UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson
UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson
Japan
Main Card • Final
United States
R5, 5:00
Title Fight
Fight of the Night
R3, 5:00
New Zealand
R1, 2:11
France
R3, 5:00
R3, 0:54
R3, 5:00
R1, 1:21
Knockout of the Night
Prelims • Final
R2, 2:21
England
R1, 4:29
Submission of the Night
R3, 5:00
R3, 5:00
Early Prelims • Final
R2, 0:32
China
Official Event Results
Title Bout
$65k FOTN
Official Post-Fight Bonus Awards
$65,000 Post-Fight Bonus Recipients
Fight of the Night: Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar each received $65,000 for their breathtaking 25-minute championship battle.
Knockout of the Night: Anthony Pettis earned $65,000 for his spectacular first-round head-kick knockout victory over Joe Lauzon.
Submission of the Night: Vaughan Lee captured $65,000 for locking in a slick first-round armbar submission against Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto.
Reported Payouts & Disclosed Purses
Fighter Purses & Total Payout Estimates
| Fighter | Result | Base Purse | Win / Finish Bonus | Performance Bonus | Estimated Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WIN | — | — | $65,000 | $65,000* | |
| LOSS | — | — | $65,000 | $65,000* | |
| WIN | — | — | — | — | |
| LOSS | — | — | — | — | |
| WIN | — | — | — | — | |
| LOSS | — | — | — | — | |
| WIN | — | — | — | — | |
| LOSS | — | — | — | — | |
| WIN | — | — | — | — | |
| LOSS | — | — | — | — | |
| WIN | — | — | — | — | |
| LOSS | — | — | — | — | |
| WIN | — | — | $65,000 | $65,000* | |
| LOSS | — | — | — | — | |
| WIN | — | — | — | — | |
| LOSS | — | — | — | — | |
| WIN | — | — | $65,000 | $65,000* | |
| LOSS | — | — | — | — | |
| WIN | — | — | — | — | |
| LOSS | — | — | — | — | |
| WIN | — | — | — | — | |
| LOSS | — | — | — | — | |
| WIN | — | — | — | — | |
| LOSS | — | — | — | — |
*Because UFC 144 was held in Saitama, Japan, athlete compensation was not subject to public commission disclosure regulations. Official contractual base purses and win bonuses were not made public. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson weighed in at 211 lbs (5 lbs over the light heavyweight non-title limit) and was fined 20% of his fight purse, which was awarded directly to Ryan Bader. Figures marked with an asterisk reflect officially confirmed post-fight performance awards ($65,000 each) distributed by the UFC.
Historic UFC Records Set
Promotional Records Established at UFC 144
UFC 144 marked the promotion’s long-awaited return to Japan for the first time since UFC 29 in December 2000, ending an absence of over 4,000 days in the historic martial arts heartland.
Former WEC champion Benson Henderson defeated Frankie Edgar via unanimous decision to become the 5th undisputed UFC Lightweight Champion in promotional history.
UFC 144 was the first UFC event hosted inside the legendary Saitama Super Arena, the longtime home of PRIDE FC, drawing 21,000 passionate spectators.
To celebrate the Japanese showcase, the UFC expanded the traditional five-fight PPV structure to a massive seven-fight main card, totaling 12 bouts across the complete card.
Anthony Pettis cemented his status as one of MMA’s most lethal dynamic strikers, folding bonus machine Joe Lauzon with a left head kick and punches in just 1:21 of round one.
Trailing 0-2 on all three judges’ scorecards, Tim Boetsch executed one of the greatest third-round comeback knockouts in middleweight history by finishing Yushin Okami with uppercuts.
Japanese newcomer Issei Tamura made an electric promotional debut on short notice, registering a vicious one-punch knockout of Tiequan Zhang in only 32 seconds of round two.
Former K-1 World Grand Prix champion Mark Hunt delighted his legion of Japanese fans by blistering Cheick Kongo with heavy right hands for his first UFC knockout win on Japanese soil.
British bantamweight Vaughan Lee became the first fighter in UFC history to submit legendary Japanese icon Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, locking up an armbar at 4:29 of round one.
Former PRIDE lightweight king Takanori Gomi brought the Saitama crowd to its feet, rebounding from early trouble to TKO fellow Japanese veteran Eiji Mitsuoka in the second round.
UFC 144 generated an arena-shattering $3,274,080 live gate across 21,000 attendees, ranking among the most financially successful international combat sports events of 2012.
Henderson and Edgar combined to land 155 significant strikes over five rounds in an instant classic that earned World MMA Awards Fight of the Year recognition.
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