American fighter Mike ''Quicksand'' Pyle, left, counters with a punch against British fighter John ''The Hitman'' Hathaway at UFC 120 held in London on Oct. 16. Pyle defeated Hathaway by unanimous decision. (David Hodge/Stars and Stripes)
American fighter Mike ''Quicksand'' Pyle, left, counters with a punch against British fighter John ''The Hitman'' Hathaway at UFC 120 held in London on Oct. 16. Pyle defeated Hathaway by unanimous decision. (David Hodge/Stars and Stripes)
Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White separates Dan Hardy, left, and Carlos Condit at the UFC Fan Expo official weigh-in, Oct. 15 at London's Earls Court Exhibition Center. The two fought later that day. (David Hodge/Stars and Stripes)
Britain's Michael "The Count" Bisping barely misses with a kick to the face of Japanese fighter Yoshihiro Akiyama during the UFC 120 main event at the O2 Arena in London. Bisping defeated Akiyama by a unanimous decision. (David Hodge/Stars and Stripes)
American Carlos ''Natural Born Killer''' Condit, left, misses with a punch in the opening moments of his fight against British fighter Dan '''The Outlaw'' Hardy. Condit caught Hardy with a left hook a short time later and knocked him to the ground to end the fight via TKO. (David Hodge/Stars and Stripes)
Fans at the two-day UFC Fan Expo Oct. 15-16 enjoyed autograph sessions with famous fighters, fighting demonstrations, the latest fight gear and training equipment and question-and-answer sessions with UFC personalities. (David Hodge/Stars and Stripes)
Ultimate Fighting Championship event commentators Joe Rogan, left, and Mike Goldberg take fans' questions during a question-and-answer session at the UFC Fan Expo on Oct. 15 in London. (David Hodge/Stars and Stripes)
British fighter James ''Lightning'' Wilks attempts to kick his opponent, Canadian Claude ''The Prince'' Patrick, during UFC 120 held Oct. 16 in London. Patrick won the fight by a unanimous decision. (David Hodge/Stars and Stripes)
British fighter Michael ''The Count'' Bisping sits atop the fence surrounding the UFC ''Octagon'' and soaks in the cheers of the London crowd at the O2 Arena after beating Japan's Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 120. (David Hodge/Stars and Stripes)
Ultimate Fighting Championship legend Randy ''The Natural'' Couture, right, poses with a fan during the UFC Fan Expo held at the Earls Court Exhibition Center in London, Oct. 15-16. (David Hodge/Stars and Stripes)
Up-and-coming British fighter John ''The Hitman'' Hathaway, left, squared off against American Mike ''Quicksand'' Pyle during the Ultimate Fighting Championship 120 event in London on Oct. 16. Pyle won the fight in a unanimous decision. (David Hodge/Stars and Stripes)
Mixed martial-arts fans watch a wrestling demonstration at the first Ultimate Fighting Championship Fan Expo held in the United Kingdom on Oct. 15-16. (David Hodge/Stars and Stripes)
An American newcomer to mixed martial arts fighting, Jon ''Bones'' Jones, answers fans' questions at the first Ultimate Fighting Championship Fan Expo held in Britain, Oct. 15-16. Jones is only 23 years old, stands 6-foot-4 and has an 84.5-inch reach. (David Hodge/Stars and Stripes)
American fighter Mike ''Quicksand'' Pyle gets attention from his corner workers during a match against British fighter John ''The Hitman'' Hathaway during UFC 120 in London. Pyle won the contest by unanimous decision. (David Hodge/Stars and Stripes)
The Ultimate Fighting Championship stormed into London last weekend with Britain’s first UFC Fan Expo and the concurrent UFC 120 bouts that marked the first time in nearly a year that UFC fighters were on British soil.
The 10 fights, featuring competitors from seven countries, drew the largest crowd at a UFC event ever held in the U.K. or Europe, with 17,133 people at London’s O2 Arena.
“I believe that fighting is a sport that crosses all borders,” UFC President Dana White said at the post-fight press conference. “It doesn’t matter what color you are or what country you come from or what language you speak, we are all human beings, and fighting is in our DNA.”
That mix of people was apparent at the two-day expo, which attracted about 12,000 mixed martial arts fanatics, including UFC followers. They poured into the Earls Court Exhibition Center to get autographs from a star-studded lineup of UFC fighters, browse the newest fighting gear and training equipment and take part in hands-on demonstrations from U.K.-based MMA training centers.
Signing autographs and interacting with fans were MMA legends Randy “The Natural” Couture, Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva, Rich “Ace” Franklin, Thiago “Pit Bull” Alves and about 20 other fighters from the UFC and World Extreme Cagefighting, a sister program to the UFC for lower weight classes.
The expo also showed the level of commitment by White, Lorenzo Fertitta, the UFC’s chief executive officer, and others associated with MMA to the belief that this is a fan-based sport. They participated in candid and personal question-and-answer sessions with fans, who were more than comfortable asking for ringside seats next to White himself during the fight.
Most fans wanted to know when a UFC event would be coming to their hometown. White and Fertitta said that the business is growing quickly and continues to attract new fans, and they are trying to open new markets across the world to bring the sport to more areas.
White said the UFC is planning to expand operations to India, where there are approximately 300 million males between the ages of 18 and 34, the sport’s primary audience.
“That’s as many people as there are in the U.S.,” White said.
Also making appearances on stage for questions was the “Voice of the Octagon” Bruce Buffer, UFC commentators Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg, referee Dan Miragliotta, and fighters Rashad “Suga” Evans and Jon “Bones” Jones.
At the O2 Arena’s Saturday-night fights, England had the largest presence with eight fighters, followed by the U.S. with four, Brazil, Canada and France with two each and Sweden and Japan had one apiece. They fought in an eight-sided enclosure surrounded by chain-link fencing.
In the main event, Manchester, England-native Michael “The Count” Bisping dominated Japanese fighter Yoshihiro Akiyama, leading to a unanimous decision by the judges. Although Akiyama ran out of gas early in the fight, he continued to battle until the final bell, at which point he collapsed from exhaustion. The contest was awarded the “UFC Fight of the Night” and the two warriors split a $100,000 cash prize.
Bisping’s victory was one of only three by British fighters. Three of their five losses came at the hands of Americans.
By far, the upset of the night went to American fighter Carlos “Natural Born Killer” Condit, whose left hook in the first round caught Britain’s Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy in the chin, sending him instantly to the floor.
Ironically, it was Hardy and his persistent smack-talking in the days before the fight that made the “UFC Knockout of the Night” that much more spectacular for the handful of U.S. supporters on hand.
“This is the biggest win of my career so far,” Condit stated during the post-fight press conference.
