''UFC 138: Leben vs. Muñoz'' 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 ( ...

on November 5, 2011 at LG Arena in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, United Kingdom. The event aired on the same day, via tape delay, on Spike TV in the United States and live on

Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language Discretionary service, discretionary sports broadcasting, sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture betw ...

in Canada. The event was the second that the UFC has hosted in

, the first was UFC 89 back in 2008 also featuring Chris Leben in the main event.

Background

After several tentatively scheduled 2011 events at various locations around the United Kingdom did not materialize, including

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, London as well as a planned return to Ireland, it was expected that the organization would not hold an event in the area during 2011. The main event was the first non-title five round fight in the history of the UFC. Mark Scanlon was expected to face James Head at this event. However, Scanlon was pulled from the bout and replaced by promotional newcomer John Maguire Then, on September 28, Head himself pulled out of the fight due to an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Justin Edwards. Pascal Krauss was expected to face John Hathaway at this event. However, on August 30 Krauss pulled out of the bout citing a shoulder injury, and was replaced by Matt Brown. Then on October 17 it was announced that Hathaway was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury as well. As a result, Brown was pulled from the event and will face Seth Baczynski at UFC 139. Phil De Fries was expected to face Oli Thompson at this event. However, on October 17 it was announced that Thompson was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury. De Fries fought Rob Broughton at this event instead. Anthony Njokuani was scheduled to fight Paul Taylor on the main card. However, Taylor sustained a whiplash injury during a minor traffic collision on November 1 forcing him from the bout. Due to insufficient time to find a replacement, Njokuani was moved to a future card, while a prelim fight between Cyrille Diabate and Anthony Perosh was promoted to the main card. This event averaged 1.8 million viewers on Spike TV. After the event Chris Leben tested positive for illegal substances and was subsequently suspended for a year.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $70,000 bonuses. * Fight of the Night: Brad Pickett vs. Renan Barão * Knockout of the Night: Che Mills * Submission of the Night: Terry Etim

References

{{UFC Events Ultimate Fighting Championship flagship events 2011 in mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts in the United Kingdom Sports competitions in Birmingham, West Midlands 2011 in England Events in Birmingham, West Midlands