UFC 160 gate totals nearly $3 million

Photo by Esther Lin for MMAFighting.com/Thomas Myers MMAMania

The official numbers are in for UFC 160, and according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion pulled in a great haul for perhaps its most entertaining pay-per-view (PPV) event of the year to date.

The bigger they are, the bigger the box office draw.

UFC 160, which took place at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 25, 2013, tallied a live gate of $2,942,365 million, according to official figures from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) released today.

The final attendance of 12,380 was the result of 10,075 tickets sold and 2,305 complimentary tickets, while 1,403 seats remained empty.

UFC 160’s main event featured a Heavyweight rematch between Cain Velasquez and Antonio Silva, which ended in the first round like their first encounter with “Brown Pride” drilling “Bigfoot” with a right cross that floored the Brazilian and lead to a ground-and-pound finish.

One that Silva claimed was illegal based on this photo evidence.

Meanwhile, in the co-main event Junior dos Santos earned himself another crack at Velasquez’s crown by knocking out Mark Hunt late in the third round in their “Fight of the Night”-winning performance.

It was an amazing stoppage, but one that Mike Tyson of all people did not think was the best of the evening … so it officially wasn’t.

The other three pay-per-view (PPV) main card bouts saw Glover Teixeira submit James Te Huna in short order, T.J. Grant earn a Lightweight title shot with a knockout victory over Gray Maynard (more here), and Donald Cerrone bloody and batter K.J. Noons en route to a decision win.

Latest News UFC Videos Videos Video: Jeremy Stephens weigh-in/fight day vlog for UFC 160 victory over Estevan Payan

Long-time UFC veteran Jeremy Stephens offers a glimpse into some of his pre and post-fight routine for his UFC 160 victory over Estevan Payan.

Get a glimpse of the lead-up to and fallout from one of the bloodiest fights in UFC history.

Veteran Jeremy Stephens dropped down to featherweight for the first time in his career this past weekend (May 25, 2013) for his UFC 160 curtain-jerking bout against Estevan Payan in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the cameras were rolling every step of the way.

Everything from stepping on the scale, shaking Mike Tyson‘s hand, getting his hands wrapped by Stitch Duran, getting hyped up by Burt Watson and the long walk to the Octagon, the examination by cageside officials, instructions fromthe referees, the unveiling of the fight banner and the pre-fight introductions are covered.

Stephens, who celebrated his birthday just hours after defeating Payan in a grisly unanimous decision, is also shown enjoying the festivities afterwards, including a post-fight limo ride which was well-deserved after a dominant showing.

Will the “Lil’ Heathen” have a fresh start at 145 pounds?

UFC 160: Where is it Doc?

Date: May 25, 2013

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena

Broadcast: Pay-per-view, FX, Facebook

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva – for heavyweight title
Junior dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt
James Te Huna vs. Glover Teixeira
T.J. Grant vs. Gray Maynard
Donald Cerrone vs. K.J. Noons

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX, 8 p.m. ET)

Mike Pyle vs. Rick Story
Dennis Bermudez vs. Max Holloway
Colton Smith vs. Robert Whittaker
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Abel Trujillo

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 6:35 p.m. ET)

Nah-Shon Burrell vs. Stephen Thompson
Brian Bowles vs. George Roop
Estevan Payan vs. Jeremy Stephens

UFC launches ‘UFC Fit’ in-home fitness DVD and nutrition program

UFC Fit

“This is the key to changing your life. This is the chance you’ve always hoped for.” – UFC President Dana White

Las Vegas, Nevada – The secrets of the Ultimate Fighting Championship®’s elite athletes are finally revealed in UFC FIT^TM – the UFC’s first ever in-home fitness and nutrition program. Developed with renowned strength and conditioning coach Mike Dolce, UFC FIT is a lifestyle program based on the same methods the world’s greatest athletes use to prepare for the OctagonTM.

A celebrated training coach and former mixed martial artist, Dolce has earned his reputation as the greatest conditioning and nutrition expert in the sport, helping top contenders including Johny Hendricks, Gray Maynard, Michael Bisping and Thiago Alves prepare for competition. Now, for the first time, Mike Dolce shares the knowledge and techniques that have turned athletes into champions in this in-home training program.

UFC president Dana White said: “What makes UFC FIT different from every other workout is Mike Dolce. The UFC doesn’t cut corners or do anything halfway, so when we decided to create UFC FIT, we knew we had to work with Mike. He’s someone we respect, someone we believe in and someone we know gets results. To compete in the UFC, you have to be proficient in five Olympic sports including boxing, wrestling, taekwondo and judo on top of having world class strength and cardio. And Mike Dolce take these guys level to another level – just imagine what he can do for you.”

Dolce said: “The methods you’ll see in UFC FIT are the same ones I’ve used with the top stars in the UFC, but I actually developed them for men and women of all ages. I used to weigh 280 lbs, I had elevated blood pressure, my cholesterol was high and I had sleep apnea. Using the principals I share in UFC FIT, I dropped 100 lbs and now am down to five percent body fat. UFC FIT is a fun, challenging program developed for everyone and every fitness level. We all deserve to be lean, to feel confident and to be healthy.”

UFC FIT includes:

• 12 dynamic workout DVDs
• Plus 3-Day Shred, a jumpstart to weight loss
• 12-week Workout Tracker
• 132-page Lifestyle & Nutrition Manual, complete with training tips, a grocery list, meal plans and healthy, delicious recipes
• And for when you are on the go, Xyience® Ulti-Bar^TM and Ulti-Meal^TM Replacement Protein Shake, created exclusively for UFC FIT

UFC FIT is available now at UFCFIT.com. Additional merchandise is also available including an official UFC FIT Octagon® Mat, water bottle and fitness apparel.

UFC announcer Bruce Buffer reveals the night he fought Frank Trigg inside an elevator with Dana White

Joe Camporeale-US PRESSWIRE

Don’t be fooled. This mild-mannered poker player is from the streets and will go 60-percent on your ass.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran voice of the Octagon, Bruce Buffer, almost had to call it a career after former UFC welterweight number one contender Frank Trigg chopped him in the throat inside an elevator at the Hard Rock Hotel Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

All while UFC President Dana White looked on.

“With all respect to Frank because he’s an awesome fighter, he’s been one of the top welterweights in MMA, Frank and I basically were friends, we are friends, and we went into an elevator in the Hard Rock Hotel on the tenth floor and Dana White happened to be in the elevator. As soon as we’re walking in, Frank’s asking Dana to put him back in the Octagon, which is fine. But I’m a watch freak, and Dana had on this great wristband on his watch, and I stepped in front of Frank to look at the watch, and suddenly I get a ridge-hand in my throat. That’s a fine how do you do from Frank, we just had a drink together! Did I not drink right? I looked at Frank, and I said, ‘You hit me! Why the F did you hit me?’ And he said the wrong thing to me. He said, ‘What are you going to do about it?’ And I just reacted since my old street kicked in. I punched him twice in the stomach, basically with the same power with the old rules of sparring, 60 percent equals 60 percent. But it picked up. We had a lot of fun for 10 floors.”

Jeremy Stephens UFC 160 video blog for featherweight debut

— UFC featherweight Jeremy Stephens published his latest video blog as he prepares for his 145-pound debut against Esevan Payan at UFC 160: “Velasquez vs. Bigfoot 2” on May 25, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Anderson Silva fined $50K for ditching UFC 162 media event

Rainier Ehrhardt

Silva was scheduled for several media appearance on Tuesday afternoon but chose to fly back to Brazil instead. In response, the UFC has punished him with a $50K fine.

On Monday, the UFC Middleweight champ Anderson decided he’d rather head home to Brazil than attend a UFC 162 media event. The media day was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon to coincide with tickets for the July 7 event going on sale this week. Silva’s appearance was supposed to help build the headlining fight where he’ll attempt to defend his title against Chris Weidman.

In response to his absence, UFC president Dana White announced that the promotion fined Silva $50K (via MMA Junkie):

We had a full media day set up for him in Los Angeles, and he just decided he didn’t want to do it, so he’s being fined $50,000.

He doesn’t like talking to the media, but it’s part of his contractual obligation,” White said. “Everybody wants more money, more money, more money, but nobody wants to sell the fight or go out and talk to the media. Talking to the media is part of your job, whether you like it or not.

The last headliner to skip out on a media event was Nick Diaz, who blew off a press conference prior to his scheduled championship fight at UFC 137. Diaz was immediately removed from the fight and replaced by Carlos Condit. White explained the lesser punishment for Silva by saying this “was just a smaller media day (not a press conference), but it’s still not acceptable.” So, Anderson is still all set to face Weidman as the main event of UFC 162 in Las Vegas, NV on July 7.

Michael Bisping in talks to face Dan Miller on May 29 in Las Vegas

Michael Bisping wasn’t kidding when he said he wanted to get right back into the cage following his unanimous decision loss to Wanderlei Silva at last month’s UFC 110 event from Sydney, Australia.

“The Count” is currently negotiating a return against Dan Miller at UFC 114 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, during the promotion’s Memorial Day weekend extravaganza on May 29.

MMAmania.com learned of the pending match-up earlier today.

Bisping was in cruise control for the better part of his UFC career — until running into a devastating right hand from now-exiled Dan Henderson at last year’s UFC 100 event.

Though he quickly rebounded with a stoppage over Denis Kang at UFC 105 in Manchester, the Brit came up short against another PRIDE legend when Wanderlei Silva sent him to a unanimous decision loss at UFC 110 just last month.

While losses to “Hendo” and “The Axe Murderer” are forgivable, he’s going to need to make a statement against the venerable Miller if he expects to stay relevant in a very crowded middleweight division.

Like Bisping, things haven’t exactly gone Miller’s way over the last couple of fights.

He burst onto the scene at UFC Fight Night 15 back in September 2008, strangling Rob Kimmons en route to a submission (rear naked choke) win in his Octagon debut.

Miller went on to make it 3-0 under the Zuffa banner and had people talking about his candidacy as a 185-pound title contender until Chael Sonnen played spoiler at UFC 98, outworking him and giving the New Jersey native just his second career defeat.

He tried to right the ship at UFC 109 by staying out of the submissions of Demian Maia; however the grappling guru surprised Miller (and most of the viewing audience) by instead using an improved striking attack to take home the judges decision.

While Bisping’s International appeal may spare him the pink slip with another loss, the same can’t be said for Miller, who will have dropped three straight if he fails to get past “The Count.”

UFC 114 will likely be headlined by TUF 10 coaches and now mortal enemies “Suga” Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. The card is also expected to feature an interesting battle between light heavyweights Forrest Griffin and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira