''UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Masvidal'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 79'') 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 November 28, 2015, at

Olympic Gymnastics Arena The Olympic Gymnastics Arena (), also known as the KSPO Dome since 2018, is an indoor arena located within the Olympic Park in Seoul, South Korea. It has a capacity of 15,000 and can be extended upto 20,000. It was constructed between 31 Aug ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Background

The event was the first that the organization hosted in

. A welterweight bout between former WEC and

UFC Lightweight Champion 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 ...

Benson Henderson Benson Henderson (born November 16, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist who competes for Bellator MMA, currently competing in their Lightweight division. He is a former UFC Lightweight Champion and WEC Lightweight Champion. As of Novembe ...

and former top contender Thiago Alves was expected to headline the event. However, on November 14, Alves pulled out the bout due to a broken rib and was replaced by

Jorge Masvidal Jorge Masvidal (born November 12, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Masvidal has been competing professionally since 2003; h ...

, who was originally scheduled to face

Dong Hyun Kim Kim Dong-hyun ( ko, 김동현, 金東炫; born November 17, 1981), anglicized as Dong Hyun Kim, is a retired South Korean mixed martial artist who most notably fought in the UFC's welterweight division. He was signed by the UFC after fighting ...

. Kim in turn faced Dominic Waters. A featherweight bout between

Doo Ho Choi Choi Doo-ho ( ko, 최두호; born April 10, 1991, often anglicized to Doo Ho Choi or Dooho Choi), is a South Korean mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship in their Featherweight division. Background Ch ...

and

Sam Sicilia Samuel Travis Sicilia (born February 1, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the featherweight division for Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2007, Sicilia formerly competed for the UFC, a ...

was originally booked for

UFC 173 ''UFC 173: Barão vs. Dillashaw'' was a mixed martial arts event held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 24, 2014. Background A Middleweight Championship bout between then champion Chris Weidman and number one contender V ...

and later UFC Fight Night: Mir vs. Duffee. However, Choi pulled out both times due to an injury and undisclosed reasons, respectively. The fight was later rescheduled for this event. A heavyweight bout between the 2006 Pride Open-Weight Grand Prix champion and 2012 K-1 World Grand Prix champion

Mirko Filipović Mirko Filipović (; born 10 September 1974), better known by his ring name Mirko Cro Cop, is a retired Croatian professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer and amateur boxer. He is mostly known for his time in Pride Fighting Championships. Cro C ...

and Anthony Hamilton was expected to serve as the co-main event. However, on November 10, Filipović abruptly announced his retirement, citing a shoulder injury as the main reason and also a series of recurring injuries and other effects of

ageing Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...

. Subsequently, on the following day, UFC officials confirmed that Filipović had in fact failed a drug test. The

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent d ...

(USADA) notified both Filipović and the UFC that he has been provisionally suspended due to a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation. Filipovic revealed he had taken HGH (Human Growth Hormone) to help recover from his injuries. Promotion officials also announced that Hamilton had been removed from the card and would be rescheduled for a new bout at a future event.

Hyun Gyu Lim Lim Hyun-Gyu (born January 16, 1985), often anglicized to Hyun Gyu Lim, is a South Korean mixed martial artist, who formerly competed in the UFC Welterweight division. Mixed martial arts career Biography and early career He first experience ...

was expected to face

Dominique Steele Dominique Steele (born January 25, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, he has also competed for the UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, Fight Ni ...

at the event. However, Lim pulled out of the bout on November 20 and was replaced by promotional newcomer

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses: *Fight of the Night: Seo Hee Ham vs. Cortney Casey *Performance of the Night: Doo Ho Choi and Dominique Steele

Aftermath

On November 24, 2017 at the Seoul Central District Court in South Korea,

Tae Hyun Bang Tae Hyun Bang (born April 15, 1983) is a South Korean mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Lightweight (MMA), Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2004, ...

was sentenced to a 10-month in prison, for accepting bribes in connection to throw his fight against Leo Kuntz for US$92,160, where he bet half of the bribe money on Kuntz. The three "brokers" who set up the plot were also sentenced. UFC officials warned both fighters of potential fight fixing when they noticed a big odd shift in the betting lines leading into the event. Therefore, Bang abandoned his plan and went on to win the fight. It was also reported that some mafia members issued death threats on Bang for they had bet US$1.7 million in favor of Kuntz to win.

References

{{UFC Events UFC Fight Night Mixed martial arts in South Korea Sports competitions in Seoul 2015 in mixed martial arts 2015 in South Korean sport November 2015 sports events in South Korea

Background

Results

Bonus awards

Aftermath

See also

References