UFC 196

For the event originally promoted under this name, see UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson.
UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz
The poster for UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateMarch 5, 2016 (2016-03-05)
VenueMGM Grand Garden Arena
CityLas Vegas, Nevada
Attendance14,898[1]
Total gate$8,197,628[2]
Buyrate1,317,000[3]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Bisping UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir

UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz was a mixed martial arts event held on March 5, 2016 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.[4][5][6]

Background

The event was officially announced in November 2015 as "UFC 197," taking place on March 5, 2016 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[7] Weeks later on December 29, UFC announced that the event was canceled and would be moved to a different location.[8] On January 12, it was confirmed the event would take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.[6]

On January 13, UFC revealed this event was originally intended to take place at Arena da Baixada (a much larger venue) in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, and feature a UFC Heavyweight Championship rematch between champion Fabrício Werdum and former two-time champion Cain Velasquez, with former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva in the co-main event slot, possibly against Michael Bisping. Due to a series of injuries, the company moved the heavyweight bout to a separate event scheduled for February 6, which at that time was titled "UFC 196". This change made the March 5 event a smaller draw, which led to the transition to the smaller venue in Rio de Janeiro. To maintain local interest, the company then considered booking the main event as a rematch between two Brazilian fighters, Silva and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort. Belfort declined the bout, as he wished to wait for the result of the middleweight title fight at UFC 194. This final fall-through is what prompted the cancellation of the event in Brazil and relocation to Las Vegas.[9] On January 27, it was revealed the Werdum-Velasquez bout (which had been moved to "UFC 196" scheduled for February 6, 2016) was cancelled entirely. This forced that event to alter into a "UFC Fight Night" card, and the originally scheduled "UFC 197" event was renamed UFC 196.[10]

The event was expected to be headlined by a UFC Lightweight Championship bout between champion Rafael dos Anjos and UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor.[6] This would have been the second time in UFC history that champions in different divisions would fight for the same title. The first time was at UFC 94 on January 31, 2009, when then-UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre defended his title against then-lightweight champion B.J. Penn. On February 23, the planned bout suffered a setback as it was announced that dos Anjos pulled out due to a broken foot.[11] Former UFC Featherweight Champion José Aldo declined the initial opportunity to replace him due to "lack of time" to prepare for the bout.[12] Former lightweight champion and top featherweight contender Frankie Edgar also declined the opportunity due to a groin injury.[13] Eventually, The Ultimate Fighter 5 winner and former lightweight title challenger Nate Diaz was announced as the replacement and the bout took place in the welterweight division.[14]

A UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout between then champion Holly Holm and former Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate co-headlined the event.[6]

Michael Johnson was expected to face Tony Ferguson in a lightweight rematch. On January 27, it was announced that Johnson withdrew from the bout due to injury. Ferguson was then rescheduled to fight at UFC on Fox 19 on April 16 against Khabib Nurmagomedov.[15]

A welterweight bout between Brandon Thatch and Siyar Bahadurzada, originally slated for UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Cowboy, was rescheduled to this event due to Thatch's medication being banned by Pennsylvania's athletic commission.[16]

Results

Main Card
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Welterweight Nate Diaz def. Conor McGregor Submission (rear-naked choke) 2 4:09
Women's Bantamweight Miesha Tate def. Holly Holm (c) Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) 5 3:30 [a]
Light Heavyweight Ilir Latifi def. Gian Villante Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Light Heavyweight Corey Anderson def. Tom Lawlor Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) 3 5:00
Women's Bantamweight Amanda Nunes def. Valentina Shevchenko Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–27, 29–27) 3 5:00
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1)
Welterweight Siyar Bahadurzada def. Brandon Thatch Submission (arm-triangle choke) 3 4:11
Welterweight Nordine Taleb def. Erick Silva KO (punches) 2 1:34
Middleweight Vitor Miranda def. Marcelo Guimarães TKO (head kick and punches) 2 1:09
Featherweight Darren Elkins def. Chas Skelly Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–27, 30–26) 3 5:00
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Lightweight Diego Sanchez def. Jim Miller Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Lightweight Jason Saggo def. Justin Salas TKO (punches) 1 4:31
Featherweight Teruto Ishihara def. Julian Erosa KO (punches) 2 0:34
  1. ^ For the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship.

[17]

Bonus awards

The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[18]

  • Fight of the Night: Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz
  • Performance of the Night: Nate Diaz and Miesha Tate

Reported payout

The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses.[19]

  • Nate Diaz: $500,000 (no win bonus) def. Conor McGregor: $1,000,000
  • Miesha Tate: $92,000 (includes $46,000 win bonus) def. Holly Holm: $500,000
  • Ilir Latifi: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus) def. Gian Villante: $36,000
  • Corey Anderson: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus) def. Tom Lawlor: $28,000
  • Amanda Nunes: $56,000 (includes $28,000 win bonus) def. Valentina Shevchenko: $14,000
  • Siyar Bahadurzada: $38,000 (includes $19,000 win bonus) def. Brandon Thatch: $22,000
  • Nordine Taleb: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus) def. Erick Silva: $34,000
  • Vitor Miranda: $32,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus) def. Marcelo Guimarães: $13,000
  • Darren Elkins: $74,000 (includes $37,000 win bonus) def. Chas Skelly: $21,000
  • Diego Sanchez: $150,000 (includes $75,000 win bonus) def. Jim Miller: $59,000
  • Jason Saggo: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Justin Salas: $16,000
  • Teruto Ishihara: $34,000 (includes $17,000 win bonus) def. Julian Erosa: $12,000

See also

References

  1. ^ Staff (2016-03-06). "UFC 196 draws announced 14 fans in Las Vegas for $81live gate". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  2. ^ "Top MMA Gates". Nevada State Athletic Commission. September 16, 2016.
  3. ^ Coleman, Joe (22 January 2020). "Conor McGregor vs Donald Cerrone reaches two million PPV buys as 'The Notorious' makes record-breaking UFC return". Talksport. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  4. ^ Staff (2015-09-16). "UFC's 2016 first-quarter schedule shapes up, including UFC 196 on Feb. 6 in Las Vegas". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  5. ^ Staff (2016-01-07). "Report: Rafael dos Anjos-Conor McGregor, Holly Holm-Miesha Tate for UFC 197, Las Vegas". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  6. ^ a b c d Thomas Gerbasi (2016-01-12). "It's on! dos Anjos/McGregor, Holm/Tate set for UFC 197". ufc.com. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
  7. ^ Mike Bohn (2015-11-08). "UFC 197 set for HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro on March 5". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  8. ^ Guilherme Cruz (2015-12-29). "Anderson Silva: UFC cancels event in Rio de Janeiro". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  9. ^ Guilherme Cruz (2016-01-13). "UFC official confirms Vitor Belfort turned down fight with Anderson Silva at UFC 197". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  10. ^ Staff (2016-01-27). "Hendricks-Thompson headlines UFC Fight Night". ufc.com. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  11. ^ Ariel Helwani (2016-02-23). "Rafael dos Anjos injured, out of UFC 196 main event fight against Conor McGregor". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  12. ^ Guilherme Cruz (2016-02-23). "Coach: Jose Aldo not in shape, turned down offer to replace Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 196". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  13. ^ Chuck Mindenhall (2016-02-24). "Frankie Edgar 'pissed' at UFC, says the 'C' in UFC stands for 'Conor'". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
  14. ^ Damon Martin (2016-02-23). "Nate Diaz gets the call, faces Conor McGregor in new UFC 196 main event". foxsports.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  15. ^ Hunter A. Homistek (2016-01-26). "Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson targeted for April UFC on Fox event". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  16. ^ Staff (2016-02-12). "'Medication' clearance issue moves Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Brandon Thatch to UFC 196". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-02-12.
  17. ^ "UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
  18. ^ Tristen Critchfield (2016-03-06). "UFC 196 Bonuses: Nate Diaz takes home $100K for upset victory over Conor McGregor". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  19. ^ Staff (2016-03-06). "UFC 196 salaries: Conor McGregor earns $1 Million; Nate Diaz, Holly Holm pocket $500K". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2016-03-06.