UFC 126

Lore & Background

Former Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort was scheduled to fight Yushin Okami at UFC 122, but instead challenged Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva for the belt. Belfort was originally scheduled to compete against Silva on January 2, 2010, at UFC 108, but due to an injury sustained by Silva, the fight was postponed until February 6, 2010, at UFC 109 and April 10, 2010, at UFC 112, respectively; both fights were cancelled. A bout between Kenny Florian and Evan Dunham was expected but moved to UFC: Fight For The Troops 2. A bout between Jon Fitch and Jake Ellenberger was expected; Fitch was pulled and instead fought B.J. Penn at UFC 127, while Ellenberger fought Carlos Eduardo Rocha. Sam Stout was originally scheduled to face Paul Kelly but dropped off due to injury; Donald Cerrone replaced him in the first UFC lightweight fight featuring a fighter imported from the World Extreme Cagefighting following their merger in December 2010. UFC 126 featured two preliminary fights live on Spike TV and one on Facebook.

In Their Own Story

The MGM Grand Garden Arena hummed with a low, electric murmur, the kind of sound that builds in the minutes before the cage doors swing open. The lights cut down to a single white spot on the octagon floor, and the crowd's noise shifted from restless to reverent. In the corner, a fighter in blue trunks tapped his gloves together, jaw set, eyes tracking the walkway. Across the cage, his opponent exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders. The announcer's voice rolled through the speakers, and the arena erupted. Two men circled, feinted, found each other in the center, and the night belonged to the sport.

Reader's Guide

The event featured a main event between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort. Bonus awards: Fight of the Night – Donald Cerrone vs. Paul Kelly ($75,000 each), Knockout of the Night – Anderson Silva ($75,000), Submission of the Night – Jon Jones ($75,000). Reported payouts (as disclosed to the Nevada State Athletic Commission): Anderson Silva $200,000 (no win bonus) def. Vitor Belfort $275,000; Forrest Griffin $275,000 ($150,000 win bonus) def. Rich Franklin $75,000; Jon Jones $140,000 ($70,000 win bonus) def. Ryan Bader $20,000; Jake Ellenberger $32,000 ($16,000 win bonus) def. Carlos Eduardo Rocha $8,000; Miguel Torres $56,000 ($28,000 win bonus) def. Antonio Banuelos $9,000; Donald Cerrone $36,000 ($18,000 win bonus) def. Paul Kelly $19,000; Chad Mendes $19,000 ($9,500 win bonus) def. Michihiro Omigawa $8,000; Demetrious Johnson $10,000 ($5,000 win bonus) def. Norifumi Yamamoto $15,000; Paul Taylor $36,000 ($18,000 win bonus) def. Gabe Ruediger $8,000; Kyle Kingsbury $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus) def. Ricardo Romero $10,000; Mike Pierce $28,000 ($14,000 win bonus) def. Kenny Robertson $6,000.

Did You Know?

• Anderson Silva was the Middleweight Champion at the time of the event.
• Donald Cerrone was the first WEC import to fight in a UFC lightweight bout after the merger.
• The event was held on February 5, 2011, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.