UFC 166

UFC 166: Velasquez vs. dos Santos III was a mixed martial arts event held on October 19, 2013, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.^[3]

UFC 166: Velasquez vs. dos Santos III
The poster for UFC 166: Velasquez vs. dos Santos III
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	October 19, 2013
Venue	Toyota Center
City	Houston, Texas
Attendance	17,238[1]
Total gate	$2.5 million[1]
Buyrate	330,000[2]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Shields UFC 166: Velasquez vs. dos Santos III UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Muñoz

Background

The main event was a UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between the current champion Cain Velasquez and top contender Junior dos Santos.^[3][4] The two have split their two previous encounters with Dos Santos winning the first bout via first round knockout at UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. dos Santos and then Velasquez winning the rematch via unanimous decision at UFC 155.

A bout between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov was rescheduled from UFC 164 however visa complications left Nurmagomedov unable to compete and was subsequently replaced by Mike Rio.

A bout between George Roop and Francisco Rivera was scheduled for this card, but was moved to UFC Fight Night 31 and replaced by Sarah Kaufman vs. Jessica Eye.^[5]

Matt Grice was expected to face Jeremy Larsen at the event. However, Grice was forced out of the bout after sustaining serious injuries in a September 8 car crash in his home state of Oklahoma.^[6] Grice was replaced by Charles Oliveira who also lost his original opponent, Estevan Payan, due to injury.^[7] Subsequently on October 5, Oliveira pulled out of the Larsen bout citing a strained thigh muscle.^[8] Larsen instead faced promotional newcomer Andre Fili.^[9]

Luke Rockhold was expected to face Tim Boetsch at the event. However, Rockhold was forced out of the bout citing a knee injury and was replaced by C. B. Dollaway.^[10]

Andre Fili weighed in 2.5 pounds too heavy. As a result, 20-percent of Fili's purse was forfeited to his opponent, Jeremy Larsen.^[11]

Results

Main card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Heavyweight	Cain Velasquez (c)	def.	Junior dos Santos	TKO (slam and punch)	5	3:09	[a]
Heavyweight	Daniel Cormier	def.	Roy Nelson	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Lightweight	Gilbert Melendez	def.	Diego Sanchez	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 29–28)	3	5:00
Heavyweight	Gabriel Gonzaga	def.	Shawn Jordan	KO (punches)	1	1:33
Flyweight	John Dodson	def.	Darrell Montague	KO (punch)	1	4:13
Preliminary card (Fox Sports 1)
Middleweight	Tim Boetsch	def.	C. B. Dollaway	Decision (split) (30–26, 27–29, 30–26)	3	5:00	[b]
Welterweight	Hector Lombard	def.	Nate Marquardt	KO (punches)	1	1:48
Women's Bantamweight	Jessica Eye	vs.	Sarah Kaufman	No Contest (overturned)	3	5:00	[c]
Lightweight	K. J. Noons	def.	George Sotiropoulos	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27)	3	5:00
Preliminary card (Facebook/Youtube)
Welterweight	Adlan Amagov	def.	TJ Waldburger	KO (punches)	1	3:00	[d]
Lightweight	Tony Ferguson	def.	Mike Rio	Submission (D'Arce choke)	1	1:52
Catchweight (148.5 lb)	Andre Fili	def.	Jeremy Larsen	TKO (punches)	2	0:53
Bantamweight	Kyoji Horiguchi	def.	Dustin Pague	TKO (punches)	2	3:51

1. For the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
2. Dollaway had 1 point deducted in round 3 for a second poke to the eye.
3. Originally ruled a Split Decision (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) victory for Eye, result overturned due to Eye testing positive for marijuana during a post fight screening.
4. This bout aired on the broadcast following the Melendez vs Sanchez bout.

^[12]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $60,000 bonuses.^[13]

• Fight of The Night: Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez
• Knockout of The Night: John Dodson
• Submission of the Night: Tony Ferguson

See also

• List of UFC events
• 2013 in UFC