UFC 72
Encyclopedia
UFC 72: Victory was a mixed martial arts
event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship
. The event took place Saturday, 16 June 2007 at The Odyssey
in Belfast
, Northern Ireland
.
and the United Kingdom
after UFC 38
in 2002 (Royal Albert Hall
in London
, England
) and UFC 70
in April 2007 (MEN Arena
in Manchester
, England). The card aired on pay-per-view in North America and via Setanta Sports
in the United Kingdom and Ireland
.
Martin Kampmann
was scheduled to fight Rich Franklin
, but was forced to withdraw due to injury. Yushin Okami
replaced Kampmann in the main event.
Jake O'Brien
was scheduled to fight Tom Murphy
, but was forced to withdraw due to injury. There was no replacement for O'Brien, and Murphy did not fight on the UFC 72 card.
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
. The event took place Saturday, 16 June 2007 at The Odyssey
Odyssey (Belfast)
The Odyssey Arena is a large sports and entertainment centre situated in Titanic Quarter, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was jointly funded by the Millennium Commission, the Laganside Corporation, the DCAL, the Sheridan Group and the Sports Council for Northern Ireland. The Arena opened in 2000 with...
in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
Background
UFC 72 continued the UFC's expansion into Europe, as it was the third event to take place in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
after UFC 38
UFC 38
UFC 38: Brawl at the Hall was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It took place at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England, on July 13, 2002...
in 2002 (Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) and UFC 70
UFC 70
UFC 70: Nations Collide was the second UFC event held in the United Kingdom, and the first in Manchester on Saturday, April 21, 2007. The first UFC event in the UK was UFC 38: Brawl at the Hall on July 13, 2002. UFC 70 was also only the seventh UFC event held outside the United States, and the...
in April 2007 (MEN Arena
Manchester Evening News Arena
The Manchester Evening News Arena is an indoor arena situated in Manchester, England. It is adjacent to Manchester Victoria station near Corporation Street...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England). The card aired on pay-per-view in North America and via Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
in the United Kingdom and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Martin Kampmann
Martin Kampmann
Martin Kampmann Frederiksen is a Danish mixed martial artist who is currently fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. and trains at the Xtreme Couture gym. He is known for his precise strikes and his quick submissions...
was scheduled to fight Rich Franklin
Rich Franklin
Rich Jay Franklin II is an American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion.-Background:...
, but was forced to withdraw due to injury. Yushin Okami
Yushin Okami
is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He currently fights at middleweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship . Okami is currently ranked the #3 best middleweight in the world by Sherdog and the #2 best middleweight by MMAWeekly....
replaced Kampmann in the main event.
Jake O'Brien
Jake O'Brien
Jacob Allen O'Brien is an American mixed martial arts fighter from Indianapolis, Indiana. O'Brien attended Franklin Central High School where he wrestled for four years, while earning IHSAA 215 lb. State Champion honors three years in a row from 2000–2003; holding a record of 125-4 over that...
was scheduled to fight Tom Murphy
Tom Murphy (fighter)
Tom Murphy is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division. He last fought on February 21, 2010 at MFL 2: Battleground against Bruno Hosier, winning by TKO in the first round. He was a cast member of the second season of UFC's hit reality show The Ultimate Fighter. He...
, but was forced to withdraw due to injury. There was no replacement for O'Brien, and Murphy did not fight on the UFC 72 card.
Preliminary card
- Welterweight bout:
Marcus DavisMarcus DavisMarcus Paul Davis , is an Irish-American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a welterweight. He was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 2 on Spike TV. He holds notable wins over Chris Lytle, Paul Taylor, Jonathan Goulet, and Shonie Carter.-Boxing career:Marcus began boxing at 14...
vs.
Jason TanJason TanJason Tan is an English mixed martial artist. He competes in the Welterweight division. He lost his last fight at UFC 84 against Dong Hyun Kim on May 24, 2008.- Biography :...
- Davis defeated Tan via KO (punch) at 1:15 of round 1. This bout aired on the PPV broadcast.
- Welterweight bout: Dustin HazelettDustin HazelettDustin Tyler Hazelett is a American mixed martial artist. He is best known for his fights as a welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.-Martial arts background:Dustin Hazelett was born in Louisa, Kentucky, USA...
vs.
Stevie Lynch
- Welterweight bout:
- Hazelett defeated Lynch via submission (anaconda choke) at 2:50 of round 1.
- Heavyweight bout: Eddie SanchezEddie SanchezEduardo Arturo Sanchez is an American mixed martial arts fighter.-Ultimate Fighting Championship:On February 3, 2007 at the Ultimate Fighting Championship's UFC 67, he lost to Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović by technical knockout due to punches at 4:33 of the first round, in Filipović's debut fight in...
vs. Colin RobinsonColin RobinsonColin "Big C" Robinson is a mixed martial artist from Northern Ireland. He competes in the Heavyweight division...
- Heavyweight bout:
- Sanchez defeated Robinson via TKO (strikes) at 0:32 of round 2.
Main card
- Middleweight bout: Ed HermanEd Herman (fighter)Edward Benson Herman is an American mixed martial artist. He currently fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship in their middleweight division and holds notable wins over Kyle Noke, Brian Ebersole, David Loiseau, Dave Menne, Scott Smith, Nick Thompson and Joe Doerksen...
vs. Scott SmithScott Smith (fighter)Bryan Scott Smith, , is an American mixed martial artist previously fighting at middleweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship making his debut at UFC 59. He also fought for EliteXC before it folded and currently fights for Strikeforce...
- Herman defeated Smith via submission (rear naked choke) at 2:25 of round 2.
- Lightweight bout: Tyson GriffinTyson GriffinTyson Lee Griffin is an American mixed martial artist from Albany, California. Griffin currently fights as a Featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship .-Early life:...
vs. Clay GuidaClay GuidaClayton Charles Guida is an American mixed martial artist and currently fighting in the UFC as a lightweight. Guida was the first Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and held the title until being defeated by Gilbert Melendez at Strikeforce: Revenge...
- Lightweight bout:
- Griffin defeated Guida via split decision. (29–28, 28–29, 29–28).
- Middleweight bout:
Jason MacDonaldJason MacDonaldJason Anthony MacDonald is a Canadian mixed martial artist who is currently fighting with the Ultimate Fighting Championship as a middleweight. He is also a veteran of the Maximum Fighting Championship and TKO Major League MMA in his native country of Canada...
vs. Rory SingerRory SingerRory Michael Singer is an American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a middleweight.Although Rory had begun making a name for himself as a 185 pound prospect; his big break came after meeting the producers of TUF. They were filming Forrest Griffin at The HardCore Gym for his fight...
- Middleweight bout:
- MacDonald defeated Singer via TKO (punches and elbows) at 3:18 of round 2.
- Light Heavyweight bout: Forrest GriffinForrest GriffinForrest Griffin is an American mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC light heavyweight champion....
vs. Hector RamirezHector Ramirez (fighter)Hector Ramirez is a Mexican American mixed martial artist's who has fought inside the UFC.-MMA career:Ramirez made his Octagon debut at UFC 65 – Bad Intentions in a losing effort against James Irvin. He won his most recent fight against famed K-1 legend Rick Roofus at A Night of Combat II...
- Light Heavyweight bout:
- Griffin defeated Ramirez via unanimous decision. (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).
- Middleweight bout: Rich FranklinRich FranklinRich Jay Franklin II is an American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion.-Background:...
vs.
Yushin OkamiYushin Okamiis a Japanese mixed martial artist. He currently fights at middleweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship . Okami is currently ranked the #3 best middleweight in the world by Sherdog and the #2 best middleweight by MMAWeekly....
- Middleweight bout:
- Franklin defeated Okami via unanimous decision. (29–28, 29–28, 29–28).
Bonus awards
The bonuses for this event were $40,000 each. :- Fight of the Night: Clay GuidaClay GuidaClayton Charles Guida is an American mixed martial artist and currently fighting in the UFC as a lightweight. Guida was the first Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and held the title until being defeated by Gilbert Melendez at Strikeforce: Revenge...
vs. Tyson GriffinTyson GriffinTyson Lee Griffin is an American mixed martial artist from Albany, California. Griffin currently fights as a Featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship .-Early life:... - Submission of the Night: Ed Herman
- Knockout of the Night: Marcus DavisMarcus DavisMarcus Paul Davis , is an Irish-American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a welterweight. He was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 2 on Spike TV. He holds notable wins over Chris Lytle, Paul Taylor, Jonathan Goulet, and Shonie Carter.-Boxing career:Marcus began boxing at 14...