UFC: Fight for the Troops
UFC: Fight for the Troops (also known as UFC Fight Night 16) was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on December 10, 2008, at the Cumberland County Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina.[1][2]
| UFC: Fight for the Troops | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC: Fight for the Troops | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | December 10, 2008 | |||
| Venue | Cumberland County Crown Coliseum | |||
| City | Fayetteville, North Carolina | |||
| Attendance | 8,200 | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
The event was the first of many the UFC held to support the military. It helped raise money for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which provides support for severely wounded military personnel and veterans and the families of military personnel lost in service.[3] The event reportedly raised $4 million during its three-hour broadcast.[4]
The event was officially announced on September 17, 2008 during UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Neer.
Razak Al-Hassan replaced Brian Stann against Steve Cantwell on this card. Also, Jim Miller came in with only three weeks notice as a late replacement for Frankie Edgar against Matt Wiman.
The event resulted in an unusual number of serious injuries. Corey Hill, Razak Al-Hassan, Brandon Wolff, Jonathan Goulet, Nate Loughran, and Yoshiyuki Yoshida were all hospitalized for injuries sustained during their fights.[5]
The referees assigned for the event were Dan Miragliotta, Donnie Jessup, Al Coley, and Mario Yamasaki.
Results
| Main card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Welterweight | Josh Koscheck | def. | Yoshiyuki Yoshida | KO (punch) | 1 | 2:15 | |
| Welterweight | Mike Swick | def. | Jonathan Goulet | KO (punches) | 1 | 0:33 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Steve Cantwell | def. | Razak Al-Hassan | Technical submission (armbar) | 1 | 4:04 | |
| Middleweight | Tim Credeur | def. | Nate Loughran | TKO (rib injury) | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Jim Miller | def. | Matt Wiman | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–26, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card | |||||||
| Catchweight (173.5 lb) | Luigi Fioravanti | def. | Brodie Farber | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | [lower-alpha 1] |
| Welterweight | Steve Bruno | def. | Johnny Rees | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 3:44 | |
| Welterweight | Ben Saunders | def. | Brandon Wolff | TKO (knees) | 1 | 1:49 | [lower-alpha 2] |
| Lightweight | Dale Hartt | def. | Corey Hill | TKO (broken leg) | 2 | 0:20 | |
| Heavyweight | Justin McCully | def. | Eddie Sanchez | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
- This bout was aired on the broadcast following the Cantwell vs Al-Hassan bout.
- This bout was aired on the broadcast following the Fioravanti vs Farber bout.
Bonus awards
At the end of the night, the UFC awarded $30,000 to each of the fighters who received one of these awards:[6]
- Fight of the Night: Matt Wiman vs. Jim Miller
- Knockout of the Night: Josh Koscheck
- Submission of the Night: Steve Cantwell
References
- "Paramount Network".
- "UPDATE: Spike TV Press Release: "Fight for the Troops" NOT at Fort Bragg". 3 October 2008.
- "Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund". 8 February 2017.
- "- UFC FIGHT FOR THE TROOPS RAISES $4 MILLION-PLUS - MMA WEEKLY - Mixed Martial Arts & UFC News, Photos, Rankings & more". www.mmaweekly.com. Archived from the original on 2008-12-20.
- CBS Sports – Hill's broken tibia heads injury list from 'Fight for the Troops' Archived 2008-12-12 at the Wayback Machine
- "UFC fighters given $30K bonuses at 'Fight for Troops'". Sports Illustrated. 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2018-09-29.
