UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping

UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping (also known as UFC Fight Night 55, or UFC Fight Night Sydney) was a mixed martial arts event held at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia on November 8, 2014.[2][3]

UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping
The poster for UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateNovember 8, 2014 (2014-11-08)
VenueAllphones Arena
CitySydney, Australia
Attendance9,904[1]
Total gate$1.5 million[1]
Event chronology
UFC 179: Aldo vs. Mendes 2 UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Saint Preux

Background

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This event was the fourth event that the UFC hosted in Sydney and the sixth event to take place in Australia. The last time the UFC was in Sydney was for UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann on March 3, 2012.[2]

Ray Borg was expected to face Richie Vaculik at this event. However, Borg was forced to pull out of the event due to injury and was replaced by Neil Seery.[4] Subsequently, Seery pulled out of that bout as well and was replaced by Louis Smolka.[5]

Patrick Williams was expected to face Jumabieke Tuerxun at the event. However, Williams was forced out of the bout due to injury and was replaced by Marcus Brimage.[6]

A scheduled featherweight bout between Mark Eddiva and Mike De La Torre was cancelled after both fighters suffered injuries.[7]

Daniel Omielańczuk was expected to face Soa Palelei at this event. However, Omielańczuk was forced to pull out of this event due to injury and was replaced by Walt Harris.[8]

Aljamain Sterling was expected to face Frankie Saenz, though Saenz was forced to withdraw from the bout. Promotional newcomer Michael Imperato was briefly linked as a replacement. However, his signing was quickly rescinded[9] and as a result, Sterling was pulled from the event altogether.[10]

The event holds the record of having the most finishes on a single modern UFC card with 11 finishes, for a rate of 1.000.[11] UFC 224 would later tie this record on May 12, 2018, but at a finishing rate of 0.846.[12] UFC 281 on November 12, 2022 also had eleven finishes to tie this record.

Results

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Fight card (UFC Fight Pass)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Middleweight Luke Rockhold def. Michael Bisping Submission (guillotine choke) 2 0:57
Lightweight Al Iaquinta def. Ross Pearson TKO (punches) 2 1:39
Middleweight Robert Whittaker def. Clint Hester TKO (knee and punches) 2 2:43
Heavyweight Soa Palelei def. Walt Harris TKO (punches) 2 4:49
Preliminary card (UFC Fight Pass)
Lightweight Jake Matthews def. Vagner Rocha Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) 2 1:52
Light Heavyweight Anthony Perosh def. Guto Inocente Submission (rear-naked choke) 1 3:46
Middleweight Sam Alvey def. Dylan Andrews KO (punches) 1 2:16
Flyweight Louis Smolka def. Richie Vaculik TKO (side kick and punches) 3 0:18 [a]
Welterweight Chris Clements def. Vik Grujic TKO (punches) 1 3:06
Middleweight Dan Kelly def. Luke Zachrich Submission (kimura) 1 4:27
Bantamweight Marcus Brimage def. Zhumabek Tursyn KO (head kick) 1 2:58
  1. ^ Smolka did not make the 126 pound flyweight limit, weighing in at 127 pounds.

[13]

Bonus awards

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The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[14]

  • Fight of the Night: Robert Whittaker vs. Clint Hester
  • Performance of the Night: Luke Rockhold and Louis Smolka

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "UFC Fight Night 55 draws reported 9,904 attendance for $1.05 million gate". MMAjunkie.com. November 8, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Combat Press (2014-08-21). "UFC Returns to Sydney on Nov. 7 for UFC Fight Night 55". CombatPress.com. Retrieved 2014-08-21.
  3. ^ Staff (2014-09-11). "Rivals to settle the score as UFC return to Sydney". ufc.com. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
  4. ^ Staff (2014-09-29). "Neil Seery meets Richie Vaculik at UFC Fight Night 55 in Sydney". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2014-09-29.
  5. ^ James Carroll (2014-10-28). "Neil Seery out of UFC Fight Night 55 against Richie Vaculik, Louis Smolka steps in". mmamad.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-28. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
  6. ^ MMAJunkie Staff (2014-10-10). "Erik Perez, Patrick Williams hurt, Marcus Brimage now meets Jumabieke Tuerxun in Australia". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
  7. ^ Mike@fightnewsaustralia (2014-10-14). "UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs Bisping lineup finalised for Sydney". fightnewsaustralia.com. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
  8. ^ Neil Rooke (2014-10-19). "Walt Harris Replaces Daniel Omielanczuk, Faces Soa Palelei at UFC Fight Night 55 in Sydney". combatpress.com.
  9. ^ Keith Grienke (2014-10-26). "UFC rescinds offer to Michael Imperato". topmmanews.com.
  10. ^ Thomas Gerbasi (2014-10-29). "Changes hit Sydney card". ufc.com. Retrieved 2014-10-29.
  11. ^ "No judges necessary – Rockhold wins on record-setting night". ufc.com. 2014-11-07.
  12. ^ "UFC 224 post-event facts: History books rewritten after record number of finishes". mmajunkie.com. 2018-05-13.
  13. ^ "UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2014-09-05.
  14. ^ Staff (2014-11-08). "UFC Fight Night 55 bonuses: Rockhold, Smolka, Whittaker, Hester win $50,000". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2014-11-08.