UFC 91


UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 15, 2008 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Background

The main event featured the return of UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture versus WWE's Brock Lesnar in a title bout. The decision to grant Lesnar – who was 1–1 in UFC fights at the time – the title shot was controversial at the time. Some felt it was premature and marketing driven, while others argued the relative lack of depth in the heavyweight division at the time left no clear-cut contenders to the belt.
Matthew Riddle was forced to withdraw from his bout with Ryan Thomas due to an injury. He was replaced by Matt Brown.
Amir Sadollah withdrew from his fight against Nick Catone due to a leg infection. A replacement for Sadollah could not be found, therefore the middleweight bout was pulled from the card. A welterweight match between Dustin Hazelett and Tamdan McCrory, previously scheduled for the preliminary card, was moved to the main card.
Unlike most UFC fight cards, every bout was aired on the PPV broadcast due to the quick endings of the main card bouts.
Also future Lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos made his UFC debut at this event.

Results

Bonus awards

Fighters were awarded $60,000 bonuses.
The total payroll for the event was $1,118,000.
Brock Lesnar: $450,000
def. Randy Couture: $250,000
Kenny Florian: $80,000
def. Joe Stevenson: $35,000
Dustin Hazelett: $28,000
def. Tamdan McCrory: $10,000
Gabriel Gonzaga: $110,000
def. Josh Hendricks: $8,000
Demian Maia: $40,000
def. Nate Quarry: $25,000
Aaron Riley: $8,000
def. Jorge Gurgel: $10,000
Jeremy Stephens: $16,000
def. Rafael dos Anjos: $4,000
Mark Bocek: $18,000
def. Alvin Robinson: $7,000
Matt Brown $16,000
def. Ryan Thomas: $3,000