# 2008 in UFC

The year 2008 was the 16th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. In 2008 the UFC held 20 events beginning with, UFC 80: Rapid Fire.

## 2008 UFC.com awards

2008 UFC.COM Awards :
| No | Best Fighter | The Upsets | The Submissions | The Newcomers | The Knockouts | The Fights |
| 1 | Rashad Evans | Frank Mir defeats Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira 1 UFC 92 | Dustin Hazelett defeats Josh Burkman The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale | Brock Lesnar | Rashad Evans defeats Chuck Liddell UFC 88 | Forrest Griffin defeats Quinton Jackson UFC 86 |
| 2 | Thiago Alves | Junior dos Santos defeats Fabrício Werdum UFC 90 | Frank Mir defeats Brock Lesnar UFC 81 | Cain Velasquez | Junior dos Santos defeats Fabrício Werdum UFC 90 | Kurt Pellegrino defeats Thiago Tavares UFC 88 |
| 3 | Kenny Florian | Rashad Evans defeats Chuck Liddell UFC 88 | Anderson Silva defeats Dan Henderson UFC 82 | Amir Sadollah | Anthony Johnson defeats Kevin Burns The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale | Matt Wiman defeats Thiago Tavares UFC 85 |
| 4 | Anderson Silva | Kevin Burns defeats Roan Carneiro UFC 85 | Kenny Florian defeats Joe Stevenson UFC 91 | Shane Carwin | Thiago Alves defeats Karo Parisyan at UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon & Matt Hughes at UFC 85 | Sean Sherk defeats Tyson Griffin UFC 90 |
| 5 | Frank Mir | Forrest Griffin defeats Quinton Jackson UFC 86 | Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira defeats Tim Sylvia UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens | Junior dos Santos | Quinton Jackson defeats Wanderlei Silva UFC 92 | Demian Maia defeats Jason MacDonald UFC 87 |
| 6 | Georges St-Pierre | Jorge Rivera defeats Jorge Gurgel UFC 80 | Cole Miller defeats Brian Foster UFC 86 | Efraín Escudero | James Irvin defeats Houston Alexander UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon | Georges St-Pierre defeats Jon Fitch UFC 87 |
| 7 | Brock Lesnar | Heath Herring defeats Cheick Kongo UFC 82 | Nate Diaz defeats Kurt Pellegrino UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon | The Miller Brothers Jim Miller and Dan Miller | Wanderlei Silva defeats Keith Jardine UFC 84 | Nate Diaz defeats Kurt Pellegrino UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon |
| 8 | B.J. Penn | Brock Lesnar defeats Randy Couture UFC 91 | Demian Maia defeats Jason MacDonald UFC 87 | Tim Boetsch | Josh Koscheck defeats Yoshiyuki Yoshida UFC: Fight for the Troops | Nate Diaz defeats Josh Neer UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Neer |
| 9 | Nate Diaz | Pete Sell defeats Josh Burkman UFC 90 | Kevin Burns defeats Roan Carneiro UFC 185 | Kevin Burns | Rory Markham defeats Brodie Farber UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Irvin | Goran Reljić defeats Wilson Gouveia UFC 84 |
| 10 | Michael Bisping | Jason Day defeats Alan Belcher UFC 83 | Dustin Hazelett defeats Tamdan McCrory UFC 85 | C. B. Dollaway | Jeremy Stephens defeats Rafael dos Anjos UFC 91 | Paul Kelly defeats Paul Taylor UFC 180 |
| Ref | | | | | | |

## Debut UFC fighters

The following fighters fought their first UFC fight in 2008:
* Andre Gusmao
* Antonio Mendes
* Brad Blackburn
* Brad Morris
* Brandon Wolff
* Brock Lesnar
* Brodie Farber
* Cain Velasquez
* C. B. Dollaway
* Chris Wilson
* Corey Hill
* Dale Hartt
* Dan Evensen
* Dan Hardy
* Dan Miller
* Dante Rivera
* Dave Kaplan
* David Baron
* David Bielkheden
* Dong Hyun Kim
* Efrain Escudero
* Eliot Marshall
* George Roop
* Goran Reljić
* James Giboo
* James Lee
* Jason Brilz
* Jason Day
* Jesse Taylor
* Jim Miller
* Joe Vedepo
* Johnny Rees
* Jon Jones
* Josh Hendricks
* Jules Bruchez
* Junior dos Santos
* Justin Buchholz
* Kevin Burns
* Krzysztof Soszynski
* Kyle Kingsbury
* Matt Brown
* Matt Horwich
* Matt Riddle
* Mike Massenzio
* Michael Patt
* Mike Wessel
* Mostapha al-Turk
* Nate Loughran
* Neil Wain
* Pat Barry
* Paul Kelly
* Per Eklund
* Phillipe Nover
* Rafael dos Anjos
* Reese Andy
* Rob Kimmons
* Rob Yundt
* Rolando Delgado
* Rory Markham
* Rousimar Palhares
* Ryan Bader
* Ryan Roberts
* Ryan Thomas
* Samy Schiavo
* Shane Carwin
* Shane Nelson
* Shane Primm
* Shannon Gugerty
* Steve Bruno
* Steve Cantwell
* Tim Boetsch
* Tim Credeur
* Tom Lawlor
* Vinny Magalhães
* Yoshiyuki Yoshida

## The Ultimate Fighter

| Season | Finale | Division | Winner | Runner-up |
| TUF 7: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest | Jun 21, 2008 | Middleweight | Amir Sadollah | C.B. Dollaway |
| TUF 8: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir | Dec 13, 2008 | Light Heavyweight | Ryan Bader | Vinicius Magalhães |
| TUF 8: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir | Dec 13, 2008 | Lightweight | Efrain Escudero | Phillipe Nover |

## Title fights

* ↑ For the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship. Penn become the second fighter in UFC history to win belt with two weight classes.
* ↑ For the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship.
* ↑ Unification of the UFC Middleweight & Pride Welterweight Championship belts
* ↑ Unification of the UFC Welterweight & UFC Interim Welterweight championships.
* ↑ For the UFC Lightweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
* ↑ For the UFC Welterweight Championship
* ↑ For the UFC Middleweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Both winners of The Ultimate Fighter competed in a title fight against each other.

## Events list

| # | Event | Date | Venue | Location | Attendance |
| 122 | UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 | Dec 27, 2008 | MGM Grand Garden Arena | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 14,166 |
| 121 | The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir Finale | Dec 13, 2008 | Palms Casino Resort | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 1,853 |
| 120 | UFC: Fight for the Troops | Dec 10, 2008 | Crown Coliseum | Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S. | 8,500 |
| 119 | UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar | Nov 15, 2008 | MGM Grand Garden Arena | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 14,272 |
| 118 | UFC 90: Silva vs. Côté | Oct 25, 2008 | Allstate Arena | Rosemont, Illinois, U.S. | 15,359 |
| 117 | UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben | Oct 18, 2008 | National Indoor Arena | Birmingham, England, U.K. | 9,515 |
| 116 | UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Neer | Sep 17, 2008 | Omaha Civic Auditorium | Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. | 9,103 |
| 115 | UFC 88: Breakthrough | Sep 6, 2008 | Philips Arena | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | 14,736 |
| 114 | UFC 87: Seek and Destroy | Aug 9, 2008 | Target Center | Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. | 15,087 |
| 113 | UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Irvin | Jul 19, 2008 | Palms Casino Resort | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 2,071 |
| 112 | UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin | Jul 5, 2008 | Mandalay Bay Events Center | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 10,990 |
| 111 | The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest Finale | Jun 21, 2008 | Palms Casino Resort | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 1,853 |
| 110 | UFC 85: Bedlam | Jun 7, 2008 | The O$_2$ arena | London, England, U.K. | 15,327 |
| 109 | UFC 84: Ill Will | May 24, 2008 | MGM Grand Garden Arena | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 14,773 |
| 108 | UFC 83: Serra vs. St-Pierre 2 | Apr 19, 2008 | Bell Centre | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | 21,390 |
| 107 | UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon | Apr 2, 2008 | Broomfield Event Center | Broomfield, Colorado, U.S. | 6,742 |
| 106 | UFC 82: Pride of a Champion | Mar 1, 2008 | Nationwide Arena | Columbus, Ohio, U.S. | 16,431 |
| 105 | UFC 81: Breaking Point | Feb 2, 2008 | Mandalay Bay Events Center | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 10,583 |
| 104 | UFC Fight Night: Swick vs. Burkman | Jan 23, 2008 | Palms Casino Resort | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 1,900 |
| 103 | UFC 80: Rapid Fire | Jan 19, 2008 | Metro Radio Arena | Newcastle, England, U.K. | 8,412 |