounded style and controversial persona. He moved on to K-1 Hero's, where he became the K-1 Hero's 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament Champion in December, 2005 after defeating Genki Sudo via a controversial TKO due to punches.
Ivan Menjivar was a Salvadorian-Canadian mixed martial artist who formerly fought in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Manvel Gamburyan is an Armenian mixed martial artist who has competed in the UFC's lightweight, featherweight, and bantamweight divisions. A professional competitor since 1999, he was a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter 5, and also competed in World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and King of the Cage (KOTC).
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Scott Roger Jorgensen is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, Jorgensen has formerly competed for the UFC, WEC, and ShoXC.
Diego Torresean Nunes is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. A professional since 2004, he has fought for the UFC, WEC, Bellator MMA, RXF, Fight Nights Global, and the Rizin Fighting Federation.
Damacio James Page is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing for Legacy Fighting Championship in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2005, Page has also formerly competed for the WEC, the UFC, Pancrase, King of the Cage, and also fought at K-1 Premium Dynamite 2006!!.
Takeya Mizugaki is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist who most notably competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor from 2005 to 2020, Mizugaki also competed for Absolute Championship Berkut, WEC, Shooto, and Cage Force.
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