UFC 116
| Company type | Sporting event |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mixed martial arts |
| Founded | July 3, 2010 |
| Headquarters | Las Vegas, Nevada , United States |
Area served | Global |
UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin was a mixed martial arts spectacle hosted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 3, 2010, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. This event earned the distinction of Best Major Show at the 2010 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards, marking a unique achievement as the sole MMA and UFC event to receive this honor.
Background
Following his victory over Frank Mir at UFC 111, interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin was set to challenge the reigning heavyweight titleholder Brock Lesnar. Their matchup had been planned for both UFC 106 and UFC 108, but Lesnar withdrew on both occasions due to complications from diverticulitis.
Originally, Cheick Kongo was scheduled to compete against Roy Nelson, but a back injury forced Kongo's withdrawal. Consequently, Nelson was matched with Junior dos Santos at UFC 117. Additionally, Alessio Sakara pulled out of his bout with Nate Marquardt following the passing of his father.
A preliminary fight between Jacob Volkmann and Paul Kelly was delayed because of Kelly's visa complications and rescheduled for the subsequent month. UFC newcomer Ricardo Romero was initially slated to face Steve Cantwell, but after that fight was canceled, Cantwell was replaced by returning UFC competitor Seth Petruzelli.
Julio Paulino withdrew from his scheduled contest with Daniel Roberts due to injury, with Forrest Petz stepping in as his replacement. Co-main event fighter Wanderlei Silva exited the card because of broken ribs and a knee injury; his opponent, Yoshihiro Akiyama, instead faced Chris Leben.
The bout between Kendall Grove and Goran Reljic, originally set for live preliminary broadcast on Spike TV, was removed from that slot after Grove publicly criticized Spike TV and The Ultimate Fighter. This led to the preliminary card featuring the fight between Petruzelli and Romero instead.
Dana White, UFC President, confirmed that the winner of the heavyweight championship bout would subsequently defend the title against the undefeated contender Cain Velasquez.
Bonus awards
Athletes were awarded $75,000 bonuses in the following categories:
- Fight of the Night: Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Stephan Bonnar and Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Chris Leben
- Knockout of the Night: Gerald Harris
- Submission of the Night: Brock Lesnar
Reported payout
The disclosed fighter payouts submitted to the Nevada State Athletic Commission exclude sponsorship earnings and discretionary bonuses from the UFC:
- Brock Lesnar received $400,000 (no win bonus) for defeating Shane Carwin ($40,000)
- Chris Leben earned $86,000 ($43,000 win bonus) over Yoshihiro Akiyama ($45,000)
- Chris Lytle took home $52,000 ($26,000 win bonus) defeating Matt Brown ($10,000)
- Stephan Bonnar was paid $50,000 ($25,000 win bonus) against Krzysztof Soszynski ($10,000)
- George Sotiropoulos earned $24,000 ($12,000 win bonus) beating Kurt Pellegrino ($25,000)
- Brendan Schaub received $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus) over Chris Tuchscherer ($12,000)
- Ricardo Romero gained $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) defeating Seth Petruzelli ($10,000)
- Kendall Grove earned $50,000 ($25,000 win bonus) against Goran Reljic ($5,000)
- Gerald Harris took home $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus) over Dave Branch ($6,000)
- Daniel Roberts received $12,000 ($6,000 win bonus) defeating Forrest Petz ($6,000)
- Jon Madsen earned $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) beating Karlos Vemola ($8,000)