Sports

UFC’s Orlando debut is a hit

Fabricio Werdum (right) will now face Cain Velasquez in a future event for the Heavyweight title.

By Danny Morales, [email protected]
April 20, 2014

It took the UFC 20 years to have their first show in Orlando and after Saturday night’s UFC on FOX 11 event it looks like it won’t take nearly that long for the world’s No. 1 mixed martial arts promotion to return.

The UFC event in Orlando marked the second highest attended event of 2014 for the promotion, only behind UFC 171. It also marked the second highest grossing gate for an event at the Amway Center, only behind the Eagles.

UFC on FOX 11 featured 13 fights, including a main event bout between heavyweight No. 1 contender Fabricio Werdum and Travis Browne. Werdum would win the fight by a unanimous decision, but that wouldn’t be the highlight of the night.

Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone took home Performance of the Night honors for his rear-naked choke victory over Edson Barboza.

The undercard also didn’t disappoint, featuring the return of Thiago “Pitbull” Alves after over two years away from the sport. Alves went on to defeat Seth Baczynski via a unanimous decision, while also impressing the boss, Dana White.

Fight Bonuses:

Fight of the Night: Thiago Alves vs. Seth Baczynski

Performances of the Night: Donald Cerrone and Alex White

Main Card on FOX:

Yoel Romero defeats Brad Tavares — (30-27, 30-27, 30-27 – Unanimous Decision)

Donald Cerrone defeats Edson Barboza — (Rear-Naked Choke – 3:15 1st Round)

Miesha Tate defeats Liz Carmouche — (29-28, 29-28, 29-28 – Unanimous Decision)

Heavyweight No. 1 contender fight: Fabricio Werdum defeats Travis Browne — (50-45, 50-45, 49-46 – Unanimous Decision)

FOX Sports 1 Prelims:

Jordan Mein defeats Hernani Perpetuo — (29-28, 28-29, 29-28 – Split Decision)

Caio Magalhes defeats Luke Zachrich — (TKO – 0:44 1st Round)

Alex White defeats Estevan Payan — (TKO – 1:28 1st Round)