UFC 168 explained

UFC 168: Weidman vs. Silva 2
Date:	December 28, 2013
Attendance:	15,650^[1]
Gate:	$6,238,792^[2]
Buyrate:	1,025,000^[3]

UFC 168: Weidman vs. Silva 2 was a mixed martial arts event held on December 28, 2013, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.^[4]

Background

The event was headlined by a UFC Middleweight Championship rematch between current champion Chris Weidman and former champion Anderson Silva. The two previously met at UFC 162, with Weidman winning via KO in the second round and earning the title.

Co-featured was a UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout between current champion Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate.^[5] The two met before under the Strikeforce banner in 2012 with Rousey winning via first round submission. This served as the coaches bout for The Ultimate Fighter 18.

Initially, it was announced that Rousey would face top contender Cat Zingano at this event, after Zingano defeated Tate at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale.^[6] ^[7] However, Zingano was pulled from the bout, and subsequently as coach for The Ultimate Fighter, after it was announced that she had suffered a knee injury and would be sidelined for several months. Tate was tabbed as the replacement and the rematch with Rousey was announced.^[8]

Shane del Rosario was expected to face Guto Inocente at the event, but both men pulled out of the bout, citing injuries. On November 26, 2013, del Rosario had two sudden heart attacks and died on December 9, 2013.^[9] ^[10]

Diego Brandão weighed in seven pounds over the featherweight limit of 146 lb. Brandão re-weighed and was 151.5, but was still fined 25% of his purse for missing weight.^[11]

Results

^[12]

Bonus awards

The following fighters were awarded $75,000 bonuses.^[13]

Fight of The Night: Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate
Knockout of The Night: Travis Browne
Submission of the Night: Ronda Rousey

Reported payout

The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses.^[14]

Chris Weidman: $500,000 (includes $200,000 win bonus) def. Anderson Silva: $600,000
Ronda Rousey: $100,000 (includes $50,000 win bonus) def. Miesha Tate: $28,000
Travis Browne: $56,000 (includes $28,000 win bonus) def. Josh Barnett: $170,000
Jim Miller: $92,000 (includes $46,000 win bonus) def. Fabricio Camoes: $8,000
Dustin Poirier: $46,000 (includes $23,000 win bonus) def. Diego Brandao: $20,000^
Uriah Hall: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Chris Leben: $51,000
Michael Johnson: $36,000 (includes $18,000 win bonus) def. Gleison Tibau: $39,000
Dennis Siver: $66,000 (includes $33,000 win bonus) def. Manvel Gamburyan: $25,000
John Howard: $32,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus) def. Siyar Bahadurzada: $17,000
William Macario: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Bobby Voelker: $12,000
Robert Peralta: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Estevan Payan: $10,000

^ Although not recognized on the official pay sheet, Brandao was fined 25% of his base pay ($5,000) for missing weight for the fight, half of that money went to NSAC and half to Poirier.

Notes and References

Web site: UFC 168 draws reported 15,650 attendance for $6.2 million live gate. Erickson, Matt. December 29, 2013. December 29, 2013.
Web site: Final UFC 168 gate ranks second all-time for MMA in Nevada in excess of $6.2 million. MMAjunkie Staff. January 6, 2014. January 6, 2014.
Web site: Pay Per View . MMAPayout.com . 2014-01-16 . 2014-01-16.
Web site: Weidman vs. Silva rematch heads UFC 168 on Dec. 28, Rousey vs. Tate II co-main . mmajunkie.com . Staff. July 13, 2013. July 13, 2013.
Web site: Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate II slated for year-end UFC 168 pay-per-view. mmajunkie.com. Staff. July 2, 2013. July 2, 2013.
Web site: Rousey to Coach TUF 18; Men/Women Bantamweights to Compete. TopMMANews.com. March 16, 2013. March 16, 2013. Keith Grienke.
Web site: TUF 17 Finale Aftermath: Ronda Rousey vs. Cat Zingano will be a monster . mmafighting.com. April 14, 2013. April 14, 2013. Dave Doyle.
Web site: Tate replacing Zingano on TUF. msn.foxsports.com.. May 28, 2013. May 28, 2013. A.J. Perez.
Web site: UFC 168 Loses Shane del Rosario vs. Guto Inocente Due to Injuries. uk.eurosport.yahoo.com. November 22, 2013. November 22, 2013. Staff.
Web site: Updated: UFC Heavyweight Shane del Rosario in Critical Condition After Suffering Cardiac Arrest. sherdog.com. November 27, 2013. November 27, 2013. Tristen Critchfield.
Web site: UFC 168: Diego Brandao fined 25% for missing weight, fight with Dustin Poirier still on . Bloody Elbow . December 31, 2013 . Mookie . Alexander . December 27, 2013.
Web site: UFC® 168: Weidman vs. Silva 2. Ultimate Fighting Championship. July 10, 2013.
Web site: UFC 168 bonuses: Rousey, Tate, Browne earn $75K, Rousey doubles up. MMAjunkie.com. Matt Erickson. 29 December 2013 . December 29, 2013.
Web site: UFC 168 salaries: Weidman, Silva's paydays lead $1.9 million disclosed payroll. MMAjunkie.com. December 30, 2013. December 30, 2013. Dann Stupp.