''UFC 166: Velasquez vs. dos Santos III'' 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 on October 19, 2013, at the

Toyota Center Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once the home of the Hous ...

in Houston, Texas.

Background

The main event was a

UFC Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

bout between the current champion

Cain Velasquez Caín Ramirez Velasquez (born July 28, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and retired mixed martial artist, currently appearing for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). He is widely known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, ...

and top contender

Junior dos Santos Junior dos Santos (; born 30 January 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who competes in the Heavyweight division of Eagle FC. As a mixed martial artist, he is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion; as a profession ...

. The two have split their two previous encounters with Dos Santos winning the first bout via first round knockout at UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. dos Santos and then Velasquez winning the rematch via unanimous decision at

UFC 155 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 ...

. A bout between

Tony Ferguson Anthony Armand Ferguson Padilla (born February 12, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former Interim UFC Lightweight C ...

and

Khabib Nurmagomedov Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov av, ХIабиб ГӀабдулманапил НурмухӀамадов (born 20 September 1988) is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the lightweight division of the Ultima ...

was rescheduled from

UFC 164 ''UFC 164: Henderson vs. Pettis 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held on August 31, 2013, at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Background The main event was expected to be a UFC Lightweight Championship bout between the c ...

however visa complications left Nurmagomedov unable to compete and was subsequently replaced by Mike Rio. A bout between

George Roop George H. Roop (born November 10, 1981) is a retired mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's '' The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir'', winning his preliminary and first round fights. He fought as a bantamweight in th ...

and Francisco Rivera was scheduled for this card, but was moved to

UFC Fight Night 31 ''UFC: Fight for the Troops 3'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 31'') was a mixed martial arts event held on November 6, 2013, at Fort Campbell in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The event was broadcast live on Fox Sports 1. Background The event was th ...

and replaced by Sarah Kaufman vs.

Jessica Eye Jessica Jo-Anne Eye (born July 27, 1986) is an American retired mixed martial artist. She competed as a flyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Early life Jessica Eye was born in Akron, Ohio to Randy Allen and Colleen Joanne Eye. ...

Matt Grice Donald Matthew Grice (born July 29, 1981) is an American police officer and retired mixed martial artist. He was in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, fighting in the featherweight division before suffering a traumatic brain injury in a traffic ...

was expected to face Jeremy Larsen at the event. However, Grice was forced out of the bout after sustaining serious injuries in a September 8 car accident in his home state of Oklahoma. Grice was replaced by

Charles Oliveira Charles Oliveira da Silvahttp://boxing.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/boxingnvgov/content/results/2014_Results/12-12-14MMA.pdf (born October 17, 1989) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. He currently com ...

who also lost his original opponent, Estevan Payan, due to injury. Subsequently on October 5, Oliveira pulled out of the Larsen bout citing a strained thigh muscle. Larsen instead faced promotional newcomer

Andre Fili Andre Riley Givens (born June 25, 1990) better known by the name Andre Fili is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division. Fili is of Samoan and Native Hawaiian descent and is currently signed with the Ultimate ...

Luke Rockhold Luke Skyler Rockhold (born October 17, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He is best known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competed in the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight division. ...

was expected to face Tim Boetsch at the event. However, Rockhold was forced out of the bout citing a knee injury and was replaced by

C.B. Dollaway Clarence Byron "C. B." Dollaway (born August 10, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional since 2006, he formerly fought in the UFC and was a finalist on SpikeTV's ''The Ulti ...

. Andre Fili weighed in 2.5 pounds too heavy. As a result, 20-percent of Fili's purse was forfeited to his opponent, Jeremy Larsen.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters were awarded $60,000 bonuses. * Fight of The Night: Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez * Knockout of The Night: John Dodson * Submission of the Night: Tony Ferguson

References

{{UFC Events Ultimate Fighting Championship events 2013 in mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts in Houston Sports competitions in Houston 2013 in sports in Texas

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References