UFC 81
| UFC 81: Breaking Point | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 81: Breaking Point | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | February 2, 2008 | |||
| Venue | Mandalay Bay Events Center | |||
| City | Las Vegas, Nevada | |||
| Attendance | 10,583 (7,167 paid) | |||
| Total gate | $2,437,890 | |||
| Buyrate | 600,000 | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 81: Breaking Point was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held on February 2, 2008 by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas Strip.
Background
The main event featured Tim Sylvia and Antônio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira for the UFC Interim World Heavyweight Championship. UFC Heavyweight champion Randy Couture declined a championship fight with Nogueira,[1] which resulted in the creation of the interim title.
This event also saw the UFC debut of WWE wrestler Brock Lesnar in a bout against former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir.[2]
Results
| Main card (PPV) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Heavyweight | Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira | def. | Tim Sylvia | Submission (guillotine choke) | 3 | 1:28 | [a] |
| Heavyweight | Frank Mir | def. | Brock Lesnar | Submission (kneebar) | 1 | 1:30 | [b] |
| Middleweight | Nate Marquardt | def. | Jeremy Horn | Submission (guillotine choke) | 2 | 1:37 | |
| Middleweight | Ricardo Almeida | def. | Rob Yundt | Submission (guillotine choke) | 1 | 1:08 | |
| Lightweight | Tyson Griffin | def. | Gleison Tibau | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card | |||||||
| Welterweight | Chris Lytle | def. | Kyle Bradley | KO (punches) | 1 | 0:33 | |
| Middleweight | Marvin Eastman | def. | Terry Martin | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Tim Boetsch | def. | David Heath | TKO (slam and punches) | 1 | 4:52 | |
| Lightweight | Rob Emerson | def. | Keita Nakamura | Decision (split) (30–27, 28–29, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
- ^ For the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship.
- ^ Lesnar had 1 point taken away in round 1 for strikes to the back of the head.
Bonus awards
At the end of this event, $60,000 was awarded to each of the fighters who received one of these three awards.[3]
- Fight of the Night: Tim Sylvia vs. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira
- Knockout of the Night: Chris Lytle
- Submission of the Night: Frank Mir
References
- ^ Morgan, Adam (December 4, 2007). "Randy Couture Turns Down Title Defense Against Minotauro Nogueira". Five Ounces of Pain. Archived from the original on February 24, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- ^ "Super Bowl Showdown set between Lesnar and Mir". ufc.com. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
- ^ Stupp, Dan (February 3, 2008). "Nogueira, Sylvia, Lytle and Mir Earn $60,000 UFC 81 "Fight Night" Bonuses". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
