UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs. Arlovski
| Company type | Mixed martial arts event |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sports entertainment |
| Founded | September 13, 2014 |
| Headquarters | Brasília , Brazil |
UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs. Arlovski, also referred to as UFC Fight Night 51, was a mixed martial arts competition conducted on September 13, 2014, at the Ginásio Nilson Nelson located in Brasília, Brazil.
Background
This event represented the UFC's debut in Brazil’s capital city. The headline bout was a heavyweight rematch featuring Antônio Silva against Andrei Arlovski, following Silva’s unanimous decision victory at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery.
Originally, Mike Rhodes was scheduled to compete against Paulo Thiago, but he pulled out due to injury. His replacement, seasoned fighter Joe Riggs, also withdrew after sustaining a non-life-threatening accidental gunshot wound. Consequently, Sean Spencer was brought in to face Thiago.
Sérgio Moraes had to withdraw from his fight with Santiago Ponzinibbio because of a knee injury; promotional newcomer Wendell Oliveira stepped in as his substitute.
Valérie Létourneau also exited her matchup against Jéssica Andrade citing injury concerns and was replaced by newcomer and former Jungle Fight women’s bantamweight titleholder Larissa Pacheco.
Promotional debutant Łukasz Sajewski was removed from his initial contest against Leonardo Santos, who then faced off against Efrain Escudero. Meanwhile, Escudero’s originally scheduled opponent, Francisco Trinaldo, competed against Leandro Silva instead.
Bonus awards
A $50,000 bonus was awarded to the following fighters:
- Fight of the Night: Gleison Tibau vs. Piotr Hallmann^
- Performance of the Night: Andrei Arlovski and Godofredo Pepey
^ Piotr Hallmann’s bonus was revoked after he tested positive for drostanolone following the event.