UFC 138: Leben vs. Muñoz was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 5, 2011 at LG Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom.[2] The event aired on the same day, via tape delay, on Spike TV in the United States and live on Sportsnet in Canada.[3] The event was the second that the UFC has hosted in Birmingham, the first was UFC 89 back in 2008 also featuring Chris Leben in the main event.

UFC 138: Leben vs. Muñoz
The poster for UFC 138: Leben vs. Muñoz
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateNovember 5, 2011
VenueLG Arena
CityBirmingham, United Kingdom
Attendance10,823[1]
Total gate$1,500,000[1]
Event chronology
UFC 137: Penn vs. Diaz UFC 138: Leben vs. Muñoz UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. dos Santos

Background

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After several tentatively scheduled 2011 events [4] at various locations around the United Kingdom did not materialize, including Glasgow, Liverpool, London as well as a planned return to Ireland, it was expected that the organization would not hold an event in the area during 2011.[5]

The main event was the first non-title five round fight in the history of the UFC.[6]

Mark Scanlon was expected to face James Head at this event.[7] However, Scanlon was pulled from the bout and replaced by promotional newcomer John Maguire[8] Then, on September 28, Head himself pulled out of the fight due to an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Justin Edwards.[9]

Pascal Krauss was expected to face John Hathaway at this event.[10] However, on August 30 Krauss pulled out of the bout citing a shoulder injury, and was replaced by Matt Brown.[11] Then on October 17 it was announced that Hathaway was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury as well. As a result, Brown was pulled from the event and will face Seth Baczynski at UFC 139.[12][13]

Phil De Fries was expected to face Oli Thompson at this event. However, on October 17 it was announced that Thompson was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury. De Fries fought Rob Broughton at this event instead.[12]

Anthony Njokuani was scheduled to fight Paul Taylor on the main card. However, Taylor sustained a whiplash injury during a minor traffic collision on November 1 forcing him from the bout. Due to insufficient time to find a replacement, Njokuani was moved to a future card, while a prelim fight between Cyrille Diabate and Anthony Perosh was promoted to the main card.[14]

This event averaged 1.8 million viewers on Spike TV.[15]

After the event Chris Leben tested positive for illegal substances and was subsequently suspended for a year.[16]

Results

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Main card
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Middleweight Mark Muñoz def. Chris Leben TKO (corner stoppage) 2 5:00 [a]
Bantamweight Renan Barão def. Brad Pickett Submission (rear-naked choke) 1 4:09
Welterweight Thiago Alves def. Papy Abedi Submission (rear-naked choke) 1 3:32
Light Heavyweight Anthony Perosh def. Cyrille Diabaté Submission (rear-naked choke) 2 3:09
Lightweight Terry Etim def. Edward Faaloloto Submission (guillotine choke) 1 0:17
Preliminary card (Facebook)
Welterweight John Maguire def. Justin Edwards Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00 [b]
Heavyweight Phil De Fries def. Rob Broughton Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Featherweight Michihiro Omigawa def. Jason Young Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Welterweight Che Mills def. Chris Cope TKO (knees and punches) 1 0:40 [c]
Bantamweight Chris Cariaso def. Vaughan Lee Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
  1. ^ First non-title bout scheduled for 5 rounds in UFC history. Leben tested positive for oxycodone and oxymorphone.
  2. ^ This bout aired on the broadcast following the Muñoz vs Leben bout.
  3. ^ This bout aired on the broadcast following the Perosh vs Diabaté bout.

Bonus awards

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Fighters were awarded $70,000 bonuses.[17]

  • Fight of the Night: Brad Pickett vs. Renan Barão
  • Knockout of the Night: Che Mills
  • Submission of the Night: Terry Etim

References

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  1. ^ a b "UFC 138 draws a reported 10,823 attendees for record-setting $1.5 million live gate". MMAjunkie.com. 5 November 2011. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012.
  2. ^ "UFC 138: Leben vs. Muñoz". ufc.com. 6 September 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  3. ^ "UFC 138 Fight Card Updates". ufc.com. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  4. ^ Samuels, Albert (13 August 2011). "UFC 138: Fight Card Lineup". MMAentry.com. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  5. ^ Holland, Jesse (8 June 2011). "Marshall Zelaznik: UFC has a 'less than 20-percent chance' of bringing an event to the UK in 2011". mmamania.com. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  6. ^ Helwani, Ariel (19 July 2011). "Leben vs. Muñoz Will Be Five-Round Fight". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  7. ^ "Scanlon vs. Head To Feature At UFC 138". YourMMA.tv. 21 July 2011. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ^ "Mark Scanlon out of UFC 138, John Maguire debuts against James Head". mmajunkie.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
  9. ^ "James Head out, Justin Edwards in". The Fight Lounge. 28 September 2011. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011.
  10. ^ "John Hathaway vs. Pascal Krauss set for UFC 138 in England". MMAJunkie.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  11. ^ "Matt Brown replaces Pascal Krauss, meets John Hathaway at UFC 138". mmajunkie.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  12. ^ a b "Hathaway, Thompson out of UFC 138". UFC.com. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  13. ^ "After injuries, Brown-Baczynski at UFC 139". mmajunkie.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  14. ^ "UFC 138 loses Taylor-Njokuani, Diabate-Perosh promoted to main card". MMA Junkie. 1 November 2011. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012.
  15. ^ "Welcome to nginx". Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  16. ^ "Leben Suspended After UFC 138". ufc.com. 28 November 2011.
  17. ^ "UFC 138 bonuses: Mills, Etim, Barao and Pickett net $70,000 awards". MMAjunkie.com. 5 November 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2011.