2008 in UFC
Mixed martial arts events
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The year 2008 was the 16th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. In 2008 the UFC held 20 events beginning with, UFC 80: Rapid Fire.
First dateJanuary 19, 2008
Last dateDecember 27, 2008
Total events20
UFC13
| 2008 in UFC | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Information | ||||
| First date | January 19, 2008 | |||
| Last date | December 27, 2008 | |||
| Events | ||||
| Total events | 20 | |||
| UFC | 13 | |||
| UFC Fight Night | 5 | |||
| TUF Finale events | 2 | |||
| Fights | ||||
| Total fights | 201 | |||
| Title fights | 11 | |||
| Chronology | ||||
| ||||
2008 UFC.com awards
Debut UFC fighters
The following fighters fought their first UFC fight in 2008:
| ISO | Fighter | Division |
|---|---|---|
 | Andre Gusmao | Light Heavyweight |
| Antonio Mendes | Light Heavyweight |
 | Brad Blackburn | Welterweight |
 | Brad Morris | Heavyweight |
| Brandon Wolff | Welterweight |
| Brock Lesnar | Heavyweight |
| Brodie Farber | Welterweight |
| Cain Velasquez | Heavyweight |
| C. B. Dollaway | Middleweight |
| Chris Wilson | Welterweight |
| Corey Hill | Lightweight |
| Dale Hartt | Lightweight |
 | Dan Evensen | Heavyweight |
 | Dan Hardy | Welterweight |
| Dan Miller | Middleweight |
| Dante Rivera | Middleweight |
| Dave Kaplan | Lightweight |
 | David Baron | Lightweight |
 | David Bielkheden | Welterweight |
 | Dong Hyun Kim | Welterweight |
 | Efraín Escudero | Lightweight |
| Eliot Marshall | Light Heavyweight |
| George Roop | Lightweight |
 | Goran Reljić | Light Heavyweight |
| James Giboo | Lightweight |
| ISO | Fighter | Division |
|---|---|---|
| James Lee | Light Heavyweight |
| Jason Brilz | Light Heavyweight |
 | Jason Day | Middleweight |
| Jesse Taylor | Middleweight |
| Jim Miller | Lightweight |
| Joe Vedepo | Middleweight |
| Johnny Rees | Middleweight |
| Jon Jones | Light Heavyweight |
| Josh Hendricks | Heavyweight |
| Jules Bruchez | Middleweight |
| Junior dos Santos | Heavyweight |
| Justin Buchholz | Lightweight |
| Kevin Burns | Welterweight |
| Krzysztof Soszynski | Light Heavyweight |
| Kyle Kingsbury | Light Heavyweight |
| Matt Brown | Welterweight |
| Matt Horwich | Middleweight |
| Matt Riddle | Welterweight |
| Michael Patt | Light Heavyweight |
| Mike Massenzio | Middleweight |
| Mike Wessel | Heavyweight |
| Mostapha al-Turk | Heavyweight |
| Nate Loughran | Welterweight |
| Neil Wain | Heavyweight |
| Pat Barry | Heavyweight |
| ISO | Fighter | Division |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Kelly | Lightweight |
| Per Eklund | Lightweight |
| Phillipe Nover | Lightweight |
| Rafael dos Anjos | Lightweight |
| Reese Andy | Light Heavyweight |
| Rob Kimmons | Middleweight |
| Rob Yundt | Middleweight |
| Rolando Delgado | Lightweight |
| Rory Markham | Welterweight |
| Rousimar Palhares | Middleweight |
| Ryan Bader | Light Heavyweight |
| Ryan Roberts | Lightweight |
| Ryan Thomas | Welterweight |
| Samy Schiavo | Lightweight |
| Shane Carwin | Heavyweight |
| Shane Nelson | Lightweight |
| Shane Primm | Light Heavyweight |
| Shannon Gugerty | Lightweight |
| Steve Bruno | Welterweight |
| Steve Cantwell | Light Heavyweight |
| Tim Boetsch | Light Heavyweight |
| Tim Credeur | Middleweight |
| Tom Lawlor | Middleweight |
| Vinny Magalhães | Light Heavyweight |
 | Yoshiyuki Yoshida | Welterweight |
The Ultimate Fighter
| Season | Finale | Division | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TUF 7: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest | Jun 21, 2008 | Middleweight | Amir Sadollah | C.B. Dollaway |
| TUF 8: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir | Dec 13, 2008 | Light Heavyweight | Ryan Bader | Vinicius Magalhães |
| Lightweight | Efrain Escudero | Phillipe Nover |
Title fights
| Title fights in 2008 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Event | Notes | |||
| Lightweight | B.J. Penn | def. | Joe Stevenson | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 4:02 | UFC 80: Rapid Fire | [a] |
| Heavyweight | Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira | def. | Tim Sylvia | Submission (guillotine choke) | 3 | 1:28 | UFC 81: Breaking Point | [b] |
| Middleweight | Anderson Silva (UFC Champion) |
def. | Dan Henderson (Pride Champion) |
Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 4:52 | UFC 82: Pride of a Champion | [c] |
| Welterweight | Georges St-Pierre (ic) | def. | Matt Serra (c) | TKO (knees) | 2 | 4:45 | UFC 83: Serra vs St-Pierre 2 | [d] |
| Lightweight | B.J. Penn (c) | def. | Sean Sherk | TKO (flying knee and punches) | 3 | 5:00 | UFC 84: Ill Will | [e] |
| Light Heavyweight | Forrest Griffin | def. | Quinton Jackson (c) | Decision (unanimous) (48–46, 48–46, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin | [f] |
| Welterweight | Georges St-Pierre (c) | def. | Jon Fitch | Decision (unanimous) (50–44, 50–43, 50–44) | 5 | 5:00 | UFC 87: Seek and Destroy | [g] |
| Middleweight | Anderson Silva (c) | def. | Patrick Côté | TKO (knee injury) | 3 | 0:39 | UFC 90: Silva vs. Côté | [h] |
| Heavyweight | Brock Lesnar | def. | Randy Couture (c) | TKO (punches) | 2 | 3:07 | UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar | [i] |
| Heavyweight | Frank Mir | def. | Antônio Nogueira (ic) | TKO (punches) | 2 | 1:54 | UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 | [j] |
| Light Heavyweight | Rashad Evans | def. | Forrest Griffin (c) | KO (punches) | 3 | 2:46 | UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 | [k] |
- For the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship. Penn become the second fighter in UFC history to win belt with two weight classes.
- For the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship.
- Unification of the UFC Middleweight & Pride Welterweight Championship belts[7]
- Unification of the UFC Welterweight & UFC Interim Welterweight championships.
- For the UFC Lightweight Championship.
- For the UFC Welterweight Championship
- For the UFC Middleweight Championship.
- For the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
- For the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship.
- For the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Both winners of The Ultimate Fighter competed in a title fight against each other.