UFC 149

Lore & Background

The main event featured Chan Sung Jung facing Dustin Poirier. The winner of this bout was linked to a potential bout with José Aldo for the UFC Featherweight Championship, but that fight did not materialize until 15 months later at UFC 163.

In Their Own Story

The O2 Arena hummed at eleven-forty p.m. on a cold December night, the air thick with the smell of sweat and the low thrum of bass from the sound system. In the walkway beyond the curtain, Jon Jones sat on a bench, hands wrapped, eyes half-closed. He could hear the crowd through the concrete—a wall of sound that never broke. Across the cage, Chael Evans bounced on the balls of his feet, mouthguard in, jaw set. The referee called them to the centre. Gloves touched. The bell rang, and for five rounds the two men traded blows under the harsh white lights while sixty thousand voices shook the glass ceiling above. When the referee finally waved it off in the fifth, Jones dropped to his knees, arms spread, and the roar that followed felt like the arena itself was breathing.

Reader's Guide

The event was initially referred to as UFC on FX 3, but was since clarified to be a Fuel TV event.

Did You Know?

• Brandon Vera was briefly scheduled to face Thiago Silva in a rematch, but Vera was forced out with an injury.
• Yves Edwards was expected to face Donald Cerrone but was replaced by Jeremy Stephens.
• The event had a reported payout to fighters as filed with the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation.