''UFC 78: Validation'' 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), that took place on November 17, 2007, 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 ...

in Newark,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. ''Validation'' was the first UFC event held in New Jersey since '' UFC 53: Heavy Hitters'' in

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

on June 5, 2005.

Background

This was the 100th event in UFC's history. The main event featured '' TUF 2''

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

winner

Rashad Evans Rashad Evans (born September 25, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Light Heavyweight (MMA), Light Heavyweight division. Evans started his professional MMA career in 2003, and was the Heavyw ...

against '' TUF 3''

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

winner

Michael Bisping Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (; born 28 February 1979) is an English former mixed martial artist, sports commentator, analyst, and actor. He competed in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship ( ...

in a light heavyweight contest. This was Bisping's last fight before dropping to Middleweight. Originally, Evans and Bisping were set to rematch their previous opponents

Tito Ortiz Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz () is an American politican and retired mixed martial artist and Submission grappling, submission grappler. Ortiz is best known for his career with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC ...

and

Matt Hamill Matt Hamill (born October 5, 1976) is an American former mixed martial artist and wrestler who competed in the Light Heavyweight division of the UFC. He is a three-time NCAA Division III National Champion in wrestling (167 lb class in 1997 ...

at this event after their bouts ended in a draw and a controversial split decision at UFC 73 and

UFC 75 ''UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event was held September 8, 2007, at The O2 in London, United Kingdom. Background The event was the fourth event held by the UFC in ...

. However, Ortiz's commitments to filming ''

Celebrity Apprentice ''The Celebrity Apprentice'' is an American television reality competition series. It is a variation of '' The Apprentice'' series hosted by real estate developer Donald Trump from 2008 to 2015, and actor and former California Governor Arnold Sc ...

'' forced his fight with Evans to be cancelled and an injury to Hamill forced him to withdraw from his fight with Bisping.

PRIDE Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

veteran and Cuban judoka Hector Lombard was also scheduled to debut on the event but did not participate due to

visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...

issues.Lombard Denied Entry Into U.S
/ref> Lombard ended up signing after

UFC 145 ''UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It was the 9th UFC event of the year, and took place on April 21, 2012 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Background The event was init ...

. Lombard's original opponent

Karo Parisyan Karo Parisyan (born August 28, 1982) is an Armenian-American former mixed martial artist, who last competed in the welterweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 1999, Parisyan is a former WEC Welterweight Champion and has also compe ...

instead faced

Ryo Chonan is a Japanese retired professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2001 to 2013, Chonan competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, PRIDE, Deep (mixed martial arts), DEEP, Dream (mixed ...

, while Chonan's previous opponent Thiago Alves fought

Chris Lytle Chris Scott Lytle (born August 18, 1974) is an American retired mixed martial artist and boxer. A professional from 1999 until 2011 and twenty-fight veteran of the UFC, Lytle also fought in Pancrase, Cage Rage, and the WEC. He held the inaugura ...

. Additionally,

veterans Ryo Chonan and Akihiro Gono both made their UFC debuts. Both fighters fought at 183 pounds in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, but with the UFC's inclusion of the 170 pound division each fighter moved down to fight at

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $55,000 bonuses. *Fight of the Night: Thiago Alves vs. Chris Lytle *Knockout of the Night: Ed Herman *Submission of the Night: Akihiro Gono

References

External links

UFC 78 fight card

UFC 78 results at Sherdog.com

Official UFC 78 website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ufc 078 Ultimate Fighting Championship flagship events 2007 in mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts events in Newark, New Jersey 2007 in sports in New Jersey 2000s in Newark, New Jersey November 2007 sports events in the United States

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References

External links