''UFC 111: St-Pierre vs. Hardy'' was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

event held by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC) on March 27, 2010, at the

Prudential Center Prudential Center is a multipurpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, United States. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), the New York Sirens of the Pro ...

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, United States.

Background

The '' UFC Primetime'' series returned to build up the

UFC Welterweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight clas ...

fight between GSP and Dan Hardy. It was the first time a British fighter had ever fought for a UFC title. Martin Kampmann was originally set to fight Ben Saunders, but Kampmann was replaced by Jake Ellenberger, due to a deep cut suffered in training by Kampmann. Ricardo Funch was forced to pull out of a fight against Matthew Riddle for an undisclosed reason. UFC newcomer Greg Soto was his replacement.

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are locate ...

broadcast three preliminary bouts one hour before the live PPV broadcast began. This event was seen in movie theaters throughout the United States via

National CineMedia National CineMedia, Inc. (NCM) is an American movie theater, cinema advertising company. NCM displays ads to U.S. consumers in movie theaters, online and through mobile technology. NCM presents cinema advertising across a digital in-theater netwo ...

's Fathom event distribution service. Also, it was shown at the

Cineplex Odeon Cineplex Odeon is a theatre brand owned by Cineplex Entertainment in Canada, after acquiring the Cineplex Odeon Corporation in 1998. As of 2023, there are 61 Cineplex Odeon locations in Canada. The former corporation was one of North America's ...

chain in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. On March 10, 2010 it was announced that the event was officially sold out. There was also some controversy that the UFC airbrushed Hardy's tattoo which reads "

om mani padme hum ' (, ) is the six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. It first appeared in the Mahayana ''Kāraṇḍavyūha sūtra'', where it is also referr ...

" for their promotional poster. UFC president Dana White later admitted that this was done so as to not provoke the Chinese government. On March 25, 2010 Thiago Alves was removed from the card due to brain irregularity from a pre-fight CAT scan. After learning of the removal, Ben Saunders, who was scheduled to fight Jake Ellenberger, requested Alves's opponent,

Jon Fitch Jon Fitch (born February 24, 1978) is an American retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He has competed in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the Professional Fighters League ...

, and subsequently replaced Ellenberger on the card. As a result, Ellenberger did not compete but received his "show" and "win" money to make up for the last minute switch. The fight between Kurt Pellegrino and Fabricio Camoes was moved up to the main card as a result of the cancellation. On March 26 at the official weigh-ins, Rory Markham weighed 177 lb. He forfeited $1,000 (12.5% of his purse) to Nate Diaz.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $65,000 bonuses: *Fight of the Night: Rodney Wallace vs. Jared Hamman *Knockout of the Night: Shane Carwin *Submission of the Night: Kurt Pellegrino

Television rating

The preliminary bouts shown on

at 9 pm EST drew a series-low of 1.2 million viewers, and coincided with the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA men's Division I basketball championship or the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, NCAA women's Division I basketball championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight t ...

round of the NCAA basketball tournament.

Background

Results

Bonus awards

Television rating

References

See also