UFC 121
UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 23, 2010 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, United States.[3] The event was the fourth time the UFC has hosted at the Honda Center (formerly Arrowhead Pond) in Anaheim, California following UFC 59, UFC 63 and UFC 76 and the sixth event held in the Greater Los Angeles Area along with UFC 60 and UFC 104.
| UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | October 23, 2010 | |||
| Venue | Honda Center | |||
| City | Anaheim, California | |||
| Attendance | 14,856[1] | |||
| Total gate | $2,237,000[1] | |||
| Buyrate | 1,050,000[2] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
Just like UFC 111, UFC 115, and UFC 118, UFC 121 was shown in movie theaters around the United States by NCM Fathom.[4] UFC 121 featured the return of preliminary fights live on Spike TV.[5] UFC Primetime also returned to promote the Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez title fight.[6]
Jon Madsen was expected to face Todd Duffee, but Duffee was forced off the card with a lingering knee injury and replaced by Gilbert Yvel.[7] The event was notable for the post-fight confrontation between professional wrestler The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar following Lesnar's loss to Cain Velasquez.[8]
Results
| Main Card (PPV) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Heavyweight | Cain Velasquez | def. | Brock Lesnar (c) | TKO (punches) | 1 | 4:12 | [lower-alpha 1] |
| Welterweight | Jake Shields | def. | Martin Kampmann | Decision (split) (28-29, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | [lower-alpha 2] |
| Welterweight | Diego Sanchez | def. | Paulo Thiago | Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Matt Hamill | def. | Tito Ortiz | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Brendan Schaub | def. | Gabriel Gonzaga | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card (Televised) | |||||||
| Middleweight | Court McGee | def. | Ryan Jensen | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | 3 | 1:21 | |
| Middleweight | Tom Lawlor | def. | Patrick Côté | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Daniel Roberts | def. | Mike Guymon | Submission (anaconda choke) | 1 | 1:13 | |
| Lightweight | Sam Stout | def. | Paul Taylor | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Chris Camozzi | def. | Dongi Yang | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Jon Madsen | def. | Gilbert Yvel | TKO (punches) | 1 | 1:48 | |
- For the UFC Heavyweight Championship
- UFC Welterweight title eliminator only for Shields.
Bonus awards
Fighters were awarded $70,000 bonuses.[9]
- Fight of the Night: Diego Sanchez vs. Paulo Thiago
- Knockout of the Night: Cain Velasquez
- Submission of the Night: Daniel Roberts
Reported payout
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the California State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money or "locker room" bonuses often given by the UFC and also do not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses.[10]
- Cain Velasquez: $200,000 ($100,000 win bonus) def. Brock Lesnar: $400,000
- Jake Shields: $150,000 ($75,000 win bonus) def. Martin Kampmann: $27,000
- Diego Sanchez: $100,000 ($50,000 win bonus) def. Paulo Thiago: $18,000
- Matt Hamill: $58,000 ($29,000 win bonus) def. Tito Ortiz: $250,000
- Brendan Schaub: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus) def. Gabriel Gonzaga: $67,000
- Court McGee: $30,000 ($15,000 win bonus) def. Ryan Jensen: $10,000
- Tom Lawlor: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus) def. Patrick Cote: $21,000
- Daniel Roberts: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) def. Mike Guymon: $8,000
- Sam Stout: $32,000 ($16,000 win bonus) def. Paul Taylor: $16,000
- Chris Camozzi: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) def. Dong Yi Yang: $8,000
- Jon Madsen: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) def. Gilbert Yvel: $30,000
Aftermath
On October 4, 2019, Velasquez made his WWE debut confronting Lesnar on the first episode of Friday Night SmackDown on Fox, thus setting up the match at Crown Jewel for the WWE Championship where Lesnar defeated Velasquez in 88 seconds.[11]
References
- "UFC 121 attendance and gate: 14,856 attendees, $2.2 million in ticket sales". mmajunkie.com. 2010-10-27.
- Bishop, Matt (28 October 2010). "Report: UFC 121 trending to 'slightly more than 1M' PPV buys". MMA For Real.
- "UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez". ufc.com. August 16, 2010.
- "UFC 121 Hits Big Screens Nationwide | UFC". 14 September 2018.
- "Spike TV to Telecast "UFC 121 Prelims" Featuring Court McGee vs. Ryan Jensen & Patrick Cote vs. Tom Lawlor on Saturday, October 23". ufc.com. August 19, 2010.
- "UFC Primetime: Lesnar vs. Velasquez in the works. This Fan Shot was promoted to the front page". 25 August 2010.
- "Gilbert Yvel, Jon Madsen to meet at UFC 121". lasvegassun.com. 24 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
- "WWE's Undertaker Confronts Brock Lesnar Following UFC 121". 24 October 2010.
- "UFC 121 bonuses: Velasquez, Roberts, Sanchez and Thiago claim $70K bonuses". mmajunkie.com. October 21, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012.
- "UFC 121 salaries: Brock Lesnar's $400,000 tops event's $1.5 million payroll". mmajunkie.com. October 26, 2010.
- Keller, Wade (October 11, 2019). "WWE adds two big matches to Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on Oct. 31 – Lesnar vs. Velasquez and Strowman vs. Tyson Fury". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
