UFC 108

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UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva recap

UFC 108 took place on January 2, 2010, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Attendance was 13,529, the live gate was about $1.97 million, and around 300,000 pay-per-view buys.

The event was hit hard by injuries, leading to many changes and cancellations. The planned main event was Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort, but Silva wasn’t fully healed from elbow surgery, so the fight was scrapped. A heavyweight title bout between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin was moved from UFC 106 to UFC 108, but it also did not happen because Lesnar had a medical condition.

A fight between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez was supposed to determine a title shot, but Nogueira pulled out with a severe staph infection. An interim belt bout between Velasquez and Carwin was ruled out because Carwin needed knee surgery. The Nogueira vs. Velasquez match was rescheduled for UFC 110 on February 21, 2010, not for an interim belt.

Other changes included Gabriel Gonzaga pulling out of a bout with Junior dos Santos due to illness, with Gilbert Yvel taking his place. Paul Daley was set to face Carlos Condit, but Condit withdrew with an injury and Dustin Hazelett was his replacement. Tyson Griffin also pulled out of his bout with Jim Miller; Sean Sherk stepped in but later pulled out as well, with Duane Ludwig taking his place. Martin Kampmann vs. Rory Markham was canceled due to a knee injury, and Jacob Volkmann replaced Markham. Steve Cantwell pulled out of his bout with Vladimir Matyushenko, leading to that fight being canceled.

Fighters received $50,000 bonuses, and the payouts reported to the Nevada State Athletic Commission were published (not including sponsor money or “fight night” bonuses). Paul Daley was fined 10% of his show money for missing the 170-pound weight limit, with $1,800 of the fine awarded to Dustin Hazelett.