| UFC 120: Bisping vs. Akiyama | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | October 16, 2010 | |||
| Venue | O2 Arena | |||
| City | London, England | |||
| Attendance | 17,133[1] | |||
| Total gate | $2,560,000[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
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UFC 120: Bisping vs. Akiyama was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 16, 2010 at the O2 Arena in London, England.[2] The first ever UK UFC Fan Expo coincided with this event.[3] This event aired on the same day, via tape delay, on Spike TV in the U.S. and Canada.[4] The event was the fourth the UFC has hosted at the O2 Arena in London, England and the first since UFC 95. It was also the ninth event held in England and the first since UFC 105.
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Dan Hardy was originally scheduled to fight Dustin Hazelett at this event before Hazelett pulled out because of his wedding in September. Hazelett instead faced Rick Story at UFC 117. Carlos Condit replaced Hazelett as Dan Hardy's opponent.[5]
John Hathaway was also expected to fight Dong Hyun Kim. However, Kim was forced off the card with elbow surgery on July 20 and replaced by Mike Pyle.[6]
Tom Blackledge was originally set to fight James Te-Huna. However, Te-Huna withdrew after an injury in training.[7] Blackledge, an assistant coach for Team Rampage on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights, was then scheduled to fight TUF 10 semi-finalist, James McSweeney.[8]
However, on September 28, 2010, Tom Blackledge withdrew from the matchup with James McSweeney for unknown reasons and was replaced by Fabio Maldonado.[9]
Steve Cantwell was scheduled to fight Stanislav Nedkov, however the fight was cancelled 48 hours prior to the event, after Cantwell suffered a knee injury.[10]
According to the UK president of the UFC, Marshall Zelaznik, UFC 120 was expected to break the European attendance and gate receipts records,[11] having sold out the original seating plan.[12] The gate record prior was 16,693, set by UFC 105, with the record gate receipts coming in at $2.7m at UFC 75.[11] This later proved partially correct, as the event set a new European attendance record of 17,133, but fell just short of the gate receipts figure with $2.56m.[1] With over 17,000 spectators, the event became, at that time, the ninth most attended event in UFC history.[1]
Despite the record attendance, the viewing figures on Spike TV were reduced from the last event to take place in England. UFC 120 averaged 1.9 million viewers, whereas UFC 105, in November 2009 had averaged 2.9 million.[13]
Fighters were awarded $60,000 bonuses.[15]
| Fighter | Artist | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Gustafsson | Lil Wayne (feat. Eminem) | "Drop the World" | Rebirth |
| Carlos Condit | U2 | "The Star Spangled Banner/Bullet The Blue Sky" | Rattle and Hum |
| Cheick Kongo | Despo Rutti | "Dangeroots" | Convictions Suicidaires |
| Claude Patrick | Pitbull (feat. Akon) | "Shut it Down" | Rebelution |
| Curt Warburton | Showtek | "World is Mine" | Analogue Players in a Digital World |
| Cyrille Diabaté | Young Jeezy (feat. Kanye West) | "Put On" | The Recession |
| Dan Hardy | Cock Sparrer (feat. Dan Hardy) | "England Belongs to Me" | England Belongs To Me (Dan Hardy Version) |
| Fabio Maldonado | Bill Conti | "Gonna Fly Now" | Rocky Balboa: The Best of Rocky |
| James McSweeney | Lil Jon (feat. Ice Cube, The Game, Elephant Man & Whole Wheat Bread) | "Killas" | Crunk Rock |
| James Wilks | Busta Rhymes | "Turn It Up (Remix)/Fire It Up" | The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Vol. 2 |
| John Hathaway | Frankie Goes To Hollywood | "Two Tribes" | Bang!...The Greatest Hits of Frankie Goes to Hollywood |
| Mark Holst | Eminem | "Not Afraid" | "Recovery" |
| Michael Bisping | Blur | "Song 2" | Blur |
| Mike Pyle | Bruce Springsteen | "Born In The U.S.A." | Born In The U.S.A. |
| Paul Sass | Flo Rida (feat. David Guetta) | "Club Can't Handle Me" | Step Up 3D |
| Rob Broughton | Oasis | "Fuckin' In The Bushes" | Standing On The Shoulder of Giants |
| Spencer Fisher | Johnny Cash | "God's Gonna Cut You Down" | American V: A Hundred Highways |
| Travis Browne | Kanye West (feat. Dwele) | "Power" | My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy |
| Vinicius Querioz | 2Pac (feat. Elton John) | "Ghetto Gospel" | Loyal to the Game |
| Yoshihiro Akiyama | Andrea Bocelli (feat. Sarah Brightman) | "Time to Say Goodbye (Con Te Partirò)" | Time to Say Goodbye |