UFC 135
| Industry | Mixed martial arts promotion |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1993 |
| Founder | Art Davie, Rorion Gracie |
| Headquarters | Las Vegas , United States |
Key people | Dana White (President) |
| Products | Mixed martial arts events |
| Website | www |
UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage was a mixed martial arts event organized by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 24, 2011, held at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado.
Background
This marked UFC's return to Denver for a pay-per-view event, the first since 1995's The Ultimate Ultimate. Dana White, the UFC president, highlighted the deliberate choice to schedule a major event in this city at this time.
Initially, champion Jon Jones was set to defend his belt against Rashad Evans at UFC 133 but had to pull out due to a hand injury. Choosing rehabilitation instead of surgery allowed Jones to recover faster than anticipated, enabling him to defend his title against Quinton Jackson at UFC 135.
The card included two preliminary bouts that aired live on Spike TV.
There were multiple alterations to the fight lineup: Manny Gamburyan withdrew because of a shoulder injury, and his opponent Diego Nunes also pulled out due to injury and personal reasons; their matchup was postponed to UFC 141. A bantamweight contest between Norifumi Yamamoto and Damacio Page was canceled after both sustained training injuries. After Diego Sanchez broke his hand, he was replaced by Josh Koscheck in the fight against Matt Hughes. Following this bout, Hughes moved into a non-competitive role within the UFC, marking his retirement from active MMA competition.
Results
{{MMAevent bout |Bantamweight |Takeya Mizugaki |def. |Cole Escovedo |TKO (punches) |2 |4:30 |} {{MMAevent bout |Light Heavyweight |James Te Huna |def. |Ricardo Romero |KO (punches) |1 |0:47 |}
Bonus awards
A $75,000 bonus was awarded to fighters for exceptional achievements:
- Fight of the Night: Jon Jones vs. Quinton Jackson
- Knockout of the Night: Josh Koscheck
- Submission of the Night: Nate Diaz