UFC 87
Encyclopedia
UFC 87: Seek and Destroy was a mixed martial arts
event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship
on August 9, 2008, at the Target Center
in Minneapolis, Minnesota
.
and challenger Jon Fitch
. UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman
was first scheduled to fight Brock Lesnar
, but an Achilles tendon injury forced him to withdraw. Heath Herring
stepped in to fight Lesnar instead.
Future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones
made his UFC debut at this event.
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...
on August 9, 2008, at the Target Center
Target Center
The Target Center is an arena in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is sponsored by Target Corporation. The arena has a capacity of 20,500 people. It contains 702 club seats and 68 suites....
in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
.
Background
The card was headlined by a welterweight championship bout between champion Georges St-PierreGeorges St. Pierre
Georges St-Pierre , often referred to as GSP, is a Canadian mixed martial artist and the current Welterweight Champion of the UFC. St-Pierre is ranked as the No. 1 Welterweight in the world according to Sherdog, MMAWeekly and numerous other publications. St-Pierre is ranked the No. 2 pound for...
and challenger Jon Fitch
Jon Fitch
Jonathan Parker Fitch is an American mixed martial artist. He is currently ranked as the No. 2 welterweight in the world by Sherdog, as well as many other publications.-Background:...
. UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman is an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. In MMA, he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion, and the Pride Fighting...
was first scheduled to fight Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar
Brock Edward Lesnar is an American mixed martial artist, actor and a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is ranked the No.5 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog...
, but an Achilles tendon injury forced him to withdraw. Heath Herring
Heath Herring
Heath Herring is an inactive American Heavyweight professional mixed martial artist who attained popularity fighting for PRIDE FC in Japan and most recently fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
stepped in to fight Lesnar instead.
Future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones
Jon Jones (fighter)
Jonathan Dwight Jones is an American mixed martial artist from Endicott, New York. He is the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion....
made his UFC debut at this event.
Preliminary card
- Welterweight bout:
Ben SaundersBen Saunders (fighter)Benjamin Saunders , is an American professional mixed martial artist. His background is in Jeet Kune Do Concepts and he was a featured fighter on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra, fighting on Team Serra....
vs. Ryan Thomas
- Saunders defeated Thomas via submission (armbar) at 2:28 of round 2.
- Welterweight bout: Chris WilsonChris Wilson (fighter)Christopher Ross Wilson is an American mixed martial arts fighter. Wilson is a former competitor in the Ultimate Fighting Championships. He lost his UFC debut to Jon Fitch at UFC 82...
vs. Steve BrunoSteve BrunoSteve Bruno an American mixed martial artist. He competes in the Welterweight division. Born in Brooklyn, New York. He currently resides in Pompano Beach, Florida. Before starting his fighting career Steve was a Naval Air Crewman and Rescue Swimmer in the United States Navy...
- Wilson defeated Bruno via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).
- Light heavyweight bout:
Andre GusmaoAndre GusmaoAndré Machado Gusmão is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He is a veteran of the International Fight League where he fought for Renzo Gracie's New York Pitbulls, the IFL's 2007 league champions....
vs. Jon JonesJon Jones (fighter)Jonathan Dwight Jones is an American mixed martial artist from Endicott, New York. He is the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion....
- Jones defeated Gusmao via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).
- Heavyweight bout:
Cheick KongoCheick KongoCheick Guillaume Ouedraogo , more commonly known as Cheick Kongo, is a professional French heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer currently fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
vs.
Dan EvensenDan EvensenDan Tore Evensen is a Norwegian mixed martial artist. Most recently on May 1, 2009 Evensen won against Raoul Romero by second round TKO at Bellator V.- Background :...
- Kongo defeated Evensen via TKO (strikes) at 4:55 of round 1. This bout aired on the PPV broadcast following the Gamburyan vs. Emerson fight.
- Welterweight bout: Luke CummoLuke CummoLuke Joseph Cummo is an American mixed martial artist who appeared in the second season of the reality TV series The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV. After winning two exhibition fights, he made it to the finals where he was defeated by Joe Stevenson by decision in a close bout...
vs. Tamdan McCroryTamdan McCroryTamdan Wade McCrory is an American mixed martial artist who has fought as a welterweight and has recently moved up to the middleweight division...
- McCrory defeated Cummo via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 29–28).
Main card
- 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. Demian MaiaDemian MaiaDemian Maia Baptista is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. He currently fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Maia is currently ranked the #6 middleweight in the world by Sherdog and Yahoo! Sports., and the #8 middleweight fighter in the world by...
- Maia defeated MacDonald via submission (rear naked choke) at 2:44 of round 3.
- Lightweight bout: Kenny FlorianKenny FlorianKenneth Alan Florian is a Peruvian-American mixed martial artist who competes as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He has a background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai, and is known for his cerebral approach to the sport based on his meticulous game plans and...
vs. Roger HuertaRoger HuertaRoger Huerta , is an American mixed martial artist. He initially gained exposure by competing in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and later Bellator Fighting Championships.-Early life:...
- Florian defeated Huerta via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).
- Lightweight bout:
Manny Gamburyan vs. Rob EmersonRob EmersonRobert Michael Emerson is an American mixed martial artist. Emerson is a former Pancrase and King of the Cage fighter. He was a cast member of The Ultimate Fighter 5.-The Ultimate Fighter:...
- Emerson defeated Gamburyan via KO (punches) at 0:12 of round 1.
- Heavyweight bout: Heath HerringHeath HerringHeath Herring is an inactive American Heavyweight professional mixed martial artist who attained popularity fighting for PRIDE FC in Japan and most recently fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
vs. Brock LesnarBrock LesnarBrock Edward Lesnar is an American mixed martial artist, actor and a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is ranked the No.5 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog...
- Lesnar defeated Herring via unanimous decision (30–26, 30–26, 30–26).
- Welterweight Championship bout: Georges St-Pierre (c) vs. Jon FitchJon FitchJonathan Parker Fitch is an American mixed martial artist. He is currently ranked as the No. 2 welterweight in the world by Sherdog, as well as many other publications.-Background:...
- St-Pierre defeated Fitch via unanimous decision (50–44, 50–43, 50–44).
Bonus awards
At the end of the night, the UFC awarded $60,000 to each of the fighters who received one of these three awards.- Fight of the Night: Georges St-Pierre VS Jon Fitch
- Submission of the Night: Demian Maia
- Knockout of the Night: Rob Emerson