UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 21, 2012 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

UFC Primetime returned to promote the main event. The history between the two fighters has helped to make the event highly anticipated amongst fans.

Matt Wiman was expected to face Mark Bocek at this event, but was forced off the card with an injury and replaced by the returning John Alessio.

During the official UFC 145 weigh ins, John Makdessi failed to make the lightweight limit, coming in 2 pounds over. Makdessi was fined 20 percent of his earnings and his bout with Anthony Njokuani was contested at a catchweight of 158 lb.

Fighters were awarded $65,000 bonuses.

The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the largest Mixed Martial Arts promotion company in the world, which hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport and produces events worldwide. Based in the United States, the UFC has eight weight divisions and enforces the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.Dana White serves as the president of the UFC while Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta control the UFC's parent company, Zuffa, LLC.

The first UFC event was held in 1993 in Denver, Colorado. The purpose of the event was to identify the most effective martial art in a real fight between competitors of different fighting disciplines, including Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Tae Kwon Do, Wrestling, Muay Thai, Karate and other styles. In subsequent competitions, fighters ventured outside their base style to utilize effective techniques from other disciplines, which indirectly helped create an entirely separate style of fighting known as present-day mixed martial arts.

With a cable-television deal and expansion into Canada, Europe, Australia the Middle East,Asia and new markets within the United States, the UFC as of 2011^[update] has gained in popularity, along with greater mainstream-media coverage. As of 2001^[update] viewers can access UFC programming on pay-per-view television in the U.S., Brazil, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Italy. UFC programming can also be found on FX, Fuel TV, and Fox in the U.S., on ESPN in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as in 150 countries and 22 different languages worldwide. UFC also carries a mobile site for on-the-go users and a Sports Bars page for fans to find places showing the pay-per-view. It is also available on the Roku streaming player.

Rashad Anton Evans (born September 25, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist from Niagara Falls, New York, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Evans won the heavyweight division of The Ultimate Fighter 2. Evans lost the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship to then undefeated Lyoto Machida at UFC 98. As of November 2011, Evans is currently ranked as the #3 Light Heavyweight fighter in the world by Sherdog and Yahoo! Sports.

Wrestling out of Niagra Wheatfield High School, Evans twice made it to the state finals tournament of New York by winning his weight class for his county, in which he received All-State honors both times. In 1997 he placed 4th in the state at 145 pounds. In 1998 he placed 4th in the state at 171 pounds. In 1999 he entered the National Junior College Athletic Association National Championships for the 165 pound weight class in which he finished in 4th place. Competing once again at this tournament in 2000, he was the champion of the 165 pound weight class.

Ché Mills (born October 29, 1982) is an English mixed martial artist. He is a former Cage Rage British welterweight champ, and holds 2 notable wins over DREAM Welterweight Champion and Strikeforce veteran Marius Zaromskis, 1 by KO, the other by doctor stoppage.

Mills made his professional MMA debut in November 2003. After going 1-2 in his first three bouts, Mills amassed an impressive undefeated streak of 8-0 (1 NC) over the next three years. He was considered a top prospect in the UK and was invited to appear on The Ultimate Fighter.

Mills appeared on the first episode of The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom. However, he lost an elimination match via heel hook to subsequent winner of the competition, James Wilks, and therefore was eliminated from the show.

Mills eventually made it to the UFC two years later. Following some controversy around his contract with British fight promotion BAMMA, Mills signed a contract with Zuffa to fight against The Ultimate Fighter 13 alumni Chris Cope at UFC 138 on Nov. 5 in Birmingham, England, scrapping a proposed fight against Joey Villasenor at BAMMA 7. He won his debut in impressive fashion, finishing Cope by TKO just 40 seconds into the first round and was awarded Knockout of the Night honors.

Dana White (born July 28, 1969) is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.

Born in Manchester, Connecticut on July 28, 1969, White grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ware, Massachusetts and Levant, Maine. White is a passionate Boston Red Sox fan. During his youth, he bounced back and forth between Boston and Maine. He attended the University of Massachusetts Boston but did not finish; however, while there he did launch a boxing program for inner-city youth.

White has a background as an aerobics instructor. In 1992, White established Dana White Enterprises in Las Vegas. He conducted aerobics classes at three gyms in the Las Vegas area and began managing MMA fighters Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.

While working as a manager, White learned that Semaphore Entertainment Group, the parent company of the UFC, was looking for a buyer for the UFC. White contacted childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta, an executive at Station Casinos, and a former commissioner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Within a month, Lorenzo and his older brother Frank bought the UFC, with White installed as its president. White currently owns about 9% of Zuffa, LLC, the entity the Fertitta brothers created to own and manage the UFC.