UFC 216: Ferguson vs. Lee
The poster for UFC 216: Ferguson vs. Lee
Information
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateOctober 7, 2017 (2017-10-07)
VenueT-Mobile Arena
CityParadise, Nevada
Attendance10,638[1]
Total gate$677,999.50[1]
Buyrate200,000[2]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Saint Preux vs. Okami UFC 216: Ferguson vs. Lee UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Till

UFC 216: Ferguson vs. Lee was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on October 7, 2017 at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area.[3]

Background

A UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between former UFC Heavyweight champions Stipe Miocic and Cain Velasquez was initially targeted to headline this event.[4] After that pairing failed to materialize, the promotion announced plans for an interim UFC Lightweight Championship bout between The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos welterweight winner Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee to serve as the main event.[5][6]

A UFC Flyweight Championship bout between former Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and Ray Borg was expected to headline UFC 215.[7] However, the fight was canceled a day before the event, as Borg was forced to withdraw from the fight due to illness. His illness was unrelated to his weight cut, sources say.[8] The fight was later rescheduled for this event. If successful, Johnson would have the all-time most consecutive UFC title defenses in any division, with eleven.[9]

Abel Trujillo was expected to face Lando Vannata at the event. However, Trujillo was removed from the card on August 14 for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Bobby Green.[10]

Paige VanZant was expected to face Jessica Eye at the event. However, VanZant pulled out of the fight on September 25 citing a back injury. Subsequently, Eye was pulled from the card and is expected to be rescheduled against a different opponent at a future event.[11]

A women's flyweight bout between promotional newcomers Andrea Lee and Kalindra Faria was expected to be a late addition to this event, as it was announced on September 28.[12] However a few hours later, it was revealed that Lee was pulled from the contest as she didn't go through the USADA testing pool for six months. Usually short notice fights do not need to follow such rule, but since she has failed a drug test in the past, Lee must fulfill that requirement.[13] She was replaced by fellow promotional newcomer Mara Romero Borella.[14]

A lightweight bout between Nik Lentz and former Bellator Lightweight Champion Will Brooks was slated for the preliminary portion of the card. However the pairing was scrapped during the weigh-ins for the event, as Lentz was stricken with "medical issues" and deemed unfit to compete.[15]

A heavyweight bout between former heavyweight champion Fabrício Werdum and Derrick Lewis was slated for the main card. However, the fight was scrapped the day of the event when Lewis couldn't move due to back pain from a previous back injury. As a result, Walt Harris, who was originally scheduled to face Mark Godbeer in a preliminary bout, was tabbed as a short-notice opponent for Werdum.[16]

Results

Main Card
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Lightweight Tony Ferguson def. Kevin Lee Submission (triangle choke) 3 4:02 [a]
Flyweight Demetrious Johnson (c) def. Ray Borg Submission (flying armbar) 5 3:15 [b]
Heavyweight Fabrício Werdum def. Walt Harris Submission (armbar) 1 1:05
Women's Flyweight Mara Romero Borella def. Kalindra Faria Submission (rear-naked choke) 1 2:54
Lightweight Beneil Dariush vs. Evan Dunham Draw (majority) (29–28, 28–28, 28–28) 3 5:00
Preliminary Card (FX)
Bantamweight Cody Stamann def. Tom Duquesnoy Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 30–27) 3 5:00
Lightweight Lando Vannata vs. Bobby Green Draw (split) (29–27, 27–29, 28–28) 3 5:00 [c]
Women's Strawweight Poliana Botelho def. Pearl Gonzalez Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Flyweight Matt Schnell def. Marco Beltrán Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 30–27) 3 5:00
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Flyweight John Moraga def. Magomed Bibulatov KO (punch) 1 1:38
Middleweight Brad Tavares def. Thales Leites Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–26, 30–26) 3 5:00
  1. ^ For the interim UFC Lightweight Championship.
  2. ^ For the UFC Flyweight Championship.
  3. ^ Vannata was deducted one point in round 1 due to an illegal knee.

[17]

Bonus awards

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

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. The total disclosed payout for the event was $2,178,000.[19]

Although not included on the NSAC's initial report, Mark Godbeer ($15,000/$15,000) was paid his show purse and a win bonus after he was removed from his scheduled bout with Walt Harris on the day of the event.[19]

Records set

With his win, Johnson broke Anderson Silva's record for most consecutive title defenses (11).[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Staff (2017-10-08). "UFC 216 draws announced attendance of 10,638 for $677,999.50 live gate in Las Vegas". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-10-08.
  2. ^ "Report: UFC 216 Estimated More Than 200,000 Buys".
  3. ^ Mookie Alexander (2017-06-26). "UFC's late 2017 schedule includes PPV in Detroit, return to MSG in November". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  4. ^ Lennart Van Arendonk (2017-07-18). "UFC works on Stipe Miocic vs. Cain Velasquez for UFC 216" (in Dutch). mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  5. ^ Steven Marrocco and John Morgan (2017-08-15). "Tony Ferguson, Kevin Lee will fight at UFC 216 for interim lightweight title". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  6. ^ Mookie Alexander (2017-08-29). "Tony Ferguson vs. Kevin Lee officially announced as UFC 216 main event". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  7. ^ Staff (2017-07-20). "Two title fights headline UFC 215 in Edmonton". tsn.ca. Retrieved 2017-09-13.
  8. ^ Ariel Helwani (2017-09-08). "Demetrious Johnson vs. Ray Borg UFC 215 main event canceled". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2017-09-13.
  9. ^ Shaun Al-Shatti (2017-09-13). "Demetrious Johnson vs. Ray Borg rebooked for UFC 216". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2017-09-13.
  10. ^ Jordan Breen (2017-08-14). "Abel Trujillo pulled; Lando Vannata now faces Bobby Green at UFC 216 on Oct. 7 in Las Vegas". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
  11. ^ Ariel Helwani (2017-09-25). "Paige VanZant vs. Jessica Eye pulled from UFC 216". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
  12. ^ Staff (2017-09-28). "Andrea Lee vs. Kalindra Faria a late addition to next week's UFC 216 lineup". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  13. ^ Guilherme Cruz (2017-09-28). "Andrea Lee pulled from UFC 216 fight with Kalindra Faria". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  14. ^ Staff (2017-10-02). "Kalindra Faria remains on Saturday's UFC 216 fight card with main-card slot". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  15. ^ Staff (2017-10-06). "UFC 216 loses a featured prelim on eve of event". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-10-06.
  16. ^ Simon Samano and John Morgan (2017-10-07). "Derrick Lewis injured; Fabricio Werdum now faces Walt Harris last minute at UFC 216". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-10-07.
  17. ^ "UFC 216: Ferguson vs. Lee". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2017-08-17.
  18. ^ Staff (2017-10-08). "UFC 216 bonuses: Demetrious Johnson's late finish became his eighth UFC fight-night bonus". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-10-08.[permanent dead link]
  19. ^ a b Dann Stupp (2017-10-09). "Full UFC 216 salaries: New champ Tony Ferguson gets $500K of event's $2.2-million payout (Updated)". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  20. ^ Matt Erickson (2017-10-08). "UFC 216 results: Insane Demetrious Johnson armbar forces Ray Borg tap in fifth round". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-10-08.
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