''UFC 85: Bedlam'' was a
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world.
In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...
event held by the
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...
(UFC) on June 7, 2008, at
The O2 Arena in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
Background
The card was plagued by a number of injuries sustained by scheduled fighters, forcing the UFC to rework the card several times. Originally, the main event was to be between light heavyweights
Chuck Liddell
Charles David Liddell (born December 17, 1969) is an American former professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1998 to 2018, Liddell is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion (from 2005 to 2007) and i ...
and
Mauricio Rua; however, Rua required surgery on an injured knee and could not compete.
Rashad Evans
Rashad Evans (born September 25, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Light Heavyweight (MMA), Light Heavyweight division. Evans started his professional MMA career in 2003, and was the Heavyw ...
then replaced Rua in the main event with Liddell,
but Liddell was forced to withdraw from the card due to a hamstring injury.
The UFC then named
James Irvin as Liddell's replacement to fight Evans, but Irvin sustained a foot injury that forced him to pull out. Evans was then removed from the card as well.
The main event was ultimately changed to
Matt Hughes against
Thiago Alves. Hughes took the fight on short notice as a favor to the UFC and Alves came in four pounds overweight.
In other changes, a
Jonathan Goulet and
Paul Kelly match was cancelled when Goulet dropped out citing a lack of training time, followed by Kelly withdrawing before his opponent could be named because of an injury sustained in practice.
Due to legal problems which resulted in a lack of time to prepare for his fight with
Michael Bisping
Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (; born 28 February 1979) is an English former mixed martial artist, sports commentator, analyst, and actor. He competed in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship ( ...
,
Chris Leben was forced to withdraw from the card and the UFC announced
Jason Day would face Bisping.
Ryo Chonan
is a Japanese retired professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2001 to 2013, Chonan competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, PRIDE, Deep (mixed martial arts), DEEP, Dream (mixed ...
was replaced by
Kevin Burns
Kevin Burns (June 18, 1955September 27, 2020) was an American television and film producer, director, and screenwriter. His work can be seen on A&E, National Geographic Channel, E!, Animal Planet, AMC, Bravo, WE tv, Travel Channel, Lifetime, ...
,
and Neil Wain was replaced by
Eddie Sanchez.
Results
Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.
Alves, Burns, Wiman and Tavares earn $50K UFC 85 bonuses , MMAjunkie.com
*Fight of the Night: Matt Wiman vs. Thiago Tavares
*Knockout of the Night: Thiago Alves
*Submission of the Night: Kevin Burns
See also
* Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...
* List of UFC champions
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC Championship#Title match system, championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, ...
* List of UFC events
List of UFC events is a list of events held and scheduled by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. UFC's first event, UFC 1, took place on November 12, 1993. Each UFC event contains ...
* 2008 in UFC
References
External links
UFC 85 Event SiteOfficial UFC 85 Fight Card
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ufc 085
Ultimate Fighting Championship flagship events
2008 in mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts in the United Kingdom
Sport in the Royal Borough of Greenwich
2008 in sport in London
June 2008 sports events in the United Kingdom