# 2005 in UFC

The year 2005 was the 13th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. In 2005 the UFC held 10 events beginning with, UFC 51: Super Saturday. The reality TV series The Ultimate Fighter and the first UFC Ultimate Fight Night both premiered on Spike TV. The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale was the first live UFC broadcast on non-pay-per-view television.

## 2005 UFC.com awards

This was the first year that UFC senior editor Thomas Gerbasi published the year-end awards on UFC.com.
2005 UFC.COM Awards :
| No | The Submissions | The Knockouts | The Fights |
| 1 | Matt Hughes defeats Frank Trigg 2 UFC 52 | Chuck Liddell defeats Randy Couture 2 UFC 52 | Forrest Griffin defeats Stephan Bonnar The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale |
| 2 | Georges St-Pierre defeats Frank Trigg UFC 54 | Tim Sylvia defeats Tra Telligman UFC 54 | Matt Hughes defeats Frank Trigg 2 UFC 52 |
| 3 | Pete Sell defeats Phil Baroni UFC 51 | Andrei Arlovski defeats Paul Buentello UFC 55 | Tito Ortiz defeats Vitor Belfort UFC 51 |
| 4 | Andrei Arlovski defeats Tim Sylvia UFC 51 | Terry Martin defeats James Irvin UFC 54 | Rashad Evans defeats Brad Imes The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale |
| 5 | Kenny Florian defeats Kit Cope The Ultimate Fighter 2 | Chuck Liddell defeats Randy Couture 3 UFC 57 | Diego Sanchez defeats Nick Diaz The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale |
| 6 | Drew Fickett defeats Josh Koscheck UFC Ultimate Fight Night 2 | Luke Cummo defeats Sammy Morgan The Ultimate Fighter 2: Episode 10 | Luke Cummo defeats Sammy Morgan The Ultimate Fighter 2: Episode 10 |
| 7 | Ivan Salaverry defeats Joe Riggs UFC 52 | Josh Burkman defeats Sammy Morgan The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale | Rich Franklin defeats Evan Tanner UFC 53 |
| 8 | Matt Lindland defeats Travis Lutter UFC 52 | Mike Kyle defeats James Irvin UFC 51 | David Loiseau defeats Charles McCarthy UFC 53 |
| 9 | Joe Doerksen defeats Patrick Côté UFC 52 | Mike Swick defeats Gideon Ray UFC Ultimate Fight Night | Joe Stevenson defeats Luke Cummo The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale |
| 10 | Paul Buentello defeats Kevin Jordan UFC 53 | David Loiseau defeats Charles McCarthy UFC 53 | Georges St-Pierre defeats Frank Trigg UFC 54 |
| Ref | | | |

## Title fights

* ↑ For the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Arlovski becomes the Interim Heavyweight champion. The title is an interim championship due to the UFC Heavyweight Champion, Frank Mir, being seriously injured in a motorcycle accident and not able to defend the title against No. 1 contender, Andrei Arlovski.
* ↑ For the UFC Middleweight Championship. Tanner becomes the UFC Middleweight champion filling the vacant title, and the first Middleweight champion since 2002.
* ↑ For the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Welterweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Middleweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Heavyweight Championship. It was realized that Eilers had injured his knee in the bout, prompting the referee to stop the fight as Eilers could not defend himself.
* ↑ For the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. At that time, Horn informed the referee that he could no longer see properly, and the official called the bout.
* ↑ For the UFC Heavyweight Championship. The UFC decided this match would be for the undisputed UFC Heavyweight title, as former UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir, who had been badly injured in a motorcycle accident, was still unable to compete.
* ↑ For the UFC Middleweight Championship.

## The Ultimate Fighter

| Season | Finale | Division | Winner | Runner-up |
| TUF 1: Team Couture vs. Team Liddell | Apr 9, 2005 | Light Heavyweight | Forrest Griffin | Stephan Bonnar |
| TUF 1: Team Couture vs. Team Liddell | Apr 9, 2005 | Middleweight | Diego Sanchez | Kenny Florian |
| TUF 2: Team Hughes vs. Team Franklin | Nov 5, 2005 | Heavyweight | Rashad Evans | Brad Imes |
| TUF 2: Team Hughes vs. Team Franklin | Nov 5, 2005 | Welterweight | Joe Stevenson | Luke Cummo |

## Debut UFC fighters

The following fighters fought their first UFC fight in 2005:

## Events list

| # | Event | Date | Venue | Location | Attendance |
| 065 | UFC 56: Full Force | Nov 19, 2005 | MGM Grand Garden Arena | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 12,000 |
| 064 | The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Franklin Finale | Nov 5, 2005 | Hard Rock Hotel and Casino | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | — |
| 063 | UFC 55: Fury | Oct 7, 2005 | Mohegan Sun Arena | Uncasville, Connecticut, U.S. | 8,000 |
| 062 | UFC Fight Night 2 | Oct 3, 2005 | Hard Rock Hotel and Casino | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | — |
| 061 | UFC 54: Boiling Point | Aug 20, 2005 | MGM Grand Garden Arena | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 13,520 |
| 060 | UFC Ultimate Fight Night | Aug 6, 2005 | Cox Pavilion | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | — |
| 059 | UFC 53: Heavy Hitters | Jun 4, 2005 | Boardwalk Hall | Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | 12,000 |
| 058 | UFC 52: Couture vs Liddell | Apr 16, 2005 | MGM Grand Garden Arena | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 14,562 |
| 057 | The Ultimate Fighter: Team Couture vs. Team Liddell Finale | Apr 9, 2005 | Cox Pavilion | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | — |
| 056 | UFC 51: Super Saturday | Feb 5, 2005 | Mandalay Bay Events Center | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 11,072 |

## UFC Ultimate Fight Night

UFC Ultimate Fight Night (also known as UFC Fight Night 1) was an event held on August 6, 2005 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event, aired on Spike, was the first UFC Fight Night event.