''UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage'' was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

event held by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

on September 24, 2011 at the

Pepsi Center Ball Arena (formerly known as Pepsi Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado. It is situated at Speer Boulevard, a main thoroughfare in downtown Denver, and is served by two nearby exits off Interstate 25. A light r ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

Background

The Ultimate Fighting Championship had its first ever event in Denver nearly 20 years prior to UFC 135, but the promotion has not operated a pay-per-view event in the Mile High City since '' The Ultimate Ultimate'' in 1995. Zuffa, the UFC's parent company, was not the owner back then. UFC president Dana White, in an interview with MMAWeekly.com, says that the company has long been on a course to return to Denver, but they wanted to do it the right way. “We knew that we wanted to bring a big exciting card back to Denver, and we finally got it done.”

Jon Jones Jonathan Dwight Jones (born July 19, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which he has competed in the light heavyweight division. He is a former two-time UFC L ...

was expected to make his first title defense on August 6, 2011 at

UFC 133 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

against

Rashad Evans Rashad Anton Evans (born September 25, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist. Evans started his professional career in 2003, he was the Heavyweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 2 and is also a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, and a 2 ...

, but Jones was sidelined with a hand injury. It was initially announced that the hand injury would require surgery, but Jones opted for rest and rehabilitation without surgery after further consultations with doctors. Jones' injury was originally thought to keep him out of action until late 2011, but instead, he made his first title defense against

Quinton Jackson Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (born June 20, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist, actor and former professional wrestler, who most recently fought in the Bellator MMA. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and unified the Pride Middlew ...

at this event. ''UFC 135'' featured two preliminary fights live on Spike TV.

Manny Gamburyan Manvel Gamburyan ( hy, Մանվել Գամբուրյան; born May 8, 1981) is an Armenian mixed martial artist who has competed in the UFC's lightweight, featherweight, and bantamweight divisions. A professional competitor since 1999, he was a c ...

was scheduled to face Diego Nunes. However, on August 15, it was announced Gamburyan had to pull out of the bout due to a shoulder injury. Then, on August 29, Nunes confirmed his own exit from the card, citing injury and a murder attempt on his father. The fight was later rescheduled for

UFC 141 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

, where Nunes won via unanimous decision. A bout between

Norifumi Yamamoto was a Japanese mixed martial artist and kickboxer who competed in the bantamweight division of the UFC. He quickly gained popularity in the Shooto organization due to his aggressive, well-rounded style and controversial persona. He moved on to ...

and

Damacio Page Damacio James Page (born September 30, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing for Legacy Fighting Championship in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2005, Page has also formerly compete ...

was expected for this event. However, the bout was scrapped on September 1 after both fighters sustained injuries while training for the bout. Diego Sanchez was expected to face Matt Hughes, but was forced out of the bout with a broken hand and replaced by

Josh Koscheck Edinboro Fighting Scots Josh D. Koscheck (born November 30, 1977) is an American retired mixed martial artist who fought at Welterweight for the UFC and Bellator MMA. Koscheck made his debut with the UFC on the first season of the realit ...

. After this fight Matt Hughes was offered a non competitive role in the UFC which resulted in his retirement from MMA.

Results

Bonus awards

Fighters were awarded $75,000 bonuses. * Fight of the Night: Jon Jones vs. Quinton Jackson * Knockout of the Night: Josh Koscheck * Submission of the Night: Nate Diaz

References

External links

* {{UFC Events Ultimate Fighting Championship events 2011 in mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts in Colorado Sports competitions in Denver 2011 in Colorado Events in Denver