First date January 19 Total events 33 UFC on Fox 4 | Last date December 28 UFC 13 UFC on FX 2 | |
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The year 2013 is the 21st year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. 2013 started with UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping. 2013 also saw the introduction of the women's bantamweight weight class with UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche.
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Debut UFC fighters
The following fighters fought their first UFC fight in 2013:
UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping
UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping (also known as UFC on FX 7) was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 19, 2013 at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil.
Background
The main fight featured middleweights Michael Bisping and Vitor Belfort. The event also held the first UFC fight for Daniel Sarafian, middleweight finalist on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil. Sarafian was injured before the championship fight with Cezar Ferreira, who went on to win the show.
Johnny Eduardo was briefly linked to a bout at this event against Yuri Alcantara, but was replaced by George Roop. Roop was then injured and replaced by UFC newcomer Pedro Nobre.
Thiago Perpetuo was expected to face Michael Kuiper at the event; however, Perpetuo suffered an injury and was replaced by Caio Magalhaes. On December 27, it was announced that Magalhaes had also pulled out of the bout and that Kuiper would be shifted to UFC on Fox 6 on January 26, 2013 to face Buddy Roberts.
Roger Hollett was expected to face Wagner Prado at the event; however, Hollett was forced out of the bout with a torn bicep and was replaced by promotional newcomer Ildemar Alcantara.
Bonus awards
Fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses.
UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Melendez
UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Melendez (also known as UFC on Fox 7) was a mixed martial arts event held on April 20, 2013, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The event was broadcast live on FOX.
Background
The event was headlined by a UFC Lightweight Championship bout between defending champion Benson Henderson and Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez. Also featured on the card was a bout between two time UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir and Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion Daniel Cormier.
Clay Guida was expected to face Chad Mendes at this event. However it was revealed on March 15 that Guida had pulled out of the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Darren Elkins.
Dan Hardy was expected to face Matt Brown at the event. However, Hardy was forced out of the bout due to medical issues regarding his heart and was replaced by Jordan Mein.
Francisco Rivera was expected to face Hugo Viana at the event. However, Rivera was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by T.J. Dillashaw.
A scheduled bout between Jon Tuck and Norman Parke was scrapped during the week leading up to the event, as Tuck was forced out of the bout with an injury.
Bonus Awards
Fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses.
Reported payout
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the California State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses or Pay-Per-View quotas.